VOA慢速英语--联合国调查其驻也门机构的腐败行为

UN Investigates Corruption¹ in Its Own Agencies in Yemen

Last October, a group of United Nations investigators² gathered at the airport in Sana'a, Yemen. The six former and current aid officials were preparing to leave the country with important evidence.

The evidence came in the form of laptop computers and electronic storage devices collected from employees of the World Health Organization, or WHO. The investigators believed these computers showed corruption and fraud within the U.N. agency’s office in Yemen.

But before they could get on their flight, armed militiamen entered the waiting area. The militiamen were part of a group of Houthi rebels ruling northern Yemen. The investigators reported that the rebels did not hurt anyone, but they took the devices.

They say a WHO employee with connections to the rebel movement informed the Houthis they were leaving. The employee feared her theft of aid money would be uncovered.

The 2018 event at the Sana'a airport is part of a continuing struggle over corruption at international aid organizations. Dishonest people have taken donated food, medicine, fuel and money from needy³ Yemenis throughout the country’s five-year civil war.

Individuals with inside knowledge spoke⁴ with the Associated Press, or AP, about the U.N.’s involvement in that corruption. They said aid workers sent to deal with the wartime humanitarian⁵ crisis have been accused of joining with fighters on all sides. The aid workers enriched themselves from the billions of dollars in donated aid flowing into the country, they added.

AP reporters confirmed these claims by speaking with aid workers and former government officials, as well as by examining private U.N. documents.

Unqualified people in high-paying jobs

The reporters’ work revealed that WHO investigators are looking into several claims of corruption. One is that unqualified people were placed in high-paying jobs. Another is that millions of dollars were put in employees’ personal bank accounts. Although WHO permits this method in an emergency, the employees could not later show how they spent the money.

Also, many suspicious contracts were approved without the correct paperwork, and a huge amount of donated medicine and fuel went missing.

Another U.N. agency, UNICEF, is also leading an investigation⁶. It centers on an employee who permitted a Houthi rebel leader to travel in agency vehicles. This protected the rebel leader from possible airstrikes by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition⁷.

The individuals who spoke to the AP about the investigations⁸ fear being attacked for doing so, so they asked that their identities remain secret.

“Where Is The Money?”

Yemeni activists¹⁰ said the actions by the U.N. agencies are welcome but are not enough. Much is required to find the millions of dollars in supplies and money from aid programs.

Over the past three months, activists have been pushing for more information about how resources are used. They have launched an online campaign called “Where Is The Money?”

?They demand that the U.N. and international agencies provide financial reports. They want to know how the hundreds of millions of dollars entering Yemen since 2015 have been spent.

“We see big numbers, billions of dollars reaching Yemen, and we don’t know where they go,” said a “Where is the Money?” activist⁹ in a video for the campaign.

The U.N. has answered with an online campaign of its own. It is called “Check Our Results” and shows programs started in Yemen. The campaign does not provide detailed¹¹ financial reports on how aid money is spent.

Unable to go into details

The U.N. has said very little about its investigation into its own agencies. It included only one sentence about it in a 2018 yearly report of activities worldwide.

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic confirmed to the AP that an investigation is ongoing¹². He would not confirm or deny the names of any individuals under investigation.

“We must respect the confidentiality¹³ of this process and are unable go into details on specific concerns,” he said.

UNICEF officials also confirmed they are leading an ongoing investigation into corruption.

A private report by a U.N. group of experts on Yemen said Houthi leaders are constantly pressuring aid agencies. The leaders force aid workers to hire people, threaten to take away their visas and aim to control their movements and projects. The experts say how many aid workers are helping¹⁴ the fighters is unclear.

One official added that the U.N.’s inability or unwillingness¹⁵ to deal with the reported corruption in its aid programs is a serious problem. It harms the U.N.’s efforts to help Yemenis affected¹⁶ by the war, and it ruins the agency’s public image.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

fraud – n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

humanitarian – adj. concerned with or seeking to improve human welfare

unqualified – adj. not having the skills, knowledge, or experience needed to do a particular job or activity

suspicious – adj. causing a feeling that something is wrong or that someone is behaving wrongly

contract(s) – n. a legal agreement between people or companies

confidentiality – n. the quality or state of being private

hire – v. to give work or a job to someone in exchange for wages or a salary

visa(s) – n. an official mark or stamp on a passport that allows someone to enter or leave a country usually for a particular reason

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

13 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。