A 50-page memo by auditor Inga-Britt Ahlenius accused the UN secretary-general of trying to interfere in the work of her office and blocking her ability to hire her own staff.
A damning memo by a departing United Nations (UN) diplomat has criticised secretary-general Ban Ki-moon of damaging the organisation through inaction on key issues like Afghanistan and Myanmar as well as curtailing the accountability in the world body under his watch.
The 50-page memo by Inga-Britt Ahlenius, a 72-year-old Swedish auditor who has stepped down as under-secretary general of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) last week, accused Ban of trying to interfere in the work of her office and blocking her ability to hire her own staff.
"Your actions are not only deplorable, but seriously reprehensible. Your action is without precedent and in my opinion seriously embarrassing for yourself," the memo read.
"I regret to say that the secretariat now is in a process of decay."
The OIOS was established in 1994 to conduct investigations into corruption and misconduct.
After this rebuke went public, Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar issued a statement describing the memo as unbalanced.
"A look at his record shows that secretary general Ban has provided genuine visionary leadership on important issues from climate change to development to woman's empowerment," Nambiar said.
"He has promoted the cause of gender balance in general as well as within the organisation. He has led from the front on important political issues from Gaza to Haiti to Sudan," he added.
Ahlenius wondered in her memo if there has been any improvement under Ban's watch in the UN's "capacity to protect civilians in conflict and distress? What relevance do we have in disarmament, in Myanmar, Darfur, Afghanistan, Cyprus or G20?"
Ahlenius said that Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, was more concerned with preventing news leaks and she also accused him of trying to set up a competing investigative body inside the UN.
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