UN As Defense Attorney for Lord's Resistance Army, Erasing LRA Even From Transcript, Francophonie Notes

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un4lracar032908.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 -- Some fifty five children have been abducted in the Central African Republic, by nearly all accounts by the Lord's Resistance Army, even while the LRA is part of a UN-backed peace negotiations with Uganda's government. On Friday at the UN, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson, who had mentioned the Central African Republic but not the mass hostage-taking in her opening remarks, about the abductions, noting that they had been validated by a local UN team. The spokeswoman, in a statement visible on video but not included in the UN's transcript of the briefing, asked "what do you mean by validating?" and quickly stated that the team "could not identify" if the perpetrators were "LRA combatants." Click here for video, from Minute 18:19, and compare to transcript, here, and below, with no mention of LRA.

Later on Friday, Inner City Press asked Abdou Diouf, Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie, who had said he discussed the CAR with Ban Ki-moon, if the abductions by the LRA had come up. Mr. Diouf appears surprised, asking "the LRA, are they not in Uganda?" Video here, from Minute 13:35. Clearly, Ban Ki-moon while discussing the CAR did not mention the kidnapped children. Presumably, CAR only arose because of its proximity to Darfur, despite the problems in the CAR.

As it turns out, the UN in the CAR capital Bangui on Friday morning issued a report pointing the finger at the LRA -- but when the Agence France Presse ran it, they received a call from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, disclaiming the report, claiming it had been issued "under embargo," and asking that the link to the LRA be retracted.

News analysis: Why would the UN at the highest levels -- OCHA chief John Holmes was said to be involved, or was at least cited, in the policy switch -- put so much energy into protecting the likely perpetrator of these abductions? The most benign explanation is that the UN wants peace, and so wants to make sure that a hasty identification, or even any identification at all of perpetrators, does not undermine the peace talks, slated to culminate in Juba on April 5. Skeptics go further, and say that the UN is so desperate for seeming "wins" around the world such as UN envoy Chissano's involvement in Juba that it is willing to cover-up the abduction and reported rape of children. Even under the benign explanation, why was the kidnapping of 55 children, surely worse than other things denounced from the UN podium on March 28, not even mentioned, until it was asked about? The questions will continue.

Footnote one: While OCHA's John Holmes' name was invoked to seek retraction of reports linking the abductions to the LRA -- whose ICC-indicted leaders Holmes' predecessor Jan Egeland visited -- Holmes had the day previous been besieged by General Services-level OCHA staff, complaining of the UN's stratified system which blocks promotion from the G to the Professional level. Holmes promised to do something. We'll see.

Footnote two: The BBC's report has, as a sidebar, an OCHA quote trying to exonerate the "Real" LRA of Joseph Kony: "'We cannot confirm it is official LRA - it could be a dissident branch,' Jean-Sebastien Munier, Ocha." But there *is* no Mr. Munier -- his name is Munie...

Footnote three: Inner City Press also asked Abdou Diouf, Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie, to comment on whether the chief peacekeeping post of Jean-Marie Guehenno should go to a French national or, rather, a Franco-phonite, perhaps from Africa. Diouf replied that he'd read "in a newspaper on the way here" that France is proposing it own candidate. We'll see. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un4lracar032908.html

At UN, Khalilzad's Undisclosed Meeting with Ban Stumbled Onto, Of Budgets and Afghan Food Program Typos from Tribune de Geneva

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1banmeetsus032908.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 -- Saturday afternoon in the UN's near-empty Delegates' Lounge, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad came in. Inner City Press, at the UN to ask questions of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, asked Amb. Khalilzad what brought him inside on such a nice early Spring day. "A meeting with the Secretary General," he said.

Ban Ki-moon's daily schedule for Saturday, while noting the 4 p.m. meeting with Prime Minister Rudd, made no mention of meeting the American Ambassador. In fact, some who went up to the 38th floor for Ban's photo-opportunity with Rudd later told Inner City Press that Khalilzad looked surprised and not entirely happy with the arrival of cameras on the scene. "Maybe I should have worn a tie," Khalilzad ad libbed.

The impact of not listing such a meeting on Ban's schedule is that, normally, journalists would not then know to ask for a read-out on the meeting. What might Ban and the U.S. Ambassador have been meeting about, on Saturday afternoon? While some speculate it involved a report on Rudd's Washington meetings, Friday the UN budget committee voted to approve some $48 million in "Special Political Missions," as part of a $1.1 billion add-on package which Khalilzad's outgoing colleague Mark Wallace had criticized as an unprecedented 25% increase in the UN budget.

Khalilzad, asked about the increase by Inner City Press, said that the UN has to get better and setting its priority, that he might like to drive a Ferrari, but can't afford one. Perhaps a Japanese luxury car -- sources tell Inner City Press that Japan only reluctantly voted for the $48 million in budget add-ons, and even then, only with an understanding that the Secretariat will make $3 million in cuts elsewhere. It's considered strange that Japan rather than the United States made the most noise in the budget committee about the ever-rising spending. Perhaps the U.S.'s view on the budget were delivered more quietly, in an undisclosed Saturday afternoon meeting.

The end of the budget committee's March session was hard to cover: it was impossible to get audio recordings of the meeting once it finished, and the resolutions voted on Friday afternoon were not available, even as of noon. At the noon briefing, Inner City Press asked "if, hours before they vote on these things, we don’t have the documents, do the people voting have the documents now or do they just vote on them when they get them?" The General Assembly's spokesman replied, "I would assume that within the informal consultations, if we have these drafts listed, I have the feeling that probably those drafts have been worked on. Otherwise these would not be here."

