UN Says Fowler On Private Visit to Niger Mine, Of P-5 Plus One, Other Secret Envoys?

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un9fowler090909.html

UNITED NATIONS, September 9 -- After months of denying then refusing to comment on reports that its putative Niger envoy Robert Fowler was visiting a Canadian owned gold mine on the day of his abduction, the UN on September 9 admitted they didn't know where he was going that day, and later reconstructed that it was to a mine that had nothing to do with its supposed UN mandate. This reversed even the UN's September 8 statement that Fowler was on UN business at the time.

Some cynics conclude that the UN covered up Fowler's activities until Fowler turned on the UN and said that perhaps UN supporters of Al Qaeda "sold" him. Then the UN admitted the truth about Fowler's foray, but only as revenge or retaliation. Others say tell Inner City Press that Fowler's mission to Niger was about uranium, and was in fact supported by four of the P-5 Plus One...

Notably of his co-visitor to the mine, Louis Guay, Fowler has said "I have a moment, just a moment, and I said Louis, tell them the truth. No matter what happens, tell them the truth. You don't have anything that is so important to protect that it's worth your life." Some wonder, why was Fowler's partner trying to lie? Is it because of the mining visit ?

Entirely disagreeing with the UN's statement Wednesday about its knowledge of his itinerary, Fowler has said

"The president of Niger, whose name is Tanja. It was clear from the first time I met him in August that he was offended, annoyed, embarrassed by the fact that the secretary general of the UN had seen fit to appoint a special envoy for his country. In fact, some of the stuff I've read since I got out, with Niger government spokespeople talking about my mission. They said I was there to see if I could get hold of illicit arms trafficking, which was not my mission. My mission was to get the government to make peace with the rebels. As long as there was no peace with the rebels, the enemy was at the gate, right? If al-Qaeda is taking people on the outskirts of the city, the enemy's really at the gate. And governance of national security makes sense, right? So I don't know who shopped me. I know somebody shopped me. Who could it be? It could be the government of Niger. Could be an al-Qaeda sympathizer in the UN office in Niger. In the UN office in West Africa. In the secretariat building in New York. All of them had my agenda, my itinerary."

At the September 9 noon briefing, UN Associate Spokesman Farhan Haq said that "we ourselves at the United Nations were not always fully apprised of his travels; and in fact the day he was abducted we had to try and to reconstruct what had happened on the day that he was kidnapped."

Inner City Press followed up:

Inner City Press: I wanted to ask a follow-up on Mr. Fowler. In what you just said, you just said that the UN, I just want to be clear -- you’re saying that the UN didn’t know where he was going or what he was doing that day? I mean, I wanted to know, is it the protocol…[interrupted]?

Associate Spokesperson: We did not know at the time; we had to reconstruct that afterwards -- after the abduction.

Question: But what’s the protocol if an Under-Secretary-General is in the country of known -- I’m not sure what the security threat was -– isn’t he supposed to tell security, at lease DSS [the Department of Safety and Security] where he is going? Did he have security with him that day? I guess not.

Associate Spokesperson: As you’re well aware, he did not have security with him. There were Mr. Fowler, Mr. [Louis] Guay and their driver, Soumana Mounkaila, were travelling -- just the three of them.

Question: And does that violate UN procedures?

Associate Spokesperson: I don’t want to get into that particular question. As you know, Mr. Fowler kept people apprised sporadically. But, at the very moment that he was abducted, we did not know about his travels over those previous several hours.

Question: And just when you reconstructed it, can you now say where was he going? Because many people, many newspapers have reported that he was headed to a gold mine that’s owned by a Canadian firm. Is that true or not true?

Associate Spokesperson: He was headed back from a trip to that mine. He’d visited the mine, which was part of a private visit, but he was actually going back to the capital, to Niamey.

Question: You’d said yesterday that he was performing his official duties at the time it took place. Is it official duties to visit a mine?

Associate Spokesperson: He’d done a number of official duties that day and in fact he was going to a working meeting back in Niamey at the time that he was abducted.

Yet until September 9, the UN never admitted that Fowler had engaged in a "private visit" to a Canadian owned mine. The conflict of interest, and even violation of the UN charter, is obvious. But the UN apparently has or enforces no rules in this regard. Inner City Press asked a question left unanswered from the previous day's briefing:

Inner City Press: I’m just wondering; is he still a USG or not, or has his term expired?

Associate Spokesperson: He’s no longer working for the United Nations.

And then, for the record:

Inner City Press: Are there any other USGs that have been named, say, this year, that have not been announced in this room?

Associate Spokesperson Haq: If they have not been announced, I am not aware of them.

The answer seems spurious: there are many things the Office of the Spokesperson is aware of and does not announce. We'll see.

Footnote: Sources tell Inner City Press that Fowler's mission to Niger was about uranium, and was in fact supported by four of the P-5 Plus One...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un9fowler090909.html

As Fowler Speculates Al Qaeda Supporters in UN Sold Him Out, Questions Remain

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un8fowler090809.html

UNITED NATIONS, September 8 -- Robert Fowler, the Canadian whose abduction in Niger last year was followed by the UN's belated announcement that he had by stealth been serving as an Under Secretary General envoy to that country, has now expressed a belief that his kidnappers were tipped off about his location either by the Niger government or by Al Qaeda sympathizers in the UN in Niger or headquarters in New York.

Inner City Press on September 8 asked UN Associate Spokesman Farhan Haq if Fowler is still serving as a USG, and what the UN or Secretary General Ban Ki-moon makes of a current or former USG speculating that there may be Al Qaeda sympathizers in the UN who fingered him for kidnapping. Video here, from Minute 16:15.

