Over Five Million Deaths Made Invisible By Lack of Birth Certificates, Lancet & UNICEF Say

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 -- There are over five million “invisible” newborn deaths and stillbirths every year, according to The Lancet, due to lack of birth certificate and recording systems.

On May 20 Inner City Press asked Joy Lawn of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in which countries the problem is the worst, and if the UN and its peacekeeping missions could do anything about it.

Professor Lawn said in Nigeria three-quarters of births are unreported. Given Boko Haram's mass abduction of over 200 girls, one wonders if this lack of birth records isn't some part of the problem. She said that in Bhutan the registration rate is 100% while in Pakistan it is 22%.

Kim Eva Dickson of UNICEF replied that in Rwanda, for example, there are moves toward electronic pregnancy registration, and text message reminders of pre-natal care visits.

An upcoming meeting was cited, to be held in Toronto involving Tanzania's Kikwete and Canada's Harper as heads of the “Committee on Information and Accountability.”

On that theme, Inner City Press asked also about the UN Communications Group Annual Principals Meeting which UNICEF is co-hosting May 20 and 21; UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it is internal. Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access attempted a follow up -- previously UNCG meetings have dealt with topics like accreditation which impact the media and public -- but Dujarric declined the follow up. We will have more on this - here.

   

UN Proposes Discouraging Ruling & Royal Goodwill Ambassadors After Dodging Inner City Press' Aicha Gaddafi Expose

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, January 21 -- That Libya's Colonel Moammar Gaddafi's daughter Aicha Gaddafi was a UN "Goodwill Ambassador," when first reported by Inner City Press in February 2011, was an issue the UN did not want to address. 

  First Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office left the question unanswered after Inner City Press asked at the February 20, 2011 noon briefing. Three days later, former UN Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown told Inner City Press he hoped it wasn't true -- but it was.

  Now UN sources have exclusively provided Inner City Press with a draft proposal that, if implemented, might avoid for the UN some such embarrassments and outrages in the future. The proposal, from UNDP, is that the UN system discourage naming as Goodwill Ambassadors "immediate family members of individuals holding or running for political office, as well as members of Royal Households."

   Ironically, UNDP even as it makes this proposal has as a Goodwill Ambassador Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway. But it would apply to many other current UN system Goodwill Ambassadors, such as the First Ladies of Cameroon and the Dominican Republic, and Royal family members of Jordan, the UAE, Morocco, Norway, Denmark, Monaco, Bhutan and Thailand.

  Here exclusively are two proposed paragraphs, then how they would apply to current UN practice, and a comment -- appreciated and included for fairness -- from the UN's Outreach Division chief, Maher Nasser, that updates are needed. 

  Some might call them reforms:

Messenger of Peace/Goodwill Ambassador draft guidelines & meeting minutes

Dear All, With our apologies, please find a revised version of the draft guidelines. We neglected to add language that UNDP had proposed.

FN3: "immediate family members" replaces "spouses"

The designation of immediate family members of individuals holding or running for political office, as well as members of Royal Households, is discouraged to avoid the appearance of vested interest.

PARA18: the following text has been added

5. Appointment letters should specify the beginning and end dates of the term of the appointment. If a decision is made to terminate or not renew a partnership with a Goodwill Ambassador or Messenger of Peace, an official letter shall be sent expressing appreciation for his/her services and clearly indicating the date on which the partnership comes to an end. Language should also be included specifying that as of that date, the individual should no longer use the title of Goodwill Ambassador or Messenger of Peace, and that his/her biographical data, websites and other promotional materials should be modified accordingly.

We understand that some of you have shared the previous version with your legal departments, and very much regret this inconvenience.

As always, we look forward to your feedback.

Please review the guidelines and convey your agency's approval of this version by 31 January.

Best regards,

Chief, NGO Relations, Advocacy & Special Events
NGO Relations
Creative Community Outreach Initiative
Messenger of Peace Programme

   Aicha Gaddafi was, clearly, an immediate family member of a person holding office. But currently, for example, the UN system has the following as Goodwill Ambassadors, many of them " members of Royal Households" --

Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, spouse of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai

FAO: Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak al Ketbi (United Arab Emirates)

Margarita Cedeño de Fernández (Dominican Republic) First Lady

UNAIDS: HRH Crown Princess Mette-Marit (Norway)

Her Serene Princess Stephanie (Monaco)

UNICEF: HM Queen Rania (Jordan)

UNESCO: Chantal Biya (Cameroon) First Lady of Cameroon

H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover (Principality of Monaco)

