"A campaign led by a U.N. whistleblower that successfully changed U.S. law could cost the United Nations hundreds of millions of dollars if it doesn't adhere to 'best practices' to protect any U.N. employee who reports wrongdoing...
James Wasserstrom, an American who accused senior colleagues of retaliating after he alleged corruption in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press that the new law is 'a major step in the right direction to put pressure on the United Nations and all of its agencies to clean up their acts when it comes to internal corruption.'
'This is not a U.S.-U.N. issue,' stressed Wasserstrom, who led the campaign to change the U.S. law. 'This is an issue that affects all major donors. They should all be demanding immediate reforms of the U.N. in fighting fraud, waste and abuse.'
Wasserstrom, who was the lead anti-corruption officer at the Kosovo Mission in 2007, was awarded $65,000 after the U.N. Dispute Tribunal ruled that he was subjected to "wholly unacceptable treatment" and "appalling" acts in violation of the rule of law and human rights. The United Nations is appealing the ruling and the award, and Wasserstrom's attorneys are appealing the amount of the award, saying it is insufficient...
The U.S. pays 22 percent of the U.N.'s regular budget, which for 2014-2015 totals $5.53 billion. It also pays hundreds of millions of dollars for the separate budgets to cover U.N. peacekeeping operations and the work of U.N. agencies that deal with children, refugees, food, agriculture and other global issues...
Dylan Blaylock, a spokesman for the Goverment Accountability Project, said Friday: 'Problems involving corruption at the United Nations remain widespread, and this new requirement will help protect whistleblowers like James Wasserstrom who are simply trying to expose wrongdoing so it can be corrected.'"