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A Maker of Books Destroys 100,000
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In addition, more than 10,000 French and English copies of "General History of Africa" (about $72 each) were destroyed, as were 3,572 copies of "The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture" ($72 each) and 2,944 paperback copies of the French-language "History of Humanity," a 1,500-page tome that sells for about $41.
The list of pulped publications also included books about the ancient Incan capital, Cuzco, in Peru, and the 2,000 Buddhist monuments at the ancient Burmese capital of Pagan.
Auditors made the discovery during a wide-ranging investigation of abuses and waste in UNESCO's book publication and distribution operations.
Because too many books often were ordered and others were never distributed properly, tens of thousands piled up in UNESCO's storage facilities at a cost of about $100,000 a year, until the agency decided to shift distribution functions to a Brussels company and move its stocks there.
Muñoz Gomez, who assumed his post in April 2005 and was chief of the publishing section for nine months while the book destruction was taking place, said he did not learn of it until early 2006, when a new employee showed him thousands of dollars in bills for the pulping.
He said he authorized payment of those bills "of several thousand euros each" but did not realize the magnitude of the operation. "All we knew is the bills were sent by the company and we had to pay the bills," he said in an interview.
He contacted the company to halt the pulping, he said, but "by 2006 there was nothing more to destroy."
Muñoz Gomez said he wrote in February to the now-retired chief of the publications section, requesting details on the decision to destroy the books, but has received no reply. He would not identify the former employee or provide information about current whereabouts.
Researcher Corinne Gavard contributed to this report.
