Corrupt UN of Guterres Steals Tax Money from Germany and Hosts Leaves Consultants Holding Bag

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive CJR Video

UNITED NATIONS GATE, April 1  – Amid UN travel waste scandals overseen and mostly covered up by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres - his firing of Erik Solheim being an incongruous example - whistleblowers have told Inner City Press of a new one...now three times, extending the scandal from UNOPS in Geneva to CPD in Bonn and beyond. As Inner City Press reported, it first involved UNOPS, the UN Office of Project Services, as does this, which we exclusively report as Guterres' spokesman have refused to answer any Inner City Press questions for ten working days despite lead spokesman Stephane Dujarric's on camera promise of answers, and the writtenone of Guterres' USG Alison Smale: Several reports were received by Inner City Press from UNOPS consultants in Geneva who claim that after years of administrative uncertainty, they are now facing a threat of paying taxes for up to 5 years retroactively, which, for some of them, amounts to few hundred thousand US dollars. The consultants claim that while UNOPS has for the last few years denied any knowledge of tax issues in Geneva, UNOPS more recently have directed them to talk to Swiss local authorities.

  Now Inner City Press can report this is a pattern of the UN abusing not only the public services of the countries that host it but also its own consultant. Consider this account from a source to whom Inner City Press has offered anonymity due to the UN's penchant for retaliation even beyond the scope of employment in the ever more corrupt empire of impunity of Big Tony Antonio Guterres: "I admire your articles and courage to write about what really is going on in the UN organisations around the world.   I have recently read your article about corrupt UNOPS in Geneva, and the issue around the consultants and income taxes.   Well, the similar situation is happening here in Germany, at the UN headquarters in Germany - Bonn!  I worked as a consultant for a UN organization for the duration of three years - for the United Nations convention to combat desertification. Organisation, that in my opinion, should be scrapped once and for all, as the only goal the staff is interested in - keeping themselves their jobs, rather than doing something meaningful.  Millions of euros were spent to develop the UNCCDstrategy, and spending millions to make countries report on it, then it had to be "aligned", millions spent to align the documents. by the time countries' national action plans were aligned, the strategy expired. Then UNCCD came up with the craziest idea - countries have to pursue Land Degradation Neutrality. Not sure that even ever changing politicians even do understand what that means. Meaning  that countries need to invest as much money to restore as much land as they degrade. and even each country has to set goals by when they will be land degradation neutral - Utopia. From what I heard from an insider, the UNCCD already abandoned internally the idea of LDN, but they just cannot report this publicly of course.   Aside from their utopia world, to implement their agenda, they hire consultants to implement any job that is needed. According to the UN board of auditorsreport (since 2017 German Bundesrechnungshof is chairing), in 2016, UNCCD engaged 153 consultants and 18 individual contractors, concluding 248 contracts, "The fees for consultants differed between $2,500 and $10,000 per month and the fees for individual contractors between $600 and $2,000."  Do you know, that the fees of 2,500 and 600 per month were actually paid to full time office consultants in Germany?   I have worked for the UNCCD, carrying out staff- like work - project officer, but was paid barely as much as a travel assistant earns net, and on top of that gets all the UN benefits, retirement, leave, etc.   From my earnings, I had to pay income taxes, about which most of the consultants who have worked for the UN agencies there for decades, are either unaware or just hide their earnings. more likely - the latter.   I ended up paying income taxes for two years at once, and started prepaying income taxes immediately.  It impacted my personal life enormously. Tax authorities in Germany do not give you any excuse to delay tax payments, they make you pay everything at once, and charge huge penalties for paying taxes late.   I complained to German authorities about my situation, and thanks God, they are on my side. The UN agencies, not only the UNCCD, breaching the law on fictitious self-employment, prohibiting companies to hire individuals as consultants to avoid paying health insurance, retirement, social and unemployment insurance.   In my case, the German authorities came to an official verdict, that the UNCCD in relation to me, breached the rule. Now the UNCCD faces to pay all the contributions for retirement, health insurance, social insurance retroactively, and probably the fine. But as far as I am aware, the UNCCD has not reacted to any of the letters, they "enjoy their immunity status". But they are based in Germany, and they hire people who live in Germany. they must abide the rules of the country.   Ironically, similar case happened in UN ILO organization in Madrid, where UN ILO fired a consultant, who later filed a case against them in Madrid labour court.  In the end, Spain lifted immunity of UN ILO and made them pay around 43,000 euros to the consultant. In cases, where there is breach of human, civil, employment rights, countries can lift UN immunity status.   I know a woman, who worked as a consultant for the UNCCD for 600 dollars per month, later her salary was increased to 1000, afterwards she got pregnant and left, but was working there almost until 9 months. this is ridiculous.  Another friend of mine worked there as a procurement assistant, she had a shield on her door as another staff member - procurement assistant. Only my friend was earning 2000 euros per month net, from which as a "self-employed" person she had to pay 400 euros for health insurance, income taxes, retirement. In the end she had pennies left. She, as other consultants, and myself, was not entitled to any sick leave, annual leave, any benefits at all. While a staff procurement assistant was earning 4000 euros net, plus health insurance, retirement, annual leave, entitlements for un kindergarten, etc.   Germany has a very complex employment scheme. 99% of work force here are employed, while only 1% are self employed.  The labor laws here prescribe that an employer pays half contributions to health insurance, immediately deducts contributions towards public health insurance companies, income taxes, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, social insurance. In case a person loses his or her job, they are entitled for Unemployment payments equaling to around 60% of their salary per month for one year. If a woman gets pregnant, she is entitled to receive 67% of her salary for one year, and employer has to keep her job place for 3 years.   None of this applies to UN consultants. I was pregnant during my consultancy with the UNCCD, and I had to save whatever possible for my "maternity". I worked there until 3 weeks prior to delivery, while employed women in Germany leave already during the 7th month.  And you know, the same thing happening not only at the UNCCD but also with all other UN agencies in Bonn. People are given contracts: consultant, individual contractor, personal service agreement, on all of these people have to pay taxes. But they do not. UNU in Bonn for example, almost all of their staff are on personal service agreements, people that are hired are based in Germany.   on top of that, from what I heard from insiders, UN staff who work in Bonn, come here of course with their families and spouses. Since their wives are also covered through UN private insurance, once they get employed for example, by a company in Germany, there were real cases, when these companies do not deduct contributions to public health insurances, income taxes and other contributions, since they are insured privately.  So, these families enjoy even a higher disposable income and never report their income taxes!   The higher managerial UN staff even claim all the VAT back from Germany. Turns out they are entitled to that. My former boss, for example, would collect all of his private checks, and claim all the VAT back.   I know that these issues are already publicly known in Geneva. Probably, because their office is much larger than in Germany. In Germany, it is still not public, since most of the consultants keep quiet about it not having paid taxes.   I have been so much disappointed in the entire UN system.  I have personally decided to move on, and not think about all of these, but some part of me cannot let it go. UN stand for human rights, eradication of poverty, women empowerment, but what it does itself, is outrageous!! I found myself on the borderline of poverty, with a baby. And do you think any of the UN staff cared? NO! they are just interested to make their pockets full. When I went to complain about it to HR, the woman told me, well we cannot hire you as a staff, because we would have to pay your health insurance and other contributions, and for that they did not have budget!   My managers were traveling all the time, and getting salaries and DSA allowances with at times more than 20,000 usd coming to their accounts. I had access to such information, and this is true, trust me. And consultants were treated as slaves." We'll have more on this.

