Exclusive: UNDP Aim to Cut 10%, Off-Shore 20%, Accenture Plan Here, Grumbling of Helen Clark Cutting to Run for UNSG

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, November 18 -- There is a drive to be seen as saving money, throughout the UN system. Today Inner City Press profiles how it is happening within the UN Development Program, and why.

UNDP under Helen Clark hired Accenture to study ways to cut costs, calling it the "Structural and Cost Effectiveness Review." Accenture sent a team, which most staff never saw if heard of, working "on-site at UNDP Headquarters from July to October." Inner City Press has obtained and is publishing the executive summary of the UNDP Accenture Report, here.

The report urges "moving remaining staff to the field... High-demand countries such as Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo require dedicated teams; for program countries below $50MM it is important to ensure that each desk officer, moved to the region for relevance, is not responsible for more than 3-4 countries."

The overall plan they have arrived at involves a straight cut of 10%, and sending another 20% out to the field -- or, in the phrasing of the UNDP "Structural Review FAQs" Inner City Press obtained and is publishing today, "reversing the current HQ:regional staff ratio from 60:40 to 40:60."

  UNDP has "Global Shared Service Centers" in Copenhagen and Kuala Lumpur.

  A similar off-shoring of jobs from New York including to Kuala Lumpur is underway at UNICEF, run by American Anthony Lake.

  Helen Clark was prime minister of New Zealand; her right-hand there Heather Simpson is now leading the charge for cuts at UNDP. And why?

  There's grumbling that while the next UN Secretary General is supposed to come from the Eastern European group and "probably" be a woman, there's a move by New Zealand and allies to push Helen Clark for the job. There's talk of offers directed at Eastern Europe to back down.

  A high profile campaign of "reform" and cost-cutting at UNDP, in this context Inner City Press is exclusively informed, would be part of a Helen Clark campaign for UNSG. UNDP staff grumble that at the most recent Executive Board meeting, it was not said that 30% had to be cut (or 10% cut, 20% off-shoring). So what changed? 

   Helen Clark has held even fewer media question and answer sessions in New York than her predecessors Ad Melkert and Kemal Dervis, as documented and protested by the Free UN Coalition for Access @FUNCA_info. On these extensive cuts, she should answer questions. Watch this site.

   

Exclusive: Of $10 Charge to hear UNDP's Helen Clark Speak in NZ, Like UN's Pay to Ask Through UNCA, Free UN Coalition for Access Questions

At UNDP, Pay to Listen to Clark, Pay to Ask through UNCA, FUNCA Fights 

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 3 -- How can people be charged money, $10 for adults and even $5 for children, to hear a UN system official speak about their work for the UN?

  The Free UN Coalition for Access put this question to the UN Development Program's three top spokespeople regarding UNDP Administrator Helen Clark's upcoming August 7 talk at the Baycourt Centennial Theatre in Tauranga City, New Zealand.

  The advertisement says Clark "will be speaking about her work as head of the United Nations Development Program, the peak global body that coordinates development strategy globally, and works in over 170 countries to empower people’s lives while helping nations become more resilient. With a budget of over $US 5 billion a year."

  Five billion dollars a year but Administrator Helen Clark virtually never holds a question and answer press conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

    Last year after an inquiry by Inner City Press, she did disavow a previous business award she'd given to a tobacco firm. That came through UNDP lead spokesperson Satinder Bindra, to whom along with Clark's "personal" spokesperson Christina LoNigro and Abdel-Rahman Ghandour the Free UN Coalition for Access has sent these questions:

"This is a timely request for an explanation of how (or if) it is consistent with UN system principles and rules for UNDP Administrator Helen Clark's upcoming talk "about her work as head of the United Nations Development Program" to have an entrance fee of $10, and even $5 for children, here.

"Given that this for-pay event is impending, please provide the requested explanation upon receipt / as quickly as possible and confirm receipt of this request for explanation.

"This is also a formal request that Administrator Clark belatedly hold a question and answer press conference in UN Headquarters in New York, and for an explanation of why she has done even fewer of these than Kemal Dervis or Ad Melkert. Thank you in advance."

  We will publish any substantive response -- one would think, well in advance of the August 7 event, which is listed (tellingly) as "sold out." Will those people be given their money back?

  There is a disturbing trend of money being charged in the UN system, that the Free UN Coalition for Access is looking into. At UN press conference, the UN Correspondents Association as it becomes increasingly discredited for, among other things, spying for the UN (story, audio of UNCA's first vice president Louis Charbonneau of Reuters,document with his "you didn't get this from me"), fights ever harder to be given the first question.

  But since UNCA 2013 president Pamela Falk of CBS News has said that this first question can be given to ANY dues paying member of UNCA, even one who ran for but was not elected to the Executive Committee, it is clearly a situation of pay to play: a person getting a first question at the UN in exchange for paying money. Where is the Office of Legal Affairs? The Ethics Office? OIOS?

  Also the UN gives large room S-310 to UNCA, for briefings they publicize only to those who pay them money. Even member states have started to complain about this. But those in charge of this increasingly discredited partnership, the UN Censorship Alliance, are apparently out of touch with member states and the rules of the UN that at least some of them used to previously seek to enforce.

This charging of money to children to hear a UN system official speak takes place outside of UN premises, far from New York in Helen Clark's native New Zealand. Watch this site.

