Annan ready to fire head of UN election unit

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan has decided to fire the head of the U.N. election unit,
who has became a star in the world body for supervising polls
in dangerous places like Afghanistan and Iraq, two U.N.
officials said.

The reasons for the dismissal of Carina Perelli, a 48-year
old Uruguayan, were harassment of staff and management lapses,
the officials said on Saturday, speaking on condition of
anonymity. Annan was expected to make the announcement on
Monday or Tuesday.

“A lot of people in the unit were talking about leaving
because of the atmosphere she had created due to her behavior
to subordinates,” said one senior official. He said that
Perelli, director of the Electoral Assistance Division, had
been informed of the decision.

Robert Sullivan, the U.N. duty spokesman, declined comment.

Perelli was accused last August by the U.N. personnel
department of presiding over an office that tolerated sexual
harassment of staff. She was cleared, however, of allegations
that she misused U.N. funds for travel to Latin America.

The charges arose after she had won praise from President
George W. Bush for her role in preparing national elections in
Iraq. She was outspoken at news briefings and did not try to
hide obstacles in pursuing her tasks.

“It is a very sad case and incredibly unfortunate,” said
another U.N. official. “Professionally, she is a fantastic
resource in an incredibly tough job but we had to be strict on
this one.”

Last December, Kieran Prendergast, the former U.N.
undersecretary general for political affairs, had hired an
outside consulting firm to review the election department after
staff complaints.

The Swiss firm Mannet SARL, in a leaked 22-page report in
August, cited her personal courage and extensive knowledge of
election procedures. But it said she had shown favoritism
toward a small circle of employees and created an atmosphere of
sexual jokes, unwelcome advances, and professional harassment.

“The work environment within the division is considered
offensive by many of those interviewed and has contributed to
emotional harm,” the report said.

She ran a unit of 13 professionals for nine years but the
report said staff turnover had been high.

Perelli can appeal the decision. Her response to the
allegations by the Swiss firm had been delayed because she
helped organize Afghanistan’s elections in September and Iraq’s
constitutional referendum in October. She was also involved in
preparations for Iraq’s December elections.

One senior U.N. official who confirmed her dismissal said
the organization had no choice but to let her go “considering
everything else that is going on,” a reference to the
now-defunct and scandal-tainted oil-for-food program in Iraq.

One consequence of that investigation, which did not
involve Perelli, was corruption in the U.N. procurement
department, where one official in August was accused of shaking
down contractors for nearly $1 million.

U.N. officials said this weekend others in the contract
department were being investigated for wrongdoing and more
charges would soon follow.