    It is said that UNOPS deploys over 300 consultants in Geneva, who have, all of a sudden, been told, in late 2018,  that their contracts were not tax exempt. We are told that over the past couple of months few dozen UNOPS consultants have resigned, and fled the country.    In an attempt to save face, Mr Moin Karim, UNOPS Regional Director, has forced some of his consultants to sign fraudulent new contracts, that claim that they work from countries other than Switzerland, where UN is exempt from paying tax on its consultants, in order to avoid mass resignations or fines by the Swiss government. These consultants, who pretend to be working from abroad, continue coming to their offices at UNOPS in Geneva on daily basis – a scam that Mr Moin is trapped to maintain in order to justify the relatively large size of the UNOPS office in Geneva, which in turn justifies the size of his Directorate and his position, rank and pay grade within UNOPS.   Moin Karim of UNOPS reportedly does not frequently come to his office in Geneva these days, and mostly works from either his expensive Geneva mansion - akin to Guterres and his $15 million Sutton Place mansion -  or his private resort apartment in the Swiss mountains, to avoid dealing with UNOPS disgruntled employees or anything to do with UNOPS. Instead, Mr Karim has been paying frequent visits to a number of fashion events in Geneva and London (where he happens to own yet another luxury apartment), as can be seen here and here.   It is also reported that Mr Moin Karim is not just an ordinary visitor to these fashion events, but he also heavily invests into the fashion industry, perhaps as his fallback plan, should UNOPS Executive Director one day find down the extent to which matters are confused in UNOPS Geneva office and ask Mr Karim to resign, the whistleblowers muse.  One also wonders, how a UN staff member, whose career has seen nothing but civil servant work to UN over the past 20 years, can afford buying properties in 2 most expensive capitals to live in the world. But a fish rots from the head - Guterres omitted from his UN public financial disclosure covering 2016 his paid board position with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation which tried to sell its Partex Oil to UN briber CEFC China Energy. A fish rots from the head - but we will continue to ramp up coverage of both the head and the tail, or fins...  Since Guterres and his spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused to answer any of banned Inner City Press 36 questions in the penultimate week of 2018, and 15 in the year's final week including about Guterres' ownconflicts of interest, and even worse in 2019, here is more on the story of UNOPS as block box for corruption in Guterres' UN, exclusive to Inner City Press (first in this series, on Rachel Kyte of SE4ALL, here): "The UN Office of Project Services, as recently revealed exclusively to Inner City Press by whistleblowers, is being used to pay for extensive and expensive travel of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-Generalon Sustainable Energy, Rachel Kyte, and her entourage, for over $400,000 in less than two years, was also used as a cover mechanism for expensive travel by agencies, whose own rules prohibit flying consultants and staff on business class. It was reported to Inner City Press - and apparently not yet to the OIOS which Guterres so controls it does not even confirm receipt of detailed complaints including regarding Guterres -  that United Nations Environment Program, UNHCR and UN Habitat have repeatedly used UNOPS to book business class flights for staff who would otherwise be ineligible to fly business  class within their organizations.

 Some of the cases, exclusively reported to Inner City Press, include a flight for one of the directors of an agency, hosted at UNOPS, in first class for over $35,000, this is said to be one of many similar cases. There are a number of travelers holding UNOPS employment contracts, whose travel expenses are as high as those of Rachel Kyte and the resigned / fired (hypocritically by Guterres) head of UNEP Erik Solheim. The extensive costs are apparently not only due to business class flights, but also include 5-star hotels, expensive dining, frequently with friends and families invited, airport limousine services, that is on top of the standard UN per diems. 

In 2017, Mr Moin Karim, the director of UNOPS office in Geneva, reportedly received  formal warnings from member states that UNOPS actions and policies have reduced their confidence in the UNOPS leadership and management. While Mr Moin Karim of UNOPS had reassured the donor governments that he will take all necessary actions, he did not seem to be doing much, given the recently discovered case of extensive travel by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-Generalon Sustainable Energy, Rachel Kyte.

It seems that UNOPS has set-up an official service line that allows for any entity to bypass the UN and donor requirements. The mechanism, set up by UNOPS, is called by UNOPS hosting management, and is managed from UNOPS Geneva office. Headed by Mr Moin Karim, UNOPS office in Geneva facilitates global travel for few hundred consultants of various UN and hosted agencies, including the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), The Stop TB Partnership and Scale-up Nutrition Movement.

In September this year at an opening remark to host another entity, Grete Faremo, appointed by Guterres as UNOPS Executive Director, remarked that when hosted-partnership joins the UNOPS family, UNOPS rules and policies become theirs, and UNOPS extends the scope of UNOPS legal framework, to cover the initiatives that UNOPS hosts. This is a very clear statement of intent to offer a UN-branded platform to by-pass UN and donor rules. This is the UN of Guterres, who covered up his links to that attempted sale of Partex Oil to CEFC, and roughs up and bans the Press which asks.

From Inner City Press' first this series: "Rachel Kyte, the Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, traveled on business class for $300,000 in 15 months of 2017 and 2018, and $410,000 in 22 months, which doesn’t include her assistants who she insists must take same business class flights as well as few other accompanying crew.

To avoid being exposed to external audit, Se4all, registered independently from UN, sub-contracts UNOPS to manage its travel and consultancy funds, who in turn uses the donor funds (EU, Sweden, UK, Germany, IKEA and others) and its exceptionally flexible travel policy for high officials and consultants to allow for such extensive expenditures, which exceeds UNEPs CEO travel budget. This is happening under the protection of UNOPS Regional Director, Moin Karim, who threatens his team to close their eyes on this misuse of funds, in spite of the issue being brought up by the UNOPS staff to Mr Karim few times." The below has been turned in to the UN's questionable Office of Internal Oversight Services, which must now take notice of this. As Guterres was refusing throughout 2018 to begin any UN audit into China Energy Fund Committee, implicated in the UN bribery prosecution US v Patrick Ho, Guterres had a secret.

   Guterres was and it seems still is connected with and compensated by a company which was trying to sell its oil and gas business to China Energy Fund Committee in 2018. Guterres' failure to disclose and refusal to audit was a direct conflict of interest, which he has tried to cover up by roughing up and banning Inner City Press which asked him about it. (See January 2018 press conference here, July 2018 roughing up by Guterres' UN Security here, banning letter via Press Freedom Tracker here.)

