In Sudan, UN Quietly Replaced Resident Coordinator Za'atari After Vowing to Fight, Now Silent on Myanmar Criminal Charges

By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow up on Exclusives

UNITED NATIONS, March 31, more here -- Amid charges that the UN in Sudan, including Herve Ladsous' UN Peacekeeping in Darfur, has colluded with the authorities in Khartoum to cover up rapes and killing, the UN in December said it would fight to keep its Resident Coordinator Ali Al Za'tari in the country.

  That was the UN's response to Za'tari being ordered to leave Sudan by January 2, Inner City Press first reported. Inner City Press similarly exclusively reported, and asked the UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about, Sudan's ouster of UNDP Country Director Yvonne Heller on December 24. 

  But did the UN follow through on its vow to push-back? No, the UN remained quiet when it ended up replacing Za'atari, as Inner City Press noticed and asked about on March 31, video here, transcript below

Inner City Press: I wanted to go back to Sudan, because remember there was that standoff about the Resident Coordinator Ali Za’atari, who has said that the UN is standing behind him and he won’t be PNG’d, and I saw an announcement that on March 21st, a new Resident Humanitarian Coordinator began work in Khartoum, Mr. Mustafa Bin Al Malih.  And so what happened?  And why didn’t the UN announce that they removed Mr. Za’atari as Resident Coordinator?

Deputy Spokesman:  We pressed for them to continue with Mr. Ali Za’atari and they continued with their objections.  Ultimately we do need to have somebody on the ground to do the work, although we do not accept that our impartial, neutral experts did not get permission to be on the ground to do their work.

Inner City Press: And has Yvonne Helle also been replaced as the representative of UNDP in the country?

Deputy Spokesman:  I believe Ms. Helle left some time ago.  She was already out of the country when they took the decision so I believe there’s a process in place to make sure that the work is done.

 Back on December 25 after another inquiry by Inner City Press to Dujarric and UNDP, Dujarric sent this:

From: Stephane Dujarric [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Dec 25, 2014 at 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: Press request on Sudan PNG-ing Yvonne Helle (asked Dec 24) & now Dec 25 Ali Al-Za'tari
To: Matthew Lee [at] InnerCityPress.org
Cc: UNDP, funca [at] FUNCA.info

Matthew, The UN has filed a protest with the government of Sudan following their decision to request the departure of two senior UN officials from the country.

  So the UN filed a protest. But what about the UNFPA case in April, and aother one, in Darfur, which Inner City Press exclusively reported on in December?

On March 31, Inner City Press also asked on Myanmar:

Inner City Press: I heard your statement on behalf of or by Mr. Nambiar praising the country.  I just wanted to know:  has he or anyone else in the UN system have anything to say about the filing of criminal charges against the students who protested the national education law?  A number of… even some countries have [inaudible] this standoff in March where the peaceful demonstrators have been arrested.  Now the charges have been filed, they haven’t been released.  Is there any follow-up by the UN on that?

Deputy Spokesman:  We’ll check with Mr. Nambiar what he has to say on that.

  Six hours later and counting, nothing.

  On Sudan back on December 24, Inner City Press similarly exclusively reported and then asked the UN Spokesman about UNDP Country Director Yvonne Helle being ordered out of Sudan, citing her and Al-Za'tari's e-mails. Video here.

  A full day after that, Reuters reported on Helle's ouster -- typically, for Reuters, with no credit to the Press' prior exclusive story. (Reuters' UN bureau chief has said he has a policy of not crediting Inner City Press' exclusive, and has gone to far as to censor, Sudan-style, his "for the record" anti-Press complains to the UN, click here for that, via EFF's ChillingEffect.org).

   On December 24, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Sudan having just similarly "PNG-ed" or declared persona non-grata the Sudan Country Director of the UN Development Program Yvonne Helle, with Za'tari barely pushing back against the government.

  Dujarric said that host countries' ordered to PNG a UN staff member are treated seriously and should be sent to, and considered and acted on by, Ban's Secretariat in New York. But Dujarric in the 18 hours after Inner City Press asked about Helle has not returned with any information or answer. Then Reuters published its story, with no credit.

