Are there really no women qualified to fight U.N. corruption?

Inga-Britt Ahlenius, the outgoing chief of U.N.’s anti-corruption agency, made the case for merit in trying to hire Robert Appleton to head up her U.N. investigations division. A former federal prosecutor, Appleton had headed the Procurement Task Force, a temporary unit that carried out some of the most ambitious and aggressive anti-corruption probes in the U.N.’s history. Roughly a dozen members of the elite, white-collar unit he headed sent two letters to Ban Ki-moon praising his leadership qualities and pressing him to hire Appleton. "In my 19 plus years at the UN I have never worked for a more motivated, experienced, effective, ethical manager," one staffer wrote, urging Ban to approve the hire. "The UN has lost too many ‘best and brightest.’"

The appointment was blocked, however, by senior U.N. managers who expressed concern that Ahlenius had not considered a female candidate in a short list of candidates for the job. In a confidential memo to Ban, first reported by Turtle Bay, Ahlenius countered: "[T]here were no qualified women, as was clearly explained in our submission."

But were there no serious female candidates? In March, 2009, Barbara Mulvaney, at the time a prosecutor with extensive experience prosecuting corruption cases, including a stint with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and a prosecutor at Rwandan war crimes tribunals, threw her name into the ring. Mulvaney was the lead prosecutor in the U.N.’s war crimes case against Col. Theoneste Bagosora, a Rwandan officer convicted in 2008 of serving as one of the chief architects of the Rwandan genocide. Mulvaney is currently posted at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, where she oversees U.S. efforts to combat corruption. She never received a call back from Ahlenius’s office, according to a source familiar with the case.

While Mulvaney may not have as extensive experience in fighting white collar crime as Appleton, she is still no slouch. Click here to peruse her CV. What do you think? Did she deserve an interview?

There was one female candidate who had extensive experience with white-collar criminal cases. Maria Barton, a Yale-educated attorney, led investigations into corruption at the World Bank and the United Nations, where she worked alongside Appleton on the Volcker Committee, which carried out a probe into corruption the U.N. Oil-for-Food program in Iraq. Barton made it to the short list, but also lost out to Appleton.

The U.N.’s noon press briefing focused today on follow-up questions to the revelations, first published in Turtle Bay, that Ahlenius had mounted an extraordinary public attack on her boss, Ban Ki-moon. But you’d never know it by looking at the latest news clip on the U.N.’s intranet this morning. The first item was a Hallmark-worthy sendoff for Ahlenius, complete with photographs from her farewell party last week with the secretary-general in attendance.

The accompanying text makes for quite the contrast with Ahlenius’s blistering farewell:

Mrs. Inga-Britt Ahlenius, Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, ended her five year term on 14 July with a warm gathering by staff who praised her advocacy of the independence of the office.

On July 9, staff from the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) gathered on the 10th floor of the UN offices at Madison to celebrate Mrs. Ahlenius’ service to the United Nations, in the presence of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who joined OIOS in thanking Mrs. Ahlenius for her service. Mrs. Ahlenius was appointed for a five-year non-renewable term that ended on 14th July 2010.

On this occasion, OIOS staff and Mrs. Ahlenius reflected upon the proud achievements made during the past 5 years in fulfilling the mandate of the Office.

The establishment of professional standards, in particular through the publications of professional manuals for each of OIOS’ three disciplines -audit, inspection and evaluation and investigations; the systematic use of risk assessment methodology to allocate resources to areas that have the greatest exposure to risks of fraud, waste, abuse, inefficiencies and mismanagement; and the development of quality assurance programmes, are among the many initiatives aimed at realizing OIOS’ vision: "To be a world class oversight body, respected and trusted by stakeholders.

During her tenure, Mrs. Ahlenius made the quality of work products the primary focus of every reform and strategic initiative undertaken. Mrs. Ahlenius has also been a passionate champion for upholding operational independence as a core principle of OIOS’ work – a principle she defended openly in her meetings with Member States, senior management and staff.

OIOS staff praised her genuine belief in and dedication to the value of the work of OIOS and the United Nations in general and expressed their sincere appreciation for her accessibility, support and trust.

Prior to joining OIOS, Mrs. Ahlenius was Auditor General of Kosovo from 2003 to 2005, Auditor General of Sweden from 1993 to 2003, and Head of the Budget Department for the Ministry of Finance of Sweden as from 1987 to 1993. Mrs. Ahlenius was also a member of the Committee of Independent Experts that was called for by the European Parliament with a mandate to examine the way in which the European Commission detects and deals with fraud, mismanagement and nepotism.

All OIOS staff wish Mrs. Ahlenius success in her future endeavors and in her life with her family back in Sweden."

Follow me on Twitter @columlynch.