Haq claimed that Fowler hadn't said that, that he only speculated that someone leaked his itinerary. Inner City Press asked Haq to confirm what the UN refused to, during Fowler's captivity, that he was visiting a Canadian owned gold mine, without UN security, when he was grabbed. Haq insisted that Fowler when kidnapped had been "going about his regular duties." But why did these duties include visiting a Canadian owned gold mine?

Fowler has said that the government of Niger "hated" the mission Ban ostensibly sent him on, mediating with the Taureg rebels including about uranium claims. If the UN, which so often describes itself as a club of member states, can appoint an envoy to Niger which the government there hate, some ask why Ban Ki-moon has not done anything of the sort in light of the bloody conflict in Sri Lanka?

While Haq did not answer Inner City Press' question of whether Fowler is still a USG, the UN belatedly disclosed, at least internally, that he began in the post on July 21, 2008. Will the UN now say that his term simply ran out, organically, on July 21, 2009, without explaining more?

Here are other still unanswered questions about l'affaire Fowler, for the UN to confirm or deny:

--The Fowler Party did not have ANY UN- or Host Country-provided close protection (or any form of security whatsoever) on its ill-fated and unauthorized side trip to a Canadian owned gold mine in Niger last December -- yes or no?

--Fowler and his associate, Louis Guay, did not have UN-issued travel orders prior to their excursion to Niger, and that travel orders have been created by the Secretariat after the fact, contrary to UN rules and regulations -- yes or no?

--The Department of Safety and Security was not informed by the Department of Political Affairs about the Fowler trip in advance, contrary to UN rules and regulations, and therefore did not provide security clearance in advance -- yes or no?

--The use of a UNDP driver and vehicle was not authorized by the appropriate UNDP security and administrative authorities, contrary to UN rules and regulations -- yes or no?

--The Nigerien Government was not aware of the Fowler Party's side trip to the gold mine, and was not informed that Fowler was undertaking any UN responsibilities in Niger during that trip besides representational duties related to Niger's national day celebration the Friday prior to his abduction -- yes or no?

Watch this site.

Footnote: Fowler, who while at UN Headquarters being "debriefed" never spoke to or answered questions from the press, gave his interview to Canadian Broadcasting, CBC. During the time of his detention, CBC obediently did not report on the story or scandal. Some surmise that was in exchange for the access now granted. If Fowler won't answer the questions about, the UN should. In fact, both should. We'll see.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un8fowler090809.html

At the UN, Ban's Schedule Tells of Niger Secrets, Sri Lanka Lack of Will, Chiselers and Consultants

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/ban1schedule051509.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 15, updated -- A perusal of Friday's appointments of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is a profile in lack of accountability, lack of transparency, lack of independence and lack of will. At 11:30 is listed former chief UN lawyer Nicolas Michel, who was exposed as taking $12,000 a month in housing subsidy from the government of Switzerland while ostensibly working only for the UN, and then not including the payments on his UN public financial disclosure. Still he reappears, with UN benefits, as Ban's adviser on Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

In terms of lack of transparency, while we are glad that Ban's stealth envoy to Niger Robert Fowler was released, no one -- including on May 14 Canada's Ambassador to the UN -- had been wiling to address the statement by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb that Fowler and colleagues were released in exchange for AQIM prisoners, nor what Fowler was doing visiting a Canadian-owned mine in Niger on the day he was kidnapped. Perhaps there'll be a press availability.

Update: at the May 15 noon briefing, when Inner City Press asked, Ban's Spokesperson said it's up to Fowler, and that no press availability was planned.

Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Ambassador to the UN, shows up at 5:45, identified as "CEO of Khalilzad Associates." Certainly this publicly-listed face time will help his consulting business. But what's in it for the UN?

Update: at the May 15 noon briefing, when Inner City Press asked, Ban's Spokesperson said it's a courtesy call. [On May 19, the Deputy Spokesperson declined to give a read-out.]

A week ago, Inner City Press asked if there was any change of Ban Ki-moon going to Sri Lanka before what the government is calling its final assault, given Ban's desire to attend the May 11 Security Council session on the Middle East hosted by Permanent Five Council member Russia, and to meet on May 15 with a minister of follow P-5 member China. The latter meeting hadn't been announced, but Inner City Press was told by well placed sources that talking points for Ban had been ordered up.

And now it is confirmed: a meeting at 3:20 on May 15 with He Yafei, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, the country which most blocked Council action on the carnage in Sri Lanka.

A long and telling day at the UN, and a worse -- at least in Sri Lanka -- weekend to come. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/ban1schedule051509.html

At UN, Obama's Magic Rice on the Speakers List, Sri Lanka Below the Basement

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/unsc1obama050809.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 8 -- The foreign ministers of eight of the UN Security Council's fifteen members are heading to New York for a May 11 meeting about the Middle East. The host country is not sending Hilary Clinton. The Council's List of Speakers, leaked on May 8 to Inner City Press, lists as the eighth speaker “Susan E. Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States of America and Member of President Obama's Cabinet.” There is nowhere near this level of detail, including a President's name, for any other speaker. Some call it the magic of Obama.

The foreign ministers attending, in the order they will speak, include Austria's Michael Spindelegger, Burkina Faso's Bedouma Alain Yoda, Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu, France's Bernard Kouchner, Mexico's Patricia Espinosa Cantellana, the UK's David Miliband, Costa Rica's Bruno Stagno and Russia's Sergey Lavrov.

Advisers to Security General Ban Ki-moon tell Inner City Press that Mr. Lavrov has told Ban that Russians should be given more top jobs in the UN, and has asked how, for example, foreign Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler was named special envoy to Niger, where his kidnapping resulted, according to those responsible, in the release of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb.

Mexico's Patricia Espinosa, when last at the Council to chair Mexico's thematic debate, skipped out on a scheduled stakeout and press conference, wanting to avoid questions about what was then called the Swine Flu. Ministers Kouchner and Miliband are convening a meeting about Sri Lanka, but not a Security Council meeting, not even an “informal interactive dialogue” such as took place in April.