Watch this site.

   

As Chile Takes Over UN Security Council Presidency, Inner City Press Asks of Palestine & Sudan, FUNCA For Q&A Stakeouts

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 5 -- When Chile's Ambassador Cristián Barros Melet held a press conferenceon the January Program of Work of the UN Security Council, when he is President, Inner City Press asked him about a next Palestine resolution, and about rapes and expulsions in Sudan.

   Ambassador Barros replied he has not been informed, formally or informally, as President of any new Palestine resolution, but he's read in the media that it might be next week. (That is what Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said.)

   On Sudan, Barros called the government's move to expel the two officials, Yvonne Helle of the UN Development Program and UN Resident Coordinator Ali Al-Za'tari, “negative,” and called the situation of addressing it “fluid.”

  On Syria, in his national capacity, Barros called Russia's work on a Syrian - Syrian dialog important.

  On Ukraine, Barros said that Lithuania and UK pressed the item and he expects a meeting in the month.

 Also in the month is a debate on January 19 with Chilean President Bachelet on inclusive development. We'll be there.

  The Free UN Coalition for Access, which as the second question thanked Barros for the briefing and offered hopes for many question and answer stakeouts (Chad in December did more than a dozen), has suggested that naming which Council members press particular agenda items is welcome transparency.

  Barros announced a Council mission to Haiti January 23-25. 

Footnote: Grabbing the first question, returning head of the “UN Correspondents Association” Giampaolo Pioli after having tried to brand even the noon briefing with that UNCA acronym, took the set-aside first question and asked about Haiti -- with no mention of the UN's role in bringing cholera to the Island, much less UN Peacekeeping being filmed shooting at democracy demonstrators. Will his cluster of Italian sites report a word about Haiti? 

  The goal seems only to have been to try to brand. FUNCA says in 2015, UNacceptable - and is ready for the month. Watch this site.

   

In Sudan, Exchange Rate Scam Alleged in UN Staff Dollars to Bank of Khartoum

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive, 4th in a Series

UNITED NATIONS, January 5 – With the UN having belatedly moved to stand up to pressure from the Sudanese government of Omar al Bashir, who has ordered UN officials Yvonne Helle and Ali Al-Za'tari to leave the country, Inner City Press has reported on a way in which the UN transferred the U.S. dollars of UN national staff in Sudan to the Bank of Khartoum.

   Inner City Press has exclusively published a letter from the UN Federal Credit Union claiming the transfer was related to UN sanctions, and an opinion from the US Office of Financial Assets Control which says that is not the case. Inner City Press questions to the UN and its agencies were by then pending for days.

  On December 30, the day it was belatedly received, Inner City Press published a response from the UN and the UN Development Program, below.

  Since then, Inner City Press has obtained a series of e-mails from UN whistleblowers to UNDP about the transfer to the Bank of Khartoum, as well as UNDP's responses.

  On November 28, Sudan whistleblowers wrote to UNDP's hotline that under an arrangement with Bank of Khartoum (BoK) would become the recipient of all UN local staff salaries in US dollars while it would be paying their salaries in local currency using the UN exchange rate around 5.99 SDG. 

 The bank of Khartoum will be benefiting from the difference between the UN exchange rate and The Central Bank of Sudan rate for commercial importers 8.47 SDG (BoK USD selling rate  for businessmen). The net profit per each dollar channeled to Bank of Khartoum is around 2.47 SDG.

  There were additional charges in the whistleblowers' communications to UNDP, including about how Bank of Khartoum was chosen (this is not addressed in the UN's and UNDP's response to Inner City Press, below.)

  UNDP's response to the whistleblowers was to ask for identifying information about the whistleblowers, and then to blandly state that it is not uncommon in areas such as Sudan, to make similar arrangements with Banks to pay the salary of local staff."  

  But what about the obvious exchange rate loss? It is reminiscent of another UN scam Inner City Pressexclusively uncovered, the overpayment of Myanmar by inflated foreign exchange rate in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

  And what about the losses to UN system staff set forth in their complaint to Al Za'tari, which Inner City Press exclusively published here?

