The Associated Press
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia: A U.N. report released Tuesday slams Cambodia for alleged widespread malpractice in hiring national staff for the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal, saying lucrative salaries have been handed out to unqualified people.
The report from the U.N development agency UNDP said 18 of the 29 personnel files reviewed for their audit showed that Cambodians hired to work as translators, and at a range of administrative jobs for the Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, "did not meet the minimum requirements" for their specific jobs.
One job posting said candidates must have a degree in the English language and at least three years' professional experience in interpreting, the report says.
"However, the selected candidate had only some part-time translating experience and was pursuing a degree in education. This position pays a monthly salary of US$3,500 (€2,460)," the report says.
The salaries are enormous by Cambodian standards — where government civil servants earn an average wage of 100,000 riel (US$25; €17) a month.
To emphasize how high the salaries were, the report noted that a Cambodian director of a foreign-funded project would typically earn US$1,200 (€845) a month.
The report said the recruitment process was not conducted in a transparent, competitive and objective manner.
The UNDP is administering donors' funds for the Cambodian side of the tribunal aimed at seeking justice in the atrocities that caused the death of 1.7 million people when the Khmer Rouge ruled from 1975 to 1979.
The long-delayed trials for the regime's aging leaders are expected to start next year, though no date has been set.
The tribunal is staffed by Cambodian and U.N.-appointed officials and has a planned budget of US$56.3 million (€40 million) over three years.
The tribunal's Cambodian side says that auditors failed to take into account the difficult circumstances officials faced in filling the jobs.
"We had a big challenge, not only to recruit a whole staff and establish a whole institution but at the same time to do the judicial work that had to be done," said Helen Jarvis, an Australian appointed by the Cambodian government as the tribunal's spokeswoman.
"It could be that there are some people who don't match (with their jobs); we're not denying that," she said. But "we think we got the best persons who applied." She said they were working "in good faith and an accountable manner" to fix shortcomings cited in the report.
The auditors, in the report, have also suggested that the UNDP seriously consider withdrawing from participation in the project to oversee the funds if the tribunal's Cambodian side fails to make needed changes.
The UNDP had refused to release the report, saying it was an internal document. The tribunal's administration office said Tuesday it released a copy in the interests of transparency and fairness, after parts of it were leaked.
The report from the U.N development agency UNDP said 18 of the 29 personnel files reviewed for their audit showed that Cambodians hired to work as translators, and at a range of administrative jobs for the Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal, "did not meet the minimum requirements" for their specific jobs.
One job posting said candidates must have a degree in the English language and at least three years' professional experience in interpreting, the report says.
"However, the selected candidate had only some part-time translating experience and was pursuing a degree in education. This position pays a monthly salary of US$3,500 (€2,460)," the report says.
The salaries are enormous by Cambodian standards — where government civil servants earn an average wage of 100,000 riel (US$25; €17) a month.
To emphasize how high the salaries were, the report noted that a Cambodian director of a foreign-funded project would typically earn US$1,200 (€845) a month.
The report said the recruitment process was not conducted in a transparent, competitive and objective manner.
The UNDP is administering donors' funds for the Cambodian side of the tribunal aimed at seeking justice in the atrocities that caused the death of 1.7 million people when the Khmer Rouge ruled from 1975 to 1979.
The long-delayed trials for the regime's aging leaders are expected to start next year, though no date has been set.
The tribunal is staffed by Cambodian and U.N.-appointed officials and has a planned budget of US$56.3 million (€40 million) over three years.
The tribunal's Cambodian side says that auditors failed to take into account the difficult circumstances officials faced in filling the jobs.
"We had a big challenge, not only to recruit a whole staff and establish a whole institution but at the same time to do the judicial work that had to be done," said Helen Jarvis, an Australian appointed by the Cambodian government as the tribunal's spokeswoman.
"It could be that there are some people who don't match (with their jobs); we're not denying that," she said. But "we think we got the best persons who applied." She said they were working "in good faith and an accountable manner" to fix shortcomings cited in the report.
The auditors, in the report, have also suggested that the UNDP seriously consider withdrawing from participation in the project to oversee the funds if the tribunal's Cambodian side fails to make needed changes.
The UNDP had refused to release the report, saying it was an internal document. The tribunal's administration office said Tuesday it released a copy in the interests of transparency and fairness, after parts of it were leaked.
6 comments:
Fuck you, you corrupted fools (UN).
everything that the Hunsen government does will always involve corruption. Hor Namhong's son has been collecting cash from everyone who came to work oversee. I won't be surprise to see his son collecting money this time again.
That is because you idiot don't know how to solve problem.
Helen Jarvis a White Trash .She'a a membership of communist party in Australia.
She's one of the khmer blood sucker.
Helen Jarvis says they can not find qualified staff , but I know many qualified staff (graduated from university with many years of experience in translation and interpretation) who applied but they never bother even interview them. This is a true corruption!!!
Well then, go and jump over your nearby bridge because corruption isn't going to go anywhere for a while.
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