At UN, Ban Ki-moon's Compacts Only on Intranet, No Public Financial Disclosure from Ladsous

By Matthew Russell Lee

  UNITED NATIONS, February 15, updated – Thirty eight stories above Manhattan, more than a dozen UN officials signed “compacts” for their work on Friday morning. Photos here.

  Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told them it was an agreement not only with the UN but with the world's people.

  But the documents will not be published on the UN's external website, only the UN's in-house intranet. Why? [UN response below.]

  What is published on the UN's external site are the supposed “public financial disclosure” forms of the senior UN officials. But many of them have filed a form saying only “I have chosen to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed in my financial disclosure statement.”

   Seated across from Ban Ki-moon at Friday's ceremony was his chief of peacekeeping Herve Ladsous -- who refused to make public financial disclosure, click here to view.

  After the signing Ban Ki-moon genially came over to Inner City Press, which asked about the public financial disclosures. Ban said the next round will be filed in March. Will Ladsous disclose then?

  Several officials appeared by video; to Yuri Fedotov, Ban joked, “two compacts, one salary.” Then he signed for other officials. Navi Pillay and Valerie Amos (who also declined public financial disclosure) were listed as “on official mission.”

 

The ombudsperson was “on annual leave;” Jeffrey Feltman, not yet listed on the public financial disclosure page, was said to have a “private appointment.” Will he disclose in March?

  Ban's chief of staff Susana Malcorra said there had been no ceremony last year due to changes among the senior officials. But there are imminent changes this year as well.

  Patricia O'Brien of the Office of Legal Affairs, for example, signed a compact even though she has been named Ireland's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva. Who will Ban's next chief lawyer be? And will they not only make public financial disclosure, but hold press conferences, as Patricia O'Brien refused to do?

  After the ceremony, Inner City Press headed to the North Lawn Building for an “Arria 

formula” meeting on climate change. (Click here for Feb 11 Inner City Press story.)

  Despite the morning's call for transparency, there was no notice of this meeting in the UN Journal or even the sign in front of Conference Room 2. A range of diplomats asked Inner City Press, “Where is it?”

  A small island state's Permanent Representative left in disgust, telling Inner City Press, “They are not even letting us speak, and we sponsored it. They are downgrading it, it's not even in the Journal.”

  Germany's Deputy Permanent Representative Miguel Berger was more emphatic, telling Inner City Press of the secrecy, “This should not be.”

  Berger is chairperson of the Fifth (Budget) Committee. There he could raise not only this excessive secrecy, but also some oversight of those refusing to make public financial disclosure but still seeking big money for their Department's budget -- like Ladsous and DPKO. Watch this site.

Update of 3:30 pm -- Inner City Press at Friday's noon briefing asked why the compacts will only be on the i-Seek intranet and not the UN's external website. This came back:

 

The Senior Managers Compacts and end of year performance assessments together form unique management tools at the disposal of the Secretary-General and Senior Managers themselves. Their publication on iSeek is an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability for public sector institutions. These tools are work in progress; the Secretariat continues to improve and fine-tune them each year. The Secretariat will use lessons learned from this experience to determine the pros and cons and whether and how to publish them externally in the future.

  While appreciating the response, we ask: What was that again, about the compacts being agreements not just with the UN but the public at large? Watch this site.

UNODC Say No Contact with Guinea Bissau Military Junta, GA, Ban Ki-moon UNclear

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 27 -- While the UN remains elusive about whether Guinea Bissau's post-coup leader Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo will speak for the country in the General Assembly, and whether he will meet with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon or his team, the head of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime Yuri Fedotov was more clear midday on Thursday.

  Inner City Press asked Fedotov about UNODC's work in and analysis of Guinea Bissau, including whether, since the April 12 coup d'etat, UNODC has worked with the post-coup government. Inner City Press asked asked whether UNODC believes drug trans-shipment has increased or decreased since the coup.

  Fedotov replied, "Unfortunately, it is clear the trans-shipment of drugs through Guinea Bissau is increasing. It puts an additional challenge."

  On whether UNODC works with the post-coup government, he replied that it "obviously" does not even have any contacts with what he called the "military junta." Fedotov said:

"So far we keep our profile very low. We keep alive facilities we helped to install in Guinea Bissau, including transnational crime unit. Obviously as you understand we don't have any contacts with members of the military junta in Guinea Bissau. But we are keeping the modest assets we built, in close coordination with all UN programs and fund present there... That is an issue we are discussion with colleagues. I've had several meeting in New York. We'll continue to pursue matter and we'll see what could be done in this particular context."

One wonders, who has Fedotov met with about this while in New York for the General Assembly? With whom has Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo met? Watch this site.

As UN Refugee & Crime Agencies Sign Deal, No Safeguards, No Protection

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 31 -- After the UN's refugee agency UNHCR signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC chief Yuri Fedotov told the press, "where there are refugees, there are always crime." Video here, from Minute 2.

Inner City Press asked Fedotov to explain: was this only about crimes committed against refugees, or would it include checking refugees, and even by implication sharing information with governments? Video here, from Minute 6:36.

The question seemed obvious, for example considering the controversy in the United States when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says it will work with any criminal justice agency: protests ensue, and suspension or safeguards are demanded. Wouldn't the UN have some safeguards?

Inner City Press requested, and ultimately obtained and is putting online here, the Memorandum of Understanding, which does not appear to have any such safeguards. Fedotov's answer was that "refugees appear not in peaceful countries." UNHCR's Antonio Guterres added that conflicts today are rarely between two states.

Take for example the recent entry into Somalia by the Kenyen Army, reportedly with supportive bombardments by France (from the sea) and, it seems, from the US. This is not a conflict between two states but a self-described "hot pursuit" operation by a state on a non-state actor, Al Shabab.

But over the weekend, an aerial bombardment of a camp inside Somalia killed five, according to Medicins Sans Frontieres. Guterres insisted it isn't clear what happened, and that UNHCR has no mandate inside Somalia.

Likewise when Inner City Press asked Guterres about the plight of Kachin people displaced by Myanmar's Army offensive, he replied that UNHCR is only in other parts of Myanmar and wants to keep open the "asylum space" in Thailand. But Malaysia is moving to return people to Myanmar.

Given all this, the lack of safeguards in UNHCR's agreement with the UN's crime agency is of concern. We hope to have more on this.

Footnote: both Fedotov and Guterres were in New York meeting with Ban Ki-moon and the Chief Executives Board. On Friday outside the CEB meeting, Inner City Press poses another protection question to World Food Program chief Josette Sheeran, so far without answer.

Christine Lagarde of the IMF was there too -- to what end, nobody knows. Now Ban, Lagarde, Barack Obama and others are headed to the G20 meeting in Cannes, the UN briefing regarding which was closed to the press and public. And so it goes at the UN.