H.R.H. Princess Firyal of Jordan

Bahia Hariri (Lebanon) Parliamentarian

H. R. H. Princess Lalla Meryem of Morocco

UNWOMEN: HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol (Thailand) Granddaughter of the Thai King

HRH Princess Basma bint Talal

UNDP: Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway

UNFPA: Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan

Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck (Bhutan) Queen Mother of Bhutan

Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

WFP: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (Thailand)

Inner City Press sought comment from the UN's Outreach Division; its director Maher Nasser quickly replied: 

"On the Goodwill Ambassadors, the existing guidelines are several years old and in need of an update.  We have been working with the focal points in the UN System on Goodwill Ambassadors to update them for quite a while now. Until these are approved by all, this is still work in progress, so I cannot comment on the specific language until it is final.

"The revised draft aims to ensure consistency in the selection criteria of GWA across the UN system and that we are able to best harness the potential created by a celebrity's association with a UN organization and/or a certain cause."  We'll have more on this. Watch this site.

   

For UNSC, Rwanda Wins With 148, Australia 140, EU and Asian 2d Round

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 18 -- Rwanda, Australia and Argentina won UN Security Council seats in the first round of voting on Thursday morning in the UN General Assembly. Australia's competitors Luxembourg and Finland face off in a second round, as do South Korea and Cambodia for a single Asian seat.

Despite a candidate-less campaign against Rwanda, complete with the leak of a UN Sanctions report two days before the vote accusing it of support of the M23 mutineers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda got 148 votes. 

Tellingly, DRC got a vote -- its own? -- and Tanzania got three votes. The rest was abstentions, some from SADC as Inner City Press reported.

Exiting the first round vote count announcement, an Asian Group Permanent Representative told Inner City Press that the biggest surprise was "South Korea's low vote count, despite all that money." He indicated his country would switch to Cambodia in the second round. But would it be enough? Bhutan got 20 votes -- some dubbed it the Happiness vote.

Argentina won easily with 182 votes; Cuba and Barbados each drew a vote.

Election required 129 votes, which Australia surpassed with 140. Luxembourg just missed with 128; Finland came in with 108. The latter two face off in the second round. Earlier this week, Finland's Permanent Representative told Inner City Press his country had 165 "commitments." Oh the betrayal! So it goes at the UN. Watch this site.

For UNSC, Luxembourg Said to Have 150 Promises, Australia Counts on Trips, Finland Prepares the Berries

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 15 -- It's time for a vote count in the race among Australia, Luxembourg and Finland for two UN Security Council seats, in the run-up to Thursday's vote. 

  Luxembourg is said to have commitments for 150 votes, which would be a win in the first round. But, as others point out, it's a secret ballot and such promises have fallen apart in the past. Some countries say they support all three.

  Australia, non-Australian sources tell Inner City Press, does not have 129 votes, at least not yet. But others say that the money spent -- which they put not at $40 million but $24 million "allocated," as Foreign Minister Julia Gillard answered Inner City Press-- including on trips by many smaller countries, may serve Australia well if there are multiple rounds. 

 Some countries abide by their commitment only for the first round, then release themselves. Some are always released.

  Australia's foreign minister Bob Carr is already in town, wining and dining; Finland is holding a reception next, with minister Erkki Tuomioja working it. Bags of dried blueberries are being prepared for distribution on Thursday, following the blueberry pie chocolate bars earlier handed out, with Martti Ahtisaari's face on them. But remember: Canada tried with maple syrup...

   Cambodia, competing with South Korea and Bhutan for a single Asian seat, is "in mourning" for former King Sihanook, as the country's representative Hor Nam Bora put it to Inner City Press. There was much buzz about his interview with Inner City Press last week. Will a candid presentation of a country's case help it? Watch this site.

For UNSC Seat, Cambodia Rep Contrasts "Rich" South Korea of Ban Ki-moon, Idealistic Bhutan

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, October 11 -- In the race for one UN Security Council seat among South Korea, Cambodia and Bhutan many assume that Seoul's financial pledges and having Ban Ki-moon already in place as Secretary General guarantees that country victory.

  On Thursday morning in front of the General Assembly as Inner City Press covered the other race -- Australia, Finland and Luxembourg -- a Cambodian duo sat on a couch behind the stakeout campaigning. There was a small wooden box on the table in front of their couch.

  They summoned over an African Permanent Representative and met with him for some time. Then they summoned over Inner City Press.

   "Who do you think will win?" was the question. Inner City Press related what it has heard, that despite Bhutan's "cute" campaign around the theme of Happiness, South Korea was campaigning in the same way they did to get Ban Ki-moon elected Secretary General.

