Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
‘Is the U.N. Corrupt?’
Regarding “Is the U.N. Corrupt?” by Benny Avni alleging that that Singapore had “launched a campaign to end funding for the [Procurement] task force”: Our position on the Procurement Task Force is a matter of public record [Foreign, January 14, 2008].
In our December 17, 2007 statement in the United Nation’s Fifth Committee, we stated the following: “Does anyone really think that the U.N. should not have an internal audit and investigative arm? Of course not. Do we really think that the PTF should be shut down while investigations continue into possible transgressions in procurement? Of course not.”
This unambiguous statement cannot be interpreted in any other way except as support for what the PTF was set up to do. At no point in the lengthy discussions on this matter have we called for ending funding to the PTF or for it to be shut down.
Mr. Avni further alleged that Singapore’s U.N. Mission “overlooks some JDC findings” in exonerating Andrew Toh. It is Mr. Avni who has overlooked the facts, including the findings of various U.N. panels, which found the U.N. and PTF guilty of bias and abuses against Mr. Toh. The JDC listed numerous instances in which Mr Toh’s due process rights were violated by the PTF.
Moreover, Mr. Avni got it wrong, as you indicated in the correction you published on Wednesday, when he stated that the JDC had recommended sanctions “beyond censure” against Mr. Toh for his perceived failure to cooperate with the PTF and for negligence in filing his financial disclosure form.
On the contrary, the JDC stated that “its recommended sanction would not go beyond censure.”
Separately, the Panel of Discrimination and Other Grievances ruled that Mr. Toh had been the victim of harassment, discrimination and intimidation by his supervisor, the former undersecretary of Management Christopher Burnham, and that “his due process rights, his integrity and dignity were violated.”
More recently, the U.N. Joint Appeals Board unanimously concluded that the U.N. had seriously violated Mr. Toh’s due process rights and damaged his reputation by placing him on Special Leave with Pay two years ago and that there was “sufficient evidence of harassment on the part” of Mr. Burnham.
Singapore’s reputation for not condoning fraud or corruption is internationally recognized. But we draw a distinction between supporting the objectives of the PTF versus supporting its methods. What we and other U.N. member states want is for the PTF to meet the same standards of accountability that it expects from those it investigates.
HOE YEEN TECK
First Secretary and Press Officer
Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations
New York, N.Y.
Please address letters intended for publication to the Editor of The New York Sun. Letters may be sent by e-mail to editor@nysun.com, by facsimile to 212-608-7348, or post to 105 Chambers Street, New York City 10007. Please include a return address and daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited.