   

At UN, As Ban Ki-moon Gives DGACM to Gettu of Ethiopia, Echo of Addis Grab at UNDP

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- The day after Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia was given the top job at the UN Department of General Assembly and Conference Management, some of the reviews among even African diplomats were less than positive.

  A representative of another large African country complained to Inner City Press, “Under Gettu, UNDP moved so many of its operations on the Continent to Addis.” Another agreed, but shrugged. To the victors go the spoils.

  Inner City Press covered Gettu when he was chief of staff to UNDP Administrative Kemal Dervis. There was the stonewalling about irregularities in the North Korean program of UNDP.

   Later Inner City Press was complained to by Mathieu Koumoin about diversion of funds from Africa to European companies by the UNDP Global Environment Program; Gettu apparently did nothing with the complaint. But would he now?

  On the other hand, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is described as “cheap with USG spots” for Africa. He made Maged Abdelaziz of Egypt his Special Adviser on Africa and many say it's, diplomatically, a hard transition. How will Gettu do? Watch this site.

As Brahimi Plays Nobel Lotto, Questions of Algeria Bombing, Annan Holdovers

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 17 -- With 78 year told Lakhdar Brahimi gearing up to replace Kofi Annan as Syria envoy or Representative on September 1, there are obvious questions about whether he will keep in place the team of "Seven Million Dollar Man" Annan.

  As Inner City Press exclusively reported, Annan brought on people associated with his Kofi Annan Foundation such as Alan Doss, who was then described by Annan spokesman Ahmad Fawzi as being in his "toolbox" of consultants, and Martin Griffiths, under whose leadership the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva suffered a financial scandal.

  As well placed UN sources pointed out to Inner City Press, Griffiths could not have been hired by the UN, but received a UN-funded six month contract for Kofi Annan's term. And now?

  Brahimi on Friday gave what was described as his first interview as Joint Special Representative (designate) to French state media France 24, seemingly not calculated to bridge the gap with Russia and China on a day that another French (largely) state media characterized the Western P3 members of the Security Council and at least three of our Arab invitees as "boycotting" Russia's hastily scheduled Action Group meeting at the UN.

  Another lens through which to view or review Lakhdar Brahimi was his 2008 mandate to investigate the killing of UN staff in Algiers.  On February 28, 2008 Brahimi told Inner City Press, "the UN doesn't have to be in every single place."

  Inner City Press had asked UN Development Program's Administrator Kemal Dervis about UNDP's Mark de Bernis' failure to get action on security threats that mounts throughout 2007. Dervis defended UNDP by saying that it asked Algeria for help in blocking off the street, but that there was no response. So Inner City Press asked Brahimi, former Algerian foreign minister, about this. "I have heard that," he said. "We will look into that... whether Algerians were over-confident, or UNDP."

  But the question was never answered. Now Brahimi plays Nobel Peace Prize lotto with Syria. Will there be more follow through this time? Timing is everything. Watch this site.

On Libya, Ban Ki-moon 's Envoy Khatib Works in Jordan, Ruling Snubbed, Private Planes Demanded from UN

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 27, updated -- The ostensibly full time envoy to Libya of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Abdul Ilah Al Khatib, “does have some responsibilities still in Jordan,” Ban's acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told Inner City Press on March 25.

For week Inner City Press has asked the UN about Al Khatib still being paid as a Senator in Jordan and about his business interests including as a director of Jordan Ahli Bank which is a co top 20 owner of Union de Banques Arabes et Francaise with the Gaddafi controlled Libya Foreign Bank.

Now, Inner City Press has learned that after this questioning began, UN staff wrote to the UN Office of Legal Affairs seeking a ruling on Al Khatib's unprecedented double service. OLA, with Ban's top lawyer Patricia O'Brien not there, has rendered the obvious ruling, that such double service is not permissible for a staff member or UN Envoy.

Tellingly, Ban has yet to acting on the ruling by his legal department, the staff tell Inner City Press. Rather, as Haq belatedly put it on March 25, “because of the speed with which we felt the need to appoint an envoy, some of the terms of his contract are still being worked out.”

But these conflicts of interest were obvious before Ban offered Al Khatib the job, after being turned down by Lakhdar Brahimi and Kemal Dervis. Close observers say that while Al Khatib may not be able, particularly with these conflicts, to negotiate any less bloody outcome in Libya, he negotiated masterfully with Ban Ki-moon.

Once Ban publicly named Al Khatib as his envoy without getting any commitment to stop outside activities, Al Khatib has all the leverage. He is refusing to stop his activities, the sources say, and is in fact demanding that he remain based in Amman, Jordan.

Al Khatib wants UN staff assigned to him there -- already he “borrowed” a Jordanian spokesman from the Beirut-based UN Economic and Social Council for Western Asia, run by a Jordanian -- and demands to be met at airports and flown on private planes.

“Al Khatib is a great negotiator,” a well place source tells Inner City Press, “just not in or for Libya.”

With Al Khatib serving as a Senator in Jordan, protesters have recently been killed in that country. When Ban unveiled Al Khatib as his envoy at a tightly controlled press stakeout, Inner City Press asked, “What about Jordan?” The two men walked away from the microphone. Last week, Inner City Press was not allowed to ask Ban about Khatib. Watch this site.

Update: at the UN noon briefing on March 28, the day after the above was published, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky declined Inner City Press' request that he confirm or deny the OLA memo and that Khatib wants to be based in Amman and use only private jets.

