Clark bid for UN job turns controversial

Helen Clark is embroiled in controversy over her bid for the United Nations’ top job after an international publication claimed her candidacy had sparked an ‘‘internal uproar’’.

In a lengthy article highly critical of Clark, Foreign Policy’s Colum Lynch said Clark had left a trail of ‘‘embittered peers and subordinates’’ at the United Nations Development Programme, which she has headed for the last seven years.

The claims included that Clark ‘‘ruthlessly ended the careers of underlings in her quest to advance her candidacy and of undercutting the UN’s promotion of human rights,’’ Lynch wrote.

‘Much of the article’s assertions centre on allegations a former staffer was driven out of her job by UNDP managers in retaliation for participating in an investigation that was critical of the agency’s response to atrocities in Sri Lanka. Lynch says he has internal UN emails and also cites sources including current and former UN-based officials.

Clark’s office hit back yesterday and said some of the claims in the article were ‘‘totally fabricated’’.

‘‘Helen Clark’s 40-plus years in public service in New Zealand and at the United Nations speaks for itself,’’ the UNDP said. ‘‘She has advocated and fought tirelessly for the poor and the marginalised, and has always been on the frontlines of human rights.

‘‘The recent allegations of retaliation or involvement in a former UNDP staff member’s employment status are totally fabricated, as are the allegations regarding the Petrie Report and Human Rights Up Front.’’

Foreign Policy says Clark’s office was lobbied to rescue the UNDP official’s career ‘‘but they were unsuccessful’’.

New Zealand sources have previously acknowledged Clark is not universally popular at UNDP after leading a restructuring that saw more than 200 staffers in New York sacked.

But they say Clark is well respected as a result of those changes, one of the factors behind her being seen as a front runner to replace UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon when he steps down.

Most of Foreign Policy criticisms centre on Lenha Sinha who it says was forced out of UNDP after crafting a report on the UN’s shortcomings in the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war.

But it also quoted other sources who denied Sinha had faced retaliation.

A Clark aide told the magazine Clark ‘‘did not play any role in the decision to deny Sinha employment’’.

Prime Minister John Key said yesterday that Clark was being targeted because she was the front runner.