This week’s investigative report by the Guardian newspaper that alleges corruption in UNDP has received widespread media coverage in Iraq. Unless UNDP demonstrates that it is holding violators to account, the United Nations mission in Iraq risks serious reputational damage.
Many of Iraq’s leading television and online outlets reported on the Guardian’s investigation, which alleges that UNDP staff in Iraq took bribes in exchange for awarding lucrative reconstruction contracts as part of the Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) program in the liberated provinces. Arab regional media also covered the story including Al-Arabiya, as well as the US-funded Al-Hurra channel.
The allegations are not only damaging to UNDP but also tarnish the reputation of the UN mission as a whole. On the popular Baghdadiya TV channel, talk show host Ali Thabhawi drew parallels with the corruption of the UN’s oil for food program during the sanctions period. He invited the Anbar tribal figure Izzidin Sulayman onto the show, who asserted that reconstruction contracts in his province had been monopolized by 10 companies linked to Governor Ali Farhan, and suggested that UNDP contracts had been awarded to these companies.
Much of the Iraqi media reaction has tied the allegations of corrupt practices in UNDP to the corruption of Iraq’s political elite. One report on the Rafidain TV channel described the UN as “partners in corruption”. On another channel, the Fatah Alliance MP Ali Al-Zubaidi pointed out that the UN had failed to protect itself from corruption despite UNAMI head Jeanine Plasschaert’s repeated warnings about the dangers of corruption in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath news channel incorrectly claimed that the Guardian report revealed that $1.5 billion had “gone missing”, which underscores why UNDP needs to undertake a speedy investigation in order to contain the reputational damage.
On Tuesday, UNDP put out a statement asserting that it is urgently looking into the allegations made by the Guardian, adding that it would take “appropriate and firm action should any of these allegations be substantiated.” It referred to a “rigorous disciplinary process that enables it to take appropriate actions against perpetrators of fraud and corruption.”
Iraqi media coverage of the Guardian investigation illustrates how allegations against one UN agency can have a wide-ranging impact on the entire UN presence. While UNAMI may view itself as operationally independent of the UN Country Team, Iraqis do not share this perception. UNDP’s assurances of a full investigation will not be sufficient to contain the damage unless it demonstrates in a transparent way that it has taken serious disciplinary actions to hold violators to account.