Nesirky said that "some details are still being worked out" and he had "nothing to add to that." Now Ban is headed to London - no chance to ask him. Might Khatib fly there on a private jet?

With Helen Clark at UNDP, Ad Melkert Is "Expected" to Leave, Dervis' Stealth Service

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
www.innercitypress.com/undp2clark033109.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 31 -- A game of musical chairs has begun in the UN system, starting with today's confirmation of New Zealand's former prime minister Helen Clark as the replacement for Turkey's Kemal Dervis at the top of the UN Development Program. Hours before the General Assembly meeting to cap Clark's selection, it emerged that Dervis had quietly been named a Special Adviser to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the upcoming G-20 meeting in London.

The UN had never announced Dervis' appointment, but when Inner City Press asked about a quote from Dervis in the Turkish Press about the appointment, Ban's spokeswoman Michele Montas confirmed it. Video here, from Minute 20:26. Like the ill-fated appointment of Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler as Ban's envoy to Niger, where he and a colleague have been kidnapped, it was never announced. Inner City Press asked, are there other stealth envoys? While the answer seemed to be "no," in today's UN one never knows.

An African diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to Inner City Press Tuesday afternoon moments before the GA vote on Clark, said it was unfortunate that no expert from a developing country had been found, even to be a serious candidate for consideration by Ban Ki-moon. He added, "hopefully for the deputy post at UNDP." When Inner City Press asked if that meant current Dutch deputy Ad Melkert would be leaving, the diplomat said that is to be expected. Especially after Ban Ki-moon's still-protested ouster of Tanzanian Anna Tibaijuka from the top spot at the UN in Nairobi in favor of Achim Steiner, from now on "if the top spot goes to the developed world, the deputy should be from the developing world," he said.

While a newspaper in New Zealand put Clark's prospective pay at $500,000, by Inner City Press' calculation it is $287,000 -- the $189,000 that all Under Secretaries General make, plus a 68% "New York post adjustment" of over $98,000. There's talk of housing subsidy and “other perks,” with a reference to the former director of the UN Millennium Campaign Evelyn Herfkens, who said she couldn't live or entertain appropriately in New York on an Assistant Secretary General's salary, and so illegally took housing subsidy from the Dutch government. Exposed for violating UN rules, she left her post, only to re-surface as a consult or special envoy, still getting Daily Sustenance Allowance and other perks.

Meanwhile, UNDP still declines to state how much it pays each member of Somalia's parliament, in a purported response to precisely this question, referred to it by the UN's envoy to Somalia. Other long standing questions remain unanswered. One UNDP insider wondered if Helen Clark, whose husband has said he will not be moving to New York, will be part of the calculation of Ms. Clark's benefits. Watch this site.

Footnotes: In an "only at the UN" moment, at a reception at the Libyan mission on the eve of Clark's confirmation, excited word circulated that Clark had while prime minister criticized Israel for its (mis) use of New Zealand passports, several missions' level of support for Clark went up....

UNDP, which run democracy and voting programs, for example in Kenya, put out a press release on Tuesday saying the UN "General Assembly this morning unanimously approved Helen Clark of New Zealand as the new Administrator." Apparently UNDP jumped the gun, since the vote was held in the afternoon...

While Dervis never explained why he left UNDP -- and now resurfaces still working for the UN -- Turkish sources maintain it was “family reasons,” that his wife did not like him traveling so much. Now he has three jobs, one in Turkey, one at Brookings in Washington and, quietly, with the UN. Few ever truly leave the UN: as they say of a certain type of five cent coin, the UN musical chairs never stop.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp2clark033109.html

UNDP Moved on 30,000 Boxes of Records Mid-Investigation, Dervis' Successor Must Answer

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp1boxedout011709.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 17 -- Just after the sudden departure announcement of its Administrator Kemal Dervis, the Iran-led Executive Board of the UN Development Program is slated to meet this week in New York. Dervis' tenure was steeped both in secrecy and controversy -- click here for Inner City Press' farewell to Dervis -- and these two come together in an emerging story the Board should be considering this week.

In the midst of the so-called Nemeth Committee's investigation into UNDP's dealings with the Kim Jong-il government of North Korea, UNDP quietly sought bids to move 30,000 boxes of documents out of its headquarters to private locations until at least 2011. Inner City Press has obtained a copy of UNDP's "Terms of Reference" and, beyond the prevalence of mis-spellings not usually found in such formal document, finds therein no argument about why wider UN system restrictions on document outsources are not complied with. Click here for the document.

Earlier this month, Inner City Press asked outgoing US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad a number of questions about unfinished reforms at the UN and UNDP. Khalilzad said that access to past audits remains a problem at UNDP, but claimed that "going forward," UNDP audits will be available on the same terms as those of the UN Secretariat. We'll see.

The US Mission also said that Ban Ki-moon would have preferred having a single unified UN Ethics Office, the one run by the now-isolated Robert Benson, covering UNDP. Why then shouldn't acceptance of this desire of the UN Secretary General be a condition for nomination to succeed Dervis? There are Scandinavian names being thrown around, a Norwegian minister and others. Associate Administer Ad Melkert is said to have disqualified himself. This will be a litmus test.

