UNITED NATIONS ? The lawyer for an American asking for $1 million in damages from the United Nations on Wednesday described how her client was arrested, humiliated by "wanted posters" at his office and fired after he said his colleagues in Kosovo might be taking kickbacks.
The American, James Wasserstrom, who flew in from Kabul, Afghanistan, to attend the hearing, says the actions were retaliation for his speaking up.
"What on Earth went on here, and why?" Judge Goolam Meeran, of India, asked at the hearing. "There are certain lines of inquiry here that trouble me."
The case is a high-profile test case for the U.N.'s new court system for employee issues. The independent tribunal replaces the secret, delay-plagued system that legal experts in 2006 called "dysfunctional" and critics said heavily favored U.N. management.
The U.N. Dispute Tribunal set up two years ago holds open hearings and its rulings are binding on the Secretary-General, unlike the system it replaced.
Wasserstrom said he thought he could get a fair hearing under the new setup.
"At least now we have professional judges, high standards, real rules of evidence," Wasserstrom said during a break in Wednesday's proceedings.
Under a whistleblower protection policy signed by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005, all U.N. employees are to be offered protection from retaliation.
But Wasserstrom says his U.N. job was eliminated in 2007 after he reported on colleagues he suspected were taking kickbacks from local officials in the energy sector.
He says he was arrested by U.N. police, his apartment searched and his office was taped off for months while posters bearing his picture were posted warning he should not be allowed on U.N. premises while the mission investigated him alleging conflict of interest, after Wasserstrom signed a consulting contract to start after his U.N. job ended.
The U.N. Ethics Office at the time said the treatment of Wasserstrom "seemed to be excessive," but it found no evidence that the actions were retaliatory.
Two Ethics Office employees who handled the Kosovo case, Susan John and Robert Benson, told the tribunal on Wednesday that the actions against Wasserstrom had seemed "disproportionate," but they maintained there was no sign of retaliation.
Wasserstrom worked for the U.N. for 25 years. He seeks more than $1 million for lost wages, compensation for defamation and mental distress.
"What happened destroyed his U.N. career," said his attorney, Mary Dorman.
rule 34 steve jobs bill gates frances bean cobain josh hamilton bill gates michael lewis palin
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.