We'll see. As of Saturday, 9 p.m., Ban's schedule still read as follows:

Saturday, 29 March 2008

All other appointments are internal

4.00 p.m H.E. Mr. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

Monday, 31 March 2008

12.00 p.m. Mr. Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (courtesy call)

12.30 p.m. Ambassador Elbio Rosselli, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the UN (farewell call)

3.30 p.m. Rt. Hon Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, Chairman, Commission for Global Road Safety

4.45 p.m. H.E. Mr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh

5.30 p.m. Mr. Ibrahim A. Gambari, Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Iraq Compact and Other Issues

Inner City Press annotations: apparently, Ban meeting with the U.S. Ambassador is now considered an "internal" meeting. Of Monday's disclosed meetings, one imagine with Bangladesh the issue surrounding the mandates combined with the Office of the Special Advisor on Africa coming up. Does Gambari being identified with reference to Iraq mean that Myanmar will not be discussed?

Footnote: While Zalmay Khalilzad has denied the reports that he might seek the presidency of Afghanistan, perhaps the rumors will revive, now that the august Tribune de Geneve has, if only as a typo, named Hamid Karzai as having joined that agro-bureaucrats at the World Food Program, click here for that (in French). It's nice work if you can get it -- a recently released ECOSOC report E/2008/36 reports that the WFP's Executive Board voted to set the housing allowance of executive director Josette Sheeran Shiner at 121,440 Euros per year, "indexed annually against the Italian retail price index." The price of food is not the only price that's going up. To be continued.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1banmeetsus032908.html

At UN, Rudd Downplays Timor Shoot-Out Flap, Internal Investigation May Never Be Released

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1ruddtimor032908.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 -- Days after Timor L'Este president Jose Ramos-Horta criticized both UN Police and Australian troops for inaction while he was shot and almost killed, Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd emerged Saturday from a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and, in summarizing the topics discussed, did not mention East Timor. He listed Darfur, Afghanistan, climate change and Australia's bid for a Security Council seat in 2013. Inner City Press asked for his response to Ramos-Horta's statements, including that "Australian troops only act upon requests from the United Nations." Rudd responded, not on the chain of command question, but that "the UN has underway its own internal investigation of the security arrangements concerning him at the time."

But will that UN investigation ever be made public? Inner City Press on Friday asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson, and drew a prepared "if-asked" response, then an evasion on whether the report will be made public. Video here from Minute 14:12.

Footnote: Kevin Rudd on Saturday named as Australia's competitors for the UN Security Council seat in 2013 Luxembourg and Finland. Based the current campaign being run by Turkey, Rudd might want to start buying some soccer balls -- click here for that.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1ruddtimor032908.html

At UN, Talk of Uganda Asking to Suspend War Crimes Indictment of Lord's Resistance Army

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un3lrasc032708.ht

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- With the planned signing day of a peace treaty between Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army put back to April 5, on Thursday France's Ambassador to the UN Jean-Maurice Ripert told Inner City Press that the Security Council could suspend for months or a year the International Criminal Court's indictments of the LRA leaders including Joseph Kony "if the government pursues its own tribunal or... traditional pursuits." Video here, from Minute 2:15.

Ambassador Ripert's language tracks the agreement, still not finalized, between Uganda's Museveni government and the LRA, providing for "a special division of the High Court of Uganda, to try individuals who are alleged to have committed serious crimes during the conflict." And so, is the fix in, that Museveni has committed to ask for, and the Security Council has somehow committed to give, a year suspension of the ICC indictments? "I'm not saying we'd support it," France's Amb. Ripert added.

Inner City Press asked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, president of the Council for this month, about Wednesday's closed-door briefing of the Council about Uganda. Was there a discussion of the Lord's Resistance Army? Video here, from Minute 7:41

"The members of the Council only took in the information," Amb. Churkin responded. But what information? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un3lrasc032708.html

At UN, Ban's Budget Add-Ons Top $1.1 Billion, Criticism of Political Missions and Mandate "Alignment"

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2budget032708.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- The UN budget committee has been asked for over $1.1 billion in "add-ons" to the over $4 billion budget adopted in December, a document obtained by Inner City Press shows. This includes $56 million for a new computer system, $100 million to construct a new UN building in Baghdad, and $1.5 million for "accountability / results-based management." According to the document, which Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson is quick to point out is only a proposal, an additional $184 million would be spent on the UN's so-called Capital Master rehabilitation plan, $6.8 million would be devoted to a controversial conference in Durban, and over $100 million would be to off set currency miscalculations.

On March 25, Inner City Press asked spokesperson Michele Montas if the "budget add-ons that the Secretariat has requested are $1.1 billion, a 25 per cent increase over the previous budget...when the presentation was made, there was only about a 2 per cent increase, how does the Secretary-General explain this over $1 billion additional request?"

Two hours after the briefing, the Spokesperson's Office responded

"in fact, the Secretariat has only provided a projection of how financing needs would evolve, if the Member States were to support a wide range of political missions and management reform proposals currently on the table. However, that projection is not the final amount, since this is a consultative process and its ultimate outcome will be determined by the Member States at large in the General Assembly, and not by the Secretariat. Also, the costs for special political missions, including Iraq and Afghanistan, cannot in any sense be considered 'administrative costs.'"

But what about the computer / "enterprise systems" in the UN's list?

The largest chunk of the add-ons concerns Special Political Missions. One of these, for Nepal, was slashed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, which for example stated of "a position... proposed in the Medical Section for a Medical Officer" that "in view of the lateness of the proposal and the plan to maintain the operational level of the Mission only until the end of July 2008, the Committee recommends against approval of this post. The functions should be provided for from within existing capacity." The same could be said of many of the proposed add-ons.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2budget032708.html

UN's Top Lawyer Declines to Answer on Subsidy, Insurance or Settlements, Liberia Crash Fallout

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un4subsidymichel032708.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 27 -- As the UN's chief lawyer Nicolas Michel purported to take questions from the press on Wednesday about the UN's Lebanon tribunal, behind the scenes he declined to answer questions not only about the housing subsidies he took from the Swiss government, but also about the UN-affiliated Cambodian genocide tribunal, his office's role in reviewing charges of UN Development Program involvement in diamond mining and smuggling in Zimbabwe, and how the UN and his office settle legal claims against the UN. While Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson said publicly that Michel is "very open about these issues," when faced with written questions from Inner City Press, Mr. Michel has said that henceforth all inquiries should go through the spokesperson's office. Wednesday at Michel's briefing, during which even though it was television Mr. Michel purposed to go off the record, click here to view, the spokesperson declined to call on Inner City Press to ask a question. Very open, indeed...

