By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 7 -- In defense of the UN Spokesperson's Office refusals to answer simple questions, it is sometimes argued that the spokespeople don't have the information and so can't provide it. But the stonewalling, even on who the UN pays and how much, is often intentional.
On July 1, based on a press release by Dartmouth College, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's acting deputy spokesman Farhan Haq:
Inner City Press: Dartmouth has put out a press release that Professor [Dirk] Vandewalle, an author on the topic of Libya, has been hired by the UN as a Special Adviser to Ian Martin. Is that true? And what type of recruitment took place, and what’s his compensation? Can you confirm that?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: No, I don’t have a confirmation for that. You know that Mr. Martin is working on the post-transition work. If there is anything further to say about his team, I’ll let you know. But at this point, we don’t have any particular appointments to announce on that.
Back in the UN's North Lawn building, a senior UN official approached Inner City Press to say that he found Haq's answer “pathetic,” that “everyone knows that Ian Martin invited Vandewalle to give a brown bag lunch presentation and then hired him.” The official, citing what he characterized as the Ban Ki-moon administration's propensity for retaliation, has asked that his name not be published.
Going off the assumption that Haq simply hadn't known of Vandewalle's hiring on July 1, but would look into it and then confirm it, Inner City Press did not raise or write again about the issue for days. But nothing was said.
And so on July 7 Inner City Press asked Haq about it again, saying he'd said it wasn't clear --
Haq cut in to say that he had, in fact, refused to confirm it because “we don't publicly announce each level” of hiring.
But why refuse to confirm the hiring of a Political Adviser on a topic like Libya, on which Ban Ki-moon has been assigned something of a supervisory role by Security Council resolution 1973?
Inner City Press then recited what several senior UN official had told it about how Vandewalle was hired. Haq said that was, “like your characterization of my views, a little inaccurate.”
But Inner City Press hasn't trying to characterize Haq's “views” -- the request is simply that a spokesperson confirm or deny basic facts like who is being paid by the UN. Inner City Press asked, is Vandewalle being paid by the UN?
“I'll see if we have anything to say,” Haq replied.
While a senior UN official called this approach “pathetic,” we'll simply note that what is asked of spokespeople is not “views” or pre-packaged announcements, but timely answers to basic factual questions about the UN, including who has been hired as a Political Adviser, and how. We will continue on this.
From the UN's transcription of its July 7, 2011 noon briefing:
Inner City Press: I want to ask about, on Libya, I think it was last week I asked if this Dirk Vandewalle, author and professor, had been hired by the UN as a Special Adviser to Ian Martin. You said it wasn’t clear. I mean, I have asked again over there…
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: That’s not what I said.
Inner City Press: What did you say?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: That’s not what I said. I said I don’t have a confirmation to give on that. I didn’t say it wasn’t clear.
Inner City Press: Okay. Do you still, don’t have a confirmation, because it’s been confirmed to me over there…
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: We don’t publicly announce each and every appointment at each and every level of this Organization. For senior level appointments, as you know, we do make those announcements.
Inner City Press: In this case, I guess the reason I would like to ask you is that some have wondered, if Ian Martin is the Special Adviser, why does he need a special advisor? And the question is: how was the guy recruited? Is, how is he being paid, does he, can the UN just hire anyone that comes in and makes a brown bag lunch presentation, just hand him, I mean, I think it’s…
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: I think, much like what you said about my views, that’s a little inaccurate. The basic point is that Mr. Martin will have a team of people working with him, as he is entitled to do, and they would be paid.
Inner City Press: Is Mr. Vandewalle being paid by the UN [inaudible]?
Acting Deputy Spokesperson Haq: I’ll see whether we have anything to say about that....
Why refuse to confirm what Dartmouth announced a week ago in a press release?