   For years Guterres received money as a board member of the Calouste Galbenkian Foundation, which despite its name is the 100% owner of Partex Oil and Gas. Partex has operations in Angola, Abu Dhabi, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Oman and Portugal. It was to a Portuguese court that Guterres, while justifying no listing some of his income, disclosed in 2016 that he was paid at least € 2735 per month for his position with the Gulbenkian Foundation.

   But while a now deleted Foundation web page (archived here) stated that Guterres continued with Gulbenkian into 2018, Guterres did not list it on his most recent, and so far lone, UN Public Financial Disclosure, which covered 2016 ("Disclosing financial and other interests for the 2016 reporting year"). 

  So why did Guterres disclose his position with the Club of Madrid, but not with the Gulbenkian Foundation / Partex Oil and Gas? It is worth noting that Guterres' wife Catarina Vaz Pinto has also been connected to Gulbenkian.

   Following the roughing up and banning from the UN of Inner City Press which has covered the CEFC scandal throughout, Guterres' head of Global Communications Alison Smale promised UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression David Kaye, who asked, that the UN would still answer Inner City Press' written questions.

   But as 2018 came to a close Guterres' spokesmen Stephane Dujarric and Farhan Haq left unanswered 36 questions in a row from Inner City Press, including this: “Beyond the 35 questions from Inner City Press you refused to answer this week, this is a request on deadline that you (1) state when SG Guterres left his position on the Gulbenkian Foundation,

(2) state why Gulbenkian was not listed on SG Guterres' public financial disclosure which covered 2016; 

(3) explain how it is not a conflict of interest for SG Guterres to have refused to start an audit of CEFC in the UN, as requested by Inner City Press in January 2018, given CEFC's bid for the oil business of Gulbenkian. 

Also, again, state why under SG Guterres there have been no updates to the UN public financial disclosures since those filed for 2016. Also, again, explain your refusal to answer any of Inner City Press' questions this week despite USG Smale's statements to GAP, me and UNSR David Kaye. On deadline.” 

   The question was also sent to the e-mail addresses of Guterres, his chief of staff Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, his Deputy Amina J. Mohammed, and Smale, who earlier in the week told Inner City Press she would take “under advisement” her 17 August 2018 pretextual withdrawal of Inner City Press decade long UN media accreditation.
  It seems clear that Guterres and his team have engaged in censorship for corruption, to conceal a blatant conflict of interest by Guterres. It has been raised by Inner City Press to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, and others.  Watch this site.

Inner City Press Asks DR Congo FM of Rapes, He Says UN Does It Too, Haq Has No Data

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 -- Amid a litany of rape charges against UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous, Inner City Press exclusively obtained and on February 12 published UN emails showing another round of sexual abuse of minors in Ouaka prefecture in the Central African Republic by UN Peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Click here to view.

On March 23, Inner City Press asked the DRC's foreign minister about the rapes, and he said the UN rapes as well. Video here, from Minute 6:11. So Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, UN transcript here:

Inner City Press: Just now, this morning at the stakeout, the Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tshibanda, when asked about the contingent that was repatriated from the CAR for alleged sexual abuse, said that he felt that UN staff or UN personnel accused of sexual abuse in the DRC have not — the cases have not been closed, that he thinks that there's something of a double standard.  So I wanted to know, can you, either from the podium as you go along or later today, provide some update in allegations that have been made in the DRC against UN personnel, whether military or civilian, and what the UN itself did in terms of speed of bringing to trial?  That's what he was referring to.

Deputy Spokesman:  We're processing all the cases.  As you know, we've provided periodic updates, and we'll continue to do those as we get the information.  But we've been proceeding as quickly as we can with regards to due process in all the various cases.  And of course, you'll have seen from our periodic updates that it's not just the troops of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but there are many other troops and staff that we've given details on, and we'll continue to do that.

Inner City Press:  He was specifically asking about civilian staff employed by MONUSCO in the DRC.  So I'm wondering, can you provide a report of how long it takes these individuals to be brought to trial to compare it to what's being asked of the DRC?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, we wouldn't make any comparisons.  Each case is different.  And, ultimately, everyone has their own due process rights respected.  We have to go about that.  But… but, across board, we are bringing all of these cases forward, and we'll continue with that.

Question:  You say each case is different, but the whole point of that recent report was Ban Ki-moon setting minimum standards for what TCCs [troop-contributing countries] should do.  So I guess the real question that he's raising is, does the UN meet those minimum standards, and can you provide…

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes.

Inner City Press:  …data such as he's requesting from them?

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes, it does.  And you have to remember, with UN staff, those are… those are staff ultimately under our authority, so we are able to deal in terms of repercussions for their actions much more quickly and directly.  The reason we try to make sure that there are also minimal standards for Troop-Contributing Countries is they also abide by the same sort of standards that we try to hold for ourselves.

Inner City Press:  And where's the data?  That's the last…

Deputy Spokesman:  Like I said, we provide it periodically, and we continue to do that.

 On March 11, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the topic, after an Egyptian proposed amendment was defeated five in favor, nine against and one abstention. (Egypt abstained on the final vote.) Inner City Press put the adopted resolution online here. 

  Despite UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric defending - and from what he said, seeming to have ordered -UN Security's ouster of Inner City Press from the UN at 8 pm, Dujarric's office then issued a press statement about the resolution... after 11 pm.

  The UN's in-house / propaganda UN News Center dutifully wrote up Ban's 11 pm emission -- the next morning, and in fine social media technique tweeted it with a photograph of a tieless Ban speaking passionately at the UN Security Council stakeout.

 Only, this was an old photograph. On the issue of sexual abuse this week, while Ban's personal rostrum was set up at the stakeout, it was quickly removed. (On Ban's way out of the Security Council, Inner City Press directly informed him that UN Security and the Department of Public Information's Cristina Gallach had thrown it out of the UN. Ban looked surprised; Inner City Press was thrown out again eight hours later.

Is it retalation? The Government Accountability Project has told the US Mission that it is, here. And?)

Ban would not be taking questions about the UN and rape -- just as his head of Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous takes no public or Press questions, after having publicly, right next to Dujarric, linked the rapes to "R&R."

  And Ban's head of UN Women, South Africa's Phumzile Mlambo, despite having once again this week been asked by Inner City Press and again provided the video, still has no comment or response to Ladsous' outrageous comment. Status of Women indeed.

  Of the new UNSC resolution, Operative Paragraph 2 calls for repatriation when “a particular troop-contributing country whose personnel are the subject of an allegation or allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse has not taken appropriate steps to investigate the allegation and/or when the particular troop- or police-contributing country has not held the perpetrators accountable or informed the Secretary General of the progress of its investigations and/or actions taken.”

  Operative Paragraph 8, which we're calling the Sangaris paragraph for the French Sangaris force in CAR, “calls upon Member States deploying non-United Nations forces authorized under a Security Council mandate to take appropriate steps to investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse, hold perpetrators accountable and repatriate units when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation or abuse by those units.”