 On December 30, Inner City Press wrote to UN spokespeople again:

"This is a request that Deputy SG Eliasson or someone else from the Secretariat hold a press availability on Sudan's decision to expel Yvonne Helle (which I asked about at the December 24 noon briefing) and Ali Al-Za'tari.. A media availability by the Secretariat, ideally the DSG but another if necessary, later this afternoon is being requested, including on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access. Either way, am awaiting Secretariat response on why UN national staff members' US dollar accounts in UNFCU were transferred to the Bank of Khartoum, and why the UN Secretariat said nothing publicly when the Country Director of UNFPA was expelled from Sudan in April."

  This last question, about the UN's silence on the UNFPA ouster in April, has yet to be answered. But on UNFCU, the UN Office of the Spokesperson sent this, which we publish in full:

"There has been a restriction on the cashing of foreign checks by Sudanese national staff.  At the same time, the Bank of Khartoum has put on hold all foreign check cashing by all staff in  Sudan.
Since this decision was taken in November 2014, UNDP has  been working with UNFCU to find an acceptable solution.

"UNDP would like to further clarify that the issue is unrelated to  the requested departure by the Sudan government of the United  Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Progamme (UNDP) and the  UNDP  Country Director. UNDP is coordinating with the UN and with the Government of Sudan to address the situation.  UNDP remains strongly committed to the human development, peace and  security of all the citizens of Sudan."

  Again, see UNFCU's letter, here, and OFAC's reply to UN staff, here. We'll have more on this. 

    In the first document Inner City Press exclusively published, here, UNFCU's President and CEO William Predmore told national staff in Sudan that

"We understand the concerns of our members after necessary account restrictions were implosed, and we regret there was not an opportunity to deliver communications more swiftly to the individuals impacted... As you may be aware, UNFCU is subject to U.S. Regulations (including those promulgated by the Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC)). In order to ensure compliance with those regulations, checking account services and debit card services were terminated for local staff.”

   (Many were stranded with AMT cards that didn't work, while their dollars were transferred to the Bank of Khartoum.)

  But contrary to what UNFCU's Predmore told staff in writing, the US OFAC in the second document Inner City Press is exclusively publishing today, here, told UN staff that sanctions law and regulation does NOT require what the UN has done, citing 31 CFR 538.531. Click here to view in PDF.

   Last week Inner City Press exclusively reported on the UN Federal Credit Union abruptly telling UN national staff in Sudan that their accounts were being frozen and the dollars in them transferred to the Bank of Khartoum. Inner City Press has asked the UN, including UNDP, OCHA andUNFPA, to explain this. 

   On December 27 Inner City Press exclusively published a complaint filed with Ali Al-Za'tari about the change,here. Inner City Press notes that the decision to give the UN national staff's dollars to the Bank of Khartoum flies in the face, in fact, of the sanctions.  The complaint to Al-Za'tari states that 

“UNFCU closed checking and savings accounts of national staff without prior notification and consultation and unilaterally transferred all funds of staff members' accounts to local saving accounts to be paid in SDG by Bank of Khartoum... Based on the long years of established provision of the UNFCU service, majority of national staff have made long term financial arrangements taking into account UNFCU deposits facilities which provided solutions to many of their problems such as medical treatments and education to them and their families.”

  Tellingly, Predmore's letter to staff also says that the switch was made pursuant to UNDP's rules. What rules?

  Now the UN Security Council is set to meet on December 30 about Sudan's order to Ali Al-Za'tari and Yvonne Helle to leave; the Council will say they are in support of UN staff. What will they do about UN staff members' dollars having been given to the Sudanese authorities?

  In essence, UNDP and its Resident Coordinator Ali Al-Za'tari gave Khartoum the U.S. dollars of UN national staff, without notice. Even that wasn't enough to keep him in the country. But it is reminiscent of another UN scam Inner City Press exclusively uncovered, the overpayment of Myanmar by inflated foreign exchange rate in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

  That was covered and credited – will this be? Or does thescam here extend to covering up the complicity of UN officials like not only Herve Ladsous but even, yes, Ali Al-Za'tari, who remained silent when UNFPA's country director was thrown out of Sudan in April, and as Inner City Press asked the UN on December 24, gave in quickly to the ouster of Yvonne Helle? Watch this site.

