For UN in Haiti, US Choses DynCorp, Despite Scandal in Bosnia, Whistleblower

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 10 -- The military contractorDynCorp, charged with child sex abuse while working with the UN in Bosnia in 1999, has just been selected by the US State Department to work for $46.8 million with the UN in Haiti.

  The timing is, to put it mildly, ironic and Balkanized. DynCorp was exposed by, and retaliated against,whistleblower Kathryn Bolkovac, recently interviewed at the UN by Inner City Press.

  On both April 8 and April 9, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about the continuing lack of whistleblower protections at the UN, exemplified by the recent case of James Wasserstrom who was retaliated against for exposing corruption at the UN in Kosovo.

  In another Balkan connection, Wednesday the President of the General Assembly, former Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic, hosted a debate on international tribunals including that for the Former Yugoslavia. Inner City Press photo here.

  As the meeting began, the Permanent Representative of Croatia told Inner City Press that the US Mission to the UN had informed him the night before that it would boycott Jeremic's debate

  But why is the US State Department using DynCorp for Haiti, where the UN mission MINUSTAH is already embroiled in multiple sexual abuse scandals, including by Uruguay peacekeepers against a Haitian boy and the repatriation of peacekeepers from Sri Lanka? We'll have more on this. Watch this site.

After UN Stonewalls ICP on Use of Private Military Contractor Saracen, GPF Adds DynCorp & G4S

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 10, updated thrice -- Might a new report on the UN's use of private military contractors shake it out of denial?

  The UN's use of PMCs or even mercenaries became a subject of contention back in April, when the Department of Peacekeeping Operations declined to confirm to Inner City Press its use of the PMC Saracen Uganda, part owned by a relative of Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni.

  After several rounds of questions and stonewalling, Inner City Press simply published the contract information:

August 2010 SARACEN UGANDA LTD UGA CON/MON/10-085

Provision of Unarmed Security Services at Entebbe and Kampala
1-Aug-10 to 31-Jul-11 $170,685 MONUSCO

September 2010 SARACEN UGANDA LTD UGA
Security services $132,935 11KIN-200211 MONUSCO

July 2011 SARACEN UGANDA LTD UGA
Security services $144,648 12KIN-200059 MONUSCO

  Only after Inner City Press published this did DPKO's spokesman belatedly admit (and spin) it, writing to Inner City Press that:

"I have a response on the parts of your questions related to MONUSCO. On private security more generally, I am still following up. Question: Is MONUSCO using the services of SARACEN, a Ugandan private security company?

"MONUSCO contracts private unarmed security companies to assist in access control procedures in all of its compounds. Saracen is contracted by MONUSCO for these purposes at its base in Entebbe, Uganda."

  Inner City Press noted that while DPKO did not provide that actual contract information which Inner City Press published, this information says Saracen is under UN contract in Kampala as well. Inner City Press then awaited the response on "private security more generally."

But soon thereafter DPKO chief Herve Ladsous said publicly he would not answer any more Inner City Pressquestions due to critical coverage. And DPKO has in fact provided no information on this since.

Now comes a detailed report from Global Policy Forum, which recounts not only Saracen and MONUSCO, but the use of DynCorp by UNOPS and UNDP. (Click here for Inner City Press' so-far eight-part series on UN and UNDP corruption in Afghanistan). 

  GPF also cited G4S, which the UN Global Compact has allowed to join, telling Inner City Press its operations are "legal."

One hopes the GPF study will cause the UN to reform, or at least or relately that Ladsous, who has proved resistant to criticism and questions for example about his proposal that DPKO should use drones, will at least read it. 

At UN, Gabon's Ali Bongo Faces Libya Questions & Obiang of Equatorial Guinea

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 25 -- When the world's #16 dictator, Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was slated Friday to meet up-and-coming son Ali of the #11 dictator, Omar Bongo and the UN's Ban Ki-moon, the treaty signing photo op was set for 12:45.

But when Inner City Press got there, the UN announced in French, Spanish and English that there had been a delay. The largely African media contingent wanted to ask Ali Bongo about his Libyan friend Gadhafi and his mercenaries; Inner City Press wanted to ask Bongo about the UN playing host to Gabonese opposition figure Mba Obame. (The UN has dodged questions on this for weeks.)

Obiang, meanwhile, had his representatives waiting. Inner City Press spoke with Obiang's lobbying, for today with an Equatorial Guinea Diplomat pass from the UN, Gregory Lagana. After introductions, he told Inner City Press he used to be with the US State Department. This checked out -- assigned for the UN to San Salvador, Quito and Rome. He was also the spokesman for DynCorp, the private military contractor a/ka/ mercenary firm.

Now flush with oil, and head of the African Union, Obiang is trying to rehabilitate his image. He tried to get a prize from UNESCO but this was shot down after opposition. Now he comes to the UN to sign a treaty with his neighbor Gabon, where the opposition figure has had to seek physical protection from the UN.

At Friday's noon briefing, Inner City Press again asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky if Ban would raise to Ali Bongo the crackdown on opposition protests, and the UN's hosting of Mba Obame. I don't want to pre-judge what will happen, Nesirky said, promising a read out later in the day. But with the treaty signing photo op put off, nothing was assured. Watch this site.