Underpinning the freeze out of the press, the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar repeated and cited Inner City Press' report that Michel's receipt of housing subsidy from the Swiss government throughout 2006 was omitted from his public financial disclosure form. Unlike Inner City Press, Al Akhbar concluded with a question in the nature of an editorial, asking why Switzerland would be paying, if not to seek some influence? Reportedly, Al Akhbar's story is viewed as damaging the credibility of Nicolas Michel, and perhaps by implication the tribunal, in Lebanon. Mr. Michel's response was not to finally disclose how much subsidy he took from the Swiss, but rather to refuse to answer any further questions and to declare his last transmission "off the record." Inner City Press is respecting but noting that request, from the UN's top lawyer.

Among the questions still lacking answers are how much Michel received in housing subsidy from the Swiss government, and for how long. Of even since-discredited Evelyn Herfkens, formerly of the UN Development Program, it is known that she received $280,000. (She is being asked to return the subsidy.) Herfkens found an apartment, across from the UN, from $7000 a month, while Michel has said he couldn't find anything in Manhattan for less than $20,000, due to size of family and, apparently, taste. But how much did he end up taking from the Swiss government, to live in suburban Westchester? At first he said he couldn't find or didn't have access to the records. Now he says he will answer no more direct questions.

Because the UN so often claims immunity, denying the jurisdiction of national courts over its actions, a lack of transparency by its chief legal official is particularly troubling. On a simple legal issue, Inner City Press asked Nicolas Michel "how are settlements paid out by UN peacekeeping missions? I asked at the noon briefing a report from Liberia [click here]. The spokesperson said that arrangements are made by each peacekeeping mission, on a case by case basis. But is OLA involved in the payment of settlements (and presumably the signing of releases)? How does immunity impact this?"

Because unhappy with the coverage of the housing subsidy he took from the Swiss, Mr. Michel refused to answer this question, even the thematic part, about immunity. Rather, Inner City Press had to await a non-thematic (but nonetheless appreciated) answer from Monrovia from an UNMIL spokesman, that

Matthew, this is what I can give you now:

Q:Was there an accident Nov 29 2007 involving UNMIL?

A: Yes

Q: Does UNMIL acknowledge its role and is it seeking to pay a settlement

A: UNMIL has acknowledged its role and accepted the outcome of an investigation by LNP and UNMIL investigators.

Q: How much was determined to be paid and from which funding would it be paid?

A: UNMIL's insurers in Monrovia (Secure Risks) are dealing with the claim, according to the laws of Liberia.

So -- UNMIL has insurance, and this will pay the victims of an UNMIL crash. At times, as will shortly become apparent, the UN does not even insure its own workers.

Q: Update on the UNMIL helicopter crash and any payments made in connection with that.

A: As has been discussed here in UNMIL press briefings, the cause of the crash was determined to be accidental. We have no details of any payment which may have been made as the helicopter and the pilots who died were working for a Ukrainian company contracted through UN HQ.

That is to say, the question cannot be answered from the field, only through Headquarters in New York. But here in New York, spokespeople say questions can only be answered from the field, and delay for days providing the most simple financial information.

To be fair to Nicolas Michel, we note two analogous things, that Mr. Michel is not the only UN official questions about whom the spokesperson leaves unanswered. Earliest this week, Inner City Press asked if new Sports and Development envoy Lemke is still an elected official in Germany. Information was promised, but none was provided. Finally, Inner City Press contacted the Germany mission to the UN, which replied

"At the moment, Mr. Lemke is a member of the government of the German federal state of Bremen. He was, however, appointed by the Secretary-General to his new post on the understanding that he will resign from his post in Bremen. He will of course tender his resignation to the Bremen parliament before he assumes his new post in Geneva, which will both happen after his visit to New York."

And, also to be fair to Nicolas Michel, two UN officials who has chosen to maintain financial disclosure confidentiality are the UN Mission in Kosovo's Joachim Rucker -- whether this lack of disclosure would weigh against rumored consideration for Department of Management is not known -- and the Department of Peacekeeping Operation's Dmitri Titov, now the "Rule of Law" chief.

Oh to be the lawyer advocating for a lawless organization...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un4subsidymichel032708.html

UN Economist Jomo K.S. Sings of Sovereign Wealth Funds, Does Not Publicly Disclose His Own Finances

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1desajomo032608.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 26 -- The UN's view of the subprime lending crisis in the U.S. is that "there may be increased interest in Asia-Pacific's assets... if investors regard markets in the region as having decoupled, at least partly, from the United States." The UN economic and social survey containing this project was unveiled Thursday in New York by Assistant Secretary General Jomo Kwame Sundaram, an economist from Malaysia. Since Mr. Jomo in his briefing mentioned sovereign wealth funds, as does the report, Inner City Press asked Jomo for the UN's view on whether such funds should increase their disclosures and transparency. While referring to a recent U.S. Treasury Department agreement with the funds of Singapore and Abu Dhabi, Jomo said that the UN has no position on sovereign wealth funds and transparency.

The report mentions measures to increase transparency, so Inner City Press asked Jomo to explain why, on his putative public financial disclosure form, he left the form blank other than check next to a box, "I have chosen to maintain... confidentiality." Jomo alluded to his divorce and to some litigation in his country, Malaysia, and said that his lawyer advised against making any public disclosure. Video here. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all of his ASGs to publicly disclose some of their finances, an urging from which Mr. Jomo and some other have "decoupled."

The report among other things demonstrates the needs of small island states in the Pacific, a grouping which is protesting Secretary-General Ban's move to merge what had been their USG with the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa. The revived protest bring into question whether Secretariat will be forced to re-open the small island states office. Reportedly leading the charge is Bangladesh, which celebrated its national day on Wednesday. Ban's chief of staff was there, along with his USGs for peacekeeping and political affairs. But no Ban, it seems. No man is an island...

