General Assembly's Kerim Refuses to Disclose Payments from WAZ Media Group, No Olympics Showing Either

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un4pgafunding041108.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 11 – The President of the General Assembly Srgjan Kerim declined in a press conference on Friday to disclose his financial relationship with the WAZ media group, calling it irrelevant. In response to questions from Inner City Press, Kerim acknowledged that "if a government pays the president of the GA, he has to have a relationship with that government." Asked why it would be different if a corporation pays him, particularly but not only if it were a contractor with the UN, Kerim said, "of course if it would be a contractor with the UN then you would have a conflict of interest." He added, "In this case we don't, my company has nothing to do with the UN." Video here, from Minute 24:50.

In the more than five minute exchange Friday, Kerim repeatedly said "this is a matter of principle," and not about him personally. Inner City Press agrees, and has informed Kerim's spokesman, that it is not personal, that after Kerim told Inner City Press candidly and to his credit that those who give funding ask favors, the question about funding from WAZ had to be asked.

President Kerim's spokesman, from whom Inner City Press tried to get these questions answer prior to and outside of the press conference, has stated in writing that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

"Government has made an arrangement with Dr. Kerim’s employer the WAZ media group allowing for the one year release of Dr. Kerim to take up his duties as the GA President. This agreement allows for maintaining his contractual status with the media group. Dr. Kerim has a five year contract with WAZ and the details of that contract are confidential."

But public financial disclosure is not only for cases where the discloser acknowledges a conflict of interest -- rather, they are across the board, in order to identify possible conflicts of interest. Kerim on Friday said that "member states knew that I came from the private sector and represent a company, they did not object to it." Very few of the Ambassadors asked this year about President Kerim's arrangement knew that the president of the GA might still be paid by a private company, until they read it in Inner City Press.

Press analysis: There has to be a better way. At a minimum, presidents of the General Assembly should disclose where their funds come from, as well as with whom they meet. These modest reforms do not have to wait for any vote on General Assembly revitalization, they could be implemented right now. There is nothing personal, but perhaps something precedential as well as presidential, about it.

Olympic footnote: Inner City Press also asked Kerim if he will attend any part of the Beijing Olympics. No, he said, "I have some other commitments and tasks to do." Earlier in the week, also in response to Inner City Press' questions, Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Spokesperson said Ban will not attend "due to scheduling issues." These are the top two officials in the UN, and Chinese is a Permanent Member of the Security Council. One wonders if the "we will not attend" positions will survive through August 8. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un4pgafunding041108.html

UN Assembly's President Is Employed By Media Group, Refuses to Disclose Payments, Stepping To Reform

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
and see, www.innercitypress.com/un3pgafunding040308.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 3 -- The President of the UN General Assembly, Srgjan Kerim, is still under contract to his previous private sector employer, the WAZ media group, but the amount WAZ is paying him is called "confidential" by Kerim's spokesman. In mid-March, Inner City Press asked President Kerim about how he is paid. In response, Kerim called for a reform under which the Office of the President of the GA would be funded by the UN, since "it is the right of those who pay to ask favors." Kerim called this situation "unbearable."

In light of these statements, Inner City Press for two weeks has asked Kerim's spokesman Janos Tisovszky to with all due respect confirm or deny that Kerim is paid by WAZ, and how much. On April 3, Tisovszky wrote to Inner City Press that the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia "has made an arrangement with Dr. Kerim’s employer the WAZ media group allowing for the one year release of Dr. Kerim to take up his duties as the GA President. This agreement allows for maintaining his contractual status with the media group. Dr. Kerim has a five year contract with WAZ and the details of that contract are confidential."

Even while awaiting a reform, which Kerim to his credit has said he will push for, to have the position of PGA funded by the UN itself, it seems clear that outside payments to the sitting President of the GA, particularly from private corporations, should be disclosed. In this case, it is a media company. It has been argued to Inner City Press that the only conflict of interest would be if this media company got "scoops" about the UN's work. But if this secrecy is accepted, why couldn't future funders be military contractors, oil companies, or even armed non-state parties? While some have pointed about that previous GA presidents received funding from outside the UN, it appears that in previous cases this was only from the president's own government, and not from private corporations, which raise separate conflict of interest questions of first impression.

Indonesia's Ambassador Marty Natalegawa has told Inner City Press that the proposed reform, that the PGA be paid by the UN, should not be quickly adopted without thinking of the ramification for other UN committees that he say have similar outside-funded presiding officers. But do these allow for outside funding for corporations? In amounts that are not disclosed?

