At UN, Hollande Micro-Manages Room But Not Time, Blather on Mali

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 25 -- Giving a speech at the UN General Assembly may give one 15 minutes of fame, as Andy Warhol promised. But one doesn't know when they will be.

 This French president Francois Hollande learned or should have learned on Tuesday. He scheduled his press conference for 12:30 pm, then moved it back to 1:30, then finally after 2 pm as speakers before him went overtime.

 During this time, the French Mission to the UN had the Dag Hammarskkjold Auditorium cleared out, such that a crowd of journalists built up in the hall in front of the Capital Master Plan office.

  Not so the room could be sniffed by dogs for bombs, Inner City Press was told, but to try to ensure that French diplomats and traveling media got places in the front row, which were marked "Reserved." The back row, too, was marked "Reserved," and the microphone to ask questions was closely controlled.

  He was not asked, for example, about France's continuing colonialism in Africa, for example twice now being the one to announce the wishes of the post-coup government in Mali, all the while offering "logistical" help for retaking northern Mali. Click here for the Inner City Press story written before Hollande's speech and press conference, but not able to be updated with any answer.

  Another of France's pet projects is "innovative financing." For this, they have sent to the UN their ex minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, who has run the "MassiveGood" project into the ground, with a $500,000 film by Spike Lee featuring among others Bill Clinton.

  Hollande was asked what he thought of Barack Obama not even attending the Secretary General's luncheon, at which US Presidents traditionally give the toast. He excused Obama, smiling that he is busy. He added that he'll see Obama after November, one imagines.

  That was in French; when asked a rare permitted question in English, Hollande grabbed a special ear piece, smaller than given to the journalists.

 As run, Hollande was largely asked softball questions, from beginning to end. Ultimately, after Hollande had made much of his commitment to a new environmental agency for the UN, he cut 20 minutes into the time of UNFCCC climate change chief Figueres. 

  Then Hollande and his large entourage -- or "retinue" as the translator called it -- headed out. It includes former French Mission political coordinator Emmanuel Bonne.They'll be in New York until Thursday. Watch this site.

As Figueres Gets UNFCCC, S.Africa in Line for OIOS, Pillay Misplayed Simonovic

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/posts1oios051710.html

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 -- While the selection Christiana Figueres for the UN's top environmental job at the UNFCCC surprised some, not least because she's from Costa Rica, a country of three million people which already has an Assistant Secretary General level post held by Rebecca Grynspan at the UN Development Program, there are wider UN politics at work.

Inner City Press is told by well-placed UN sources that South Africa, whose tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk was on the final two person UNFCCC short list with Ms. Figueres, was taken out of the running because it is now in line for a higher, Under Secretary General level post at the Office of Internal Oversight Services, to replace the outgoing -- but untransparent -- Inga Britt Ahlenius.

But, some still wonder, what of India? They too had a minister on the UNFCCC short list. Some point to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's recent naming of Atul Khare to the number two post in the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as similar, if one level below, South Africa's reward at OIOS. But others say Atul Khare was "not really India's candidate," in that they were merely told of the appointment. We'll see.

Meanwhile in Nairobi, one or two major UN posts are to be filled. The new USG to preside over the UN Office in Nairobi, following Ban's controversial replacement in that function of Ana Tibaijuka by Achim Steiner of Germany, should soon be named. And it appears Ms. Tibaijuka's term at UN HABITAT is expiring.

Africa, which Ban passed over for the Number Two slot in UNDP despite an understanding the Continent would get that post -- Helen Clark wanted Ms. Grynspan, and for now Helen Clark unlike Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay appears to get whatever she wants from Ban -- should have these two Nairobi posts in the bag. But as they did to place Libya on the Human Rights Council, they need to come up with a consensus candidate.

Footnote: Navi Pillay, Inner City Press has told, has wanted the Brazilian Paulo Sergio Pinheiro as her New York representative. So she stacked the four person short list she gave to Ban with "unappointable" people:

Argentine Juan Mendez, when that country already has a USG in Susana Malcorra of DFS, Swede Karin Landgren, just after Margot Wallstrom of that country was given the rape as a weapon of war post, and Ivan Simonovic, whom the sources say Pillay thought couldn't get the post due to opposition from Croatian and international human rights groups.

But Team Ban tapped Simonovic (click here for Inner City Press' pre-announcement report.)

And see, www.innercitypress.com/posts1oios051710.html

Pachauri's Opaque Moonlighting Critiqued by Figueres, of 2 Costa Ricans and the Alba Group, UNFCCC

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/fccc1figueres032210.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 22 -- The embattled chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, refuses to disclose how much money he makes from his simultaneousconsultancies with Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and other institutions. Now, a candidate to head the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica, has announced she would cease all outside consulting if given the "full time and a half" post.

