As Ban Confirms Ousting His Deputy, Sources Slam UN Musical Chairs

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, January 26 -- Amid calls for and claims of UN reform, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday belatedly confirmed he is ousting his Tanzanian Deputy Asha-Rose Migiro, Angela Kane of Germany as his head of Management, and Vijay Nambiar of India as his chief of staff.

Inner City Press had previously reported each of these, most recently identifying Susana Malcorra of Argentina as Migiro's replacement. When Inner City Press asked on January 23, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said he had not seen the Tanzanian newspaper which picked up Inner City Press' story.

Now a range of well-placed sources have painted for Inner City Press Ban Ki-moon's next steps. Rather than the top UN Disarmament post, for which there is better qualified outside interest, Angela Kane is said to be destined for the UN Economic Commission for Europe post vacated by Jan Kubis.

A third American name has surfaced for the Department of Management post Kane is losing. As a savvy Deputy Permanent Representative told Inner City Press, Patrick "Kennedy is the one, leaving as you've reported the contest for [the] D[epartment of] P[olitical] A[ffairs] between Jane Holl Lute and Alejandro Wolff."

Other sources say that Wolff's so far short service as US Ambassador in Chile is an issue. Within DPA, transition projects initially premised on American B. Lynn Pascoe leaving at the end of February have now been delayed to the end of May.

The Deputy Permanent Representative continued, "the UK is getting frozen out. They can't get back DPA. So they want for Nambiar's chief of staff post their Perm Rep here, Mark Lyall Grant."

For the record, when ICP was previously told by another well placed Secretariat source, "Mark Lyall Grant for chef de cabinet" or Chief of Staff, Inner City Press inquired and got a denial of Lyall Grant as an Under Secretary General, now included here. (Some wonder, could the UK be gunning for Deputy Secretary General - that is, not a USG post?)

Under the USG theory, the UK getting the Chief of Staff post would mean Valerie Amos would vacate the USG post at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Japan could retake OCHA, as it is losing Kiyo Akasaka atop the Department of Public Information.

On December 5 without taking any questions, Vijay Nambiar announced that Sha Zukang of the Department of Social and Economic Affairs and Shabaan Shabaan of the Department of General Assembly and Conference Affairs would leave after Rio + 20.

Sources say Sha would like to stay - but that a direct pull back from Nambiar's December 5 announcement "wouldn't look right." They say, why not Sha laterally, a la Nambiar and Kane, to DGACM, with "the other Egyptian, Maged Abdelaziz, taking over DESA?"

Maged Abdelaziz is a big player for the Group of 77 and the Non Aligned Movement, now on Rio + 20 and in December on the UN budget. Exemplifying how countries use "their" UN Secretariat officials, sources say that in December with Argentina still chairing G-77, the Argentine mission asked the Argentine head of the Department of Field Support Susana Malcorra to "get involved," for G-77.

To replace Malcorra at DFS, rather than moving as many think Ban should to a national of a major Troop Contributing Country, sources point to a candidate they call "homegrown" - that is, already in the UN and DFS. But the candidate they name is another American: Tony Banbury.

When Ban gave his reform speech on January 25, which many Permanent Representatives panned to ICP, US ambassador for Management Joseph Torsella tweeted excitedly about it. Some link this to the number of USG posts that the US is seeking, in seeming contradiction to Torsella's criticism in other contexts of "closed" slates, positions pre-dedicated to particular countries.

Ban himself is said by sources close to him to be particularly concerned with South Koreans. How and where to keep Information Technology chief Choi, and "another Choi"?

A close source self described as "outraged" at Ban Ki-moon's personnel practices told Inner City Press disgustedly, "Ban's staffer Isabel is a relative of his wife," amid much head shaking. Unlike the denial of "Mark Lyall Grant as USG" stated above, we have no denial or confirmation of this last from Ban or his spokesperson's office, which has refused to confirm or deny or even take questions on the simplest of facts, even after answers have on camera been promised.

This is Ban's UN - watch this site.

At UN, As Amos On Leave from House of Lords, Co-Brit Williams Goes for DPA of Ban Ki-moon, Waiving UN Charter?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 17, updated Aug 18 -- The UN has among its high officials at least two members of the UK House of Lords, Inner City Press has learned: humanitarian chief Valerie Amos and Lebanon envoy Michael Williams, who sources say may be seeking an even higher post.

The UN charter clearly prohibits a UN official serving any government or other interest other than the UN. Under Ban Ki-moon, this has in effect been waived for example for Ban's envoy to Libya Al-Khatib, who remains a Senator in Jordan. Al-Khatib has told Inner City Press he is not paid by the UN; other sources said a different "fix" or loophole had been found for Amos and Williams.

On August 16, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq to "please describe the UN's thinking and position on whether the UK titles / honors of Michael Williams and Valerie Amos may violate the letter or spirit of the UN charter."

Haq's written answer -- he had canceled the day's noon briefing, apparently on the argument that with Ban working from home, there was less or no UN news -- strangely addressed only one of the two: "No, they do not. Michael Williams is on a leave of absence from the House of Lords while he is working for the UN."

But why not answer as to Amos? See below. On August 17, Amos appeared in the UN briefing room to talk about Somalia, Syria and Sudan. As the penultimate question, Haq called on Inner City Press, which after Sudan asked Amos, since Haq had declined to answer, about her service in the House of Lords.

"Yes, I am formally a member of the House of Lords," she said, adding "they have something called Leave of Absence and I have take it, I think I'd have to given three months notice to go back." Video here, from Minute 28:50.

Afterward Inner City Press asked Amos' spokesperson to provide the date on which Amos went on leave from the House of Lords. At press time, it has not been provided. [But see update below.]

