Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1finenvoy021908.html
UNITED NATIONS, February 19 -- The UN must show its donors where their money goes, former French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters Tuesday, upon being appointed the UN's Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development. Starting with the big picture, Inner City Press asked if Douste-Blazy believes that aid to counter-act climate change, a topic much discussed in the past month at the UN, should be able to count as overseas development aid, of the type pledged at the G-8 meetings. "As you know," Douste-Blazy said, "there is a close link between poverty and climate change. It is very difficult to set up two different funds."
Getting more specific, Inner City Press asked him if he believes that the UN Development Program and UNICEF should break from their current policies and begin routinely providing copies of audits to donors, without censorship or restrictions. "Yes," Douste-Blazy answered, continuing on to refer to developing "new tools with the computer." Video here, from Minute 40:41. Douste-Blazy said "it is possible to study with Google," and said he would work with them. Video here, from Minute 38:48.
Ironically, earlier in the briefing when Douste-Blazy was still in UN protocol's green room, spokesperson Marie Okabe was asked by two media outlets about Google's reported "censorship of a UN-accredited journalist," which Ms. Okabe said she had read about, and would look into. Video here, from Minute 22:44. Later, Okabe repeated by e-mail the denial of UNDP, which does not address any censorship request by the U.S. Committee for UNDP, on whose board of directors serves a representative of military contractor Lockheed Martin, click here for that. And click here for an update.
Douste-Blazy was asked if this would be a full time job and said yes, "it is a full job." Later in the day, however, the spokesperson's office put out an amended announcement, adding that while Douste-Blazy will be a UN Under-Secretary-General, he will received only one dollar a year. Some in the press corps wondered, how can it be a full time job? One recalled back to a scandal in Morocco, first reported by Le Canard Enchaine, when a broken-up hotel room attributed to Douste-Blazy was repaired at the expense of the King of Morocco. Innovative, indeed. None of this means that Douste-Blazy may not do an excellent and needed job raising funds to help the poor -- we hope we does, and will continue to report on it. And on this:
That Douste-Blazy is now a USG makes him subject to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for USGs to voluntarily disclose their personal finances, Ms. Okabe confirmed to Inner City Press after the briefing. But as a USG, can Douste-Blazy receive benefits from the French government? Staff members cannot. But can honorary, dollar-a-year USGs? This remains to be seen.