 Will France repatriate itself? Earlier on March 11, Inner City Press asked French minster (of the environment) Segolene Royal about not only the UN Global Compact but also the scandal of the French Sangaris rapres in CAR.

  Segolene Royal said that the French defense minister Jean-Yves le Drian is addressing the issue. Inner City Press later tweeted at the both: where is the response? How long is credible to take action? "Shorter is better," the genial French Ambassador Francois Delattre said. We'll have more on this.

 On March 4 at 11 am Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report on "Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse" came out from under embargo and Inner City Press immediately published this review.

Ban's response is inadequate; tellingly, it is not the boss of UN Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous, who has on camera linked the rapes to R&R, who is presenting or pitching the response, but lower profile Atul Khare.

On March 10, Ban presented his report to the UN Security Council, followed by Council members' speeches. Ladsous attended - refusing Inner City Press' question about Code Blue's critique on the way in -- and left even as China was speaking.

 Later at the March 10 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked the director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo, not for the first time, for her response to Ladsous having publicly linked the rapes to R&R. She replied that she remembered the Press question, but hadn't been able to "corroborate" it.

  "Watch your Twitter feed," Inner City Press said, and send her (and Brazil's Permanent Representative Patriota) the video link.

  Spain in the debate said that countries should have six months to take action. So how long has French taken on the Sangaris rapes? Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric for his view. He said the French process is ongoing. For how long?

  We'll have more on the question of whether the draft Security Council resolution should also address Sangaris, and for example the French Force Licorne in Cote d'Ivoire. Inner City Press asked Brazil's Patriota if the issue should be in the General Assembly as well. He said yes, citing Jose Ramos Horta -- who has chimed in to the UN against its ouster of Inner City Press, so far without it being reversed. Now we can say: Ban knows. Personally.

On March 4 at the 11:15 am press conference -- tellingly, the UN Correspondents Association wasn't present - Inner City Press asked Khare why it wasn't Ladsous presenting, why Ban Ki-moon noted without criticism a mere nine day suspension for sexual exploitation, why sexual abuse of a 14 year old was classified by the UN as "transactional"?

 Khare did not explain Ladsous' absence, nor answer if Ladsous was the unnamed UN official who pre-spun Reuters and a few others.

He did not directly say that Reuters broke the embargo - he said to ask DPI about that , which is funny in that DPI threw Inner City Press out of the UN for trying to cover an event in this same UN Press Briefing Room, while collaborating with Reuters - but added he was surprised to see the advance story. Video here.

There is no accountability at the top - or in the field. The March 4 report in Paragraph 20 presents as legitimate a nine day suspension for sexual exploitation, and undefined "administrative sanctions" for sexual exploitation that led to a "Peacekeeper baby." This is shameful.

  Zeid firing whistleblower Kompass was asking about by France 24 - but not Ladsous.

 As to the Central African Republic, where the UN covered up French Sangaris troops child rapes and then fired the whistleblower -- not mentioned in the report -- the UN blamed the victims, saying the country is poor, women and girls are for sale: a more diplomatic entree into what Ladsous came out and said on September 11, 2015, linking rapes to R&R.

 Combine this with an Inner City Press question Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused to answer - how could the UN log in sexual abuse of a 14 year old, statutory rape, as "transactional" sex -- and the scam of Ban's response becomes clear.

 Perhaps because the product is so worthless, the attempt to sell and spin it was extensive.

  Since December Inner City Press has asked at noon briefings when Ban Ki-moon's response to the Deschamps report would be released, including asking about member state dissatisfaction with the response, and Ladsous.  "March," Ban's two spokesman said.

 On Wednesday Inner City Press learned that not the official responsible for the rapes, Herve Ladsous, but lower profile Atul Khare had shot a UN TV "interview" about the response. Now, in similar propaganda fashion, an UNnamed UN official has poured the spin on Reuters and the old "small group of reporters" -- that is, those who never reported that Ladsous, on camera, linked the rapes to R&R. This is the UN Corruption Association.
 
  Inner City Press on March 3 asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, video here, UN transcript here.

  But, even as to the report which the UN insisted was under embargo until 11 am on March 4, when Reuters nevertheless published a weak story about it on March 3, with no mention of Ladsous, the UN did nothing.

  Given the UN's no due process move to on February 19 expel Inner City Press from the UN for merely trying to cover an event in the UN Press Briefing Room on January 29, petition here, Inner City Press strictly complied with the embargo although obtaining the report through other channels was easy.

 Reuters doesn't have to worry about the UN throwing it out - it does (some in) the UN's dirty work. We'll have more on this as well.

  Even from within DPKO there is disgust at the response, as dodging or not implement many of the recommendations. More on that when the UN belatedly comes out from behind its self-pleasuring curtain of its own media, and insider scribes. One final note: the Reuters bureau chief at the March 1 press conference by Angola on its Program of work loudly cut off another reporter - not this one -- as if owning the UN.

  After Inner City Press on February 15 asked about the email its had published - and Reuters' UN bureau chief Louis Charbonneau, notably,tried to dismiss and then stole the story - on February 16 UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq in the noon briefing read out a statement confirming nearly all of the email Inner City Press had published: that there were four new victims, minors, troops from DR Congo.

 But Haq did not say that two of the victims had children from the statutory rape. So Inner City Press asked Haq to confirm that, and asked who would pay: the UN or the DRC soldiers? Haq said there are meetings in Ban's office to respond to just such issues, after December's Deschamps report. Video here.

 And then Reuters, even while its editor Dan Grebler said the first theft was being looked into, just retyped and stole it again, this time by its UN correspondent Michelle Nichols, here.

  It was this same Nichols who, at the UN Security Council stakeout on February 18 while Inner City Press was live-streaming after asking about a draft statement on Palestine, cut in loudly with "I see you Periscoping!"  And? So what? UN missions and the UN itself are broadcasting inside the UN on Periscope. Why would one media try to censor others?

  On February 15, Reuters first tried to claim these were "old" rapes, here -- then when shown otherwise, simply stole the story with no credit.This is apparently policy.

  So Inner City Press raised the issue of theft of exclusives (and lack of objectivity, at least at the UN) to Reuters itself. For now, we've received this, cc-ed also not only to the (repeat) offender but also to Reuters' genial seeming Brian Moss and Clive McKeef:

"Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. The appropriate Reuters staff will look into it and get back to you as soon as feasible.

Regards,
Dan Grebler
Desk Editor, Americas Desk"

  But but February 18, still no response. It's not that complicated.  Or was the Reuters correspondent's "intervention" the response? We'll have more on this too.

 The underlying emails, dated February 11, 2016, describe at least four underage victims, two of whom were impregnated by the rapist UN peacekeepers -- "in the locality Ngakobo in the Ouaka prefecture."

  On February 15, after emailing questions for two days to UN spokespeople in CAR and New York, Inner City Press at the UN's noon briefing asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq about the rapes, and the email it published on February 12. Haq answered, dodging on part of the email but not denying it. Video here.

