¹ú²úAV

The Tribunal found that there was not clear and convincing proof that the documents were fake and therefore that count failed. However, as regards the other charges, the Applicant had not denied the violations, rather he had indicated that his superior, the Country Representative, was to blame for giving instructions to the Applicant which were in breach of the rules. The Tribunal considered that the responsibility of an Operations Manager when dealing, in particular, with procurement matters, was such that he could not rely on instructions given from above. Therefore, his liability in respect of these charges was sustained. Whilst a little harsh, the Tribunal did not consider the sanction to be so disproportionate as to require its interference.

Accountability referral: The Tribunal noted with some concern that the superior in question had not been subjected to an investigation, since he had taken another position with a different agency (UNDP). The Tribunal considered this to be a serious failure on the part of the Organisation and referred the matter to the Secretary-General for possible measures to ensure accountability pursuant to Article 10.8 of its Statute.