   

On Sudan Ousters, Khartoum Brags of UN Security Council Inaction, Scapegoating Its PR?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 30, more here – After Inner City Press received a leaked copy of Sudan UN Development Program Country Director Yvonne Helle's December 24 e-mail saying she had been ordered to leave the country, it reported it and asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it at the UN's noon briefing on December 24. Story here, video from UN noon briefing here.

  On December 30, UN Security Council consultations came to nothing: no Press Statement, not even "elements to the press." The UN Secretariat's briefer, Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, did not come to the stakeout to speak, even after a request from Inner City Press and the Free UN Coalition for Access (see below).

 Now the Sudan Tribune -- we name the media -- quotes Foreign Minister Ali Karti crowing that "[The UNSC] did not come out with anything." They also report that "local Sudanese newspapers quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Khartoum decided to replace its UN ambassador Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman and have him return home by mid-January... Sources attributed the move to his unjustified absence from the UNSC briefing this month by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda... Sudan’s current ambassador to Juba Mutrif Sideeg is speculated to replace Osman."

  Inner City Press noted the presence outside the Security Council on December 30 of Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman; Council sources described to it an encounter between Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman and UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant including the latter saying, You can't say that, it is outrageous -- which might actually help Rahamtalla Mohamed Osman. We've asked.

 Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access asked the UN:

"This is a request that Deputy SG Eliasson or someone else from the Secretariat hold a press availability on Sudan's decision to expel Yvonne Helle (which I asked about at the December 24 noon briefing) and Ali Al-Za'tari... I understood the DSG to say he would not be speaking afterward since it was consultations. But a media availability by the Secretariat, ideally the DSG but another if necessary, later this afternoon is being requested, including on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access."

   UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq replied in the negative:

"Regarding your request for a press availability, yes, the Deputy Secretary-General said that he would not speak at the stakeout, given that the Security Council had held consultations. The views he expressed were in keeping with what we have been saying on Sudan, including in the 25 December SG statement: 

'The Secretary-General condemns the Government of Sudan's decision to expel the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and the Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme. The sanctioning of United Nations personnel sent to Sudan to carry out their duties in accordance with the United Nations Charter is unacceptable. The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Sudan to reverse its decision immediately and urges it to cooperate fully with all United Nations entities present in Sudan.'"

 Later on December 30, minutes before the UN Security Council was to vote on the draft Palestine resolution, the UN put this out:

Note to Correspondents – in response to questions on Sudan

The Secretary-General’s strongly critical position on the expulsion from Sudan of the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) and UNDP Country Director is clear.

Departure of these key senior United Nations officials would constitute a serious loss for the humanitarian and development community in Sudan at a time when humanitarian needs are growing and the country faces significant development challenges.

The United Nations has been engaging the Government of Sudan at several levels to obtain a reversal of its decision.  It is essential that the United Nations can continue to carry out its crucial duties in the country. The Government has agreed to extend the deadline for the RC/HC's departure from 2 January until the end of the month. Discussions on this issue continue.

The United Nations remains committed to a productive and fruitful working relationship with the Government of Sudan for the benefit of its people, on the basis of respect of sovereignty. The United Nations counts on the full cooperation of the Government of Sudan in enabling all UN entities and their leadership to carry out their important work. 

"  Inner City Press has asked, why was nothing said when Sudan expelled the Country Director of the UN Population Fund UNFPA in April? When Sudan this Fall chased a UN aid official out of Darfur? There have been no public explanation, but Inner City Press is compiling a picture -- call it "Profiles in Cowardice" -- from multiple sources; watch this site.

   (Inner City Press is told by sources that Sudan's Permanent Representative exchanged words with a Security Council members PR on December 30, we hope to have more on this.)

  For now we add this: when UNHCR the UN's refugee agency held a  staff planning mtg in Khartoum, Sudan's security agency NISS then refused to let the Darfur-based international staff return to their posts. 

 For months they sat in Khartoum waiting, incidentally spending large amounts from UNHCR's public budget. Ultimately many of the international staff were simply moved, quietly, to other countries. 