On sovereign wealth funds, the report says that they have "bolstered weakened banking sectors in the United States and Europe... Notable purchases include equity stakes for the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation in Citigroup and UBS, for Korea Investment Corporation and Singapore's Temasek Holdings in Merrill Lynch, for the China Investment Corporation in Morgan Stanley and for Temasek Holdings in Barclays." Jomo said that further regulation of or restrictions on sovereign wealth funds are unlikely, since their investments are so needed to bolster subprime-battered banks.

On that, the scuttlebutt these days in Turtle Bay is that the UN should have bought Bear Stearns, to get its building on 46th Street and Madison Avenue. The UN will pay an undisclosed sum for merely rent space for five years across the street and 380 Madison. As Jomo could probably advise, it's better to own than to rent...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1desajomo032608.html

On Afghanistan, UN Says There Never Was a Super-Envoy, UK Cites Misunderstanding of Talks with Taliban

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1afghan032608.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 26 -- As up to 40% of aid money to Afghanistan is repatriated to donor nations or never leaves their borders, the UN's role in the country is riddled with misunderstandings and, according to the UN spokesperson, "press myths." Wednesday at UN headquarters, Inner City Press asked Ban-Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas for any UN reaction to reports of aid diversion for and non-delivery to Afghanistan. While expressing "concern," Ms. Montas said there would be no comment on "that NGO position." Inner City Press asked if aid waste might have been the type of issue that the "super-envoy" proposed by the UN (as well as UK and United States), but rejected by President Karzai, might have addressed. "There was never a question of a super envoy," Ms. Montas said. "That was a press myth. There was going to be an envoy, and he is there now." Video here, from Minute 18:56. When Inner City Press asked if the position's powers were in any way reduced from what was first proposed, Montas said no, "this is the same mandate that had been talked about."

This may come as a surprise to those in or who cover Kabul, given reports about President Karzai's veto of Paddy Ashdown and clipping the wings of the mandate. Relatedly, Karzai expelled from Afghanistan the UN's Melvyn Patterson and EU's Michael Semple, for allegedly carrying money to negotiate with the Taliban. On March 20, Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador John Sawers about the two men and their status. Amb. Sawers said there are been a lot of "misunderstanding" about the two men's roles, that what they had done had been "fully briefed to the Afghan authorities.. everyone who needed to know," and that the UK hopes they can soon return to the country. Video here, from Minute 4:55.

But what seems clear is that while the UN's post-Ashdown, "non-super" envoy Kai Eide may for example be authorized to speak with Iran, he cannot speak with the Taliban. This despite the UN's position that it speaks to anyone, to get its work done. The UN is misunderstood, yes. But often it has only or mostly itself to blame.

Hamid Karzai and Pervez Musharraf in stare-down, two expelled diplomats and super-envoy not shown

On Afghanistan's neighbor to the east, Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday spoke with Pakistan's new prime minister, including about a request for a UN investigation of the murder of Benazir Bhutto. Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas said that in the call, it was said that the next step is an act of parliament in Pakistan. Any request, she said, will be passed on to the Security Council. But while the setting up of a tribunal, like the one in The Hague for Hariri, would require Security Council action, is there nothing in the nature of investigative help that the Secretariat could consider giving without Council action being required? For example, if the UN helps to investigate a crash, does that require Council consideration and approval?

Speaking of crashes, Inner City Press on Wednesday asked Ms. Montas about two separate crashes: one in November 2007 in Liberia, and another, just-happened, in Darfur, Sudan. While Ms. Montas said she had addressed the Darfur crash, that appears to be in reference to attacks on UN (World Food Program) drivers. The crash was by the UN, into a bus, killing civilians. Ms. Montas said she would seek and provide more information about the crash in Darfur, and Inner City Press has asked the UN Mission in Liberia and its Office of Legal Affairs about the other claim. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1afghan032608.html

UN Refugee Agency Makes Deals with Donors for Jobs and Contracts, Non-Answers including on Safety

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1unhcr032508.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- The UN's refugee agency has been accused of doling out jobs and contracts under agreements with certain donor countries which violate the UN Charter and applicable rules. The allegation was made publicly in Rome last week at a High Level Committee on Management that "UNHCR has signed with a donor government an agreement which contains a clause that requires UNHCR to increase the percentage of the nationals of that donor country to 13% of all Professional staff [and increase access to procurement opportunities]. Such a clause is clearly contrary to Article 101 of the Charter and simply undermines all the principles of international civil service."

Four days ago, Inner City Press requested comment from UNHCR's two lead spokespeople, and its representative in New York, without response. The details of UNHCR's arrangements are more damning than the above-quoted, or the underlying Board of Auditors report, A/AC.96/1025, which noted

"the agreement with the United States of America required UNHCR to increase the percentage of its American staff to 13 per cent of all Professional staff and to provide equitable access to procurement opportunities for American suppliers. UNHCR has signed a similar agreement with Denmark. Such clauses are contrary to Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations, United Nations Financial Regulation 3.11 and article 3.1 of the Financial Rules for Voluntary Funds administered by the High Commissioner for Refugees."

Given this Board of Auditors finding, one would expect UNHCR's spokespeople to have a response. But no. And so, further detail: after the agreement with the biggest donor, the U.S., had been signed, other donors who knew about it started asking questions. Subsequently the agreement with Denmark was signed. But as the news of these agreements spread, Ambassadors or their envoys began paying visits to the Former High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, who resigned amidst a sexual harassment scandal, and since then and the current High Commissioner Antonio Guterres to appoint their nationals too.

In order to do so, the High Commissioner and/or the Deputy High Commissioner Craig Johnston had to act in the aforementioned breach of the organization's rules on recruitment and posting. Many staff were so appointed including to key positions such as the Head of the Investigation Unit in UNHCR's Inspector General's Office, IGO. Although a qualified internal candidate was identified through an elaborate selection procedure established by the IGO, including an interview panel, written tests and the like, and a formal review by the Appointment, Postings and Promotions Board (APPB), the former Deputy High Commissioner Wendy Chamberlin, an American who was at that time acting High Commissioner following Lubbers resignation, decided to externally recruit a male external candidate, American Michael Dudley, who reportedly did not meet the published minimum requirements for the P-5 post, citing the higher interests of the organization -- seemingly, a reference to the 13% agreement with the U.S..

