Administrative Assistant to Director General, 24 February 1999
Patrick Reis-Ekelund
19, Bd de Belleville, 75011 Paris
Dr Jean Blancou, Director General
Office international des épizooties
12, rue de Prony, 75017 Paris
24 February 1999
Annual Professional Professional Evaluation and 30 September 1999 Accounts of the OIE Regional Representation for the Americas
Dear Sir,
Following receipt of the Annual Professional Evaluation ("Note professionnelle au titre de 1998") (Encl. I) concerning my work within the Central Bureau, the meetings held between myself and Dr Norman Willis, President of the OIE International Committee, on 18 and 19 February 1999, your note of 19 February 1999 and the meeting held between us on 22 February, at which you instructed me to outline in writing my observations concerning my Annual Professional Evaluation and the income-expenses situation of the OIE Regional Representation for the Americas at 30 September 1998, I submit the following:
Annual Professional Evaluation for 1998
As concerns Mr Jannot's, Head of the Administrative and Financial
Department, point on the OIE-Thai agreement: Mr Jannot's claims
concerning this matter were expressed in his note of 29 December 1998
(footnote 1) (Encl. II) and in my note of 13 January 1999 (Encl. III) I
showed them to be erroneous, citing the relevant correspondence involving
yourself, Mr Jannot and Drs Gleeson and Ozawa. It is outrageous that these
claims are maintained in my Annual Professional Evaluation. Should you wish
to receive copies of the correspondence relating to this matter, please do
not hesitate to request them.
As concerns Mr Jannot's point on Mr Gary Sutherland's, note of 7 December 1998: Once again, I refer to my note of 13 January 1999, in which I responded to Mr Sutherland's accusations. It is saddening that Messrs Jannot and Sutherland, Head and Deputy Head of the Administrative and Financial Department, respectively, in what seems to be breach of Article 40.12 of the Personnel Rules, subject a member of the Central Bureau to professional criticism and pressure in this manner.
As concerns Mr Jannot's point on my supposedly inadequate services in the domain of financial follow-up: This criticism, vague as it is, was first levelled in Mr Jannot's note of 29 December 1998 (Annex, footnote 3). In my reply of 13 January, I expressed my desire for clarification and discussion. To this date, I have not been invited to discuss the matter with Mr Jannot.
My observations on the accounts of the OIE Regional Representation for
the Americas at 30 September 1998
Part of my job at the Central Bureau, as defined by my employment contract
and operational instructions, is to order transfers to and verify the
expenses of the OIE Regional Representations. Throughout the period from
January to July, I reported that a number of receipts received from the OIE
Regional Representation for the Americas were of dubious conformity with
OIE Financial Regulations. These receipts mentioned no client name, no
address, or mentioned another name or address than those of the OIE's
Regional Representation. Early in the year notes from the OIE hierarchy to
the Regional Representation encouraged it to ensure a better quality of
submitted materials.
In October, I received the package containing the receipts of the Regional Representation for the period 1 July to 30 September 1998. I checked the materials and noted the following points:
1. I had been told that the Regional Representation, inaugurated in
February 1998, had no funds at the beginning of 1998.
2. The Regional Representation had received a total of 91 900 USD from the
Central Bureau or local donations during the period 1 January to 30
September 1998.
3. The expense reports and receipts indicated that the Regional
Representation had spent 95 532 USD during the period 1 January to 30
September 1998.
According to points 1 through 3 above, the Regional Representation should, at 30 September 1998, be running a deficit of 3 632 USD, yet its 30 September bank statement indicated a positive balance of 1 619 USD. The 5 251 USD differential (Encl. IV, column PRE) struck me as noteworthy, and on 27 October I informed Mr Jannot, Head of the Administrative and Financial Department, of my findings. I was asked to investigate if the difference could be presumed to be due to not yet posted transactions, extra income or the likes. Unable, based on my information, to justify such an interpretation I responded in the negative.
In November and December 1998, an external book-keeper was brought in. She redid all my work for the entire year and reported a differential of 5 234 USD for the Representation at 30 September (Encl. IV, column PO). The external book-keeper also categorised the receipts received from the Regional Representation for the Americas according to their quality. She found that 7 781 USD worth of receipts mentioned a name or address other than those of the OIE. (Encl. V).
Should you, or the Administrative Commission, wish to receive copies of relevant spreadsheets, signed expense declarations, doubtful receipts or correspondence, please do not hesitate to ask.
Summary and request for your intervention Ever since I reported my observations on the OIE Regional Representation for the Americas' financial situation at 30 September 1998, I have been subjected to moral and professional harassment, as evidenced in the exchange of correspondence between myself and the hierarchy of the OIE Central Bureau (Encl. VI) (1). This situation has now culminated with the slanderous Annual Professional Evaluation in which my employment with the Central Bureau is unjustly and threateningly put in question.
It is distressing to find that my responses to the various claims, accusations and innuendo levelled against me, my professional conduct and work, seem to fall on deaf ears and go ignored. This behaviour does not, in my view, confirm with just, rule-abiding and equitable treatment of staff members, or with the standards of conduct to be expected within the international civil service. I respectfully request that you put an end to this injustice and annul the Annual Professional Evaluation as it presently stands, and I hope that I will be permitted to perform my duties with integrity and without further attacks to my status and professional standing.
Throughout this period, I have stressed my desire for a harmonious working relationship with all members of the Central Bureau and my willingness to conform with instructions received, and I underline my assurance that this is still my goal. If this note is, as you have stated, to be submitted to the Administrative Commission, then I wish for all the enclosures to also be submitted, so that the members of the Commission may draw their conclusions with full information. Naturally, I remain at their entire disposal to answer any questions they may have.
Sincerely yours,
Patrick Reis-Ekelund Administrative Assistant Administrative and Financial Department
Encl. I: Annual Professional Evaluation Form for 1998 (1 page)
(1) I note that I have never been told that my observations were incorrect.
Encl. II: 29 December 1998 note from the Head of the Administrative and
Financial Department to PRE (2 pages)
Encl. III: 13 January 1999 note from PRE to the Head of the Administrative
and Financial Department (3 pages)
Encl. IV: Income-Expense summary of the OIE Regional Representation for
the Americas at 30 September 1998 (1 page)
Encl. V: Outside book-keeper's list of problematic receipts (4 pages)
Encl. VI: 27 November 1998 note from PRE to the Head of the
Administrative and Financial Department (2 pages)
To contact Patrick Reis-Ekelund
To contact the management of the OIE: the Director General,
Dr Jean Blancou, the
Head of the
Administrative and Financial Department,
Mr Guy Jannot, or his Deputy,
Mr Gary Sutherland.
Phone: +(33-1) 44 15 18 60, -70, and -64, respectively.
To contact the President of the OIE's supervisory Administrative Commission
and its
International Committee, Dr Norman Willis, by
e-mail or phone: (1-204) 789 2008.