Footnote: also indicative of UNDP's lack of transparency is the agency's role in the disappearance of the UN's envoy to Niger, Canadian Robert Fowler. He was visiting a UNDP-funded, Canadian-owned gold mine in a remote region of Niger not related to his purported mandate. There was reportedly a UNDP driver, but no security. The UNDP vehicle was found its with doors open and lights on, cell phones still in the car. Inner City Press posted basic questions to UNDP's spokesman, who responded that there will be no comments or information until the "denouement." That was more than three weeks ago.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1boxedout011709.html

At UNDP, Kemal Dervis' Desires, Scandals and Silence Recalled As He Departs

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp1dervisout010809.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 8 -- Kemal Dervis, the UN Development Program's Administrator, announced Thursday he will leave the post on March 1, ostensibly for personal and family reasons. His tenure was marked by a series of scandals in UNDP, from funding violent disarmament in Uganda and diamond mining in Zimbabwe to procurement fraud cover-ups and financial irregularities in its North Korea program. Through it all, Dervis largely avoided the media, repeatedly telling Inner City Press that he refused to answer questions in the hallway of the UN, as even the Secretary General and his top officials do. He presided over retaliation, and then fought to keep UNDP exempt from the UN system's Ethics Office.

Why is Dervis leaving? There are a number of theories. One has it that he had his eye, in the UN system, on the Deputy Secretary General post. Many close observers had been predicted that Asha Rose Migiro would leave in February. But recently word came down that she is staying. And soon thereafter, Dervis announced he is leaving the system. Others less plausible tie his sudden announcement to the North Korea scandal, and Ban Ki-moon's recent trip to Washington.

What will Dervis do next? There's high brow chat of a university post, lower brow talk of filthy lucre or Turkish politics. Perhaps he'll write a book like the one his predecessor commissioned, "UNDP: A Better Way?"

All that said, Inner City Press has a single semi-positive memory. On his way into the Secretariat building one blue-skied day, Dervis stopped and mused that, you only have so many mornings like this in your life, you have to enjoy them. We hope he does -- and that the next UNDP Administrator does a better job. At Thursday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson if he will at least commit to what his predecessor did, releasing a short list of candidates for the post. I don't know yet, the Spokesperson said. We will follow this one.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1dervisout010809.html

UNDP's Dervis Admits Paying Saakashvili Unwise, Dodges on Congo Security and Kosovo Fees

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp1gadervis102208.html

UNITED NATIONS, October 22 -- After the UN Development Program had defended paying salary to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili since Inner City Press exclusively reported on it, on Wednesday UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis belatedly acknowledged that payments to such high officials "raises questions" and "may not be desirable."

Under the rubric of UNDP's lack of impartiality, and as limited by UNDP to post-conflict situations, Inner City Press asked Dervis about the Georgia program, about UNDP paying or processing the salary of an ex-UN employee who now works for the Kosovo government, and about a judgment against UNDP in favor of the widow of a UNDP consultant sent without security to Eastern Congo and killed. On this last, Dervis read an apology from notes, while mistakenly locating the murder, and UNDP's negligence, as having been in Kenya. Video here, from Minute 28:15.

After Inner City Press had reported on UNDP's Georgia program, in which it funneled money from George Soros' Open Society Institute to President Saakashvili and his inner circle, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the program as a "privatization of the UN." Wednesday Inner City Press asked Dervis to respond to the criticism.

While quickly saying, "I fully agree with the Russian foreign minister," Dervis did not step away from processing such money for OSI or other -- apparently any other -- private foundation. UNDP takes a fee in such deals, although in recently months UNDP's spokesman has repeatedly declined to provide information about the fees UNDP charges. Ironic in light of this stonewalling, Dervis three times said that programs like that in Georgia "must be transparent."

Regarding the verdict against UNDP of 143,000 pounds, Dervis said that UNDP now has the ability, through the freedom of so-called ex gratia payments, to provide support in such circumstances. Given the now-admitted inadvisability of UNDP's program to pay Georgia's president, it is doubtful that giving UNDP less oversight in payments is advisable. But what Dervis did not address -- along with the Kosovo question, which he did not answer at all -- was the lack of security that UNDP provided to Joe Comerford when they sent him to the Congo, where he got killed. Click here for more on the case.

This seems to be a pattern with UNDP, which was criticized in the UN's recent reports about the December 2007 bombing of UN premises in Algiers Yet Dervis has yet to take any questions on UNDP's actions before the Algiers bombing, and his spokesman declined to comment on or even confirm UNDP's vacature of its premises in Amman, Jordan, despite the UN's head of security confirming it to Inner City Press. Transparency, indeed...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1gadervis102208.html

In UNDP Secrecy Plan, Even Funders Must Gives Reasons to See Audits, Board Must Be Notified, Resuming Sept. 19

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN Analysiswww.innercitypress.com/undp1audits091208.html

UNITED NATIONS, September 12 -- The culture of secrecy and cover-up in the UN, at least in the UN Development Program, was on display on Friday night. The UNDP Executive Board meeting went into overtime, without translators, due to objections to even the watered-down proposal to let member states see audits of UNDP country programs while withholding them from the public. A proposal was made by UNDP's Board President to add a requirement that any requester of an audit must state the "reason / purpose of the request," and also that UNDP notify not only the "concerned country" but also the wider Executive Board before providing any documents.

This falls far short of most Freedom of Information laws, which provide for individuals to gain access to documents whether or not they fund they underlying programs. Here, roadblocks are being erected to funders seeing audits of what they have funded. Only at the UN...