More recently, current DHC Craig Johnston reportedly violated the established procedures for the selection of the UNHCR Mediator and appointed in September 2007 a staff member of his choice, Eddie Gedalof, after which the Inspector General (IG) Kofi Asomani then tried to oppose the recruitment of an under-qualified Head of Investigation Unit but to no avail. The Head of the Investigation Unit Michael Dudley was reportedly then transferred in or about December 2007 to a position in OIOS and that important post in UNHCR is currently vacant.

Looking forward, a similar scenario is expected by insiders to happen with regard to the filling of the newly created D-1 post of Director of Ethics at UNHCR. Currently, a junior P-4 is appointed to the post of Ethics Officer, Jane Rasmussen, and is reporting to the Head of Policy Unit within the Division of Human Resources Management. UNHCR may belatedly purport to comply with the Secretary-General's already weak bulletin on whistleblower protection - in the above-mentioned way.

Inner City Press submitted questions about the above, and also about safety and security and other matters, to three separate spokespeople within UNHCR, without response. Watch this site for updates.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1unhcr032508.html

At UN, Of Missing Staff and Undelivered Letters, Venom in the Council Triggers Mistranslation Charge

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1missing032508.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- "There's been a mistake in translation," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on Tuesday told the Security Council, of which he serves as President this month. "The time limit on statements is five minutes, not fifteen or twenty."

The UN's now-routine monthly briefing on the Middle East included back-and-forth between Israel and not only the Palestinian Permanent Observer and Syrian Ambassador, but also Cuba and Sudan. Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman denounced Libya for having blocked action after the killing of religious students in Jerusalem, referred to Sudan as the "monsters of Darfur," and questioned whether Cuba really speaks for the Non-Aligned Movement. Yes, Cuba answered, it spoke for all of NAM's 118 members.

Meanwhile, Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson maintained that the Group of 77's letter protesting Ban's proposed merger of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa with Small Island Developing States and other mandates had still not been received. A G-77 member expressed wonder at what he called the breakdown in the UN's postal system. "It's that they don't want to answer the substance of the protest," he said. "So they say the letter's not been received." We'll see.

Speaking of letters, Inner City Press asked the head of the UN's Alliance of Civilizations Jorge Sampaio, at a briefing about an upcoming event on tuberculosis, about the letter he wrote to Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf back in December, with condolences for the still unsolved murder of Benazir Bhutto. Did Sampaio check with the Secretariat or his board of advisors and friends before issuing the letter? No, he said. It was only a condolence. Video here, last question. And now the new Prime Minister of Pakistan is asking for a UN investigation of Bhutto's murder.

Inner City Press asked the spokesperson's office Tuesday morning for a list of the 40 missing, arrested or detained staff members listed in the UN's press release. Twelve hours later, no such list was provided. This was the day of solidarity with missing staff, celebrated Monday by attendance at a film about Sergio de Mello, click here for that. The most recent Secretary-General's report lists 22 "staff members under arrest, detained or missing." So where are the other eighteen -- missing? There are other outstanding questions. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1missing032508.html

At UN, Ban's Team Blames Budget on U.S., Whose Ambassador Khalilzad Eschews Ferrari-Driving

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1budget032508.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 -- As governments all over the world tighten their budgets, including in light of the fall-out from the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market, the UN is proposing a 25% increase in its spending, unveiling an additional $1.1 billion "add-on" to the over $4 billion approved just before Christmas. On Tuesday Inner City Press asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson since "when the presentation was made, there was only about a 2 per cent increase, how does the Secretary-General explain this over $1 billion additional request?" The spokesperson as has become routine said that an answer would be provided later.

In the interim, Inner City Press spoke with a number of Ambassadors, finding even developing country representatives dissatisfied with the disorganized way Ban's first budget has been presented, some in December and more in March. One diplomat suggested that a move is afoot to require the Secretariat to propose a specific budget and stick to it, with no add-ons. At the Security Council stakeout, Inner City Press asked U.S. Permanent Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, "What's the U.S. position on this 25% increase requested by the Secretary-General?" Video here, last question.

Ambassador Khalilzad replied that "a 25% increase is excessive and we’re going to work with others to see what can be afforded now and what should be deferred... I’d like to have a Ferrari but since I can't afford it you know I'm probably going to get a cheaper car when I leave this job."

Subsequently, Ban's spokesperson's office told Inner City Press that "the Secretariat has only provided a projection of how financing needs would evolve, if the Member States were to support a wide range of political missions and management reform proposals currently on the table. However, that projection is not the final amount, since this is a consultative process and its ultimate outcome will be determined by the Member States at large in the General Assembly, and not by the Secretariat."

So, does that mean that the $1.1 billion is a negotiating position? The spokesperson's answer then named two specific missions, both favored by the United States, particularly to so-called bunker in Baghdad, noting that "the costs for special political missions, including Iraq and Afghanistan, cannot in any sense be considered 'administrative costs.'" So there. Onward to the bunker!
mmittee on administrative and budgetary questions, financial disclosure united nations,
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At UN, Protests to Corporate Control of Water, As Trial Lawyers Take an Interest in Kabul

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2corp032408.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 -- While the UN talks of water, corporations with juice enter the building to write their own rules. This is the distillation of a protest letter some 125 non-governmental organizations have sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. On Monday at UN Headquarters, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson about the letter, which asked Ban "to withdraw from something called the CEO Water Mandate, claiming that it's run by corporations and it's just an excuse for exploitation of water resources.. Did he receive it and if so, what then?"

