The scandal-plagued United Nations made an unexpected about-face on Friday, saying it would reconsider the case against its top watchdog official controversially pardoned by Kofi Annan. The official, Dileep Nair, had been cleared by the UN chief on favouritism and corruption allegations after what Annan's spokesman insisted was a "thorough" enquiry - a claim ridiculed by the UN staff union.
The union, in a resolution exclusively reported by AFP two weeks ago, voted overwhelmingly that UN management had "further eroded the trust" of employees by clearing Nair in what one senior union official called a "whitewash."
The spokesman, Fred Eckhard, told AFP that the United Nations would now listen to staff complaints about the Nair case after a meeting Wednesday that UN staff were finally granted after months of postponement from UN brass.
He said Catherine Bertini, the UN head of management who headed the enquiry rubbished by staff members, now would consider any evidence the union could produce to bolster their claims against Nair.
Eckhard had previously said the case against Nair, a Singaporean national, was closed for good and would not be re-opened.
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