  The lead Cambodia campaigner, who gave Inner City Press his business card and said it was fine to report on the meeting, said that Ban as Secretary General should count AGAINST South Korea. 

  "It's too much," he said. "I'm hearing about the Koreanization of the UN." He paused. "Some day we'll come here and it will be nothing but Samsung."

   "This should not just be about money," he said. "It should be about values."

   Inner City Press asked about the spats between Cambodia and the UN, particularly its human rights office in the country. He smiled and said, the UN is free to be in our country, and we are free to comment, that is democracy.

   He called Bhutan's Happiness campaign "idealistic," contrasting it with real world concerns like peacekeeping. He snarked that India, which is supporting Bhutan, just wanted allies on the Security Council as it leaves in December.

   Inner City Press asked about the border dispute with Thailand; he said that would be no problem.

   It would be good to have more public campaigning and even debating for these Security Council seat, and other UN posts. This reporting is in that spirit.

   The Cambodia campaigner, we will then report, was and is Hor Nam Bora, whose job outside New York is as the country's London-based Ambassador to UK, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden.

   Covering that many countries is indicative of Cambodia's lower budget than South Korea. But, he argued, people want smaller or poorer states to be on the Security Council. He said the meeting could and even should be reported on. He said, "Help us." Does this? Watch this site.

Race for UNSC Has Cambodia Pitching Africans, Luxembourg with France

By Matthew Russell Lee

 

UNITED NATIONS, September 18 -- As the 67th UN General Assembly was gaveled in by new President Vuk Jeremic on Tuesday afternoon, much of the talk was of the two contested races for seats on the Security Council downstairs.

  The Permanent Representatives of Finland, Luxembourg and Australia, which are competing for two Western European & Other Group seats, were all in the GA, and chatting afterward.

  Luxembourg's Permanent Representative spoke with her French counterpart -- some snark that Luxembourg on the Council would just be another France, and there already is one - while Australia's Permanent Representative walked with a cowboy hatted colleague.

  "How goes the campaign?" Inner City Press asked. Tough, one of them answers. But it's going well, the other Aussie said.

  Perhaps unfairly, Inner City Press noted Australia's absence earlier on Tuesday when Permanent Representative Raymond Wolff of Jamaica did a roll-call of countries which sponsored Jamaica joining the UN in 1962.

  The UK missed the first call, too, until Mark Lyall Grant ran upstairs and made his appearance. One can't be everywhere. Including, as Canada found out, on the Palestinian question.

  In the Asian Group there is a competition of three countries, but for a single seat: South Korea, Cambodia, and Bhutan, most recently known in the UN for their campaign on happiness.

  Less happy, but working hard, Cambodia is meeting the African Group tomorrow. South Korea has the Ban Ki-moon card, just as Finland has the Martti Ahtisaari card, as well as chocolate bar. Or maybe NOT just as.

  Looking ahead -- way ahead -- in 2020 in the WEOG group, Norway will face off with Ireland and little San Marino for two seats. San Marino has never been on the Council, and that's an argument that sometimes carries weight. Watch this site.

Amid Bhutan Happy Talk, Its PM Calls Refugees "Hordes" That "Threaten Stability"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 -- When Bhutan's Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley appeared at the UN Thursday promoting his country's Gross National Happiness concept and a conference set for April 2, Inner City Press asked him a less happy question: what about the refugees chased out of Bhutan?

Some have called this ouster of Lhotshampa people akin to ethnic cleansing; people have languished in refugee camps in Nepal for well over a decade. Inner City Press asked, what about their happiness?

Thinley essentially argued that the Lhotshampa were or are not Bhutanese, that they came as "hordes" of economic refugees but Bhutan could not afford them. He told Inner City Press, "Bhutan became an attractive destination to people driven from their homes by ecological issues, economic and political instability, mostly coming from one particular country, Nepal."

Sounding like a number of other countries, Thinley said the Bhutanese "government had to take steps to assure its own security. Tt was the later hordes of people, numbers that threatened stability [and] led to certain administrative measures -- legal, constitutional -- led to situation you mention."

In a final burst of happy talk, Thinley said that it's "showing signs of a durable solution, Nepal and Bhutan are engaged in dialogue on how the should share the responsibility over those people located in refugee camps in the event these people have no options."

The option, which opened only after a decade of unhappiness or worse, has been resettlement out of the region. Perhaps after much suffering some refugees are made happy. But it seems incongruous. Watch this site.