By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive series
UNITED NATIONS, May 23 -- While many try to insulate today's UN from the open corruption of the recent past of President of the General Assembly John Ashe, and of Francis Lorenzo who has pleaded guilty, there is continuity to this UN scandal. This includes a revival of the Ng Lap Seng's old "South South News" team, with El Salvador ex-Ambassador Carlos Garcia and others, even as those investigating this UN corruption are evicted and restricted, and those covering it up are rewarded.
Inner City Press has repeatedly asked Ban Ki-moon's spokespeople about Ban's links to the corruption scandal, including Ban's appearance at an event sponsored by the Francis Lorenzo registered group Global Governance for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Q&A videos hereand here. (Ban's UN's response was covered by the New York Times on May 14, here, here.)
On May 23, Ban's and Cristina Gallach's Department of Public Information partnered with another only recently formed group, which gave out $10 meal cards and it was not clear what else. The event was called "UN SDGs For World Development Conference at the UN" and it was sponsored and "produced" by something called the "World Development Foundation."
But what is that? In the room, UN Conference Room 7, was one Xiangang Guo, thanked by DPI and others for his largess. The flier listed a website, GlobalWDF.org - but it doesn't yet exist, it's still GoDaddy.
The organization itself was registered in August 2015, the same month it appeared as a sponsor at a DPI NGO conference featuring Cristina Gallach at UN headquarters. Gallach as described in the UN's own Ng Lap Seng audit did no due diligence of Ng's Global Sustainability Foundation before it sponsored a one man show in the GA lobby that Ban Ki-moon attended, and sponsored the UN's slavery memorial.
Now, after Gallach has at least twice retaliated against Inner City Press after it asked her about it, Gallach's DPI is partnering with the website-less GlobalWDF.org. We'll have more on this: this organization is "partnering" through Gallach's DPI with the DPI NGO conference that candidate Ban Ki-moon will attend in South Korea. On May 24, Inner City Press asked Ban's Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq, video here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I went to something yesterday down in Conference Room 6 that had to do with the upcoming NGO DPI (Department of Public Information) conference in South Korea, and it was sponsored. It said, on the door, on signs, on the flyer, sponsored by something called either the World Development Foundation or the globalwfd.org. And I went to the website. The website doesn't really exist yet. The company seems to have been incorporated in August of 2015 when it was listed as a cosponsor of a… of a… of a sort of a DPI NGO conference held in the building. So I wanted to know, in light of what came out from the Ng Lap Seng audit and the call to do due diligence, can you describe, whether now or later, what the sponsorship arrangement is between this organisation and DPI and what due diligence has been done?
Deputy Spokesman: I'm not aware that there is any sponsorship arrangement. It sounds like you're just mentioning this flyer from a group. Ultimately…
Inner City Press: Mr. Jeff Brez was there. I mean, it was a big event. There's no question that they're listed as a sponsor in some way, and so I wanted to just figure out, have… whether there are any procedures that have been implemented since the audit and if you can describe what the financial arrangement is between this organization and DPI.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding what DPI does, they do look into all of the different groups that try to sponsor any events with DPI, and so they do follow up. That's really an issue for the DPI Executive Office.
Inner City Press: Right, but I'm asking you as the…
Deputy Spokesman: I'm telling you what the process is.
Deputy Spokesman: I'm not aware that there is any sponsorship arrangement. It sounds like you're just mentioning this flyer from a group. Ultimately…
Inner City Press: Mr. Jeff Brez was there. I mean, it was a big event. There's no question that they're listed as a sponsor in some way, and so I wanted to just figure out, have… whether there are any procedures that have been implemented since the audit and if you can describe what the financial arrangement is between this organization and DPI.
Deputy Spokesman: Well, regarding what DPI does, they do look into all of the different groups that try to sponsor any events with DPI, and so they do follow up. That's really an issue for the DPI Executive Office.
Inner City Press: Right, but I'm asking you as the…
Deputy Spokesman: I'm telling you what the process is.
On May 9, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Dujarric about Ban's engagements with the new "Global Governance for the UN SDGs," which was registered by Francis Lorenzo and involves former Ng / South South News people. On May 10, Dujarric said to "ask Grenada," which they sponsored a March 2016 event in the General Assembly Hall.
But Inner City Press has found that the head of GG-UNSDG, Carey Yan - no native of Grenada - is listed in the UN Blue Book as a legal adviser at Grenada's Mission to the UN. Roosevelt Skerrit's Dominca has some similar representation, as we've noted. As noted, Francis Lorenzo who has pleaded guilty to bribery charges was the Dominican Republic's Deputy Permanent Representative. Inner City Press is digging into this obvious loophole, even as Cristina Gallach and Ban Ki-moon have ousted and evicted it. New story coming.
But Ban has been present at other events of those who have pleaded guilty to UN bribery charges, air-brushed out of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services audit. For example, Ban was at Sheri Yan's father's “one man show” in the UN Secretariat lobby, giving his blessing to the pay to play nepotism of the Global Sustainability Foundation's Sheri Yan, who has pleaded guilty to UN bribery charges.
As Inner City Press has repeatedly asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who vets these events? The UN must be reformed. But it is moving in the opposite direction, evicting the Press which asks the questions.