Inner City Press asked Ms. Figueres on Monday for her view of Pachauri's side business and other IPCC matters. "That would not be my choice," Ms. Figueres said, of Pachauri's side work for business. She also said diplomatically that "Doctor Pachauri I believe is at freedom to allocate his time as he sees fit." Video here, from Minute 27:18.

But shouldn't Pachauri at least be required to formally disclose who he works for on the side, and how much he gets paid? He has resisted even this.

Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon and his spokesman for the UN view on this lack of transparency. The answer was that the IPCC is not a UN body, and that Pachauri would answer the questions himself. But when he came to the UN, seeking to use Ban Ki-moon as a prop and character witness, neither took any questions from the press.

Ms. Figueres, the daughter of a former Costa Rican president, is viewed as a serious contender to replace Yvo de Boer, who is moving to KPMG (some are calling it cashing in). Inner City Press asked her if the recent appointment of another Costa Rican, Rebecca Grynspan, to the number two post at the UN Development Program might make it less likely she will get this job.

"It may be a stretch," Ms. Figueres agreed, that a country of four million people could get two high posts. India's candidate is said to also have the support of China.

Inner City Press asked Ms. Figueres about the opposition to the Copenhagen process by the five Latin American countries in the Alba Group. Surprisingly to some, Ms. Figueres responded that the Alba Group was "correct in the moment," that all now agree with them. An Alba Group-er afterwards said skeptically to Inner City Press, "Costa Rica never gets along with the Alba Group." Hey -- climate change bring everyone together...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/fccc1figueres032210.html

UN Ban Defends IPCC Report, No Comment on Pachauri, Derides Comparisons

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/ban3ipcc022410.html

UNITED NATIONS, February 24 -- Three weeks after the UN told the Press that "it's not really for the Secretary-General to weigh in on this specific report" of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ban Ki-moon pointedly urged member states to "reject the last-ditch attempts by climate skeptics to derail negotiations by exaggerating shortcomings in the [IPCC] fourth assessment report."

Some wondered, if the UN saw no need to respond three weeks ago but now belatedly steps into the ring, does this indicate the type of desperation exhibited by the UN's hastily put together press conference after Yvo de Boer announced his resignation?

At Wednesday's UN noon briefing, three weeks after Inner City Press asked for comment on the IPCC's misuse of NGO press releases as science, it inquired into Ban's belated comment on the controversy, and his characterization of all who critique errors in the report as "climate skeptics."

Inner City Press asked asked how Ban's upbeat read out on Copenhagen squared with his Timor L'este envoy Ameerah Haq's frank statement to the Press that Copenhagen was a disappointment, reiterated February 23 at the UN Security Council stakeout.

Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky was once again testy, chiding Inner City Press that

"if you want to try to chip away between different people saying different things at different times, you could do that pretty much every day, and maybe you will... if you look at what might have been, had there not been the level of movement that there was in Copenhagen, then things would look even worse. Nobody has said that this is precisely what everybody wanted. Many people -- Yvo de Boer, Janos Pasztor -- who sat here right after the Copenhagen Conference with Bob Orr and spelled out what the role of the United Nations had been in getting to a good point, but that it was not good enough; that more needed to be done. So, it’s very easy to try to push a wedge between two different people."

After this diatribe, several correspondents asked Inner City Press in essence, what is wrong with Nesirky? To compare two statements is basic journalism. And to report on now-acknowledged errors in an inter governmental body's scientific report is not necessarily "climate skepticism" -- it is journalism. The UN does not seem to understand this.

Inner City Press asked, on February 3 and 24 and even before, for Ban's comments on IPCC chair Pachauri's refusal to make financial disclosure about income he receives from Deutsche Bank and others for advice related to his IPCC job. Nesirky responded that "To come back to the part of the question about business dealings and disclosure, this is something that he himself, Mr. Pachauri has spoken about himself, and I have no need to elaborate further on what he himself has said."

That's leadership. The person more and more widely accused of lacking transparency has rejected the charges. What more could the head of the Organization need to say? Perhaps, as on Himalaya Gate, Mr. Ban will comment in three weeks. Watch this site.

Footnote: beyond her refreshingly candid comments on Copenhagen as disappointment, Ms. Haq also answered Inner City Press' questions about an incident in which UN Police in Timor L'este were filmed standing by at Timor L'este police beat up a protester. She said it is under investigation, and that UNPOL has a duty to report. But don't they also have a duty to protect civilians?

And see, www.innercitypress.com/ban3ipcc022410.html