As Russia's Vitaly Churkin, the Council president for May, left the chamber Friday afternoon, Inner City Press asked about Monday's event on Sri Lanka. It's not a Council meeting, Amb. Churkin said. There might be NGOs there.

Given that over 7,000 civilians have been killed this year in Northern Sri Lanka, some wonder about how Obama's principles, including those of his anti-war crimes adviser Samantha Power, are being applied. Susan Rice will represent the US on the Council's trip next week to Africa including the Congo, where evidence emerged Friday that the UN is working with indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda, click here for that litmus test.

The document being negotiated for adoption on May 11 has, through time, omitted references both to Israeli settlements and to terrorism. Late Friday afternoon, after a Council meeting on Chad and Sudan, Inner City Press asked U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative Alejandro Wolff, exiting a meeting with Russia's Churkin, how it was coming on Monday's statement. “Moving... we're still not there,” Amb. Wolff answered. They better hurry up.

Footnote: while some UN proponents grumble that not only Barack Obama, but now Michele Obama when she came to New York have not set foot in the UN, Michele Obama (or “FLOTUS” in pool parlance) did visit the US Mission. From the pool report:

“Her mission, she says, is to put a spotlight on the nation's employees who may feel underappreciated. 40 long-time U.N. employees sat to the left of the stage. These included Ivan Ferber who has worked at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. for 47 years... Other honored employees included: Bruce Rashkow who has worked at the USUN for 38 years.”

Raskkow is the US' budget expert. Some wonder if his approach is consistent with the pronouncements of the Obama administration. We'll see.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unsc1obama050809.html

UN Dodges Sex Abuse Follow-Up, Myanmar Crackdown, Terrorist Trade

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un529muse050209.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 2 -- As the UN was accused of working with a war criminal in the Congo, exchanging the freedom of its stealth envoy to Niger for the release of terrorism suspects and not following up on allegations of sexual abuse by its staff UN peacekeepers from Sri Lanka in Haiti, and from Morocco in Cote d'Ivoire, while closing UN offices in Bangladesh and turning a blind eye in Myanmar, the Office of the Spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week dodged most questions on these topics. [Sri Lanka dodges here.]

At the UN's noon media briefing on Monday, April 27, Inner City Press asked lead spokesperson Michele Montas:

Inner City Press: There is a report that Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb has put a statement saying that Mr. [Robert] Fowler and his colleagues were released in exchange for the release of Muhajadin, they put it. I’m wondering whether the UN has seen that report and when Ban Ki-moon put out a statement he praised Mali, Burkina Faso -- what did he praise them for? And is the UN aware of the prisoner exchange for Mr. Fowler?

Spokesperson Montas: No, we’re not. And what I can say is that we can check for you on what was done. But all the information that we had, you got.

On Tuesday, April 28, Inner City Press asked Ms. Montas about the UN's continued use of peacekeepers from post-coup Fiji:

Inner City Press: A follow-up on that. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had been quoted as saying that there’s some new decision by the UN not to recruit any further Fijian peacekeepers.

Spokesperson: I’m not aware of this. I think this is something you should ask the Australians.

Inner City Press: In terms of asking the UN, since the argument by Australia and New Zealand is that the money paid by the UN to Fiji for the peacekeepers buttressed the unelected regime’s power, can we get a number from DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] on how much Fiji has been paid, either so far this year or in 2008?

Spokesperson: You should address that question to DPKO. Please address the question to DPKO.

Inner City Press did email this and other questions to DPKO, including requesting follow-up information on peacekeepers repatriated for sexual abuse, and again for the budget of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo. Only the Fiji question was answered by week's end, and only part of it: the number of Fijian troops serving: 223 in Iraq, 12 in Darfur, 15 in the rest of Sudan, 31 in Liberia and one in Timor Leste.

It was said, “We're checking for information on reimbursements and will get back to you shortly,” but by the end of the week that had not happened. Rather, DPKO later clarified that the 223 in Iraq actually serve under the UN's Department of Political Affairs. So why didn't the Spokesperson refer Inner City Press there, or better yet, simply get and provide the UN information requested?

Also on April 28, Inner City Press asked about developments in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand:

Inner City Press: There are reports that various UN agencies have shut down their operations in southern Bangladesh due to threats by militants. Is that -– I know you don’t speak on -– but is it a fact that the UN has pulled its staff out of that area and closed its operations?

Spokesperson: I’m not aware of it, but I can check for you.

Inner City Press: Okay. And the other one is, there are also these reports of cross-border action between Myanmar and Thailand. Of a Myanmar attack on the Karen National Union that injured or seriously injured two Thai soldiers. Since it’s a cross-border incident, is it something that either DPA [Department of Political Affairs] and Mr. Gambari or is the UN tracking that? What’s the response to it?

Spokesperson: No, we don’t react at every cross-border problem that exists. We don’t have anything to say about that.

Inner City Press: But given that it’s a Government offensive against a long-standing rebel group, this Karen National Union, is it something that like Gambari -– what’s the status, I guess, of his good offices mandate in Myanmar?

Spokesperson: His good offices mandate did not include this type of situation. We don’t have anything to say about this.

Inner City Press: I appreciate it.

So the UN's envoy to Myanmar does not cover this armed conflict, according to the UN spokespeople in a statement not amplified or corrected by the end of the week, when Inner City Press asked another question about Myanmar, see below.

On Wednesday, April 29, Inner City Press asked Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq

Inner City Press: On Satyam, can you say whether, explain whether, this prohibition or decision not to give them any new contracts also applies to the International Computing Centre, and whether this ICC unit in fact does computing work for DPKO and other entities? Some have described it as sort of a loophole in the barring of Satyam.

Associate Spokesperson: I think...Didn’t you get an answer on this a few weeks ago?