It is understood that when the UN Office of Legal Affairs questioned Michael Williams about his recent peerage and membership in the House of Lords, the case of Valerie Amos was brought up and cited to. The "on leave" loophole has been opened.

Other sources say that Williams, always genial with the press, is under consideration by the UK Foreign Office to be nominated at a UK candidate to replace American Lynn Pascoe as the head of the UN Department of Political Affairs.

As Inner City Press exclusively reported, Pascoe has told other high US officials he wants to leave the post. The only question is whether the Obama administration would like to put another American at DPA, or take over the UN Department of Management (with Patrick Kennedy, sources say) and perhaps also Ban's chief of staff position.

If Michael Williams, or any other Brit, took back the Department of Political Affairs for the UK, it seems clear that Amos would have to go as head humanitarian, since not even a Permanent Five country is supposed to control two of the top Under Secretary General positions. (Ban's spokesman Haq strange answering of the Press only as to Williams and not Amos can be seen in this light.)

So is it Williams versus Amos, Lord versus Baroness? Both are associated with the Labor party -- Amos waits with Ban Ki-moon when Tony Blair visits the UN -- and officials of Foreign Office under Conservative David Cameron are apparently nonplussed by the idea of nominating Williams. We'll see.

Update of August 18: the next day this came in from Ms. -- or should we say Baroness -- Amos' office:

"Sorry I didn't manage to confirm what Valerie told you yesterday until now, re her leave of absence from the House of Lords. As Valerie stated,

- She took a leave of absence from the House of Lords

- This was done when the offer from UN was accepted

- VA notified the Clerk of the House of Lords as per standard HoL procedure

- This is also to ensure that absentees aren't included in the numbers for voting."

As JPM Chase Cuts Off UN Missions, US Says Bailed Out Banks Are Free

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 13, updated -- When JPMorgan Chase wrote to countries' Missions to the UN and told them accounts would be closed in March 2011, several countries complained, to the UN and to the “host country,” the United States.

Thursday US Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy came to the UN in New York to speak to countries' Ambassadors about Chase's move. Afterwards, Inner City Press asked Kennedy if he -- or Hillary Clinton or Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, both of whom Kennedy said were involved -- had spoke with JPMorgan Chase.

"We have had discussions with the major banks," Kennedy answered, later confirming that yes, this included Chase. But what was the response of Chase, whose CEO Jaime Dimon is often rumored to be a line for an appointment by the Obama administration?

Kennedy told the press that “we cannot tell a bank what to do.” Inner City Press immediately asked, What about the banks which took bailouts and still owe TARP money to the US and its taxpayers? "Could the government use its leverage?"

Kennedy said he was not “technically competent to get into that level of detail," and told Inner City Press to ask the Treasury Department official who had also come to the UN. Video on Inner City Press YouTube channel here.

While the US Mission later said this Treasury Deparment official was Mark Poncy of the Office of Strategic Policy, Poncy never came to speak to the Press.

Inner City Press asked Kennedy if he thought the UN should go forward and re-rent space inside the UN under its Capital Master Plan to JPMorgan Chase, when this bank was turning its back on Missions of the countries which make up the UN.

“Ask the UN,” said Kennedy, who has responsibility at the State Department for Management, including at the UN. At the US Mission to the UN in New York, the Management position has remained with only an interim person, the genial but part time Professor Joseph Melrose.

At the UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press did ask Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky if the UN would give space to JPMorgan Chase in the Secretariat building when it re-opens.

“Ask Chase,” Nesirky said. But Chase is already in talks with the UN as to which space to get in the repaired building -- not, apparently, the fourth floor space it previously had, but some other location.

Nesirky now said that he would not comment on negotiations. But is Chase's closing of UN Mission's accounts, Inner City Press asked, even part of the negotiations? Nesirky seemed to say he would look into this.

JPMorgan Chase is not only interested in re-entering the Secretariat building when it re-opens: Chase also has a branch on the first floor of the DC-1 building which houses the UN Development Program. Many countries' Missions to the UN opened accounts at Chase because they were thus inside the UN. Will the UN allow this to continue?

At UN, Patrick Kennedy, spokesman Mark Kornblau & Joseph Melrose: where's Chase? (c) MRLee

After the meeting with Kennedy, Inner City Press asked Iran's Permanent Representative as he came out if he thought Chase should continue to remain in UN buildings. No, the Ambassador said, UN space should go to banks which will deal with UN Missions.

He spoke of the UN Federal Credit Union -- currently embroiled in a dispute about the account of the UN Staff Union -- and was asked if the UN should withdraw its own funds from a bank which in effect redlines Missions, like Chase.

Egypt's Permanent Representative told the Press about “transfer fees” while Turkey's Deputy Permanent Representative shrugged that “there are Turkish banks in New York.”

Russian Permanent Representative Vitaly Churkin, asked in front of the Security Council about JPMorgan Chase's move, laughed and said "the ruble is a very strong currency," when you have the ruble you don't need anything else. But the others? Watch this site.

Update of January 14, 2011: the following arrived:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 8:05 AM
Subject: Your questions on Chase Bank
To: Inner City Press

We can say the following in reply to your questions at the noon briefing:

Some ambassadors emerging from the US briefing about their accounts being shuttered think the UN should withdraw all its accounts with Chase. Has this been broached with the administration? Being weighed at all?

We understand that this was raised by one Member State delegate in the briefing with Ambassador Kennedy. The UN Secretariat has not been approached in this matter.

Will Chase open an office in the UN building after the CMP?

Under the CMP, the new UN building design includes space provision for banks. No agreements have been entered into with any banks for this space.