Huffington Post: The Backroom Deal Worth $130 Million to the Global Fund
In her latest Huffington Post column, GAP Executive Director Bea Edwards details the case of John Parsons, the former Inspector General at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria who was terminated after “uncovering too much corruption in the organization’s grants.” Edwards explains that Parsons was retaliated against because his concerns could have cost the Global Fund $130 million in pending U.S. contributions.
Key Quote: Shortly after the AEC forced Parsons out, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) began asking questions. After all, when an inspector general finds and discloses corruption and fraud in an organization’s operations and is subsequently fired, responsible oversight offices should be concerned. But they weren’t. The FOIA documents show that the State Department simply proceeded with the certification after the IG was dismissed and declared to the Congress that the IG operated without interference.
VICE News: UN Mission in Darfur Accused of Improperly Investigating Mass Rape
More coverage of the UN mission in Darfur’s alleged underreporting and concealment of crimes, with new allegations that it “failed to properly investigate the rape of dozens, if not hundreds, of women and girls.” GAP client Aicha Elbasri, a former mission spokesperson whose whistleblowing spurred a UN investigation into the mission, is quoted.
Key Quote: “This is a typical cover-up statement by UNAMID,” Elbasri said. “It provides many facts, but leaves out the most important information, the kind of evidence that indicates government responsibility for crimes committed by its force. This is one of those lies by omission that the UN Headquarters is quick to convey to the world media.”
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Elbasri said the mission was wrong to contend that it required permission from the Sudanese government to investigate crimes like the alleged rapes in Tabit. Indeed, the mission’s status of forces agreement with the government states that UNAMID “shall enjoy full and unrestricted freedom of movement without delay throughout Darfur and other areas of Sudan where UNAMID is operating in accordance with its mandate… without the need for travel permits or prior authorization or notification.”
Tri-City Herald: Ninth Circuit Reverses Hanford Whistleblower Ruling
The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court “wrongly dismissed” the case of Hanford whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis, who alleged retaliation after he raised safety concerns at the Hanford nuclear waste treatment plant. The court said Tamosaitis, who has also been featured on GAP’s American Whistleblower Tour, is entitled to a jury trial.
Time Warner Cable News: UNC Whistleblower Adds Chancellor to Lawsuit
Mary Willingham, the former literacy specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) who blew the whistle on academic fraud and claimed some student athletes were illiterate, has added Chancellor Carol Folt to her pending whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the university.