Exclusive: Crimea Data Included With Russia By UN DESA, Sources Tell Inner City Press

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, June 10 -- Amid controversies about the UN continuing to place Crimea in Ukraine, from its agencies in Vienna to commissions in Bangkok, Inner City Press is informed that the economic data of Crimea is being included with that of the Russian Federation by the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

   The reason given is that DESA bases its economic studies on statistics provided to it by governments, and Ukraine is no longer able to report data for Crimea, while Russia is. 

 But it is striking: while the Reuters agency breathlesslyclaims an exclusive for being told by diplomats that Russia tried to include Crimea -- or Sevastopol as Reuters puts it -- within its territory in the annual report of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency -- while in New York as reported here DESA is already including Crimea in Russia.

   The International Monetary Fund, more attuned to these politics, almost certainly does not follow DESA in this. But when Inner City Press asked the IMF four times whether it includes Western Sahara, to which the UN has long promised a referendum with independence as an option, in the data of Morocco, the IMF run by Christine Lagarde has simply refused to answer that question. 

 (The IMF does answer other Press questions, including for example on Yemen, Nepal and Burundi).

   DESA too declines to answer certain questions, at least on-camera. But its quiet shift in the reporting of data from Crimea might yet make noise. Watch this site.

   Back on April 29 when Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin held a UN press conference, Inner City Press asked him about the status of the country's talks with its creditors and the International Monetary Fund, and of the investigations into the killings of Oleg Kalashnikov and Oles Buzyna.

  Klimkin said that the financial talks are going well; the killing he said were meant to destaiblize the country and would be investigated. He said that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should not go to Moscow on May 9 in commemoration of World War Two.

 Back on September 22, 2014 when Ukraine's  Klimkin held a press conference at the UN, Inner City Press asked him about battalions in the East like Azov and Aidar, accused by Amnesty International of abuses.

  Klimkin said that all battalions are part of the army or national guard; the government had checked the Amnesty report.

  Inner City Press also asked if Ukraine will be speaking with the International Monetary Fund to modify its program. Klimkin said the program had not taken into account developments in Donetsk and Lugansk and should, now.

  He said that President Petro Poroshenko may not be the one to speak for Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, as he may need to "be on the ground." He said the soccer or football teams in Donetsky and Lugansk should remain in the Ukrainian League. (This question, he initially laughed at).

  Back on September 12, when Ukraine'sAmbassador Yuriy Sergeyev took questions Inner City Press also asked him about Amnesty International's damning report about the pro-Kyiv Aidar Battalion, and about Point 11 of the Protocol, "Economic Reconstruction of Eastern Ukraine."

  On Aidar, Sergeyev replied that the separatists had been dressing up in the pro-government militia's uniforms. Is that something that Amnesty would have entirely missed? Their report is online here.

  On economic reconstruction, Sergeyev distinguished between regions that were never with the "terrorists," those that had been liberated, and... others, presumably Donetsk and Luhansk. 

 On a second around, Inner City Press asked Sergeyev about reports Ukraine is getting sophisticated weapons from a "non-NATO" country. He said there are negotiations that he couldn't get into the details of, since the counter-parties might pull out.

   In past Sergeyev briefings, for example on September 4, the first question has been claimed by UNCA, now the UN's Censorship Alliance. On September 12, there was no UNCA representative present -- an insider briefing elsewhere about which the scribes are not supposed to report. Sergeyev was thanked by the new Free UN Coalition for Access for showing up and answering questions on-the-record, as it should be.

 In that spirit, Inner City Press put online each of the five pages of Sergeyev's opening statement, here, here, here,here and here.

   Back on September 4, Inner City Press asked Sergeyev about challenges from the right to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, for example from Right Sector, AVOZ, and militia commanders like Dmytro Linko and Semen Semenchenko, who has spoken of the need “to establish our own internal command.”

  Sergeyev replied that “naturally, some generals want to be stronger.”

  So are these are generals? Despite talk in Minsk of a ceasefire, Sergeyev insisted that the “law enforcement action” would continue.

  Sergeyev began on September 4 by offering thanks to USg Jeffrey Feltman and to Valerie Amos -- but not John Ging.

  Back on August 24 when Amos visited Eastern Ukraine, her and Ging's agency OCHA put out a press releasesaying that

Amos visited an internally displacement persons' center in Krasnyi Lyman and “met women who had fled the fighting with their families.” The UN OCHA statement on Sunday said that “since March this year, around 200,000 people have fled their homes in search of safety within Ukraine and tens of thousands have fled to neighboring countries.”