UNDP's Administrator Kemal Dervis, who has contributed to this culture of secrecy by for example refusing to answer even factual questions was not in the Board meeting to the end. Nor was his Associate Ad Melkert, who had promised transparency and reform. Akiko Yuge was in the house, as a ten minute recess was called to consider the enhanced secrecy amendments. The ten minutes too were extended. "Thomas of Switzerland," as the Board president called him, was called to the front to translate. The Board president bragged that he had a very fun schedule for the weekend -- "maybe you don't" -- and so he wanted a vote on his language of more secret audits.

The draft he circulated also differed from what he'd read out loud, this time allowing the Executive Board as well as the concerned government to "view and comment on the report" prior to it being given to any funding member state.

Update of 8:25 p.m. -- "Ten minutes" has gone over an hour. Rationales for secrecy are offered to Inner City Press: disclosure can lead to suspension of programs as in North Korea; even if a country commits to not share an audit with the press, there is no recourse for violating the commitment. But if a program is funded by a public body like the UN, how can how the money's spend legitimately be kept confidential?

Update of 8:40 p.m. -- The president finally re-gavels the meeting to order, only to announce that no concensus was reached. China speaks, to say this will have an impact on for example the UNICEF board, which meets next week. China "can't make position at this stage."

Do other delegations which to take the floor? India speaks, supporting the Chinese position, requesting more time. Pakistan says the same (Kashmir notwithstanding). Russia "also would like to express its regret... and hope that in the meantime no negative precedent."

The president says, we are not to wait until the next meeting in January. An African delegate says that the issue has been focused on UNDP, not UNICEF.

Update of 9 p.m. -- the president suspends the session until next Friday. Even the most basic and constrained transparency can't fly at UNDP...

Watch this site, and this (UN) debate.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1audits091208.html

UNDP's Funding of Saakashvili Causes Russian Uproar, For-Ex Stonewalling Continues

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp1russia091108.html

UNITED NATIONS, September 11 -- As the UN Executive Board lurched through the fourth of its five day meeting, with UNDP management having stoked its its ostensible overseers into demanding it re-open the flow of money to Kim Jong Il's North Korea, one of UNDP's equally dubious programs on the other side of the political spectrum fell under fire. It involves UNDP having paid salary to Georgian president Saakashvili, with its own funds and those of George Soros' Open Society Institute. Inner City Press first reported on the program in December 2006, then again on August 25, 2008, click here for that story. This was picked up by Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin and by Russian media. See examples here, here and here.

The question to be answered is, are the members of UNDP's Executive Board really informed by UNDP management what type of programs are going on?

Meanwhile, despite the Executive Board president's gushing on September 10 that no member disagreed with the head-long rush to return to Pyongyang, even in the face of uncertainty if Kim Jong Il is on his death bed or dead, possibly toppled by even harder-line generals who have restarted that country's nuclear program, in front of the Security Council Inner City Press asked U.S. Ambassador Khalilzad for the U.S. Mission position, video here at Minute 6:43:

Inner City Press: UNDP has been meeting this week. The US position seems to be that the UNDP should go back to North Korea. Do you feel--

Ambassador Khalilzad: We have been under the view that there is a need for steps to make sure that some of the problems that have been listed will not take place again. Thank you.

But when Inner City Press asked UNDP's spokesman early on September 11 for a copy of Regional Directly Ajay Chhibber's so-called "roadmap" to return to North Korea, which even the Executive Board president said should be distributed and made transparent, it was not provided.

Also in front of the Security Council on September 11, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's envoy to Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari to explain the UN system's silence while it was losing 20% of aid funds to the Than Shwe regime. "Matthew, I hope you raise that with [OCHA's] John Holmes and with UNDP." Video here, from Minute 7:19.

Well, Inner City Press has had currency exchange loss questions pending with UNDP for weeks and weeks, and has repeated sent reminded, still with no response. This did not impinge on the self-congratulatory dream world of some Executive Board delegates cooking up rubber stamp resolutions in Conference Room C in the UN's basement on the night of September 11. Nor did it stop once and future UNDP-er Jan Mattsson for patting himself on the back for finally getting an audit of the UN Office for Project Services after seven years, and moving to pay off a blatant cost overrun for Afghan elections in 2005. It all cuminates, he told the Board on September 11, in a new UNOPS web site, in three languages: English, French and Spanish. Maybe that's why Russia didn't know about the funding to Saakashvili...

Meanwhile, UNDP has not provided answers as simple as the volume of fees it collects as a conduit for funding for prisons and military barracks all over the world, and to pay an ex-UN Kosovo Mission staffer to work for Kosovo's government. Not only could this dubious middle-man role raise more Russian questions about UNDP -- more generally, it is for reasons like these that many believe that UNDP is an opaque, unaccountable and even corrupt organization.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1russia091108.html

As UN's Ban Says Nobody Follows Him, He's Presiding Over Chaos on Ethics and Disclosure

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/ban1turin090208.html

UNITED NATIONS, September 2 -- Ban Ki-moon, one third of the way through his five year term as Secretary General, is lamenting that nobody is following his leadership. In a speech to senior UN official in Turin on August 29, Ban lamented, "I tried to lead by example. Nobody followed." And so he tried to make clear he is in charge: "When we work for the UN -- when you work for me -- please leave your ego at the door."

