UNITED NATIONS, September 14, updated -- Joseph Deiss on his first day at President of the UN General Assembly was asked by Inner City Press if he is paid by the Swiss government. Video here, from Minute 21:37.
No, Deiss replied, there is “no involvement by the Swiss government.” He said he is “totally free from the Swiss government.” Video here, from Minute 23:15.
But later he conceded that the Swiss government pays for his apartment -- “I get from the government... a flat to live on” -- and for his airfare. Video here, from Minute 25:10. Those are payments, and the contradiction between the unequivocal claim of “no involvement by the Swiss government” and the subsequent admission he receives a free apartment from the Swiss government does not bode well.
Deiss also said without further specificity that he has “some activities outside the government that [he] can reduce but continue to receive a salary.”
What ARE those activities? Should they not be disclosed, for possible conflict of interest?
The UN budget of the PGA's office pays for a total of four professional level posts, and $289,00o for expenses. Inner City Press has been told that fully three of these posts are being given by Deiss to Swiss nationals. When asked, Deiss responded vaguely about his commitment to diversity.
Deiss seemed to say that two or three Swiss will be put on the UN payroll, in the four professional posts he controls. Inner City Press understands that these will also be receiving Swiss goverment pension payments.
Inner City Press was told months ago that in order to beat out Belgium's Louis Michel for the nomination of the Western European and Other Group to become President of the GA, Deiss bought the vote of Finland by promising a post -- one of the four -- to a Finn. Inner City Press asked Deiss' transition team the question weeks ago, without answer.
When Inner City Press asked Deiss about this on September 14, he denied it. We'll see.
Deiss speech to the GA said that “we must advocate for a[n] open General Assembly.” Inner City Press asked, for example, if Deiss favors that the meetings of the GA's Committee on Relations with the Host Country, which fields visa and other complaints about the US, should be open to the press.
After some on stage whispering, Deiss countered that this was a Secretariat matter. But it is not -- it is a committee of member states of the GA, staffed by a secretariat. After Inner City Press' last story, the following answer was provided:
Subject: Your question on the Host Country Committee
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply
To: Matthew Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com
Date: Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 2:41 PM
At the 238th meeting of the Host Country Committee on 23 July 2008), the Chairman at that time indicated that "...while the meeting is open to any interested delegations in their capacity as observers, it is not open to members of the press or the public". This was also reflected in the Journal. This practice has been followed for subsequent meetings. The change was prompted by a request for clarification by Mr. Lee, as in the past the meetings were not formally identified as "closed" in the Journal, and DPI did attend and provide a summary of the meetings (it no longer does so under the revised arrangement). A detailed summary of the discussions remains available through the annual reports of the Host Country Committee to the General Assembly.
There IS a General Assembly role. Watch this site.
