Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/dfs1iraq020309.html
UNITED NATIONS, February 3 -- The UN's envoy to Iraq Staffan de Mistura Tuesday painted a rosy picture of local elections in Iraq, and described the UN's planned $100 million campus there as a signal that the international community believes in the future stability of Iraq. Inner City Press asked about reports of voter confusion and corruption in Ninewa province, particularly in Mosul, and about the curfew in effect in Anbar province.
De Mistura countered with a rise in Sunni turn out from two to 42 percent, and did not comment on corruption. Nor would he say how much the new UN headquarters would cost. Rather, he emphasized that it would not be "luxurious," but more than "campers or containers covered with sandbags." Video here, from Minute 12:30.
While sources have raised questions to Inner City Press about the ability of the UN and its Department of Field Support to manage a $100 million project in such an environment, DFS chief Susana Malcorra on Tuesday afternoon told Inner City Press it is the UN Mission in Iraq, UNAMI, which will run the project, with DFS and the Procurement Division in New York providing oversight. She disagreed that this would be DFS' largest project -- the so-called Super Camps in Darfur come to mind.
Inner City Press asked Ms. Malcorra about reports of staff unrest in the UN Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, about which a question has been pending with the UN for five days. Malcorra shook her head, yes there is tension there, that she thinks can be resolved. Sources tell Inner City Press that international UN staff face a reduction in benefits.
Also on Tuesday, UN deputy spokesperson Marie Okabe announced that still the UN Mission in the Congo is understaffed. Inner City Press asked if India has been asked for peacekeepers, given that Congo has said it does not any more troops from India.
And see, www.innercitypress.com/dfs1iraq020309.html