 And why didn't the UN system, the UN Security Council and its members speak at that time, and in April when UNFPA's Country Director was thrown out?

  In April 2014, Inner City Press asked UNFPA to "Please confirm or deny that in Sudan UNFPA Representative Pam Delargy was told to leave the country on April 7 and, separately, that she did leave. And anything else. Please also provide an update on Mr. Siddhart Chatterjee as UNFPA Representative in Kenya: date of commencement, what work has been done."

  UNFPA replied to Inner City Press on April 9, "The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Khartoum, Sudan was notified by the Government of Sudan that the UNFPA Representative had been requested to leave the country at a short notice. A press release by the Sudanese Government has been issued to this effect. We regret this decision and are in communication with the United Nations Country Team in Sudan to seek further clarification on this matter. We hope that we would very soon be able to continue and re-establish normal relationships with the Government of Sudan."

  Inner City Press asked this week about the UN system's silence and UNFPA replied, "UNFPA now has a new representative in Sudan, who has assumed her responsibilities three months ago. I will follow up with our Khartoum office regarding your second question."

  We'll have more on this. 

   

On Sudan Ousters, Now UN Speaks Again, As Didn't on UNFPA, Nor UNHCR

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 30, more here – After Inner City Press received a leaked copy of Sudan UN Development Program Country Director Yvonne Helle's December 24 e-mail saying she had been ordered to leave the country, it reported it and asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it at the UN's noon briefing on December 24. Story here, video from UN noon briefing here.

  On December 30, after a UN Security Council consultations from which nothing came, Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access asked the UN:

"This is a request that Deputy SG Eliasson or someone else from the Secretariat hold a press availability on Sudan's decision to expel Yvonne Helle (which I asked about at the December 24 noon briefing) and Ali Al-Za'tari... I understood the DSG to say he would not be speaking afterward since it was consultations. But a media availability by the Secretariat, ideally the DSG but another if necessary, later this afternoon is being requested, including on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access."

   UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq replied in the negative:

"Regarding your request for a press availability, yes, the Deputy Secretary-General said that he would not speak at the stakeout, given that the Security Council had held consultations. The views he expressed were in keeping with what we have been saying on Sudan, including in the 25 December SG statement: 

'The Secretary-General condemns the Government of Sudan's decision to expel the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and the Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme. The sanctioning of United Nations personnel sent to Sudan to carry out their duties in accordance with the United Nations Charter is unacceptable. The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Sudan to reverse its decision immediately and urges it to cooperate fully with all United Nations entities present in Sudan.'"

 Later on December 30, minutes before the UN Security Council was to vote on the draft Palestine resolution, the UN put this out:

Note to Correspondents – in response to questions on Sudan

The Secretary-General’s strongly critical position on the expulsion from Sudan of the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) and UNDP Country Director is clear.

Departure of these key senior United Nations officials would constitute a serious loss for the humanitarian and development community in Sudan at a time when humanitarian needs are growing and the country faces significant development challenges.

The United Nations has been engaging the Government of Sudan at several levels to obtain a reversal of its decision.  It is essential that the United Nations can continue to carry out its crucial duties in the country. The Government has agreed to extend the deadline for the RC/HC's departure from 2 January until the end of the month. Discussions on this issue continue.

The United Nations remains committed to a productive and fruitful working relationship with the Government of Sudan for the benefit of its people, on the basis of respect of sovereignty. The United Nations counts on the full cooperation of the Government of Sudan in enabling all UN entities and their leadership to carry out their important work. 

"  Inner City Press has asked, why was nothing said when Sudan expelled the Country Director of the UN Population Fund UNFPA in April? When Sudan this Fall chased a UN aid official out of Darfur? There have been no public explanation, but Inner City Press is compiling a picture -- call it "Profiles in Cowardice" -- from multiple sources; watch this site.

   (Inner City Press is told by sources that Sudan's Permanent Representative exchanged words with a Security Council members PR on December 30, we hope to have more on this.)

  For now we add this: when UNHCR the UN's refugee agency held a  staff planning mtg in Khartoum, Sudan's security agency NISS then refused to let the Darfur-based international staff return to their posts. 