 Then Associated Press asked, what about these new allegations? Video here. Haq answered - and from that, AP wrote its own derivative and belated story -- without credit, and without any mention of the critique of the UN in the emails. This is how it works, or doesn't.

 This too - Reuters UN "bureau chief" on Monday evening first reflexively came to the UN's defense saying that "Alleged Central African Republic rapes UN spox talked about today are same ones UN CAR said Feb 4 it was probing," citing (what else) a Reuters story of February 4 -- about a Human Rights Watch report about rapes in Bambari. But read the February 11 emails Inner City Press exclusively published, here:

“Herewith sharing with you a report I have just received from UNICEF indicating four minor girls aged between 16 and 17 years were victims of sexual exploitation and abuse allegedly committed by members of the DRC battalion in the locality Ngakobo in the Ouaka prefecture.”

  Up the email chain, Mercedes Gervilla in UN headquarters writes that “it would seem that many among the troops concerned, including Commanding officers were well aware of the abuse to which these children were being subjected. I also regret to inform you that in addition to these new 4 cases, there will likely be two more...”.  [We'll have more on this.]

  This is called... spinning for the UN. This is a trend at Reuters, even last week, here.



And there is a history: this same Reuters UN Bureau Chief Lou Charbonneau, when challenged, wrote to Stephane Dujarric, UN Spokesman, trying to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN, here.

  When this was exposed, Charbonneau cited Reuters to get his email to the UN taken out of Google's search, saying he never meant for it to be public and it was somehow copyrighted. (See his filing here, made public by EFF's ChillingEffects.org). That's censorship... by Reuters.

  This this case, after being shown this reflexive defense of the UN was wrong, Reuters simply re-wrote the story and stole it, with no credit.

 And now we must go back: Charbonneau announced a policy of not crediting Inner City Press, see here.

 This was raised at the time to Reuters, including to Stephen J. Adler. What kind of company is this?

  (Inner City Press previously asked the decaying UN Correspondents Association, while it tried to censor Press coverage of its boss, to promulgate a best practice for media at the UN to credit others' exclusives; it never happened. AP at the UN speaks for this UNCA, and apparently it for AP.)

  In the email chain Inner City Press exclusively published, middle management at the UN noted that the majority of sexual abuse in CAR has been committed by the battalions from the DRC and the Republic of Congo. And so Inner City Press posed these questions to UN spokespeople in both New York and the CAR:

"This is a request for your comment on, and any update on, the sexual abuse and exploitation cases in the Feb 11, 2016 emails now here

Also, what will be done with the Republic of Congo and DR Congo contingents? We are interested in if the UN and DPKO can, as currently be configured, be reformed.What is the status of the sexual abuse and exploitation cases that have been listed, including in the UN Press Briefing Room?"

  The response received by Inner City Press on Saturday afternoon in New York was from Bangui-based MINUSCA spokesman Vladimir Monteiro:

"Regarding your questions on DRC and Congo, here is Minusca's position:

"On DRC contingent, a decision to repatriate them has already been taken. It will be completed without delay by the end of the month. It is just a matter of planning it properly.

"On the 120 troops from Congo, they have been cantoned in Berberati to permit investigations by national investigators before their repatriation to their country  which will occur on 20 February 2016. For further details on this matter please contact HQ."

  But of course Inner City Press has already contacted "HQ" or UN Headquarters, including for example Ismini Palla of Ladsous' DPKO, who gave Agence France Presse the response to questions Inner City Press has publicly posed to UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, to the DPKO spokesman Nick Birnback, also cc-ed.

  So where ARE the updates on the cases the UN's Diane Corner listed in the UN Briefing Room? Why was it reported in early January that the DRC contingent had "been dismissed" when, in mid February, they are still in place? What is the status of the Burundian contingent in CAR? Follow up questions have been submitted to UN officials and spokespeople in CAR and headquarters in New York.

  Well placed sources tell Inner City Press these two countries' soldiers have been in the UN MINUSCA mission nearly entirely due to Ladsous and, more outrageously, the / his French government due to its political relations with the Republic of Congo and DRC.

  Ladsous, as Inner City Press has reported, told Burundi's Vice President that he is "pragmatic" about human rights; even on camera, Ladsous linked the rapes to "R&R," click here for video.

  While Ladsous' DPKO and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Office of the Spokesperson announced that the DRC contingent would be pulled out of Bambari and CAR in late Janaury, Inner City Press is informed this never happened: they are still there.

  Ladsous' DPKO, and now the UN Spokesperson's Office, are engaged in misleading the press and public, and doling out what information they provide to only the friendliest media.

 For recent example, Inner City Press for week has reported on and asked about the repatriation from CAR of Burundian troops charged with abuse during the crackdown on opponents of Pierre Nkurunziza's third term. Even after Inner City Press obtained and published on February 9 proof of three repatriations, all UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Inner City Press is that he would seek an update.

  Simarily, Ladsous' lead spokesman Nick Birnback told Inner City Press DPKO would have something to say about the particular Burundian officers in CAR Inner City Press asked him about.

  Then Ladsous' spokespeople including Ismini Palla gave their limited confirmations to Reuters and Agence France Presse, who published it without credit or context. (Neither media reported on Ladsous linking rape to R&R - nor did AP.)

 In a February email by UN official Anthony Banbury, soon to leave the UN after some heartfelt tears of outrage at peacekeepers' rapes, it is said:

"We have a pack of predatory criminals and rapists, preying on young girls,
under the banner of the United Nations. How can we stand by? In my view that battalion should be ordered to cease operations today, same with the RoC battalion, and be confined to camp and guarded full time so they cannot continue to abuse children. While we would pay a short-term price in terms of operations, we would gain so much in terms of the integrity and reputation of the UN, in the CAR and internationally, and we would almost certainly prevent more rapes of minor girls. We simply cannot sustain the argument that the benefit these troops are bringing to the UN and PoC is greater than the harm they are doing."

  What will the UN do? What will France, with new foreign minister Jean Marc Ayrault, do? How long can Ladsous - and the Congolese contingents - remain in place?

Exclusive: UN Emails Show New Rapes in CAR, Ladsous' Contingents by Matthew Russell Lee

 


Having been told by sources of more rapes by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, Inner City Press on January 26 reported them and on January 27 asked the UN's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric to confirm them - but he wouldn't. UN transcript here. Video here.




  So what is the protocol of UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous, who linked the rapes to "R&R," here? How many more do they know about?

The UN report on rapes in the Central African Republic, released on December 17, found that UN Peacekeeping's Under Secretary General Herve Ladsous “illustrate[s] the UN's failure to respond to allegations of serious human rights violations in the meaningful way.”

 Ladsous has yet to take any questions about the report...

  When the Panel's three members held their December press conference, Inner City Press asked about Ladsous' failure to vet and his linking of rapes to “R&R.” Video here.  Marie Deschamps said pointedly she wouldn't comment on Ladsous' remarks; Yasmin Sooka said these are crimes for punishment, not recreation.