Inner City Press: I did get an answer, then I’ve heard contradictory things that DPKO was using ICC, even at the Valencia Computer Centre, and that some individuals may have even been sort of “rehatted” under the ICC. So, I guess...

Associate Spokesperson: I’ll see if there is any change, but I believe you’ve received some information on this a few weeks ago. I am not aware of any change since we gave you that.

Inner City Press: And also, do you have a response to these reports that Bosco, the ICC indictee for war crimes, was described as a deputy coordinator in the Congolese Army action against the FDLR, and also, therefore, calling into question the UN statement that it doesn’t work with indicted war criminals.

Associate Spokesperson: Yes, we’re aware of those reports. At the same time, the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, has not seen the documents that were referred to in the media reports that allegedly showed that Jean Bosco Ntaganda was part of the joint operation. Actually, on the contrary, the DRC authorities have shown MONUC relevant documents defining the operation’s command structure, which does not make any mention of Mr. Ntaganda. MONUC has clearly stated that it will not conduct or support joint operations in which Jean Bosco Ntaganda plays a part.

This has been communicated directly to the DRC Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff, who in turn have assured MONUC that Mr. Ntanganda is not a part of any joint operation’s command structure. MONUC leadership continues to engage with our Congolese interlocutors on this matter.

Inner City Press: Even when you actually see this document, what will the UN do if it turns out he was the deputy commander of that operation?

Associate Spokesperson: Well, as I just said, we continue to engage with our Congolese interlocutors. But I’ve told you exactly the precise assurances that we’ve been given by the Government of the DRC on this. And as for the hypothetical question, we’ll cross that bridge if that is a reality.

The UN was proud of this answer; a well placed UN staffer told Inner City Press, that's the only question of yours that they answered this week, and only because DPKO had given them an if-asked to read out when, as they predicted, you asked it. But the UN internally says it no longer cares what the underlying document shows: it has cleaned its hands by getting a second statement from the DRC Army that Bosco was not "directly” involved.

Also on April 29, Inner City Press asked Haq regarding the since WHO renamed swine flu:

Inner City Press: Can you confirm that the UN has raised the threat assessment level in Mexico to 1 and to 2 for [inaudible]...? [that was, Ciudad Juarez]

Associate Spokesperson: I cannot confirm that. We tend not to give out security phase levels. I’ve already told you what WHO’s phase level is for the outbreak; where it’s at level 4. But in terms of country level security things, that is not information that we give out.

Inner City Press: Forgetting the threat level for a moment, in terms of UN staff in Mexico, have there been any specific precautions taken?

Associate Spokesperson: I am not aware what specific precautions in Mexico would be. Certainly, the staff continue to go about their regular work.

Inner City Press: I’ll ask one more thing. Yesterday, Mr. Choi, the SRSG for Côte d’Ivoire, was asked about the status of the Moroccan peacekeepers that were repatriated from Côte d’Ivoire on charges of sexual abuse or exploitation. And he said that everything somehow went well, the Government committed to training. But he was unable to say whether anyone was actually disciplined. So, I mean I e-mailed DPKO, [inaudible],...but I haven’t heard back. So I wanted to know, both on this case and also on the Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti, can the UN state whether any of these peacekeepers charged with sexual abuse and exploitation were in fact disciplined by the [inaudible]...?

Associate Spokesperson: If you’ve already asked DPKO, I suggest that they would be the ones that would have any further information. For now, we’d stand behind what Mr. Choi has said...

Inner City Press: [How about] a one-page memo updating the various publicly reported repatriations and what actually happened in each case. Because the reason I am asking here is that I am feeling that this information -- I asked the same thing on Haiti, the ones repatriated from Haiti -- I never got it. So I don’t know if there is a policy on the UN’s part despite saying zero tolerance, to not release any actual information about what happens to the peacekeepers.

Associate Spokesperson: We mention what happens when peacekeepers are repatriated. After that, it’s up to their home Governments to pursue any further action, and we follow up with those Governments to see whether action has been taken. But it is not our ability or our authority to do that.

Inner City Press: No, I understand that. But once the Government tells you something was done or wasn’t done, do you then release the information under the rubric of zero tolerance to see whether anything actually happened to the people? See what I mean? I think the credibility of the whole referral to the country comes down to what happens in the country. So do you release that information when you get it?

Associate Spokesperson: It’s not our place to comment on what is happening at the national level. That’s for the national Government to do. But we do try to accumulate this information and then report that in to the respective bodies who deal with that here. And with that I will bring Enrique Yeves, the Spokesperson for the President of the General Assembly [PGA]

So the UN claims “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse, but claims it is not its ability or authority to provide basic information to show what tolerance of abuse it does, in fact, have.

Inner City Press asked PGA spokesman Enrique Yeves if the PGA d'Escoto Brockmann wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama to invite him to the General Assembly's June 1-3 session on the global financial crisis. Yeves said yes, and Inner City Press asked if the letter could be released. By week's end, it hadn't been. Rather, the PGA's Special Advisor for the global financial crisis event, Michael T. Clark, gave a briefing about the event. Inner City Press asked if Clark is the same Clark who led the U.S. - India Business Council. Yes, was the answer. Are you a UN staff member? No. He said he is paid from the PGA's budget, said to stand at $280,000.

On Thursday, April 30, Inner City Press asked Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe

Inner City Press: there was in December a UN staff member who was either suspended or terminated for pornography –- for viewing and forwarding pornography, including bestiality pornography, if you remember this case. And the UN said he’d been suspended. But the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] report said that there were other –- that the investigation continued and that 13 of these had been forwarded and involved DSS [Department of Safety and Security]. I wanted to ask you, what has been the follow-up by OIOS and the UN system on that case?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: I’m not familiar with the case that you’re referring to, so I’d have to look into that for you.