The spokesperson answered, "I don't have the letter at this point." Click here for transcript. Later in the day, Inner City Press was e-mailed a notice that the letter had been received. Later still, a paragraph was inserted into the transcript:

"The Spokesperson later added that the letter had been received and, according to the United Nations Global Compact Office, the Mandate's purpose is to provide a platform for companies and stakeholders to share knowledge and emerging practices with respect to water stewardship and sustainability. Regarding a 5 March event, which the letter reportedly alleges was a meeting between corporations and their allies to map out their plan of action for the CEO Water Mandate, the Global Compact Office notes that the learning-and-dialogue session brought companies together with a range of stakeholders, including non-business attendees and representatives from various United Nations agencies. The Spokesperson added that the Global Compact Office has said, 'The UN Global Compact Office has long recognized and stated that voluntary initiatives cannot be a substitute for regulation or government action. Rather, the two are complementary, with voluntary platforms such as The CEO Water Mandate providing a space for learning and innovation.'"

But, the activists question, innovation in what? Spin? As Inner City Press previously reported from the UN, Coca-Cola's purported exoneration in India was in a study which Coke itself funded. At Dow Chemical's last appearance at the UN, also on the issue of water, non-violent protesters were hustled off the UN's grounds, and the press told not to cover it -- click here for that story, and compare to Monday's affirmative answer by the UN Spokesperson's to Inner City Press' question if it is "the UN's position that people have a right to protest right in front of the UN building without being arrested." The UN's blithe partnership with corporations continues apace, with its Global Compact rebuffing in this case a letter from more than 100 NGOs from all over the world, without the UN spokesperson, even in a canned response belatedly-added to the briefing transcript, identifying the "non-business attendees" of the meeting alluded to. The Global Compact says, "Non-business attendees included: World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Plan Malawi, the Pacific Institute, as well as the following UN agencies: UNICEF, UNDP, UNEP, UN OHCHR, and UNESCO. A summary of the working conference will be available in early April." We'll be waiting...

A more directly political "public-private partnership" recently on display at the UN was last week's session in the Dag Hammarskjold Library auditorium about the "Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan," followed by a reception sponsored by the Arent Fox and Bingham law firms, and "Quinn Emanuel Trial Lawyers." This last is ironic or surprising, given that the event was sponsored and promoted by the U.S. Department of State, in an administration which loudly castigates trial lawyers. But, hey, they're a business too...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2corp032408.html

UN's Top Lawyer Calls for Pension Reform, Says Ethics Office Decided Not to Mention His $10,000 Monthly Swiss Subsidy

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un3subsidymichel032408.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 -- The UN's chief legal officer Nicolas Michel on Monday cited a conflict of interest as grounds to neither criticize or support the UN Ethics Office's decision not to include the Swiss government's housing subsidy in Michel's public financial disclosure form. Inner City Press had asked the UN Spokesperson about the omission but had not received an answer. In a phone conversation late Monday, Michel emphasized that he had asked Ethics Office chief Robert Benson, who said that "the policy of publication did not cover contributions of that sort."

It is not clear who is making up this policy, and on what basis. The Secretary-General's web site states that the UN's public financial disclosure is important because it "demonstrates that UN staff members understand the importance of the general public and UN Member States being assured that, in the discharge of their official duties and responsibilities, staff members will not be influenced by any consideration associated with his/her private interests."

Inner City Press e-mailed and read this statement to Nicolas Michel, emphasizing the word "any" and in that light if the fact that a senior UN official was receiving a housing subsidy of $10,000 or more every month should have been disclosed. "I cannot answer that," Michel said. "It would be a conflict of interest."

The $10,000 a month figure is derived from Michel's account of the origins of the subsidy. He took the UN post in May 2004, and had a mere two and a half days to find a place to live. A colleague told him that it would be important to live in Manhattan, to be available for unscheduled emergencies. But of the apartments he looked at, the rents were "from twenty to twenty-six thousand dollars a month." Given the size of his family, Michel was looking for four or five bedrooms.

Ultimately, Michel found accommodations for "about half that amount" in suburban Westchester County, from which he commutes, which he calls less than ideal. While this has saved the Swiss government money, it is not clear if the Swiss government put any cap on what it would pay. Michel emphasized that the Swiss government agreed in writing to respect the tenets of Article 100 of the UN Charter, that Michel would be an international civil servant not subject to influence by his country.

Still, this arrangement was not made public at the time, nor earlier this year when the public disclosure forms went online. Michel's form, under the heading "Income," lists the renting-out of his house in Switzerland. On Monday Michel unprompted told Inner City Press that he inherited the house, and rents out two of the three floors. These rent payments from two people who presumably have nothing to do with the UN is publicly disclosed as income, but $10,000 a month from a member state with interests at the UN and its legal department is not in the public disclosure form. Something is wrong with such a public disclosure regime, it seems clear. Michel said twice he would not comment on this, because "it would be a conflict of interest."

Michel went on to criticize the UN's pension system, saying that if he leaves as he now will with less than five years' service, he gets back only what he put in with below market rate interest, and none of the UN's contribution. Inner City Press has most often heard this complaint regarding those serving in UN peacekeeping missions, who generally stay for less than five years and feel that they are subsidizing other UN pensioners. Michel is losing, he told Inner City Press on Monday, some $20,000 a year.

Back on September 12, 2006, Inner City Press asked Kofi Annan's spokesman for the identity of the one official whom the spokesman said was receiving housing subsidy. The spokesman in a public briefing declined to give the name. Michel was, in fact, the guest at that day's briefing. Afterwards, the spokesman said that the individual wanted to come forward, would soon be coming forward. That never happened.

On Monday Inner City Press asked Nicolas Michel, "Was that you?" Michel did not say yes, but rather stated that he wished the spokesman had brought it to his attention at the time, that he was always ready and willing to go public. He said he obtained authorization for the subsidy before agreeing to accept the Office of Legal Affairs post. He said that he had put in a call mid-Monday afternoon to Ethics Office chief Robert Benson, to make sure they had similar recollections, but that Benson was and is away from the office. We will have more on this story of public financial disclosure.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un3subsidymichel032408.html

At UN, Film about Sergio de Mello Throws Light on Somalia and Algiers, With Balkans Issues Missing

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1demello032408.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 -- The denizens of the top floor of the UN descended en masse to the basement auditorium on Monday to watch a documentary about Sergio Vieira de Mello, culminating in his death in a truck bombing attack on the UN in Iraq in 2003. Simone Duarte's film, "En Route to Baghdad," includes archival footage of de Mello in his native Brazil, studying at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1968, then taking on a series of assignments for the UN, in Mozambique, Cambodia, East Timor and Iraq. His time in the Balkans, when some took to calling him "Serbio" due to his perceived friendliness with Slobodan Milosevic, is strangely absent from the film. Given the ongoing controversy about the UN's approach to Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence this year, those in the Dag Hammarskjold Library auditorium's front row may have appreciated this omission.