But listeners have highlighted to Inner City Press a contradiction in Ban's speech. Ban said, "in choosing my senior advisers, I have always cared less about a person's intellectual attainments than his or her ability to work well with others." Meanwhile he complains that UN officials are not obeying, or working with, him and his senior advisers. How can an advisor be said to "work well with others" if the others don't agree? Is a person a leader if "nobody follows"?

While speaking in favor of "One UN" and against turf wars, Ban allowed UN Development Program Administrator Kemal Dervis to rebuff the UN Ethics Office, which had preliminarily found retaliation by UNDP. Dervis instead was allowed to create his own, friendly ethics office. Can one lament turf wars when one allows this fragmentation and duplication of resources?

Another example is Ban's lack of follow-up on his suggestion that senior officials make at least basic public financial disclosure. Several officials simply checked a box, "I choose not to disclose." And when the UN's top lawyer Nicolas Michel purported to disclose, but did not list the $10,000 a month he was taking from the Swiss government for his housing, nothing was done. So much for zero tolerance.

Most recently, the head lawyer of the UN Mission in Kosovo admitted lobbying for recognition of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence while working for the UN. Again, nothing has been done. So much for impartiality.

When documents were leaked showing that a senior UN official, Jane Holl Lute, had pushed to steer a no-bid $250 million contract to US-based military contractor Lockheed Martin for peacekeeping camps in Darfur, against the advice of the Controller and of the Headquarters Committee on Contract, nothing was done, except that Ban expressed exasperation at being asked questions about the contract. Attempts to find the source of the leaks were made. While the previous head of UN Management had promised a UN Freedom of Information Act, no steps in this directly have been made.

Ban also focused on so-called mobility, decrying that 790 of 900 surveyed UN staff had been in their position for five years or more. But Ban has yet to do anything about the inability of so-called G or General staff to move in to the professional ranks. And officials expected to leave have been kept on in other positions, for example the Lockheed contract pusher in a Peacebuilding role. Or the disgraced Millennium Campaign director Eveline Herfkens, who took $280,000 from the Dutch government while ostensibly serving only the UN, now recycled at a $1 a year "advisor" -- in line for up to $100,000 in "Daily Subsistence Allowance." Click here for Inner City Press' story on this.

In terms of openness to the press, Ban is lagging behind his predecessor Kofi Annan. Annan held a number of sit-down press conferences, taking 20 or more questions including on such topics as housing subsidies. Ban on the contrary has recently done a brief series of by invitation only press lunches, insisting these be "off the record." Ban rarely does press conferences, and his Spokesperson carefully chooses who is allowed to ask questions. As reported, those holding the microphone boom at the Security Council stakeout have been told not to allow particular investigative journalists to ask questions. This is leadership? Perhaps those Ban has selected believe in teamwork in such a way they believe their job is to insulate Ban from the press, and try to silence those who question.

When Ban's Office of the Spokesperson was asked for clarifications of Ban's August 29 speech, they said since it hadn't been publicly released, all questions should be to the director of the Office of Communications. Is this office working well with others?

For ten days now, the UN has been under fire for its Myanmar envoy's pro-junta trip to Yangon, for failing to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi or even General Than Shwe. Day after day of unanwered questions. Ban said it is not about process but results. In this case, where are the results? What was done about the UN's loss of 20% of aid funds to government-required games with Foreign Exchange Certificates? Click here for that. There is much work to be done.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/ban1turin090208.html

UN Admits $10 Million Exchange Loss in Myanmar, Says Will Disclose Others Countries and Losses

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1forex072808.html

UNITED NATIONS, July 28 -- At least $10 million in UN aid money raised by the UN after Cyclone Nargis hit has been lost in government-dictated currency exchanges, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes admitted on July 28. He stated that at the time he launched a second appeal for aid on July 10, "we here" in New York had not been aware of the seriousness or extent of the losses. But an internal UN document obtained by Inner City Press shows that the UN knew as early at June 26 of a "very serious 20% loss on foreign exchange... changing US Dollars to Foreign Exchange Certificates [FEC] then to local currency, Kyats." This appears in the internal "Notes for the Record" of an "Emergency Task Force Teleconference" call involving top officials in Yangon, Bangkok and Rome, available here.

Inner City Press on June 26, after being read the minutes by a source, wrote an article and asked questions about it, including to the UN Development Program. On July 9, before the appeal was launched, Inner City Press asked Holmes about it, on camera in front of the Security Council, video here, at end.

Holmes on July 28 put the loss at $10 million and called it unacceptable. Inner City Press asked what percentage loss through government-dictated currency exchange he and the UN would find acceptable. "I think we've had this discussion before," Holmes said. "It's very difficult to set the bar." Video here, from Minute 31:58. "We are arguably a bit slow to recognize, since the spread widened in June." But prior to June, and prior to the cyclone, the UN was losing 15% to currency exchange. Was that acceptable?

Given the UN's losses in Myanmar only came out due to questions being pursued about these leaked minutes, Inner City Press asked Holmes if he would commit to now releasing a list of those countries in which the UN suffers currency exchange losses of greater than five percent, and a plan to address the losses and / or appropriately disclose them to donors. "I don't see any reason why not," Holmes said. "There's no reason not to be transparent." Video here, from Minute 55:57. He added, "we had not been trying to conceal it."