  As the last question, Inner City Press asked what it had wanted to ask Ban, and tried to ask Dujarric: what does this say about Ban's management? Video of Q&A here. Didn't Ban's chief of staff Malcorra, criticized in the report, do it for Ban? Didn't the “senior official” who ostensibly let the rape information die on the vine in the 38th floor work in an atmosphere created by Ban's nine years? We will pursue this.

  In December 2015, Ban allowed those who cover him, at least the UN Correspondents Association, to sell seats with him for $6,000. And it is these same who have airbrushed out Ladsous and others. We'll have more on this.

On Haiti, ICP Asks OCHA's Ging of UN's Cholera Responsibility, He On Donors

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 18 --  When the UN of Ban Ki-moon is asked about bringing cholera to Haiti, the answer is usually, “Our position remains unchanged” -- that is, immunity. 

 But when UN OCHA official John Ging mentioned Haiti and cholera in a February 18 briefing and Inner City Press asked more about it, and what the UN is doing to people expelled from the Dominican Republic to Haiti where the UN introduced cholera? Video here.

  Ging to his credit did not say “our position remains the same,” instead he reviewed the waning support from donors, after citing 105 families in a camp on the border with only two toilets. What are the UN's responsibilities? How can the UN shirk them so badly? We'll have more on this.
7 

When Inner City Press on January 28 asked about a new study that inexpensive precautions could have saved Haitian lives, and could still save lives elsewhere, the UN replied with... a link to a report, Appendix 12 no less. Video here.  From the transcript

Inner City Press:  There's been a pretty detailed study put out by the Yale School of Public Health looking back at the introduction of cholera to Haiti.  And beyond, you know, finding… you know, they believe that it was brought by the UN, this is the part I wanted to ask you about.  They were saying that there's very simple strategies that could be deployed, would have saved lives and would in the future including antibiotic, prophylaxis at a cost of $1 per peacekeeper a week before deployment or screening at a cost of $2.50 per peacekeeper, but they say in their study that neither of these are in place at UN peacekeeping.  Can you… I guess I'm asking you, beyond… you know, the position hasn't changed on Haiti.  Just as a position of UN peacekeeping, given that these highly respected doctors are saying that these very cheap prophylactic measures could save lives, if they're not implemented at the UN, why not?

Spokesman:  Let me take a look at the study, and I'll get back to you.

 And later, this, from the Office of the Spokesperson:

Please see below on your questions at today's Noon Briefing:

1) We refer you to the 2014 Contingent Owned Equipment manual (link below-- please see appendix 12)

http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/documents/2014_COE_Manual.pdf

This says in part, "It is a national responsibility (and at national expense) to ensure that all personnel have received at least the initial dose of mandatory and recommended vaccinations before deployment into the mission area."

  We'll have more on this.

 The UN of Ban Ki-moon marked the six anniversary of the Haiti earthquake with a statement on January 11 mentioning the “lack of access to clean water and sanitation,” but without a word on the cholera that the UN brought there in the earthquake's wake. 

  Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric what the UN is doing, and if there is any chance that Ban will reconsider his position on impunity for the cholera before the end of his term. On this latter, the spokesman said if he has an update, he'll give it. Here's Ban's statement:

"Tomorrow, the United Nations family will mark the sixth anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and pay tribute to the more than 200,000 victims, including 102 United Nations personnel, who perished in this tragic event.  United and in solidarity with all Haitians who have lost loved ones to this catastrophe, we honour the memory of our colleagues.

"The path to recovery and long-term development is not an easy one. Many Haitians continue to face multiple challenges, including displacement, food insecurity and lack of access to clean water and sanitation. Haiti remains in need of international support and I therefore call on the international community to stand with Haiti as it moves forward to rebuild.

"While we honour the victims, the commemoration of this tragedy must be a source of renewed inspiration and a call to unite behind a vision for a stable, democratic and prosperous future for Haiti. Let me reaffirm the continued commitment of the United Nations to support the Haitian people in the fulfilment of their aspirations."

   Two UN Police died in Haiti from December 29 to 30.   The announcement of the deaths came on the website of the MINUSTAH mission. Here is a translation by InnerCityPro.com:

  “MINUSTAH regrets having to announce the death, in Cap Haitien, of two police officers who were part of UNPOL. Their lifeless bodies were discovered on the morning of December 30 in their residence. An investigation has been opened by a team composed by the Haitian National Police and agents of MINUSTAH to determine the circumstances of their deaths, which happened in the night between December 29 and 30. The Special Representative of the Secretary General in Haiti Sandra Honore deplored this double loss and presents in the name of MINUSTAH condolences to the families of the two victims and their colleagues.”

 Inner City Press asked the UN Spokesperson's office in New York, where UN Peacekeeping is headquartered, for more details but was only referred to the MINUSTAH press release, which did not say the nationality of the decedents (Rwandan) nor their gender (both women). And there has been nothing since, just as the Office of the Spokesperson has not confirmed or denied that UN Peacekeepers in Liberia beat a 13 year old child. 

Five years after the UN brought cholera to Haiti, for Human Rights Day, the UN Security Council got letters from 2,000 victims of its peacekeeping mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH. Inner City Press on December 10, Human Rights Day, asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, video here, transcript here: 

Inner City Press: On Haiti, I wanted to ask you, there were… there were two, some 2,000 letters of victims of cholera that were supposed to be delivered today to MINUSTAH [United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti] in Port-au-Prince.  They’ve also been put online to be read, and the request by those turning them in is that they be turned over by MINUSTAH to Security Council members.  And they asked for the Security Council to urge Ban Ki-moon to take responsibility for the introduction of cholera to Haiti and two other points.

Can you comment on the letters?  I understand that the legal position remains the same, but factually, have these letters been received?  And will MINUSTAH or DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations], in fact, transmit these victim letters to Security Council members?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, we need to check, first of all, whether the letters have been formally received by MINUSTAH, and so we’d have to check on that. 

TWENTY FOUR hours later, there was NOTHING from the UN. So on December 11, Inner City Press asked again: transcript here: 

Inner City Press: On Haiti, yesterday I asked you about these letters that the lawyers suing the UN for having brought cholera to the country.  They say they were delivered to MINUSTAH and you said you'd check to see if they've been received.  Have they been received?

Deputy Spokesman:  Yes, we can confirm that they have been received, and I believe the mission is exploring what to do next with that. 

 We'll have more on this.

The cover letter, seen by Inner City Press on December 9 and now online here, asks each of the Security Council's 15 members to

1. Publicly call on the UN Secretary-General to acknowledge UN responsibility for introducing cholera to Haiti and apologize to the Haitian people;

2. Commit to creating a fair framework for providing reparations to victims, and to providing the funds needed to compensate victims. This would fulfill the UN’s international legal obligations and ensure that victims’ right to a remedy is finally recognized;

3. Provide the resources needed to install the water and sanitation infrastructure necessary to eliminate cholera in Haiti. The UN announced its support for plan to eliminate cholera in Haiti in 2012, but the plan has received only 13% of the funding needed. Fundraising hasbeen stalled for over one year. During this time cholera infection rates have increased. 

