In Congo, UN's Alan Doss is Flying While Union Chief Maintains He's Banned

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 27 -- Alan Doss, the British chief of the UN's Mission in the Congo MONUC who has been documented to have asked for a bending and breaking of UN rules to have his daughter hired in the UN Development Program, on Wednesday claimed of the Kimia 2 operation, criticized for resulting in further displacement and of being co-coordinated by indicted war criminal Bosco Ntagana, "the outcome is largely positive."

From the point of view of UN headquarters, then, Alan Doss is "on message," as well as representing Permanent Five Security Council member the UK. Could this explain the lengths to which the UN is going to defend Doss' nepotism, personal use of Mission resources and mismanagement of relations with the local staff? Click here for local UN staff e-mail.

On Doss' April 20 e-mail to UNDP asking for "leeway," widely described in the UN as outrageous, still nothing has been done. The UN and Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York have also refused, since August 14 and 17 respectively, to provide any answer to whether Alan Doss has used UN resources for his family in his previous non-family post in Liberia, where sources tell Inner City Press Doss tried to bend rules to get a job for his wife with UN Volunteers.

On the Congo, the UN on Thursday after more than 10 days responded, though a spokesperson who has asked to remain nameless, that

on your " family question": As far as we can determine, there is no rule against staff members receiving visits from family members. Mrs. Doss has visited the DRC and has stayed in-country on several occasions since Mr. Doss became SRSG. She doesn’t reside in the DRC. Mrs Doss has flown on UN aircraft in the DRC (during the SG’s visit earlier this year, for example). There is no rule against non-MONUC or non-UN personnel flying on UN/MONUC flights. In the DRC, non-MONUC passengers fly on a space-available basis and according to categories of priority (reimbursement is not normally sought for travel by non-MONUC passengers on MONUC flights.)

Beyond Doss' reported seeking of "leeway" in Liberia, as in New York, the above does not address whether other MONUC staffers can bring family to the non-family location and fly for free on UN planes. Who can do it? And who decides?

Alan Doss shaking in Congo, staff and UNDP victims not shown

On staff relations in the Congo, the UN on Thursday morning wrote

Subj: Your Report/Question on MONUC and Mr. Nondo
From: unspokesperson-donotreply [at] un.org
To: Inner City Press
Sent: 8/27/2009 10:19:21 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time

Dear Matthew, Your report regarding MONUC and Mr. Nondo was incorrect.

MONUC informs that Mr. Nondo has neither been banned from MONUC premises, nor suspended.

While for the record Inner City Press appended the incorrect position to its initial article, Inner City Press has Mr. Guershom Nondo's e-mail about the situation, and now puts it online here. Nondo states:

"Please be advised that starting this morning I am not allowed to enter MONUC premises... MONUC administration has decided to put me in administrative leave starting this morning until further notice. This decision is related to ... the ongoing interim Salary Survey as well as all similar activities."

Inner City Press asked the UN Spokesperson's office, which erroneous charged error, for a response, even suggesting they seek one from DFS Officer in Charge Tony Banbury, but none has been received. Banbury has been aware from the first article that the issue is being raised. Is the claim, as with the UNDP worker whose job Doss stole for his daughter, that the lower ranked staff member is lying? How low will the UN go? How much abuse of power will be permitted?