On UN's 38th Floor for Compacts, Of Jobs for Sale in Haiti & DR Congo, Of Myanmar & Missing Nambiar, Ladsous and Lack of Accountability

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 13 -- When UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon signed 29 “compacts” with senior UN officials in his 38th floor conference room on February 13, there was an elephant in the room. 

  Herve Ladsous, in charge of UN Peacekeeping, has overseen and seemingly covered up a scandal in which position in the missions in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo were sold for money. See Inner City Press exclusive report here.

   Ladsous has refused, since Inner City Press asked about corruption, to answer any Press questions. Video compilation here, most recent here. But on February 13, as Inner City Press rode a UN elevator up to the 38th floor chatting with another Under Secretary General, Ladsous got on the elevator. Silence descended.

   In the conference room, as Ban's officials assembled, outgoing Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said, “Where are all the women?”  (Later the envoys on Children and Armed Conflict and on Sexual Violence in Conflict arrived, group photo here.)

  Amos is leaving in March, and the UK proposed as her replacement -- thinking it owned the position in the same way France owns UN Peacekeeping -- Andrew Lansley, now opposed by more than 70,000 people, see Inner City Press story here.

  During the signings, Yuri Fedotov by video made the first or best joke - he signed two contracts but “only one salary,” he quipped. Joan Clos of HABITAT from Nairobi, too, made a joke, saying “Okay” then being told his Compact hadn't yet been signed.

   At the UN noon briefing two hours later, Inner City Press asked why Vijay Nambiar, Ban's Special Adviser on Myanmar and presumably still an Under Secretary General, had not signed a compact. Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Nambiar might be on travel. 

  But in the side room Inner City Press was led through, a table was set with Nambiar's name on it. We'll have more on this - and on Nambiar's praise of the Burmese government but silence so far on its revocation of voting rights for the Rohingya Muslim minority.

  On Ban's side of the table was his senior adviser Kim Won-soo, whom Inner City Press has reported is in the running, alongside Dmitry Titov, for the Department of Political Affairs position vacated by Oscar Fernandez Taranco (who after meetings in DC about Bangladesh was present Friday and signed his compact).

   Ban in his speech emphasized that journalists can see these Compact and will hold the UN accountable. That is in part the reason this report is being written this way. Inner City Press notes that in Ban's “public financial disclosures,” Ladsous' name goes to an error message: no file. 

 Accountability, the new Free UN Coalition for Access posits, inevitably must involve answering questions. Watch this site.

   

Excusive: For UN's Deputy Political Post, Russia's Titov & South Korea's Kim Won-soo Compete, Inner City Press Is Told

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, January 30 -- A currently open top UN job is Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, under US Jeffrey Feltman. Inner City Press is exclusively informed that competing for the post are Kim Won-soo, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's long time senior advisor, and Russia's Dmitry Titov.

   Inner City Press, always greeting Mister Kim in the hall and on January 29 in the River Club reception thrown by Chile's UN Mission, is informed that Kim would like to follow Ban back to South Korea as a possible foreign minister, but wants to re-establish his profile for that.

  On the other hand, of the Permanent Five members of the Security Council, Russia may have the fewest UN posts. France owns UN Peacekeeping, the fourth in a row being Herve Ladsous who refuses all Press questions. Videos here, here (Jan 22) and here (Vine).

 China has DESA -- but, we hear, still has a candidate for ASG of DPA;  the US had DPA through Feltman. The UK may be losing Humanitarian Affairs - click here for Inner City Press' latest exclusive on that -- but then reaches out for the top envoy post in Iraq. But Russia?

  Another way to view it is, the UN Secretariat's one-sidedness on Ukarine, between US Feltman and Croatian Ivan Simonovic, left the UN on the sidelines on the Ukraine issue. Could Titov as the number two in DPA turn that around? It could. Watch this site.

   

On Darfur Killings, Strange Claims of Mandates, Chapters & Tanks, Ladsous' DPKO Stonewalls

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 15 -- The killing in Darfur on Saturday of seven UN peacekeepers from Tanzania continues to be shrouded in mystery, including due to the refusal to take or answer questions by UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations under Herve Ladsous.

  Ladsous was in France -- where else? -- over the weekend at the colonial Bastille Day military parade.

  In New York when the UN Security Council requested and got a briefing about the killing on Monday afternoon, it was not from Ladsous or his deputy, but rather Dmitry Titov, formally in charge of the Rule of Law for DPKO. 

 Afterward, following the lead of Ladsous but not his predecessor Alain Le Roy, no question and answer stakeout was held.

  In terms of written questions, Ladsous' top four spokespeople have been sitting for sixteen days now on questions submitted by Inner City Press. Ladsous himself has repeatedly refused to answer Press questions. Video compilation here.

  In terms of the call for accountability for the killings in Darfur, it's noteworthy that Ladsous downplayed the previous kidnappings of UN peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, confining even the announcement of a kidnapping to a “conversation” with friendly journalists. Four pilots for the UN were killed in South Sudan in December, and no one has been held accountable. What message did that send?

  At Monday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky about the Darfur killings and Tanzania's statements:

Inner City Press: the spokesman for the Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces has said, “we are only allowed to use armoured personnel carriers under Chapter VI. This puts our troops in danger in volatile areas like Darfur.” Maybe I am missing something, it seems like it is a Chapter VII mission. But, the quote goes on to say that he’d like to use tanks, and I am wondering first of all, if you could clarify if the Mission is under Chapter VII, what the UN thinks of using tanks and what the purpose of that convoy was and whether any vehicles were stolen?

Spokesperson: Well, as I have said, there are still details emerging on this. With regard to the first part of your question, I’ll check with Peacekeeping Operations, okay?

  But seven hours later, there was no answer at all. This is Ladsous', and therefore Ban's, UN. Watch this site.