Inner City Press: How about the DESA [Department of Economic and Social Affairs] staff member that was recently arrested in Kenya?

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing beyond what I told you on that. Okay? Thank you very much.

In the child porn case, the arrest was made in Canada, not Kenya. [The Kenya case is the failure to act on a senior UN official's waving of an unlicenced gun.] And Inner City Press is preparing an update report on this, and certain pornography related demotions said to be slated for June 1. Also on April 30, as she tried to cut off the noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ms. Okabe

Inner City Press: ...report saying that the army of the Central African Republic killed 30 civilians on its border with Chad, which seems to be right in the zone of this MINURCAT [United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad] Mission. Was the UN Mission at all aware of this? Did it catch them by surprise? And how’s it going to change their engagement?

Deputy Spokesperson: We’re looking into that to see if there’s a response from the field.

On Friday, May 1 Ms. Okabe read out an answer:

I was asked yesterday about reported attacks by Government troops on civilians in the Central African Republic. In a response, I can say the following:

“The Secretary-General is concerned about any developments that could undermine the ongoing peace consolidation process in the Central African Republic. He views respect for human rights as a critical element for sustainable peace in that country. He, therefore, remains concerned about reports of alleged human rights violations in the country. And as he has consistently done on several occasions in his reports and meetings with the authorities of the CAR, he once again calls for the respect of human rights and the rule of law.”

Inner City Press also on Friday asked

Inner City Press: Can I ask you one more question? There’s a -- Human Rights Watch and other groups have said there are 20 aid workers that were arrested in the wake of Cyclone Nargis for things such as “public mischief” and sentenced for up to 35 years in jail. They’re calling on the UN to use what leverage it has to try to get these aid workers released. Has the UN been doing anything?

Deputy Spokesperson: Let me check with OCHA on that for you. Okay?

Inner City Press: And one last thing. I’ve heard that the National Competitive Exam through which people work for the UN on a competitive basis from underrepresented countries is slated to be eliminated in 2010 according to OHRM [Office of Human Resources Management]. Are you aware of that? And, if so, what would replace it in terms of an open and non-transparent way--

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t know anything about that subject.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later told the reporter that the United Nations is not scrapping the National Competitive Examinations. They have been temporarily suspended for revamping to make them more efficient.]

And so the week of noon briefings ended with this too-rare answer, and Inner City Press wrote a story, here. The trend is the UN trying to answer fewer and fewer questions -- a trend that should be combated. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un529muse050209.html

At UN, Dodging Questions on End-Game Sri Lanka, Somalia's Pirates of the Pen, Fowler and Nairobi UN Intrigue

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un4269muse042609.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 -- As in Sri Lanka's “No Fire Zone” the dangers for civilians grew throughout the week up to the government's rejection of calls and offers for cease-fire [Inner City Press debate video here], in New York the UN's Spokesperson's Office tried to answer even fewer and fewer questions. For the first time, the Office repeatedly implied that was or is some limit on the questions that can be asked.

It began on Monday, when the Office canceled its normal question and answer session to put all focus on Ban Ki-moon denouncing Iranian President Ahmadinejad. Tuesday Inner City Press asked Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe:

Question: I have several questions, in part because the noon briefing was canceled yesterday. First, on Sri Lanka -- on the Secretary-General’s statement yesterday, where he says he deplores the continued use of heavy weapons in the vicinity of civilians and the use of force by the LTTE -– who, is he saying, is using the heavy weapons? And if he is saying it is the Government, why doesn’t he put it in the statement?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think the Secretary-General’s statement was very clear and very strong yesterday. And as I mentioned to you in a note that I was reading to you while you came in and were setting up shop, the highest priority for the United Nations right now is access to the victims, which is precisely why the Secretary-General has done what he can and is doing what he can in order to get the assistance and access to the people who are in desperate need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

And to your comment on the cancellation of the noon briefing yesterday; the reason for that was that, at precisely the same time that the noon briefing was scheduled, the Secretary-General was having an important press conference together with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on a subject that was at the top of the news. Even though we could not get yesterday a two-way Q and A session -– which we hope to do in the future –- because of the importance that item took yesterday morning, we decided to try to get it to reporters here in real time. So that is the explanation for that.

Question: Just on that, it would have been helpful to take questions after his press conference.

Deputy Spokesperson: We took your questions. I took your questions in our Office and we responded to your questions like we normally do, okay?

Question: Fine. On this access in Sri Lanka, can you explain how... It has been said from this podium that the UN staff members who have been detained in the IDP camps, that the UN – although they had not announced it publicly – had repeatedly complained and tried to get them released. The Sri Lanka Government had said the first they heard from the UN had been 15 April, two days after it was raised here. Can you explain the discrepancy, or does the UN say Sri Lanka is mis-speaking as the UN’s complains?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t know exactly about the timeline that you are speaking of, so I am going to have to refer to OCHA to provide answers to that. All I can tell you right now is that today our imperative is for UN staff to be allowed to have access to these victims....

Question: There is one question I asked yesterday, so I will ask it again, and there is something new today. What I asked yesterday was what is the UN’s response to more than 100 Sudanese killed in South Sudan and a report that UNMIS had been recommended to do further patrols in Jonglei State and did not done so.

Deputy Spokesperson: My understanding was that Yves had gotten back to you on that, but if he has not, I will ask him to send you the answer on that.

[The correspondent was told that the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) is currently assessing security and humanitarian needs in the wake of last weekend's violence. In the five weeks since the violence of 5-13 March, which rocked Pibor County in Jonglei State, UNMIS has conducted enhanced patrolling activities in various locations in the State, engaged in pre-emptive deployment of UNMIS troops in order to better protect civilians in Bor County, and worked closely with the Jonglei State Government to support its efforts to stabilize the security situation on the ground.]

