From http://ldap.perl.org/FAQ.html.
Thanks jdtoronto from Re: Net::LDAP information.

"Most syntaxes used in LDAP however describe text strings rather than binary objects (like JPEGs or certificates.)

In LDAPv3 most of these syntaxes support Unicode encoded using UTF-8.
Because the Net::LDAP modules do not change the strings that you pass in as attribute values (they get sent to the LDAP server as-is) to use accented characters you simply need to encode your strings in UTF-8.
There are modules on CPAN that will help you here.

Note that LDAPv2 servers used something called T.61 instead of Unicode and UTF-8.
Most servers do not implement T.61 correctly, and it is recommended that you use LDAPv3 instead."

So I just have to establish that I am using an LDAPv3 server and find a UTF-8 encoding routine.

Simple - what can go wrong?

LGC