  What does "tens of thousands" mean -- and why is it so different from what OCHA official John Ging told the UN Security Council on August 5? In that Council session, Ging said

“since the start of the year 168,677 Ukrainians are registered as having crossed into Russia, with nearly 60,000 of these having applied for refugee status and a further 115,952 having applied for other forms of legal stay.”
  
    Ging on August 5 acknowledged that “this is not the full picture as many Ukrainians that have fled their homes do not register with Ukrainian authorities or officially apply for assistance. The Russian authorities and UNHCR are reporting that 740,000 people have crossed the border since the start of the year.”

  While technically both 740,000 and 168,677 are made up of "tens of thousands," there is a striking disparity between what Ging told the Security Council on August 5, and the OCHA's August 24 press release on Amos' visit to Krasnyi Lyman.  What explains it?

   Back on August 24 just as an emergency but closed-door meeting of the Security Council about Ukraine began, and after the US, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued this statement:

The Secretary-General follows with deep concern reports that a Russian aid convoy has crossed the border into Ukraine without the permission of the Ukrainian authorities. While recognising the deteriorating humanitarian situation, any unilateral action has the potential of exacerbating an already dangerous situation in eastern Ukraine.

Once again, the Secretary-General urges all sides, in particular Ukraine and the Russian Federation, to continue to work together, in coordination with the international community, to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches the most affected areas. He reiterates that all sides should continue to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation.

In this regard, he is encouraged by the announcement from President Petro Poroshenko that Ukraine will do everything possible to prevent more serious consequences as a result of the convoy moving into Ukrainian territory.

 How was this statement formulated? By whom? Inner City Press asked: What is the position of the UN's humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, who has elsewhere called for cross-border aid?

   At the Churkin presser, Inner City Press asked about the draft press statement Russia proposed on August 21.

 Churkin said that the “indefatigable” Lithuanian delegation “sent in amendments” that dropped references to Russia and included references to the European Union and dropped the reference to a ceasefire. Then, Churkin said, the US delegations send in amendments dropping the ceasefire and blaming the separatists.

  Inner City Press also asked about a report by CNN from Eastern Ukraine in which correspondent Diana Magney asked why Russia was sending salt if there are salt mines in Eastern Ukraine.

  Churkin said, "You can mine salt if you are not shelled.  If you are hiding in your cellars, mining salt is problematic."

   Later the Voice of America's correspondent asked about accusations that the convoy was only to support the rebels.

  "With baby food?" Churkin asked.

   "Rebels have babies too," the Voice of America correspondent said. The implication seemed to be that starving children based on the positions taken by their parents would be okay. We'll have more on this - for now, click here.

   Back on July 30 when Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN Yuriy Sergeyev held a UN press conference on July 30, Inner City Press asked him about the Human Right Watch report his government is using Grad rockets, killing at least 16 civilians between July 12 and 21 near Donetsk.

  Sergeyev responded first about the UN's (or Ivan Simonovic's) report, then emphasized that Russian media is saying Ukraine is using ballistic missiles.

  Inner City Press repeated the question, emphasizing it concerns Human Rights Watch's report, not the UN's, and not Russian media.  Sergeyev provided essentially the same answer.

  Here is the HRW report, online.

  Inner City Press also asked about the status of the International Monetary Fund program, after the downing of MH17. Sergeyev said Ukraine has met with the IMF's Christine Lagarde and "will" get the next tranche of the program in late August.  But won't there be an Executive Board meeting?

After Russian foreign minister and US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone on July 27, the US State Department issued two read-outs, or a readout in two stages.

  The second, an "additional point" by a Senior State Department Official, was that Kerry "underlined our support for a mutual cease fire verified by the OSCE and reaffirmed our strong support for the international investigation to show the facts of MH17."

  Inner City Press on July 30 asked Sergeyev for Ukraine's position on this. Sergeyev cited as "pre-conditions" the closing of the border with Russia, and the release of all hostages.

  Procedurally, Ukraine set aside the first question at its press conference saying, "Pamela, traditionally you open our session." Using this UN Correspondents Association set-aside, Pam Falk of CBS asked about rebels mining the MH17 site. Her UNCA sidekick asked about "Russian propaganda." 