 For months they sat in Khartoum waiting, incidentally spending large amounts from UNHCR's public budget. Ultimately many of the international staff were simply moved, quietly, to other countries. 

 And why didn't the UN system, the UN Security Council and its members speak at that time, and in April when UNFPA's Country Director was thrown out?

  In April 2014, Inner City Press asked UNFPA to "Please confirm or deny that in Sudan UNFPA Representative Pam Delargy was told to leave the country on April 7 and, separately, that she did leave. And anything else. Please also provide an update on Mr. Siddhart Chatterjee as UNFPA Representative in Kenya: date of commencement, what work has been done."

  UNFPA replied to Inner City Press on April 9, "The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Khartoum, Sudan was notified by the Government of Sudan that the UNFPA Representative had been requested to leave the country at a short notice. A press release by the Sudanese Government has been issued to this effect. We regret this decision and are in communication with the United Nations Country Team in Sudan to seek further clarification on this matter. We hope that we would very soon be able to continue and re-establish normal relationships with the Government of Sudan."

  Inner City Press asked this week about the UN system's silence and UNFPA replied, "UNFPA now has a new representative in Sudan, who has assumed her responsibilities three months ago. I will follow up with our Khartoum office regarding your second question."

  We'll have more on this. 

   

On Sudan Ousters, Now US Speaks, Like UN Didn't on UNFPA, Nor UNHCR

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 30, more here – After Inner City Press received a leaked copy of Sudan UN Development Program Country Director Yvonne Helle's December 24 e-mail saying she had been ordered to leave the country, it reported it and asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it at the UN's noon briefing on December 24. Story here, video from UN noon briefing here.

  Now on December 30, after a UN Security Council consultations from which nothing came, the US State Department through Office of Press Relations Director Jeff Rathke, says:

"The United States deplores the decision by the Government of Sudan to expel two senior United Nations officials and calls on the Government of Sudan to reverse the decision.  The expulsions of Mr. Ali Al-Za’tari and Ms. Yvonne Helle, two highly regarded UN professionals, are detrimental to Sudan’s relations with the international community and to the protection and well-being of the people of Sudan.  The United States will continue to press the Government of Sudan to desist from actions that hinder the United Nations’ ability to meet its humanitarian and security objectives in Sudan."

   Duly noted. Not only did the Security Council consultation not result in a Press Statement or even elements to the press -- no one spoke afterward at the UN Security Council stakeout. Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access asked the UN:

"This is a request that Deputy SG Eliasson or someone else from the Secretariat hold a press availability on Sudan's decision to expel Yvonne Helle (which I asked about at the December 24 noon briefing) and Ali Al-Za'tari... I understood the DSG to say he would not be speaking afterward since it was consultations. But a media availability by the Secretariat, ideally the DSG but another if necessary, later this afternoon is being requested, including on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access."

   UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq replied in the negative:

"Regarding your request for a press availability, yes, the Deputy Secretary-General said that he would not speak at the stakeout, given that the Security Council had held consultations. The views he expressed were in keeping with what we have been saying on Sudan, including in the 25 December SG statement: 

'The Secretary-General condemns the Government of Sudan's decision to expel the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator and the Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme. The sanctioning of United Nations personnel sent to Sudan to carry out their duties in accordance with the United Nations Charter is unacceptable. The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Sudan to reverse its decision immediately and urges it to cooperate fully with all United Nations entities present in Sudan.'"

 On December 27 UK Minister for Africa James Duddridge said: "I condemn the deeply regrettable decision by the Government of Sudan to expel two senior United Nations staff... It is essential that the Government of Sudan co-operate with UN missions and agencies in their country; and I join with the Secretary General in calling on the Government of Sudan to reverse this decision."

  Inner City Press has asked, why was nothing said when Sudan expelled the Country Director of the UN Population Fund UNFPA in April? When Sudan this Fall chased a UN aid official out of Darfur? There have been no public explanation, but Inner City Press is compiling a picture -- call it "Profiles in Cowardice" -- from multiple sources; watch this site.