But why then not have disclosed it in the July 10 appeal for several hundred million more dollars for Myanmar? Notably, if a publicly-traded company was even negligent in this way, there would be fines and worse. This now becomes a test-case not only for Holmes but also for Ban Ki-moon. The problems of currency exchange rip-offs by governments may have pre-existed their tenures. But now that it is belatedly known, if only through questions being pursued about leaked minutes, it remains to be seen if they and the UN move to clean out this heretofore undisclosed leakage of aid money.

Inner City Press first raised the issue on June 26 itself, in print and in questions to the UN Development Program, which handles UN finances in the field. UNDP Spokesman Stephane Dujarric provided a written response that

"UNDP Funds are remitted into the UNDP US dollar account at Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank. UNDP Myanmar exchanges US dollars for Foreign Exchange Certificates at the Bank, and then converts these into local currency (Kyat)."

After that, in response to Inner City Press' request for how much money UNDP and the UN have converted into FEC, UNDP has provided no information. Mr. Dujarric left a message that he was going on leave but that his colleagues would provide the information. This never took place. On July 25, Inner City Press asked UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis after he launched an appeal for more most-emergency funds if he would answer questions about UNDP's Myanmar operations, there in the UN's conference room 4 or in a press conference. "You know I don't answer questions like this," he said, adding that any press conference would have to wait until "after the high summer season." There are indications that UNDP, even prior to Cyclone Nargis, provided larger cuts to Myanmar's Than Shwe government than the 25% now admitted to by the UN's humanitarian operations.

The amount of money the UN system has turned over to the Than Shwe government goes back far before the cyclone. At UN Headquarters on July 16, Inner City Press posed questions to Eric Laroche, now at the World Health Organization, but previously the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Somalia, and further back with UNICEF in Myanmar. When Inner City Press asked if Laroche thought it legitimate to accept a low exchange rate from a government in order to have access, he stayed silent for a full eight seconds before saying, "It's a very difficult question, and a more difficult answer. It has to do with principles." He said that when he was in the country with UNICEF, auditors were told about the exchange rate arrangements with the government. He and his spokesman committed to explain how WHO exchanges money in Myanmar, but to date have not done so. After a telephone call on the afternoon of July 28, their response is expected immanently, and will be covered as this series progresses.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1forex072808.html

Dutch Government Also Paid Military Officials at UN, Reports Say, Like Herfkens and N. Korea, Litigation Needed

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press in Amsterdam
www.innercitypress.com/undp6herfkens060108.html

AMSTERDAM, June 1 -- While in New York the United Nations has been trying to bury the controversy of Eveline Herfkens, the Coordinator of its Millennium Campaign who simultaneously took $280,000 from the Dutch government, here in the Netherlands l'affaire Herfkens continues to gather steam and to expand. Raised in the Dutch press, contrary to UN denials on May 30, is that Dutch military officials ostensibly working for the UN may be having their salaries "topped off" to equate what they would make in NATO or in Holland. Meanwhile Ms. Herfkens herself has refused to return any of the money, saying that would be an admission of guilt. She has said, in essence, "sue me." If someone does, it is not known if the UN's immunity, or in this case impunity, could be a prevailing defense.

On May 30 at the UN's noon briefing in New York, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe

"This is in light of this issue of either housing subsidies or wage supplements. There is an article in NRC/Handelsblad in the Netherlands saying that, if these payments are prohibited, the Netherlands is going to have a hard time detaching senior military officials to work for the UN or, I guess, in peacekeeping missions... Do force commanders or senior military figures from Governments that work for the UN on peacekeeping missions, are they entirely paid by the UN, or are they allowed, despite or around the Charter, to receive wage supplements from their Governments?"

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: No, they are not.

Inner City Press: They only are paid by the United Nations?

Deputy Spokesperson: Of course.

But following this exchange, the Dutch newspaper BN DeStem reported that the country's Ministry of Defense "Also Paid UN-ers," specifically colonels working to the UN. Click here for English translation.

As with the still-unanswered question of which other countries' UN official may have "pulled Herfkens," which other countries secretly pay extra to their military personnel supposedly answering only to the UN? Now that even the narrow Dutch issues have moved beyond the UN Development Program, which has specialized in blocking, delaying and controlling investigations into its activities, will the wider UN, or anyone else, conduct a credible investigation?

Footnote: well-placed sources said Friday that UNDP long-prepared whitewash of its retaliation against the exposure of irregularities in its North Korea programs was to be unfurled Monday and that, not surprisingly, the whistleblower is not protected. But even the Kemal Dervis-selected panelists admitted systemic breakdown of safeguards within UNDP. On Sunday night, the UN to the press that Dervis would brief, or brag, at 11 a.m. Monday (Inner City Press' UN Correspondent is in Africa, click here for first of many articles.) The UN Ethics Office, which backed down or was called off this case once already, now has another chance, on this, the Koumoin / Cote d'Ivoire case, and the Somalia / KPMG cases, along others. Watch this site.

Footnote: back on May 22, Inner City Press asked UNDP these two questions, which have yet to be answered:

Q: What ever happened to the promised investigation by OAPR of UNDP's award of no-bid contracts to a firm called PRO-FIT? At the time, UNDP promised its own investigation. did it ever happen? will UNDP make it public? So far not answered.

Undp claimed a couple months ago that internal investigations and a Kimberly Process investigation had cleared undp from any wrongdoing in Zimbabwe, concerning undp's support of diamond mining operations. but undp refuses to make public the investigations. what is the basis for undp not sharing copies of these investigation reports: Will UNDP release the reports? So far not answered.