   And so it went until, fifth, the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked about HRW's report. This is how it's working, with the UN's Censorship Alliance. In this context, the Free UN Coalition for Access is against the automatic setting-aside of questions. 

   

Crimea Meeting Lacks 4 UNSC Members, Eastern Ukraine Banking Cut-Off Raised by UN OCHA

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 -- When UN humanitarian operations chief John Ging spoke to the press about conditions in Eastern Ukraine on March 19, he said aid groups could not pay their workers there due to the cut-off of the banking system.

   Inner City Press asked Ging if he had raised this in his meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine; Ging said yes but not the deputy prime minister's response or any fix.

  Later on March 19 Inner City Press asked the Permanent Representatives of Ukraine and Lithuania about what Ging had said. Ukraine's Yuriy Sergeyev said his country is open to any objective criticism; he read out a long statement about recent votes of the Rada in Kyiv and vowed that the issue of Crimea would continue to be raised in the UN.

  That is why Lithunia's Permanent Representative Raimonda Murmokaite was at the UN Television stakeout on the first floor, following an “Arria formula” meeting about Crimea with Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. 

  On what the UN's John Ging had said, Permanent Representative Murmokaite said while of course Kyiv could do more, the fault lay mostly with the separatists and their supporters. Russia had said it would not attend the Arria formula meeting; as it turned out, also declining to attend were China, Angola and Venezuela. 

  One long-time Council watcher told Inner City Press this was the largest number of no-shows for a Arria formula meeting in memory. 

  Speaking of memory, it seemed ironic that the first floor stakeout where Murmokaite and Dzhemilev spoke shared the wide UN hallway with a large memorial to the life of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.  Murmokaite pointed out, correctly, that she spoke in front of a UN logo backdrop brought to the first floor stakeout location. 

   Further inquiry by Inner City Press gleaned that the request had been to hold the stakeout in the 1B level, but it was denied due to too many people walking by that location. The battle for space in the UN may mirror that in the real world outside. Inner City Press tries to cover both. Watch this site.

   

On Turkey, IMF Says ISIL Hurts Exports, Ukraine Impact Limited

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 5 -- On Turkey, the International Monetary Fund in an Article IV report under embargo until 5 pm today says "the economic spillovers to Turkey from conflicts in Syria and Iraq have negatively impacted exports. The effects of tensions between Ukraine and Russia have thus far been limited, but if they were to lead to generalized risk aversion in financial markets, the impact could become significant."

   Notably, Turkey earlier this week re-announced its position that it will not recognize any break-away or break-off of Crimea from Ukraine. Turkey's policies on Syria are known.

  The IMF in its accompanying staff report offers Turkey examples from South Korea, Peru, Austria and New Zealand. But are these really analoguous? And what of the banks in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - if it's not recognized, who's regulating them?

Back on November 13, six days after sanctions were imposed on Yemen's former president Saleh and two Houthi leaders, Inner City Press asked the International Monetary Fund, "does the IMF have any comment or response to the new government, the imposition of sanctions by the UN Security Council? What is the status of the IMF's program in Yemen?"

  Later on November 13, IMF Deputy Spokesperson William Murray told Inner City Press, "Staff is in close dialogue with the authorities, who have reaffirmed their commitment to implement their IMF-backed economic reform program. These reforms are essential to boost inclusive growth, reduce unemployment and poverty, tackle corruption, and enhance fiscal and external sustainability. The three-year economic program, which was approved on September 2, 2014, is reviewed every six months. The first review is therefore planned for the Spring of 2015."

  The authorities, of course, have to some degree kept changing. We'll stay on this.

  Reuters, on the other hand, this week ran a long "exclusive" about Yemen finance and budgets, without once mentioning the IMF.

The UN Security Council's sanctions committee on November 7 designated for asset freeze and travel bans former President Saleh and two Houthi leaders, Abd al-Khaliq al-Huthi and Abdullah Yahya al Hakim. Click here for UNSC press release.

  After that, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon put out a statement welcoming the new government but not mentioning the sanctions:

The Secretary-General welcomes today’s announcement of the formation of the new Peace and National Partnership Government in Yemen. He congratulates President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister-Designate Khaled Bahah for their leadership during this process. The Secretary-General commends the parties for their pledge to accept the slate decided on by the President and Prime Minister, and to extend their unwavering support to the new government. At this uncertain and fragile time for Yemen, today’s announcement is a positive step towards political stability and peace in the country.