   (Inner City Press is told by sources that Sudan's Permanent Representative exchanged words with a Security Council members PR on December 30, we hope to have more on this.)

  For now we add this: when UNHCR the UN's refugee agency held a  staff planning mtg in Khartoum, Sudan's security agency NISS then refused to let the Darfur-based international staff return to their posts. 

 For months they sat in Khartoum waiting, incidentally spending large amounts from UNHCR's public budget. Ultimately many of the international staff were simply moved, quietly, to other countries. 

 And why didn't the UN system, the UN Security Council and its members speak at that time, and in April when UNFPA's Country Director was thrown out?

  In April 2014, Inner City Press asked UNFPA to "Please confirm or deny that in Sudan UNFPA Representative Pam Delargy was told to leave the country on April 7 and, separately, that she did leave. And anything else. Please also provide an update on Mr. Siddhart Chatterjee as UNFPA Representative in Kenya: date of commencement, what work has been done."

  UNFPA replied to Inner City Press on April 9, "The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Khartoum, Sudan was notified by the Government of Sudan that the UNFPA Representative had been requested to leave the country at a short notice. A press release by the Sudanese Government has been issued to this effect. We regret this decision and are in communication with the United Nations Country Team in Sudan to seek further clarification on this matter. We hope that we would very soon be able to continue and re-establish normal relationships with the Government of Sudan."

  Inner City Press asked this week about the UN system's silence and UNFPA replied, "UNFPA now has a new representative in Sudan, who has assumed her responsibilities three months ago. I will follow up with our Khartoum office regarding your second question."

  We'll have more on this.

   On December 24, tellingly Dujarric had no comment on Helle being thrown out of Sudan, just as the UN had been silent on the similar ouster of the UNPFA country director in Sudan in April, and a UN aid officer from Darfur in the Fall, as reported by Inner City Press.

 The UN Security Council did not speak on April on the UNFPA country director's ouster, much less on the departure of OCHA's Darfur official.

  But now the Security Council has scheduled consultations on these two most recent orders to leave, on December 30 -- the day AFTER the deadline for UNDP's Yvonne Helle to leave.

  So are they most focused on Jordanian Ali Al-Za'tari, even though HE said nothing about the UNFPA ouster in April, the OCHA departure, and so quickly accepted Helle's ouster? And the briefer for these consultations better not be Herve Ladsous, whose firing has been called for by 123 NGOs and Sudan experts for, among other things, being too accommodative of Bashir and rapes in Sudan. We'll see.

   There's a lack of transparency. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at his December 17 press conference rejected a Press question about the cover up of rapes in Darfur by UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous, and declined the same question, also from Inner City Press, at his three-question stakeout on December 22. (Two of the picked questions were about North Korea.)

   Then on December 25, after Inner City Press first reported that UN Resident Coordinator Ali Al Za'tari, who had docilely accepted the ouster of Helle and of the UNFPA before that, was himself being thrown out, Dujarric at 1:32 pm finally sent Inner City Press an e-mail answering its question from noon on December 24, and written questions after that. The UN had “filed a protest” (Agence France Presse, a defender of Ladsous, said this quote was “said to AFP.” Note that Inner City Press has put in questions to UNFPA and OCHA. We'lll have more on these.)

   But this is how the way things work gets mystified: coverage belatedly began, Ban Ki-moon Stands Up to Sudan. Does he? Why not comment on the first ouster order by Sudan? Why exclude then dodge questions about the cover up of the Darfur rapes by UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous?

  As noted late yesterday, the New York Times piece from 40,000 feet about Darfur misleads by casting UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous as one of the good guys, and omitting mention of 132 non-governmental organizations and Sudan experts having written to Ban tourge him to fire Ladsous for under-performance in Sudan, here.

   But worse than the NYT is Reuters, which after arriving late to and without given any credit for the story quotes Ladsous that the UN will remain in Darfur. Really? (Reuters UN bureau chief has said he has a policy of not crediting Inner City Press, then censored from Search his “for the record” anti-Press complaint to the UN, here via EFF's ChillingEffects.org).