Just before the film's 1:15 beginning, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his entourage arrived. There was deputy chief of staff Kim Won-soo and chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, and in the midst of the pack, Israel's Ambassador Dan Gillerman. Photographers told Inner City Press that Gillerman greeted Ban in the hall, speaking with him briefly on his way in. After the film, Inner City Press asked Amb. Gillerman for his review. "Too many talking heads," he said.

The film is narrated mostly by UN personalities who knew Sergio: Deputy Envoy McNamara, staffer Jonathan Prentice, Economic Liaison Officer Carolina Larriera. Former U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke insists, on camera, that he was responsible for de Mello goin to Timor L'Este. Jose Ramos-Horta says de Mello stood out from the usual "faceless UN bureaucrats." King Sihanouk of Cambodia appears briefly, interviewed by the filmmakers in his palace in North Korea.

The specifics of de Mello's death in the truck bombing of the UN offices in the Canal Hotel in Baghdad are glazed over. McNamara says, if you're going to help with elections, you can do it from an armored car. The point is made, by Kofi Annan, that sometimes the UN should say "no," if its personnel can't be kept safe on an assignment. How this relates to the December 11, 2007 deadly bombing of UN premises in Algiers, and the currently proposed expansion in Iraq, is not clear. So far, Ban Ki-moon's UN has said "yes" to Iraq, but "no" and now "maybe" to the situation in Somalia. The current Secretary-General spoke before the film, but not after. That was left for the Ambassador he came in with, Israel's Dan Gillerman, who said, "Not enough Sergio." Not enough, indeed.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1demello032408.html

UN Spokesperson Calls Ban - Bin Laden Meeting "Hypothetical," Terrorism Left Undefined

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1terrorism032108.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 21 -- In the week of Osama Bin Laden's first message of 2008, Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Michele Montas was asked if Osama Bin Laden "comes to visit the Secretary-General, would he meet him?" Rather than no, Ms. Montas said "this is a hypothetical question." Never say never...

Meanwhile, the reclusive head of the UN's Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate Michael Smith briefed the Security Council this week about the mandate of his office. Afterwards, while reporters expected him to finally take questions at the Council's stakeout microphone, Smith sped down the hall with a broad hat on. Inner City Press gave chase, and asked for his view of the balance of human rights and counter-terrorism. We strike that balance already, Smith said. Inner City Press asked about a contentious exchange during the Security Council proceedings, about Luis Posada Carriles. "I have nothing to say on that," Smith retorted, speeding up to exit the building. Of course, the UN has yet to even define terrorism.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed credit for bombing the UN in Algiers in December 2007. Since then, the purported investigation was delayed, and has now morphed into philosophical musing on "why they hate us," or the UN. The UN's internal report on the bombing notes that "the media branch for [al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb] issued a direct threat against the U.N" but says that "care has been taken not to apportion blame or responsibility." Maybe that's why the possibility of a Ban - Bin Laden meeting is left open.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1terrorism032108.html

UN's Dollar-a-Year Sportsman Lemke May Be Moonlighting, As With Blair, UN Won't Say

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1sports032108.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 21 -- With much fanfare this week, the UN announced that Ban Ki-moon was appointing Wilfried Lemke of Germany as his "Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, serving on a $1 per year salary with the rank of Under-Secretary-General." Lemke quickly said he wanted to travel to China, and that if he wanted to go to Tibet, he could not imagine China objecting. Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas was asked, "do you know if he'll be visiting Tibet?" She answered, "Not that I know of."

Perhaps Lemke was distracted. At the UN's noon briefing on March 20, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson a simple question, if Lemke is "still going to be serving as an elected official in Bremen during his service. Is he full time or is he still an official of Bremen State in Germany?"

Ms. Montas replied, "As you know, he's a $1-a-year person... We'll find out for you. Or we'll put you in contact with his press people."

Thirty-four hours later, no answer had been provided, no even a contact to Lemke's (or the Bremen legislature's) press people. Frankly, it's a UN question: if and when UN envoys, particularly at the Under-Secretary General level, hold outside jobs, what safeguards are put in place to avoid conflicts of interest? The UN is getting more and more cavalier in refusing to answer this question. When Inner City Press asked about Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair's many outside jobs, including with JPMorgan Chase, Ms. Montas said to "ask Tony Blair." There has still been no answer on any safeguards. But it does not seem to much to ask that the UN be able to state if its Special Advisers hold other jobs, and where.

It has been reported that "Lemke, who is also a Bremen state politician, currently senator for internal affairs and sport in the northern city, succeeds Adolf Ogi of Switzerland." But the UN's press release says that "from 1999-2008, he served as Senator of Interior and Sport of the German State of Bremen, as well as Senator for Education and Science." Note the use of the past tense, "served." Which is it? We'll see.

Footnote: between Ogi and Nicolas Michel leaving as head of the UN Office of Legal Affairs, after admitting to receiving housing subsidies from the Swiss Government which are not disclosed on his public financial disclosure form for 2006, Switzerland is down two posts. With Germany getting sports, one wonders about those saying that Germany Joaquim Rucker, currently embroiled in Kosovo, might take over the Department of Management. When it rains, it pours...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1sports032108.html

As UN Belated Speaks About Somalia, No Comment on U.S. Missiles and Designation of Al-Shabaab

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un3somalia032108.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 21 -- The UN's envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdallah on Thursday proclaimed that talks should be held with all parties in Somalia. Inner City Press had asked him about the United States' designation earlier in the week of the Al-Shabaab as a terrorist group. "I haven't seen the document," Ould Abdallah said, adding that talks should be held with all parties. Video here, from Minute 1:39.

