Exclusive: For Mali Envoy, Ban Slates De Mistura, Who Hired His Son in Law in Iraq, African Grumbles about Italian Connection

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, April 3 -- After Inner City Press asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about the UN's plans for Malimidday on Wednesday, and she replied that robust counter-terrorism should be separate from a UN mission with a strong Special Representative, multiple sources exclusively told Inner City Press the person slated for this post.

  It is Staffan de Mistura, currently in the Italian government as deputy foreign minister 

but “not for long,” as one source put it.

  Previously De Mistura was the Special Representative of the Secretary General in Iraq, where as Inner City Press noted he hired Ban Ki-moon's son in law Siddarth Chatterjee.

  Later when De Mistura was given the top Afghanistan envoy job, he told Inner City Press he would push with the Karzai government for answers on their killing of UN staff member Louis Maxwell. There have still be no answers.

  But “like a bad penny” as one put it, now De Mistura is slated to return.

“What is this Italian connection?” one African delegate asking Inner City Press, pointing out that Ban's Sahel envoy is Romano Prodi, and that Ban recent gave the Deputy slot at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to an Italian, Flavia Pansieri.

  Another asked, “Why are there so few Africans heading up the UN missions in Africa?” 

  The three Western African missions are all led by Europeans. Bert Koenders of the Netherlands, head of the Cote d'Ivoire mission, was at the UN Wednesday, greeted Inner City Press on his way it's said to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions.

  There is also the American Roger Meece heading the mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An African Deputy Permanent Representative opposed to this new nomination asked, “And now De Mistura? No.”

  An ambassador who Inner City Press asked to comment on De Mistura after learning of the plan laughed and said, “They're going to raid your office again.”

  Others from the Arabic and Muslim side recalled that to the recent Arab League Summit, “not only didn't Ban Ki-moon go, he sent to representative Jeff Feltman, before the US face in the region. What is going on here?”

  But to some the most dissonant note was De Mistura's jobs, prospectively this one, after hiring Ban Ki-moon's son in law Siddarth Chatterjee. 

  After Inner City Press' cusp of the year exclusive on Philippe Douste Blazy's hiring of Ban's daughter Hyun Hee Ban

, there were some calls to make this type of hiring illegal. 

  But as Staffan De Mistura might say, if it's legal and it works, why not do it? Watch this site.

Ban Ki-moon Daughter Hired by Douste-Blazy's UNITAID, UN Confirms to ICP

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, December 31 -- The daughter of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been hired by UNITAID, a UN facility for the purchase of drugs against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis that is run, or mis-run, by French politician Philippe Douste-Blazy. (Click here &here for previous scoops.)

  Inner City Press asked Ban's top three spokespeople about this on December 27, and on every workday since. Finally at past 4:30 pm on New Years Eve the UN confirmed the hiring, but did not state what rules on nepotism might apply.

  Inner City Press on December 27 asked the UN to "please provide the Secretariat's response to the allegation, received by Inner City Press, that 'Hyun Hee Ban has been hired without a legitimate selection process by the UN agency UNITAID," and that "Philippe Douste-Blazy, chairman of executive board of UNITAID, arranged the deal."

  Specifically, Inner City Press asked, "What rules or safeguards, including regarding the hiring of family members of high UN system officials, apply?"

  Here is the UN's entire New Years Eve response:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 4:38 PM
Subject: Question
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

On UNITAID: We checked with UNITAID. This is their response: Hyun Hee Ban has been hired by UNITAID with a temporary (limited duration, less than six months) contract as a P3 technical officer in Monitoring and Evaluation, reporting to the head of Monitoring and Evaluation in the Department of Operations. She was selected on the basis of her CV, availability in Geneva and the high workload of the Monitoring and Evaluation team. As UNITAID is a partnership hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO), all WHO rules have been adhered to, as with all UNITAID's appointments. Dr. Denis Broun, the Executive Director of UNITAID, was responsible for the hiring.

   To say someone was selected on the basis of their CV is not explaining a recruitment practice. And there is a history here - click here (2007) here (2009, legal threats) and here (2011).

   With all due respect to Hyun Hee Ban's qualification and clearly good intentions, given the obvious pressures and conflict of interest issues raised by a UN related entity employing a direct relative of the Secretary General, a more detailed response that this, and possibly better or at least some rules will be required. 

   But that, based on the timing of the response, will have to be in 2013. Happy New Year. Watch this site.

UN Stonewalling on Ban Ki-moon Nepotism Complaint from UNITAID, French Want Police Adviser Post?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 27, updated twice -- The UN, which preaches for rule of law all over the world, it seen by those inside it as wracked with corruption, nepotism and conflict of interest.

  Inner City Press receives many such complaints, some of which it asks UN spokespeople about, some of which it publishes.

  But of late the spokespeople of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have simply stopped answering questions, and have even given answers to questions Inner City Press has been asking to other media but not to Inner City Press. (The belated rationale, distinguishing Press questions about the presence of UN personnel in conflict zones from their relocation, doesn't hold water.)

 On the morning of December 27, Inner City Press asked Ban's top three spokesmen for an explanation, and for response on deadline to the following questions, including about complaints received about the hiring in the UN system, arranged by Philippe Douste-Blazy, of Ban's youngest daughter:

Please provide the Secretariat's response to the allegation, received by Inner City Press, that "Hyun Hee Ban has been hired without a legitimate selection process by the UN agency UNITAID," that "she has a P3 contract, unlimited duration, NO SELECTION PROCESS;" and that "Philippe Douste-Blazy, chairman of executive board of UNITAID, arranged the deal."

  Has she been hired by UNITAID?

Unless no: at what level? What rules or safeguards, including regarding the hiring of family members of high UN system officials, apply? In this context, please describe the recruitment, and any role played by Philippe Douste-Blazy.

Dec 27 - 2 Also on personnel: please deny or confirm / comment on the UN Secretariat's consideration of current ACABQ vice chair Richard Moon of the UK to head OCSS in the Department of Management, specifically what safeguards are in place given the potential for conflict of interest in offering a job to a person ostensibly objectively analyzing the Secretariat's budget and human resources proposals at ACABQ.

Dec 27 - 3 Please state when UN Police Adviser Orler's contract expires or when she is expected to leave, and please deny or confirm / comment that the Secretariat is considering a French replacements despite France already occupying DPKO.*

  The occupant at the top spot of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous, is the fourth Frenchman in a row in the post, and by most accounts by far the worst.  On November 27 he refused to answer Press questions about Congolese Army rapes in Minova, thensummoned into the hall a handful of favored media, video here. We will have more on this as well.

* Update: after 5 pm on December 27, one question -- not on UNITAID -- was responded to, thusly:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Thu, Dec 27, 2012 at 5:08 PM
Subject: Question
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

On the Police Adviser: DPKO advises that  the post of Police Adviser is a rotational post that is filled by active-duty officers on secondment from national service, normally for a limited period. The current Police Adviser has been in service since 2009 and a note verbale has been circulated to seek nominations from member states to the post. The selection process is in progress.

Note on note: It's from the Note Verbale that sources tell Inner City Press that France, despite already controlling, and not well, DPKO wants to grab the Police Adviser post too. 

Update of Dec. 28, 7 pm -- still the UN had not answered the question about UNITAID and Hyun Hee Ban, asked more than 30 hours previous. Watch this site.