   For the record, publications such as Sudan Tribune andRadio Tamazuj credit Inner City Press, here and here. But it is beyond appropriation – the timing is important. Al Jazeera, for example, “reports” that “A UN spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anoymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media,* said Ali Zaatari and Yvonne Helle were ordered to leave on Thursday.”

  That's NOT what happened. Helle was ordered out on Wednesday, December 24; the UN said nothing, even when Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman, on UNTV, about it. So then on December 25 a higher UN official was thrown out. 

* - What kind of spokesperson is "not authorized to speak to the media"?

  The UN's own cover ups and silences are part of the story. Watch this site.

   

Exclusive: UN Claimed Giving Its Staff's Dollars to Sudan Was Required by US Sanctions, But OFAC Told UN Staff Otherwise

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Must Credit

UNITED NATIONS, December 29, more here – With the UN belatedly moving to stand up to pressure from the Sudanese government of Omar al Bashir, who has ordered UN officials Yvonne Helle and Ali Al-Za'tari to leave the country, Inner City Press has learned more about a particularly shameful way in which the UN and Al-Za'tari tried to placate the Sudanese government, to the extend of giving it the U.S. dollars of UN national staff in Sudan.

   Today Inner City Press is exclusively publishing a letter from the UN Federal Credit Union claiming the transfer was related to UN sanctions, and an opinion from the US Office of Financial Assets Control which says that is not the case. Inner City Press questions to the UN and its agencies have been pending for days.

    In the first document Inner City Press is exclusively publishing today, here, UNFCU's President and CEO William Predmore told national staff in Sudan that

"We understand the concerns of our members after necessary account restrictions were implosed, and we regret there was not an opportunity to deliver communications more swiftly to the individuals impacted... As you may be aware, UNFCU is subject to U.S. Regulations (including those promulgated by the Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC)). In order to ensure compliance with those regulations, checking account services and debit card services were terminated for local staff.”

   (Many were stranded with AMT cards that didn't work, while their dollars were transferred to the Bank of Khartoum.)

  But contrary to what UNFCU's Predmore told staff in writing, the US OFAC in the second document Inner City Press is exclusively publishing today, here, told UN staff that sanctions law and regulation does NOT require what the UN has done, citing 31 CFR 538.531. Click here to view in PDF.

   Last week Inner City Press exclusively reported on the UN Federal Credit Union abruptly telling UN national staff in Sudan that their accounts were being frozen and the dollars in them transferred to the Bank of Khartoum. Inner City Press has asked the UN, including UNDP, OCHA andUNFPA, to explain this. 

   On December 27 Inner City Press exclusively published a complaint filed with Ali Al-Za'tari about the change,here. Inner City Press notes that the decision to give the UN national staff's dollars to the Bank of Khartoum flies in the face, in fact, of the sanctions.  The complaint to Al-Za'tari states that 

“UNFCU closed checking and savings accounts of national staff without prior notification and consultation and unilaterally transferred all funds of staff members' accounts to local saving accounts to be paid in SDG by Bank of Khartoum... Based on the long years of established provision of the UNFCU service, majority of national staff have made long term financial arrangements taking into account UNFCU deposits facilities which provided solutions to many of their problems such as medical treatments and education to them and their families.”

  Tellingly, Predmore's letter to staff also says that the switch was made pursuant to UNDP's rules. What rules?

  Now the UN Security Council is set to meet on December 30 about Sudan's order to Ali Al-Za'tari and Yvonne Helle to leave; the Council will say they are in support of UN staff. What will they do about UN staff members' dollars having been given to the Sudanese authorities?

  In essence, UNDP and its Resident Coordinator Ali Al-Za'tari gave Khartoum the U.S. dollars of UN national staff, without notice. Even that wasn't enough to keep him in the country. But it is reminiscent of another UN scam Inner City Press exclusive uncovered, the overpayment of Myanmar by inflated foreign exchange rate in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

  That was covered and credited – will this be? Or does thescam here extend to covering up the complicity of UN officials like not only Herve Ladsous but even, yes, Ali Al-Za'tari, who remained silent when UNFPA's country director was thrown out of Sudan in April, and as Inner City Press asked the UN on December 24, gave in quickly to the ouster of Yvonne Helle? Watch this site.