For UN Re-Shuffle, Malcorra DSG, Pascoe Lateral, Of Lebanon Envoy, Nambiar To Go & a Khare Solution?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 25 -- After talk at the UN of a "big bang" in Ban Ki-moon's Secretariat, a re-organization for his second and final term as Secretary General started January 1, now the shakeup is described by sources as small, more of a re-shuffling.

For example, the sources predict, current Under Secretary General for Field Support Susana Malcorra is tapped to move up to Ban's Deputy spot, maintaining the position for a woman from the developing world, albeit no longer an African.

With Lynn Pascoe slated to leave the Department of Political Affairs by February or at latest April, the US is known to have made a play to keep the DPA post.

Strangely there is talk of moving Pascoe over to the Chief of Staff (or "Chef de Cabinet") post held throughout Ban's first term by Vijay Nambiar. One source said "Pascoe wouldn't be viewed as a second high level American, since he wasn't appointed under Obama."

Nambiar awaited departure would, of course, leave India down a major post. While not suggested by the Ban administration sources, moving Indian Atul Khare from his current "made up" post of Change Management to replace Malcorra as USG of DFS might be an elegant way to solve that problem.

But a diplomatic source noted that Pakistan, too, "deserves" a high post, just as it is taking a seat on the Security Council overlapping in 2012 with India.

Other USGs are being told to look for jobs in the field. Source say that USG for Management Angela Kane was encouraged to apply to field jobs, for example the Lebanon post vacated by Michael Williams, with Nicholas Hayson now thought to wait longer into the reshuffle. But Kim Won-soo, who might leave, is said to be encouraging Y.J. Choi, the campaign manager who engineered Ban's first term, to seek the Lebanon job.

Several sources marveled at how Ban has thus far ignored requests not only from the African Group but also G-77 to fill the Special Adviser on Africa post.

Inside the Department of Political Affairs, Pascoe is said to be finding the safest places possible for this proteges, while his Department is hard-lobbied by at the middle level by the Turkish Mission, "muscularly," a DPA staffer told Inner City Press disapprovingly. And so it goes at the UN.

On Cote d'Ivoire, Russia Chides Ban's Choi, Reiterates that Susan Rice Should be Corrected, Has AU Not ECOWAS Focus

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 7 -- On Cote d'Ivoire, “Mr. Choi went beyond his mandate,” Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative Konstantin Dolgov told the Press on Tuesday.

He said the UN was to certify results, not name a winner. Dolgov said that in closed door consultations, appearing by video from the ECOWAS meeting in Abuja, Mr. Choi acknowledged as much.

Some wonder if Russia's open critique of Choi Young-jin, a close ally of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, might have some bearing on Russia's needed support for a second term as S-G for Mr. Ban.

Inner City Press asked Dolgov about Russia's objection, first reported by Inner City Press, to US Ambassador Susan Rice's statement in the open meeting that the presence in the chamber of Cote d'Ivoire diplomats named by Laurent Gbagbo did not imply that they were legitimate representatives of their country.

Dolgov confirmed that Russia has asked for a correction of Ambassador Rice's statement. Inner City Press told Dolgov that the US Mission told it that no correction was needed, even that no procedure exists for such a correction.

“We will check with our lawyers,” Dolgov said, calling a correction “necessary.”

The Council suspended its meeting at 1pm on Tuesday, to be picked up at 3 to consider the ECOWAS statement. Dolgov when asked by Inner City Press mentioned a forthcoming African Union meeting, to which Thabo Mbeki will report. Another African diplomat corrected Inner City Press when it called ECOWAS a regional organization. “A SUB regional organization,” he said with a smile. Watch this site.

At UN on Cote d'Ivoire, Russia Demands Susan Rice Statement Be “Corrected"

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, December 7, updated -- Russia demanded that US Ambassador Susan Rice's statement Tuesday on Cote d'Ivoire, ostensibly as UN Security Council president, be “corrected in the record,” sources tell Inner City Press.

Russia has asked UN Secretariat to add its objection to the record on Tuesday's opening meeting. There is not much precedent for this; the "Verbatim" section must be consulted.

In closed door negotiations since Friday about the Ivorian crisis, Russia has argued that the Security Council should not set the precedent of being a certifier of elections results.

Meanwhile outside of the Security Council, Laurent Gbagbo-alligned Ivorian diplomats told Inner City Press that while UN envoy Y.J. Choi should now come back to the country for his “protection of civilians” - but not electoral -- mandate, they argued that “power sharing doesn't work.”

“Look at Zimbabwe,” one of them told Inner City Press. But in this scenario, is Gbagbo playing Robert Mugabe?

At a separate press conference at the UN Tuesday morning about the International Criminal Court, it was recalled that Cote d'Ivoire was mentioned as a target of ICC investigation and prosecution back in 2004. Now there are mentions again. Watch this site.

Update of 12:50 pm -- At the UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky what the procedure would be to act on Russia's request that “the Secretariat” somehow “correct” Susan Rice's statement. Nesirky declined to answer, saying he wasn't in the consultation -- his office has been barred from consultation since the Council moved to it current basement venue earlier this year -- and instead urged Inner City Press to ask the US, as Council President for December.

Inner City Press has since been told that it is the US' position that there is no procedure or precedent to “correct” statements such as that of Ambassador Rice, which was that the presence of Cote d'Ivoire diplomats in the Council's open session in no way implied that they were recognized as legitimate representatives of that country at this time.

Thought: It was an indirect and procedural way of asserting the position that Laurent Gbagbo is no longer the legitimate head of state of Cote d'Ivoire. One can understand why Russia would object, while understanding why Rice would make such a point “for the record.” Will the record in fact be corrected, as Russia requested?

The Council -- at what level is not clear -- will reconvene at 3 pm, to consider a statement confirmed to that of ECOWAS. Watch this site.