  The cover letter is signed by Inisyativ Victim Kolera Sodo (IVIKSO), Asosyasyon Viktim Kolera Boukan Kare (ASOVIKBO), Òganizasyon Vikim Kolera nan Mibale (OVIKMi), Gwoupman Viktim Kolera Lachapèl (GVIKLA). 

 On December 9 at the UN there was a canned discussion of Ban Ki-moon's “Rights Up Front,” formed after another failure, in Sri Lanka. But this all gets erased, even as the UN barely acts amid the killings in Burundi. Impunity, as with the rapes and cover up in the Central African Republic. And now 2,000 letters from Haiti. Will there finally be some accountability?

Back on October 14, on the morning the UN Security Council was poised to renew its MINUSTAH mission's mandate without taking any responsibility for cholera, the portraits of the diseases (and the UN's) victims were placed outside the UN's 43rd Street entrance. 

Inner City Press tweeted a photograph, witnessed the Security Council extending the mandate of its MINUSTAH mission in Haiti 15-0 with no comments before or after, then went at noon and asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric this:

Inner City Press  I want to ask about Haiti and Central African Republic.  On Haiti, I'm compelled to ask you.  I'm sure you saw the people with the portraits of victims outside.  I understand it's taking place outside Geneva and Port-au-Prince.  And I wanted to ask you, the number they're using is 9,000 people killed, 745,000 people sickened by cholera they say the UN brought negligently to their country and there's been no accountability.  And I wanted to know, now that Mr. [Pedro] Medrano seems to have been decommissioned and wasn't replaced, what is the UN's response to… to this sort of being called to task for total lack of accountability and families left without breadwinners, etcetera?

Spokesman Stephane Duajrric:  I think on the legal issues, our stand has not changed.  Obviously, on a more personal level, if you let me speak, I would refer you to what the Secretary-General said when he met victims… families of victims of cholera when he went to Haiti just about a year and a half ago, I believe, or two years ago.  And those feelings still stand.  The work that Mr. Medrano had done on mobilizing resources to take… to help support the sanitation system and the… dealing… and helping Haiti deal with the aftermath of cholera has continued under the auspices of the UN country team.  So it's not as if the UN is not active on this front.

Inner City Press:  I guess my… if… if on the issue of sexual abuse and exploitation there's a move towards setting up a trust fund to compensate victims?  In this case, the families that were supported were left with nothing, so I'm wondering, has the UN done anything in that regard?

Spokesman:  The UN country team and Mr. Medrano had tried to raise funds to deal with the aftermath of the cholera.

Inner City Press:  Only the water issues.

Spokesman:  What's your CAR question?

  For the record, the CAR question was and is about peacekeepers raping civilians.

   On a daily basis across from the UN's 43rd Street entrance stands a Haitian journalist; Inner City Press' requests to the UN including former spokesperson Michele Montas to get him re-admitted fell on the UN's deaf ears. Now he wants to know the prospective Haitian military force's size.

  Ban Ki-moon dodged service of legal papers; his spokespeople answer every Press question with the same answer, “Our position hasn't changed.” Well, it should. Now Ban is embroiled in a corruption scandal in which business interests from Macau were able to purchase revisions by the Secretariat in official UN documents. But the UN's Haitian victims are outside the gate. 

   Joseph Dade Guiwil, a cholera survivor whose portrait is featured at the UN, said in an embargoed statement, “Every family in my community lost something because UN peacekeepers gave us cholera. I say to the UN: give us justice.”  The embargo was broken by Associated Press. There will be more reporting, and questions, including in connection with the mandate of UN Peacekeeping's Herve Ladsous' MINUSTAH mission - which despite repeated requests refuses to send its press releases, such as they are, to Inner City Press. This is today's UN. We'll have more on this.

When UN envoy to Haiti Sandra Honore took questions outside the UN Security Council on October 8, Inner City Press asked her about the upcoming electoral run-off, the high profile resignation of Nehemy Joseph, and cholera. Video here.

  Honore put the best face she could on the elections, and on Nehemy Joseph's resignation, saying he would be replaced. She did not respond to Inner City Press' question on cholera, but to her credit did stay at the stakeout when Inner City Press asked what the UN is doing for and about those being ejected from the Dominican Republic. Supporting the Haitian government, was her answer.

Back on June 16 with mass deportations threatened from the Dominican Republic to Haiti, Inner City Press asked the UN, who deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq called it "hypothetical." A day later, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a statement of concern about the threatened deportations. 

 On June 18, Inner City Press again asked the UN about the deportation threat, and if the UN might follow Jose Ramos Horta's advise that it compensate victims of the cholera it brought to Haiti:

Inner City Press: On Haiti I think it's, I guess, on Tuesday, I'd asked you about this planned repatriation from the Dominican Republic.  And now that a variety of… the Mayor of the City of New York has spoken on it and most poignantly the President of Haiti, Mr. [Michel] Martelly, had said they won’t accept individuals that were not born in Haiti, which would stand to leave a lot of people stateless; meaning, Haitians… “Haitians that were born in Santa Domingo”.  And I've also read that UN was attending meetings planning for what was to happen, so what is the UN's position on this?

Deputy Spokesman Haq:  What I can say on that is the Dominican Government has given assurances that it will apply due process standards on an individual basis and will protect individuals against unlawful deportation.  The United Nations urges respect for international law and humanitarian principles.  In the event of an increase in the scale of deportations, the United Nations calls for close coordination between the Haitian and Dominican Governments to ensure an orderly and transparent process open to observation by the UN and the international community.  The United Nations remains commits to resolve the problems of the people who are deprived of nationality as a result of the 2013 ruling of the Dominican Constitutional Court.

Inner City Press:  Thanks.  Also on Haiti, I wanted… I meant to ask you this yesterday, but I'll ask today, José Ramos-Horta of the panel in this room on Tuesday, on cholera in Haiti, said that he said he would believe, you know, I'm going to paraphrase here, that the UN should have paid compensation and he brought up as two examples peacekeepers in Timor-Leste, upon knowing that death had been caused inadvertently, they just offered to pay one individual, paid his salary over his remaining deployment there.  I wanted to know, given he is a highly respected person to be the head of the panel, you know, not as a “gotcha”, but is there some response to the approach, the way that he laid it out, that making victims whole comes before any kind of legal argumentation?

Deputy Spokesman:  Basically, of course, as you're aware well aware, he is essentially expressing his personal opinion on this.  His panel's work was not on the question of Haiti.  We have heard, as you know, a wide range of opinions over the years and have respected a wide range of views on this.  The Secretary-General has tried as hard as he can to make sure that the situation of cholera in Haiti is resolved.  As you have seen from the efforts of Pedro Medrano, what we are trying to do is coordinate efforts with the Government of Haiti and the international community to see what can be done to bring this cholera epidemic to an end.  And so, we will continue with those efforts and we respect the views of people around.  On the legal question, our position remains as it was.