The Secretary-General reminds the parties of the political commitments they made in signing the Peace and National Partnership Agreement. Yemen is facing enormous challenges at present, which can only be overcome if all sides work together in the greater national interest to implement the Agreement without delay.

The United Nations looks forward to continuing its engagement with the President, the Prime Minister, the Government and all Yemenis leaders as they seek to build a new democratic Yemen that responds to the legitimate aspirations of its people.

  Back on October 31 the US State Department put out this answer to a question taken earlier that day:

Question: Do you have any reaction to reports that the Houthis have given President Hadi 10 days to form a government?

Answer: We have seen the reports that speakers at a Houthi-convened conference today announced a deadline for President Hadi to form a government in 10 days.  U.S. officials continue to support the efforts of Yemen’s political constituencies, especially President Hadi and Prime Minister Bahah, in implementing the provisions of the September 21 Peace and National Partnership Agreement, including the formation of a government.  All Yemenis, including the Houthis, have an important role to play in working peacefully to form a government that can meet the needs of the Yemeni people and continue to pursue the key steps of its political transition.

  Back on October 13 after Yemeni Prime Minster designate Ahmed Awadh Bin Mubarak was vetoed by the Houthis, on October 13 President Hadi appointed Yemen’s current UN Ambassador Khaled Mahfoodh Abdulla Bahah to the position.

 Later on October 13 after a three-hour UN Security Council meeting, brief "press elements" were read out at the stakeout once again vaguely threatening sanctions -- Inner City Press' questions including about secession of the South were not answered -- and welcoming Bahah as prime minister.

He was Minister of Oil and Minerals of Yemen from 2006 until 2008, under Ali Saleh, including being “the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Yemen Liquefied Natural Gas Project with investments of over $4 Billion, Chairman of the Safer Exploration and Production Petroleum Company and, Chairman of the Yemen General Corporation for Oil and Gas, which includes the Aden Refinery Company, the Yemen Refinery Company, the Yemen Oil Company, the Yemen Investment Oil Company, and the Petroleum Training Center.”

  That's a whole lot of hydrocarbons. Watch this site.

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As Obama Talks Arming Syria Rebels, UN Claims Ban Ki-moon Urges Them to Stop the Flow of Weapons

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 28 -- Increased support to the armed Syria opposition was a theme or meme in US President Barack Obama speech at West Point, and in his Senior Administration Official's press call afterward.

   So Inner City Press minutes later at the UN noon briefing asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric to respond to that, and to televised reports of Syria rebels being trained in Qatar by the US, "probably the CIA."

   Dujarric said he had no comment yet on Obama's speech -- he said there are "a lot of interesting things" in the speech, which mentioned the UN only twice.  But, he said, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's position is that there is no military solution to this conflict, and that Ban urges all parties involved or with influence to stop the flow of arms.

  Really? Ban Ki-moon has conveyed this to the US government? To whom?

  Obama's speech mentioned Afghanistan 15 times, Syria 10 times, Russia eight, Ukraine six (Crimea zero), China five, Iran four and even "Burma" (or Myanmar) twice, as an opportunity for a new partner, with no mention of the plight of the Rohingya.

Background on Syria: The US Senate Armed Forces Committee last week passed out a bill which "authorizes the Secretary of Defense to provide equipment, training, supplies, and defense services to assist vetted members of the Syrian opposition."

  This is viewed as a fruit of Ahmad Jarba's lobbying, and was quickly cited by his Syrian Opposition Coalition's "Secretary General Badr Jamous," who said "the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act that authorizes the Secretary of Defense to provide equipment, training, supplies, and defense services to assist vetted members of the Syrian opposition augurs a significant change in world’s dealing with the conflict in Syria.” 

  But what does "vetted" mean? Shouldn't it mean, not or no longer linked to the recruitment of child soldiers, including in light of  the full Congress' 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act?

Background: the UN's recent report on Children and Armed Conflict, which Inner City Press first wrote about on May 14 to be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/2014/339, has ten paragraphs over three pages about Syria. 

  But it does not clear the Free Syrian Army of earlier charges of child soldier recruitment.

   It names as those "recruiting and using children in Syria... several FSA-affiliated groups" as well as the Kurdish YPG, the al Nusra Front, ISIS and Ahrar al-Sham. There are paragraphs on the government, too.

