Exclusive: At UNSC, As Abelian Is Promoted Out, Eyes on Kelvin Ong, Transparency Needed

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 28 -- There will be a vacancy atop the UN's Security Council Affairs Division, now that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has promoted Movses Abelian to the Assistant Secretary-General position in the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management vacated by Catherine Pollard. So who will fill it?

   A possible candidate several sources have independently and exclusively named to Inner City Press is Kelvin Ong, currently Chief of the Security Council's Sanctions Branch.

  Ban's press release identified Abelian as “born in Armenia and a national of Georgia” - clumsily, as it turns out, as he is a dual national and is taking at the ASG position as an Armenian. He was previously Armenia's Permanent Representative to the UN. Why Ban emphasized the Georgia connection is not known.

   We note that “Highlights of Security Council Practice 2015” contains data about the topics of the Council's “Any Other Business” meetings. But we will be pushing for increased transparency, including on such nitty gritty issues as how and by whom it is decided which media can accompany Council trips like the recent one to Burundi, going forward. Watch this site.