Inner City Press asked South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo about the U.S.'s recent firing of missiles into Somalia, and whether the U.S.' designation of Al-Shabaab as terrorists will be helpful to dialogue in Somalia. Video here, from Minute 3:01. Kumalo responded combatively that the Security Council wants to move ahead, "rather than pick up on this thing or the next... on who's left handed and who's right handed, on who didn't go to church." Somalia, of course, is fundamentally Muslim, as is the Al-Shabaab. Pressed about the U.S. missiles, Kumalo said, "I'm not saying the missile attack was right... you can pick whatever you like, you have that luxury, I don't." Inner City Press interjected that, for the record, the press is not cavalier about suffering in Somalia. It is just skeptical of a sudden glowing report projecting 27,000 UN peacekeepers when the Council won't even discuss, much less rebuke, missile attacks on and an ongoing occupation of Somalia.

Inner City Press also asked Ould Abdallah about the reported incident in which a Somali member of parliament stated he was beaten by UNICEF's guards in Baidoa, an incident which UNICEF said would be investigated but regarding which no further information has been provided. Video here from Minute 4:44. Ould Abdallah in his response called this "unfortunate violence" and said that soon impunity will end. We'll see. Ould Abdallah further comments can be reviewed here.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un3somalia032108.html

As Uganda's Kony Angles for Impunity, Council Blows Off Menkerios, Kofi Feted Despite Karim

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2lrauganda032008.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 20 -- A mere week before the deadline for the Lord's Resistance Army to sign a peace treaty with the Museveni government of Uganda, the UN Security Council couldn't find time to hear a briefing on the conflict from Haile Menkerios, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs.

Mr. Menkerios waited in the Council chamber and finally left after noon. Inner City Press caught up with him and asked what had happened in the Council. "They didn't have time," Menkerios said. "They told me to come back next Wednesday." That is literally the day before LRA leader Joseph Kony, indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, is to appear to Juba in South Sudan and sign the peace treaty. Kony through his lawyers has said he will only sign if the ICC indictments are dropped. "He's said that several times," Menkerios told Inner City Press. "Irrespective of where he moves" -- reportedly, Kony is in the Central African Republic -- "he is expected to come to Juba to sign, Chissano expects him to sign."

Inner City Press asked if there might have been a plan, prior to the Council canceling Menkerios' appearance, to issue a Presidential Statement to focus the minds of the parties, the LRA and Museveni. "I don't know what the Council was thinking," Menkerios said, adding that if the peace agreement is signed, then Special Envoy Chissano will come and brief.

News analysis: but if Kony is to be believed, he will only sign if he is given assurances that the ICC indictments will not be enforced. Some say that the Museveni government is making precisely that promise, though not formally until an agreement is signed.

Meanwhile at New York's Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, where a banquet hall was being prepared with white flowers and an enormous video screen for a ceremony for Kofi Annan, UN human rights personalities like Allan Rock and Louise Arbour traded speeches from deep red leather chairs, about the end of impunity. But when will the impunity end? Beyond Kony, Kofi Annan himself promised there would be justice for Eastern Congo warlord Peter Karim, who recruited child soldiers and kidnapped seven UN peacekeepers, killing two of them. But now more than a year into Annan's successor's term, Karim is still at large, living large, from a hotel in Kinshasa to an officer's post in the Congolese Army. End of impunity indeed...

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un4lracar032908.html

How General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim Spends Money Is Questioned as Part of Reform by France and Indonesia

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2pgafunding031908.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 -- The day after the President of the General Assembly Srgjan Kerim acknowledged to Inner City Press that his rent and salary is paid by the Government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and called for a reform in which this would be prohibited and funds provided by the UN itself, two Ambassadors on the Security Council raised questions about Kerim's proposal. France's Deputy Permanent Representative Jean-Pierre Lacroix said "there is already an envelope" of funds given to Kerim's office, "it's more a question of how is it used, frankly." The General Assembly has voted $280,000 a year for the Office of the President of the General Assembly, which Kerim's spokesman has told Inner City Press is devoted only to "travel and representation as well as transportation, communication and security related costs."

"I didn't know that was the arrangement," Indonesia's Permanent Representative Marty Natalegawa told Inner City Press. He said that before any hasty decision is reached to give the President of the General Assembly more money, a broader context must be considered, the possible precedent it would set for such posts as the "chairs of various committees, forums and processes."

While Ban Ki-moon has spoken of the need for transparency and reform to try to bring about greater public confidence in the UN system, when Inner City Press on Wednesday asked his spokesperson Michele Montas if he believes the President of the General Assembly should be funded by the UN, or by outside parties, she replied that "we don't have to comment on this... this does not have anything to do with the reform program."

Told of Kerim's position that currently no rules apply to whom he takes money from, Amb. Natalegawa asked rhetorically, "So all options are open, then."

Sources told Inner City Press that its story about Kerim's acceptance of rent in Essex House and a salary have summoned an inevitable comparison to what is paid to legislators and the president in FYROM, and its UN Ambassador in New York. Talk has begun that FYROM sought recoupment from Kerim's employer, the WAZ media group -- if so, Amb. Natalegawa would be right, all options have been open. Questions have arisen regarding whether the proper authorizations were obtained before these payments to Mr. Kerim began.

From the Balkans, it can be viewed that Kerim masterfully deflected an inquiry into what funding he has been and is taking into a broader called for reform, delivered to Inner City Press by Kerim's spokesman:

"President Kerim has always maintained that all costs related to the post and functioning of the General Assembly President should be covered through the regular UN budget... rather than the makeshift arrangements that currently exist.

"This would ensure each elected President has an equal opportunity to deliver results -- whether from a developed or developing country, no matter how large or small. An entirely UN funded budget would enhance the independence of the President, and increase transparency and accountability to Member States."

Lost in this proposal, seen from the Balkans, are the specifics of what has been received. Developing.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2pgafunding031908.html