Question: There is a UN staff member, José Antonio Ortega of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), who has been arrested in Halifax, Canada, for procuring child pornography. Does the UN have knowledge of this, and what will the UN do about this?

Deputy Spokesperson: The only thing I have on that story that you refer to is that Mr. Ortega is a staff member of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Mr. Ortega was on a personal trip and left on Thursday, 9 April, for Canada. He was expected to be back in the office on 13 April but did not show up. His office could not get in touch with him. We were still trying to find out about his status until late last week, when news of the court case was announced in the Canadian press. The matter is taken very seriously by the United Nations and it has already been referred to UN Security and the Office of Human Resources Management for action. That is all I have for today.

Question: In terms of seriousness, there is a report that the Head of Operations of the UN Centre in Nairobi, Alexander Barabanov, who was found by Kenya to have an illegal weapon, is still serving the UN. A series of letters has been sent to Angela Kane and OLA trying to get authority to discontinue his service to the UN, due to the illegal gun. Is he still in service, and if so, why?

Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t have any information on that. I have to look into that for you.

On that note, have a good afternoon and see you tomorrow.

But no further information was provided. Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, was in Malta.

On Wednesday things grew even worse:

Inner City Press: Two things: There is a report of the FDLR killing 14 civilians in Kivu Province. Is that something that MONUC can confirm, and what steps are they taking? Also, I have been wanting to ask you about this thing of Ahmedou Ould Abdallah in Somalia, where it has emerged that he raised funds from Norway and, I believe, Kenya, to submit a report to Somalia under the Law of the Sea about drilling rights off shore. Did he check with the Secretary-General before he did that? How does he decide to use a drilling or oil-producing country’s funds to do a filing for Somalia?

Deputy Spokesperson: I am not aware of the report on Mr. Ould Abdallah, so I have to look into that for you. The other one on MONUC, we have not seen anything from MONUC today, but we can follow up.

Question: The UN radio, Radio Okapi, reported the number of 14, so it seems strange... Can we say that it is a UN report that the FDLR is back in action?

Deputy Spokesperson: I am not aware of the report, so we will have to check that, or you will have to check with MONUC.

Have a good afternoon.

Again, there was no follow up, including after a Wednesday email to Ould Abdallah's spokeswoman. Thursday it continued:

Inner City Press: Yesterday, Mr. Nambiar did brief the Council, but he did not speak to the press. Is there some reason... Even Mr. Gambari, when he goes on similar ventures, speaks to the press and answers questions. First, can you say why he did not? Also, some parts of his meetings were described as involving this humanitarian team. But did he have political discussions, and if so, what was the message he carried to the President of Sri Lanka?

Deputy Spokesperson: The message he carried was the message that the Secretary-General has stated publicly many times over. We have been reporting to you about that. The Secretary-General himself has commented now on the situation a short while ago. Those remarks are available to you. News stories have already been picked up on what the Secretary-General said, which is why we asked Catherine Bragg to come here today to brief you on the humanitarian situation, which is the most acute problem that we are trying to address at the moment.

Question: Is it possible to get either a stakeout or a press conference by Mr. Nambiar, because he was the main envoy that went there?

Deputy Spokesperson: I think the Security Council heard his briefing, has commented on that, and has issued a press statement by the Security Council President on which the Secretary-General himself already commented and I would like to draw your attention to that. So the answer: I don’t think so, okay?

Question: Did he stop in India on his way back from Sri Lanka, and if so, did he have any meetings?

Deputy Spokesperson: I am not aware of any meetings that he had in India.

Question: A question about Mr. Fowler. Repeatedly, questions arose while he was detained, and you said that not to jeopardize his safety you would not answer. Now that he has been released, I want to know several things. First of all, is it the case, as reported that he that day visited a Canadian-owned goldmine in Niger? If so, is that a trip he had informed the Government of and was it related to his UN mandate? Why was there no security along? Did he have UN issued travel orders? Was the DSS told of his trip in advance?

Deputy Spokesperson: Security issues are not something that we discuss in public. At the moment, the Secretary-General just recently released the statement welcoming his release. He has just been released. I am sure that after he receives immediate attention, medical attention, other attention that he needs, he will have a debriefing. But, at the moment, I have nothing beyond the fact that we are very relieved that he has been released. The Secretary-General’s statement, I think, reflects that.

Question: Is the UN going to conduct any kind of inquiry into the seeming irregularities...

Deputy Spokesperson: Nothing beyond that. Thank you very much.

Given the UN's silence, we are preparing a follow-up report on the case of Mr. Fowler and his colleagues. On Friday, Sri Lanka was again the initial focus:

Inner City Press; In Sri Lanka, there is an Excel document that was distributed by the UN in Colombo, called “verified data” 6,432 killed. So it is now on the UN relief website. Many people are curious why the UN is distributing what it calls “verified casualties figures” to diplomats. Can we say this is the UN number?

Deputy Spokesperson: I asked the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs that question. You asked the senior official of that Department yesterday. They tell us that the numbers are unverified, but while unverified, this might be a reasonable estimate. That is what I have for you.

Question: Okay. I guess we will hear from UNHCR about the humanitarian assessment mission to the north. My questions is: the diplomats of Sri Lanka have been quoted as saying, there is no longer a need for this trip, both the Foreign Secretary and others. Is the trip to Jaffna by Mr. Buhne, that is what Ban Ki-moon was talking about as the “emergency mission”?

Deputy Spokesperson: That is correct. I refer you to what I read at the beginning of the briefing.

Question: My other question has to do with the Medical Service. I just wanted to know a simple thing: the doctors and nurses in the UN Medical Service on the fifth floor -- is it the UN’s position that they have to have licenses, and do they distribute controlled substances like Valium and others. And have recently prescription pads of a number of them been taken away and the DEA...

Deputy Spokesperson: I have no information on what you are referring to.

