By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 2, updated -- After outgoing UN Security chief Gregory Starr briefed the Security Council Tuesday about safety in Afghanistan and Yemen, both of which the Council has considered visiting, several Council members emerged expressing concern.
"Both are very dangerous," one told Inner City Press. "But at least in Afghanistan there is a presence and some security. Yemen? No way."
The UN's envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar also attended; members told Inner City Press he recounted the many times he's been in and out of the country without incident. Some were not convinced.
"The Germans are really pushing to get us to Afghanistan," another member said. Germany leaves the Security Council in three months, and Afghanistan has been one of their focuses. The UK has the lead on Yemen, and has a Permanent seat on the Council.
The decision on both trips was not taken at Tuesday's meeting, which broken up past 5 pm; it was postponed. "We got new information," a Council member told Inner City Press. "We have to check it out." Yemen looks unlikely, Afghanistan more possible.
Since June Inner City Press has published a series of internal audits of irregularities in the UN Development Program's Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan; top UN envoy Jan Kubis recent told Inner City Press there will be a "public accounting."
Now this afternoon, Inner City Press has exclusively reported on another audit showing that the problems are myriad: money paid to the wrong Afghan ministry (in one case, to the Institute of Music instead of to the Ministry of Education); contracts on blank paper without letterhead at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; no oversight, no required audits. Click here for Page 1 of this audit; click here for Page 2. Watch this site.
