Morocco Leaks: When Omar Hilale loses the money intended to bribe the UN

Tags: Morocco, Omar Hilale, UN, Western Sahara, corruption, Geneva, OHCHR, UNHCR, hacker Chris Coleman

December 23, 2015: A diplomat from the Moroccan mission to the UN leaves Air France’s VIP lounge, escorted by a hostess, to board a flight to New York. As two cell phones fall out of his open briefcase, he realizes that €20,000 has disappeared. The diplomat retraces his steps, hoping to find the money, but to no avail. He reports the loss and boards the plane as the Border Police (PAF) begin their investigation.

The answer is found through surveillance footage, which captured an employee picking up the money in an airport hallway. Of course, security services informed the press about the incident to prevent other employees from making the same mistake.

This story garnered much attention online. Some expressed astonishment at seeing a diplomat casually carrying €20,000, while French law requires the declaration of any amount exceeding €10,000 upon entering or leaving the country.

Others, with a hint of humor, wondered, « Don’t Moroccan diplomats have credit cards? » questioning the need to carry such large sums. Another observer made a pointed remark: « Aside from banditry, I can’t think of any reason to have €20,000 in cash. » This was more accurate than they might have imagined because the money was intended for the Moroccan Ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale, a diplomat renowned for his expertise in bribery, especially with UN officials.

When he represented Morocco in Switzerland, Omar Hilale recruited high-ranking officials from European institutions. At the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), he managed to cozy up to none other than the Director of Field Operations, Swedish national Anders Kompass. This was revealed through documents from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaked by French hacker Chris Coleman.

It seems Kompass, whom Hilale referred to as « my friend » in his notes, had a close relationship with the Moroccan ambassador. He provided confidential information about UN activities related to the Western Sahara issue and managed to derail a UN project to expand MINURSO’s (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) mandate to report on human rights violations.

Another key figure working for Hilale was Pakistani Athar Sultan Khan, Chief of Staff to António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Several documents reveal Omar Hilale’s modus operandi: flattery and corruption. For instance, when preparing to meet with Navanethem Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on May 15, 2013, he wrote about how busy his schedule was:

« At the same time, to neutralize any potential trouble within the OHCHR, I met for an hour with Tunisian Frej Fennich… Wanting to completely secure him, I asked his close friend to encourage him to contribute positively to minimize the impact of this meeting. »

The rest of the document is just as verbose, highlighting « the esteem that Ms. Pillay holds for Morocco in general and the courageous vision of His Majesty the King, in particular. »

After this tedious narrative, reminiscent of official dispatches from the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), one understands the intellectual poverty our diplomacy tries to make up for with tagines, invitations, and bribery.

The most serious part comes when the ambassador clearly mentions bribery as a way to « financially engage Ms. Pillay due to the drastic budget cuts at the OHCHR, » before confirming in a cable dated February 1, 2014, that a « generous annual voluntary contribution of one million dollars, etc. » had indeed taken place.

This donation seems to explain the startling declaration made by the High Commissioner after her visit to Morocco in May of the previous year, where she awkwardly acknowledged « that the country had made significant progress toward better human rights protection, » while also admitting, « that much remained to be done, particularly in terms of freedom of expression. »

Other documents further implicate Hilale, who has since been promoted as Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York on April 14, 2014, after six years of mediocre performance on the right bank of Lake Geneva as Morocco’s representative to the UN mission. This promotion is largely due to his role as a grand corrupter, unconcerned by the staggering sums Morocco pours into lost causes, such as when he strongly recommended inviting Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Director of the Treaties Division at the OHCHR, described as a « devout Tijani, » on a pilgrimage to Fez—lines that speak volumes about Morocco’s African policy.

Each cable confirms what was already known about the disgraceful practices of the Moroccan state: buying off officials, funding election campaigns in third-party countries, nepotism, and lavishly entertaining the supporters of dictatorship.

Omar Hilale, who lacks both the power and the slightest idea on how to extract Morocco from the quagmire of the Western Sahara and the heavy burden of human rights abuses, has no strategy left but corruption. He knows all too well that corruption not only brings its participants closer together but also turns them into accomplices with unspeakable secrets. It makes them unmovable, which explains why so many corrupt figures remain close to the palace, irremovable and silent in the face of the regime’s abuses.

Omar Hilale, who lacks both the power and the slightest idea on how to extract Morocco from the quagmire of the Western Sahara and the heavy burden of human rights abuses, has no strategy left but corruption.

#Morocco #WesternSahara #OmarHilale #UN #Corruption #OHCHR #HCD