[The correspondent was later given the following answer:

The Medical Services Division (MSD) provides a comprehensive occupational health service to UN staff system-wide, including health promotion, clinical care, and travel health services, as well as advice to the administration of the UN, its funds and programmes, and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support on clinical and medico-administrative issues. In addition, MSD provides medical advice to UN medical facilities across the globe, coordinating implementation of UN policies on medical and health care. The overall goal is to improve staff health, lower risk, and ensure that job demands are met.

The Medical Services Division in New York does not provide a primary care service to staff, referring staff instead to the local health system for definitive management of any medical conditions detected. A requirement for recruitment of doctors and nurses employed by the United Nations is that they are registered to practice their professions in their country of origin. A limited quantity of medications is maintained on site, and stock control is rigorously performed, and is verifiable, according to standard pharmaceutical control norms.

The recent allegations regarding pharmaceutical control measures at the United Nations are not new and are in fact being investigated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The Medical Services Division has provided its full cooperation to OIOS in that regard.]

Click here for Inner City Press' exclusive story. We will have more on all this.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un4269muse042609.html

UN's Ban "Did Not Know of Fowler" as Niger Envoy, Diplomat Says, Alleging Fraud

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un7fowler030109.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 -- Ten weeks after Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler disappeared in Niger while ostensibly serving as UN envoy to that country, in New York a diplomat of a Permanent Five member of the Security Council told Inner City Press that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "didn't know about Fowler's appointment as an envoy when he was asked," after Fowler's disappearance.

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity as was the case in Inner City Press exclusive and subsequently video-verified report a month ago of Fowler being alive, said this means that mine-related business was being done through the UN without Ban's knowledge.

"You have a layer of quasi UN people," he said, "supposedly working for a dollar a year and the like. It is fraud." He added that attempts to delve into l'affaire Fowler are "being blocked... there are interests on the other side."

The diplomat approached Inner City Press at a reception on February 26 at the residence of Japan's Ambassador to the UN Yukio Takasu on East 62nd Street. Takasu served a Security Council president for February, and held an end of the month reception as is the custom. The previous anonymous diplomatic scoop, that Fowler "est vivant," came a month prior, at the end of presidency reception held at the French mission to the UN. Inner City Press hopes that further inside information does not have to await the end of March, when Libya's time at the Council's helm will end. Watch this site.

Meanwhile, a second video of Fowler and Louis Guay, as well as their UN Development Program driver, has reportedly been seen by AFP. Jeane Afrique runs a photograph of hostages. The Canadian Dominion reports on previous interventions by past and present diplomats from Ottawa in mining business disputes in Niger, including between Canadian and Chinese companies. The read-out given of the meeting last week between Prime Minister Harper and Ban Ki-moon, before Ban left for Africa, was vague if not evasive.

That business may be run through Ban Ki-moon's office without his apparently knowledge is raised by sources for another Inner City Press story this weekend, that a switch was quietly made in which the top post at the UN Office in Nairobi can be switched from Tanzanian head of UN Habitat, Anna Tibaijuka, to director of the UN Environment Program, Achim Steiner. Locals note that Ban's Under Secretary General for Management Angela Kane is German, as is Steiner.

As in their shifting responses to questions about Fowler's appointment and mandate, even on this rule change Ban's Spokesperson's office was evasive. At the UN's noon briefing on February 27 Inner City Press asked

Inner City Press: in yesterday’s Journal there was an announcement in a new Secretary-General Bulletin about how the UN Office in Nairobi is organized. And it is my understanding that it actually would result in currently the most senior of HABITAT or UNEP is running the Office in Nairobi, and that the new policy the Secretary-General would get to choose between the two. Is that accurate and is it his intention to switch Nairobi from Ms. Tibaijuka to Mr. Achim Steiner?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: If the Secretary-General’s Bulletin is what you read that’s all I have for you right now.

Inner City Press: Well, what’s the rationale of changing the existing policy under which an African official runs the Africa office of the UN to a policy that would have it the other way?

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing beyond what you read in the Bulletin.

Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un7fowler030109.html

UN Security Brass Let Off Hook on Fowler, On Promotions, Investigation Called For

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undss2chaos021909.html

UNITED NATIONS, February 19 -- The lack of accountability of those in charge of UN Security continues, both in the field and in New York, where the UN Staff Union has passed a resolution calling for an independent investigation of promotion and placement irregularities uncovered two weeks ago by Inner City Press.

The UN's envoy to Niger, Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler, who was abducted while traveling to Canadian-owned gold mine in the country in December 2008, has now appeared as a hostage in a video, for which Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims credit. Still the UN has not answered what Fowler was doing, nor why he was allowed by the UN to travel without security, while in a UN Development Program vehicle, the driver of which has disappeared entirely.

At the February 18 UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe, "it’s been reported that the Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb has said that they are holding Mr. Fowler and Mr. Guay. Is the UN aware of that? They have also said that they’re asking for a prisoner exchange. What’s the UN’s position in response to this?" Ms. Okabe replied, "We’re aware of the reports but we have nothing further to comment on it."

The UN has had very little to say about Mr. Fowler's activities and disappearance, leading some to conclude they simple want the story to go away. The UN's silence on Fowler stands in contrast to the fast UN press releases on a more recent kidnapping, in Pakistan. Inner City Press asked, "just recently, in Pakistan, when a group said that they had a UNHCR official... the local office put out a press release saying speak with us directly. Is that decision made by the local office in each case or by Headquarters?"

Ms. Okabe answered that, "both cases are very different, as in all cases involving a hostage situation. So, I really could not go into further details on that."

Two weeks ago, the UN's refusal to answer questions about security, including what accountability steps have been taken about the December 2007 deadly bombing of the UN in Algiers, was a introduction to Inner City Press' reporting on promotion irregularities within the UN Department of Safety & Security, DSS.

