The United Nations is poised to approve a new Canadian director to its internal watchdog unit, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The Journal did not identify the new director of the unit, which is tasked with rooting out corruption at the agency, but said U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon nominated a Canadian woman to the post on Friday. The General Assembly is expected to approve the appointment this week.
The unit’s previous director, Inga-Britt Ahlenius, left earlier this month after accusing Ban of undermining her office and leading the secretariat into a “process of decay.”
Meanwhile, Ban has initiated an internal investigation in response to Ahlenius’ allegations, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday.
A source from within the U.N. Secretariat’s office told the news agency that Ban has ordered an internal investigation that will focus on the transparency of U.N. activities and the organization’s ability to resist corruption.
A document prepared by Vijay Nambiar, the director of Ban’s office, that was distributed to U.N. employees Monday said the probe would “study the ability of the U.N. to conduct an investigation about its own business”.
