By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, May 22 – How politicized are the UN's regional economic commissions and how much do they come to mirror the man at the top, Antonio Guterres? Inner City Press on May 22 asked the UN about the Latin America commission, ECLAC, and exclusively heard more about the one in Beirut, ESCWA.
At the May 22 UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: Alicia Bárcena, the head of ECLAC [Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean], has been named by Mexican presidential candidate and front-runner [Andrés Manuel] López Obrador. He said publicly that he would name her to be Mexico's ambassador to the UN. So, I'm just wondering, what's the policy of a sitting UN official... it's not her fault that he said that, but I'm just wondering is there some procedure at the UN when a country or a… a front-runner in an election says: you'll be my person at the UN? Spokesman: “Look, I can't comment… I don't know what the President said, but we expect all senior UN officials to apply the high standard of ethics.”
Guterres is planning to move UN jobs to Mexico City, and Barcena has gotten special treatment for some staff at her ECLAC. Meanwhile from ESCWA in Lebanon Inner City Press is exclusively informed the Guterres' practice in New York are being replicated, by an official whose performance as Iraq's Ambassador to the UN Inner City Press has positively reviewed, Mohamed Ali Alhakim.
In New York, Guterres drives an armored black Mercedes; it seems a request for one worth $160,000 has been made for ESCWA, as well as a dedicated elevator just like Guterres has. [This last is blamed on the previous Executive Secretary, on which we may have more.] There's a request for $35,000 worth of Iranian carpets, including for the "VIP room." This one, Inner City Press has been told, was questioned by an official performing the procurement function - who was then disciplined up and out, from Beirut to Rome, P4 to P5 despite muffled talk of being a low performer. This is how the UN works.
In New York, Guterres drives an armored black Mercedes; it seems a request for one worth $160,000 has been made for ESCWA, as well as a dedicated elevator just like Guterres has. [This last is blamed on the previous Executive Secretary, on which we may have more.] There's a request for $35,000 worth of Iranian carpets, including for the "VIP room." This one, Inner City Press has been told, was questioned by an official performing the procurement function - who was then disciplined up and out, from Beirut to Rome, P4 to P5 despite muffled talk of being a low performer. This is how the UN works.
There's an attempt to “freeze” a post for the niece of a Lebanese politician. A fish rots from the head and it all starts on the UN's 38th floor, where Guterres and his spokesman are trying to ban Inner City Press' live-streamed coverage, just as they still restrict Inner City Press to coming in through the UN tourists entrance and being required to have UN minders.
We'll have more on this - and on this: we're told that of Guterres' new Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo blocking off two full hours for her predecessor Jeffrey Feltman, who Inner City Press is exclusively told is vying with Jane Holl Lute for the UN's cushy part-time Cyprus envoy job. Greece's foreign minister Nikos Kotzias will meet Guterres on May 23 - and Guterres and Dujarric will try to ban Inner City Press' live stream coverage, as even Ban Ki-moon never did. Watch this site.