To Mr. Tisovszky's credit, certain other of Inner City Press' questions were answered, for example that "no staff member is paid out of the $280,000 budget as this is specified for only to cover official travel, official hospitality, miscellaneous staff expenditures (e.g. temporary assistance, compensatory time off, overtime) and other expenditures, if applicable (e.g. phone charges, newspaper subscriptions, specialized computer software, etc)." French Ambassador Jean-Marie Lacroix had said that perhaps the $280,000 provided should be better used. But divided by 19 staff, it would mean less than $15,000 each.

Tisovszky also answered how many people work in the Office of the PGA -- nineteen -- and what countries they come from: "Brazil, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Rwanda and Slovenia as well as from the President’s own country." This last phrasing seems an attempt to avoid having to choose between the controversial "Macedonia" and the unwieldy "FYROM."

News analysis: Since this name dispute led to a Greek veto and a FYROM walk-out from this week's NATO meeting in Bucharest, circumlocution is understandable. What is not acceptable is for the self-described highest official in the UN to be receiving payments from a private corporation and to refuse to disclose their volume.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un3pgafunding040308.html

UN's Top Official Srgjan Kerim Accepts Outside Funding, Calls for Reform Which the UK Supports

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1pgafunding031808.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 18 -- The current President of the UN General Assembly, Srjgan Kerim, has his living costs and rent paid by the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which also arranged with Mr. Kerim's employer, the WAZ media group, to keep him under contract even while he serves at the UN. Having gotten these arrangements confirmed by Kerim's spokesman, Inner City Press on Tuesday asked Kerim if this might present a conflict of interest, and what he would propose.

"It is the right of those who pay to ask favors," Kerim candidly responded, calling the situation "unbearable." He said he will instruct the two facilitators of the General Assembly revitalization resolution to raise the issue. Inner City Press asked the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative John Sawers for the UK's view of the president of the General Assembly accepting funding from his government or a private corporation. "There are certain things in this building that are out of date," Ambassador Sawers replied, calling such funding an "unusual situation, inherited over the years." He said the UK would in principle support a GA resolution to address the issue.

Ascertaining the financing of the current President of the GA has taken several rounds of questions, not all of which have been answered. Last month, Inner City Press' questions (video here, from Minute 33:31) led his spokesman to state that "no, the President has not requested a credit card, he inquired... about his entitlements including also any entitlements and obligations covering family members. He has not made any request for car and security for his wife."

Inner City Press followed up with a question about Kerim's rent at Essex House, his arrangement with the WAZ media group, and even if he has asked that his lunches in the UN's Delegates Dining Room be paid for. This resulted in a confirmation that "it is the Government of Macedonia that covers the cost of the President's accommodation in New York and also provides him with income to cover his living costs." Inner City Press' request to know how the size of these payments was not answered by the spokesman. Rather, even before Kerim's in-person call for reform, a written response was provided to Inner City Press that "the General Assembly President should be covered through the regular UN budget. He believes that as a matter of principle and logic this should be the case to clearly indicate that the President is fully accountable to the General Assembly and not to his / her sending Government."

Ironically, while Mr. Kerim while running for the presidency committed to call his country by its UN name, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYROM, since assuming office he has repeatedly called it Macedonia, including in the written responses provided to Inner City Press. He visited, as a personal trip, the country's incoming honorary consul in Naples, Florida, a trip that Inner City Press covered. (Inner City Press has covered Kerim's views on UN ethics, the budget, climate change and vows of transparency.)

To his credit, Kerim on Tuesday did not deny that funders ask for favors. "We cannot leave it to character," he said, asking "who can guarantee that every President will show resistance" to such pressure? He emphasized that the PGA is the only UN official elected by all member states, hence the UN's top official. He said that Article 21 of the UN Charter directs the General Assembly to make rules for the office of the President of the General Assembly, but the GA has provided neither guidance nor funding. Kerim says he is asking for a change, and the UK for one says it will in principle support the request. We'll see.

Footnote: Speaking just after the General Assembly's end of the year budget vote, Kerim suggested that the agenda item on "GA revitalization" should be replaced with the notion of the Assembly's role in "strengthening the United Nations system," and said "how well this Assembly performs depends on the Member States... when you are active and engaged, it allows any President of the Assembly to show leadership." This issue of removing the Office of the President of the GA from an anachronistic conflict of interest position will require leadership to solve. Presidents only serve for one year, making structural changes hard to accomplish. Kerim has at least admitted publicly that there is a problem. Now, will there be a solution? Will Ban Ki-moon, with a longer tenure than Kerim to solve this problem, get involved?

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1pgafunding031808.html