Q: Beyond UNDP, what about the question of UN requiring letter from a media's country's mission for accreditation?

Answered thusly: " I have been advised that for regular accreditation missions do not get involved. However, they do get involved when a visiting senior official travels with a press corps. In those instances, the mission would sent the UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit a list of journalists who need to get a one or two day pass."

We less sure of this last answer, as several journalists have been asked to get letters from their country's mission to the UN. Developing.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp6herfkens060108.html

As UNDP's Selective "For the Record" Omits Alberdi Flap, Scandals Proliferate

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp4208media042008.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 20 -- Alone among UN agencies, the UN Development Program has spent money and time to create a media "fast reaction team" to seek to ostensibly rebut and discredit reporting and reporters critical of UNDP and its high officials. When the coordinator of its Millennium Campaign Eveline Herfkens was accused of taking $7000 a month from the Dutch government while ostensibly working only for the UN system, UNDP's online "For the Record" leaped to her defense. Once the charges were proved, UNDP simply moved on to attack other media reports, stating for example that

On allegations about procurement irregularities in Burundi...In January 2007, UNDP's office in Burundi submitted a request for procurement of $2.3 million worth of medical supplies from Hospital Services (Burundi). After looking into the matter, the request was rejected by UNDP’s corporate procurement review due to a perceived non-transparent procurement process. Contrary to recent allegations, UNDP’s own internal controls identified the shortcomings and halted the procurement action.

UNDP's seeming rebuttals are selective: the gist of Inner City Press' reporting about UNDP in Burundi is that UNDP refused to give information about the contracting irregularity to representatives of two donor member states who asked -- and then arranged a job for one of the requesters. Despite a track record of refusing to show documents and audits even to its funders, UNDP has now claimed that it would be willing to show anything on its Intranet to interested reporters. But UNDP has delayed and finally declined in answer basic factual questions from Inner City Press, preferring to wait and respond selectively on its "For the Record" blog-like page. UNDP is clearly proud of the page. But what does it choose to respond to?

Earlier this month, the Associated Press ran articles severely critical of the award, by UNDP, of the top spot at UNIFEM to a Spanish national, over a more qualified candidate from India, in the shadow of Spain giving $700 million to UNDP. AP reported that "UNDP spokesman David Morrison refused to answer any questions about the selection process." There was no response from UNDP on its "For the Record" page, which is subheaded, "Official responses to inaccurate press reports." Either UNDP agrees that the post award was determined by money, or is afraid to critique what it considers a media outlet more mainstream not only than Inner City Press, but also than Fox News. So "For the Record" should be more accurately labeled, a response to media that UNDP is not afraid of. Or perhaps it is the range of NGO outrage at the selection process -- most recently, opposition has been expressed by, among others,

-the Fiji Women's Rights Movement (Pacific)

-International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic (USA)

-Popular Education Network of Women from Latin America and the Caribbean

-Women's Action for Change (Pacific)

-Women's Development Collective (South East Asia)

-Women in Development Europe

-Young Women Activists (Global)

UNDP also claims it shares the information on its Intranet with its "NGO partners." We'll see

Regarding UNDP's claims that it would happily show information from its intranet to reporters, and offer briefings on subjects needing clarification, not only have Kemal Dervis and Ad Melkert not taken questions in months, here after a week's delay was UNDP's response to two simple factual questions from Inner City Press:

In a message dated 4/2/2008 1:03:50 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, christina.lonigro [at] undp.org writes:

On your questions regarding compensation for the Algiers bombing, due to the ongoing processing of claims and the Brahimi investigation, I have no information to give you at this time.

On your question at the briefing regarding a Fox News story about an alleged "no bid contract" in Venezuela, I encourage you to look at our response posted on our website. http://www.undp.org/for-the-record/index.shtml The process for this contract was competitive and the article contained many mischaracterizations and inaccuracies.

Underlying the still-disputed Venezuela contract issue, and the Algiers insurance question which the UN Secretariat, unlike UNDP, realized it must answer, there are numerous questions to UNDP this year which the agency has chosen not to answer, after promising responses. Ironically, one of the questions involves which media outlets UNDP provides payments to. Now having patiently waited more than a month for responses to factual questions to UNDP, each will be reported in turn. Among many other things, there's lack of confidence in UNDP management in Bangladesh, plagiarism, and another contract controversy, in Trinidad.

UNDP also recently reached out to take issue with media reports in Malaysia, in a way that may reflect those its "media monitoring" is going --

"In a related development, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) clarified that UNDP national expert in Sarawak for the peat swamp project, Dr Alexander Sayok, is a staff of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) and not a staff of the UNDP and thus Dr Sayok's comments on the lack of enforcement against wildlife abuse in Sarawak was his personal view.

"When contacted, the UNDP Kuala Lumpur spokesman said that the UNDP did not have an office in Sarawak and thus it could not give any official comments on issues in this state. 'However, the coverage by The Star on this endangered animal's issue has been listed as among the top most important articles from among the news events in more than 100 countries monitored by the UNDP over the past few days,' she said."

So, not only does UNDP monitor "more than 100 countries" every few days -- its goal in doing do is to rebut its own lower-level employees and contractors comments that are critical of any government. That is, UNDP's media monitoring attacks not only reporting and reporters who question UNDP's actions, but its own employees who question any government's or UNDP's actions...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp4208media042008.html