  As to the Free Syrian Army the new UN report states that "most children associated with the FSA-affiliated group, as young as 14 years, indicated that they had received weapons training and 4,000 to 8,000 Syrian pounds pay per month. 

   Examples are given; "a 17 year-old boy who joined the al-Murabiteen battalion of the Falloujat Houran FSA brigade in Bosra al-Sham, Dara'a Governate, reportedly received a fifteen-day weapons training in al-Lajat valley close to Bosra al-Sham."

  Also, "In June 2013, two brothers, aged 16 and 17, joined the FSA-affiliated Majd al-Islam brigade in Dara'a, where they cleaned weapons and performed security duties."

  In the report's final paragraph on Syria Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says his Special Representative "engaged with representatives of the Syrian National Coalition on their commitments in relation to the protection of children in armed conflict." But the SNC is not the FSA, and this is not an "action plan." Inner City Press asked questions at an SNC press conference on May 14, here - but this is not resolved.

These advance copies have been known to be changed before "final" release, in a process for which a description, and then proposals for reform, were provided here and then here.

   Back in late January amid reports that the US already provides or is ready to provide aid to armed groups in Syria like the Free Syrian Army (FSA), on January 29 Inner City Press first highlighted and then on January 30 first asked the US Mission to the UN about a finding in the UN's then-unpublished report on Children and Armed Conflict in Syria:

"Throughout the reporting period, the United Nations received consistent reports of recruitment and use of children by FSA-affiliated groups." (Now final, here, Para 12).

  The US has cited the recruitment and use of child soldiers to suspend US aid to armies of governments which had previously been receiving it.  Inner City Press asked, and continues to ask,  how could the US provide aid to a non-state group which even the UN has found using child soldiers?

  On February 13, Inner City Press was able to put this question to the UN's humanitarian chief Valerie Amos.

   Amos said "in terms of recruiting children into armed groups, we see culpability on all the sides to the conflict, and therefore anyone who has any kind of influence with those groups needs to be making it clear that this is not acceptable." Video here, from Minute 10:11.

  On February 14, the following was received from US Mission deputy spokesperson Tony Deaton:

"We are deeply disturbed by the contents of this report and strongly condemn the mistreatment and torture of children in any conflict. We equally condemn the use of child soldiers in Syria and around the world. The use of children in armed conflict is morally reprehensible, and the United States in no way supports or condones this activity. We vet recipients of our assistance to the moderate opposition and work diligently to prevent assistance from falling into the hands of groups that recruit or use children in combat or employ terror tactics."

While we will continue to pursue how the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act applies after the FSA finding in the new  UN report, we appreciated the US response and published it in full. 

  On February 4, the UK Mission to the UN provided this response to Inner City Press:

"The UK absolutely condemns the use of child soldiers in all cases, and strongly supports international efforts to stop the use of child soldiers. We urge all parties in the Syrian conflict to release any children held in detention.

"Armed conflict affects millions of lives around the world, and children are among those most vulnerable to the effects of conflict. The only way to secure the long-term future of Syria’s children is to find a political solution to the crisis.

"We have made clear our absolute condemnation of the use of child soldiers. As noted in this report, the use of child soldiers by the opposition is not systematic and is limited to certain elements. We have provided training to the Supreme Military Council of the Syrian opposition on the law of armed conflict, and will continue to work with them to help ensure that they meet their obligations under international law."

    As Inner City Press noted, that might be OK for the United Kingdom -- but what about the US, including in light of the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act, which provides for example:

It is the sense of Congress that— 

 (1) the United States Government should condemn the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations; 

 (2) the United States Government should support and, to the extent practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold international standards designed to end the abuse of human rights described in paragraph (1); 

  There are prohibitions on funding which can only be overridden for formal, public findings in a waiver by the President.

 The earlier report, issued as a document of the UN Security Council under the symbol S/2014/31, went on to recount:

"Boys aged 12 to 17 were trained, armed, and used as combatants or to man checkpoints. For instance, a 15 year-old boy reported being recruited in April 2012 by the FSA in Tall Kalakh (Tartus governate), and participation in military operations.... Also indicative was the case of a 16 year-old boy from Homs who reportedly joined the FSA as a combatant. In March 2013, his family reported to the United Nations that he was still fighting with the group."

  And is this boy still fighting with the FSA? There is more to be said about the new UN report, and the additional specific examples that it gives. What gives? Watch this site.