Since that report, the official who e-mailed out the inappropriately pre-decided promotions and placements has written a letter saying he was defamed by other DSS personnel at special meetings held on February 11 about Inner City Press' report. It seems that if a person's own document defames them, their only option to sue is to sue themselves.

On February 18, the Staff Union unanimous adopted a resolution noting the DSS staff's "vote of no confidence in the management of the SSS of DSS." This management, Inner City Press is told, is trying to shift to the UN Capital Master Plan. The resolution notes "that information revealed in recent [P]ress reports appears to cast doubt on the integrity of the staff selection process" and "decides to call on the Secretary-General to establish an independent external investigation to review recent personnel actions within the SSS." The resolution, by its terms, will be conveyed to the Secretary-General, the heads of the Budget Committee and Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, and the President of the General Assembly. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undss2chaos021909.html

UNDP Advisor Serves Lobbyist for Nigeria, No Comment on Niger Driver Missing

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp1lobby021109.html

UNITED NATIONS, February 11 -- Can a UN official work at the same time on the advisory board of a law firm lobbying for sitting governments from Nigeria and Liberia? This appears to be the case of the UN Development Program's Mr. Raja Kaul, described as a "chief technical advisor" for a UNDP/Regional Bureau for Africa project called "Regional Project for Capacity Development for Negotiating and Regulating Investment Contracts." Last week, Mr. Kaul showed up in a press release that Mr. Kaul has been appointed to an "advisory board" for a Washington DC-based lobbying firm which is a registered foreign agent for the governments of Liberia and Nigeria, KRL International.

Paragraph 41 of the document "Standards of conduct for the international civil service" , which applies to UNDP, states that it is "improper for international civil servants to engage, without prior authorization, in any outside activity, whether remunerated or not, that interferes with that obligation or is incompatible with their status or conflicts with the interests of the organization.

On February 9, Inner City Press posed to UNDP's chief spokesman a series of simple questions, including "how is Raja Kaul's service on the advisory board of a law firm lobbying for Liberia (and Nigeria) consistent with his UNDP role? Who approved this? Will it be discontinued?"

Two days later, there has been no answer.

Likewise, no answer to the other questions posed, including

--"please respond to the critique of UNDP Solomon Islands that

"the project fund (issued by UNDP) was diverted under approval of the Ministry's Director, the Permanent Secretary, the Minister and probably UNDP to purchase office furniture and to facilitate a provincial tour undertaken by the Director and his team."

--while Messrs. Fowler and Guay are reportedly on a video released to Canada, their UNDP driver Soumana Moukaila is not. Has UNDP received any information about Soumana Moukaila? Why didn't they have security that day in December? Did the Designated Security Officer approve the trip without security?"

UNDP, which helped develop the Canadian-owned gold mine that Fowler was visiting on the day he was abducted, has not answered these or other questions. This is how it has been, under Kemal Dervis and the internal candidate to replace him, Ad Melkert. Would things be better under Helen Clark, UNICEF's Hilde Johnson or the other candidates? It would hardly get worse... Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1lobby021109.html

At UN Security, Prefixed Promotions, Whistleblowers' Dog Days

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undss1chaos020609.html

UNITED NATIONS, February 6 -- Unanswered questions swirl around UN Security, from accountability for lapses in Algeria, Niger, Pakistan and Somalia, to irregularities in hiring and promotions and even discpline. On February 4, Inner City Press formally asked two members of the Office of the UN Spokesperson a series of questions about UN Security, including what is the status of the much-promised disciplinary action against UN officials for their inattention to duties in the run-up to the Algiers Bombing, as documented by the Zacklin Report? Does the Secretary-General think that a Zacklin-style accountability panel should be set up to examine the security failures that have taken place in recent months, including the lack of security clearance and security protection of Mr. Robert Fowler, the abduction of the UNHCR official in Quetta, Pakistan, and the killings of UNDP staff in Somalia?

Two days later, not a single answer has been provided. Nor has the UN said anything about replacing Sir David Veness, who months ago announced he was resigning as the sole case of accountability following the Algiers bombing. He is still in charge of DSS.

On a seemingly more mundane but not unrelated level, whistleblowers have provided Inner City Press with a list of UN Security "Possible Transfers and Assignments / Reassignments." These sources say that this list undermines the credibility of interviews that are being conducted, implying that some decisions have already been made. They say as a matter of belated transparency, the list should be released. They allege favoritism in promotion, false resumes and misuse of UN vehicles, retaliation against those who complain, even of physical abuse.

Sometimes the public news about UN Security is negative, but the exoneration is much more quiet. Take the case of Gamal Ibrahim, exposed on Fox News and elsewhere for alleged abuse of a dog in the UN's Canine Unit. Last month, the UN Headquarters Joint Disciplinary Committee recommended that the charges be dropped, as the evidence was not conclusive.

As recited in Confidential Report 216 in Case Number 2008-14, Numbered Copy 1 attached,

"On July 3, 2007, DSS Management was informed of allegations of improper conduct... It was alleged that Mr. Ibrahim had physically abused his canine partner Buddy... On 21 January 2008, the case was referred to the JDC.... Mr. Ibrahim responded to the charges... The redness on Buddy's skin has always existed and is part of his skin and hair complexion...

The [2 July 2007] incident at the Security Council appears to have been misinterpreted... Buddy was playful and rest his two front legs affectionately on my shoulders on that occasion. To calm him I gave hand and verbal commands, which had nothing threatening for him... SS/O Mascioli has a reputation for harassment, fabrication and extrapolation, besides taking occasionally a free lunch from vendors... the rationale for their false allegations was essentially triggered by a spirit of retribution against me, as a result of my whistleblower role."

Since the allegations were found to be without corroboration, is this the case the UN Security whistleblower whose dog didn't bark? To be continued.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undss1chaos020609.html