What is wrong with this picture?

UN official Herve Ladsous, who has openly refused to answer Inner City Press question and was abetted in this by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson in his last press conference, used that to brag about ostensibly declining numbers of sexual exploitation and abuse complaints against his UN Peacekeeping: 51 worldwide for a whole year.

  But now it emerges that in Haiti alone, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services documented 225 women sexual exploited by Ladsous' peacekeepers. This is a cover up; Ladsous should answer or go. On June 10, Inner City Press asked UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric,video here, transcript here:

Inner City Press: I want to ask about sexual abuse. I'm sure you've seen AP's report on the OIOS [Office of Internal Oversight Services] report on sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly in MINUSTAH [United Nations Stabilization Mission] in Haiti, saying 225 women testified that they were exchange — you know, asked by peacekeepers to exchange sex for money or food or whatever.  So how do you square this with the report made here by the Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous that only 51 cases of sexual exploitation or abuse were alleged worldwide, 51 as opposed to 225 in one country?  And what's going to be done to square what seems to be a dramatic underreporting by the UN?

Spokesman Dujarric:  I think the — first of all, the report that you referred to in the Associated Press filing, as far as my understanding is concerned, it's still a draft report.  There's still comments going back and forth, as usually there are between the concerned department and OIOS.  So I'm not going to go into what's said in the report.

Obviously, the issue of underreporting is of concern.  Every case needs to be looked into.  Every case of sexual abuse needs to be looked into.  The Secretary-General is determined to continue on the zero-tolerance policy.  I think if you look at the special measures report that was issued earlier this year, I think it outlines a number of steps that were taken.  And obviously, you know, all sorts of things are looked at in terms of prohibited conduct, discouraged conduct and others.  So, you know, the report's still in draft form.  I don't have any information on the specific cases you mentioned.

Inner City Press:  Maybe the number will somehow be reduced, but what I did want to ask you is, can you say from this podium that peacekeepers requesting sex in exchange for money or food does constitute sexual exploitation and abuse, for the purposes of this 51 figure that was thrown out in this room?

Spokesman Dujarric:  Again, I'm not go into that.  I think if you look at the Secretary-General's special measures report, I think it outlines those things and it answers your question

 This resistance to saying that eacekeepers requesting sex in exchange for money or food does constitute sexual exploitation and abuse is part of the problem. We'll have more on this.

 On June 8, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric first about the French forces' non-inclusion in Ban's Children and Armed Conflict list, then about the whistleblowers, video here, transcript here:

Inner City Press: it seems like the abuse the UN was aware of in the Central African Republic by the French Sangaris forces, was there any consideration of including them and if so, why not?

Spokesman Dujarric:  On the CAR [Central African Republic], the situation in the CAR, part of the CAR was drafted with the information available at the time of the writing of the report.  As you know, the… we do hope to announce soon the external independent inquiry which will shed light on the process.

Inner City Press: I'm sorry to reiterate this.  I'd sent you these questions but wanted to ask you.  I asked the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights who said that Mr. Kompass is going to be extended, although he also said it's not Geneva's decision; it's up to New York.  And there are several Member State who believe he's not being extended--

Spokesman:  No, I have no indication whatsoever that his contract will not be renewed.

Inner City Press:  It does apparently expire in one month.

Spokesman:  Right.  No, as I said, I have no indication whatsoever that his contract will not be renewed.

Inner City Press: ]OHCHR] had said something about contracts being automatically extended if a person is under investigation.  Is that your understanding?

Spokesman:  I think that is very likely a policy but as I said, for Mr. Kompass, I have no indication that his…

Inner City Press: The other thing I asked you is about Miranda Brown who was an… worked with Mr. Kompass and has since been terminated.  I know that she wrote a letter to the Secretary-General dated 23 May saying she's willing to participate, but not if she's fired by the UN and has no immunity.  Has the Secretary-General’s responded to the letter?

Spokesman:  I don't believe there has been a response.  I don't know if it was received.  I don't believe she was terminated, I think her fixed-term contract was not renewed.

Inner City Press: What would you say to those who say if you actually want to know… this was a person who was number two to Kompass at the time involved.  What arrangements were being made to try to get her evidence?

Spokesman:  I think we would have to leave that to the panel once it's named.

 As Inner City Press analyzed below, there is a history of UN panels being used to cover up.

Now Code Blue has these three recommendations:

"First, this must be a truly external and independent inquiry.  No member of existing UN staff should be appointed to investigate nor to act as the investigators’ secretariat.

"Second, it must be understood that top members of the Secretary-General’s own staff will have to be subject to investigation. This must go right up to the level of Under-Secretaries General. No one can be excluded, whether the Director of the Ethics Office or the USG of the Office of Internal Oversight Services or the Secretary-General’s own Chef de Cabinet. It would appear that all of them and more acted inappropriately in response to the dreadful events in CAR.

"Third, the reference in the Secretary-General’s announcement of a review to ‘the broad range of systemic issues’ is crucial to the inquiry. What happened in the Central African Republic was an atrocity, but the fact that the UN stood silent for nearly a year after its own discovery of widespread peacekeeper sexual abuse (even if by non-UN troops) is itself a bitter commentary on the Secretary-General’s declared policy of ‘zero tolerance’."

  Inner City Press would add, past UN staff and offiicals as well. Consider these past panels, as put together and at the end analyzed by Inner City Press and the Free UN Coalition for Access:

The "Ahtissari Panel" (2003) --

On 22 September 2003, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland, to chair an Independent Panel on the Safety and Security of UN Personnel in Iraq.

The "Walzer Panel" (2004)

Panel finds senior officials lax in ensuring UN’s safe return to Iraq

The Volcker Panel (2004)

The priority of the Independent Panel’s investigation of the “oil-for-food” programme was to “get after” allegations of corruption and misconduct within the United Nations itself and, more broadly, the question of the maladministration of the “oil-for-food” programme, stated Paul A. Volcker, Chairman of the Independent Panel, in a press conference at UNHQ.

The Munoz Panel (2009)

The UN Commission of Inquiry, appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the request of the Pakistani Government, reached no conclusion as to the organizers and sponsors behind the attack in which a 15-year-old suicide bomber blew up Ms. Bhutto’s vehicle in the city of Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007.  The three-member panel, which was headed by Chilean Ambassador to UN Heraldo Muñoz and included Marzuki Darusman, former attorney-general of Indonesia, and Peter Fitzgerald, a veteran official of the Irish National Police, urged the Government to undertake police reform in view of its “deeply flawed performance and conduct.”

The Palmer Panel (2011)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon established the Panel of Inquiry on the 31 May 2010 Flotilla Incident on 2 August 2010. The Panel received and reviewed reports of the detailed national investigations conducted by both Turkey and Israel.

The Marzuki Panel (2011)

On 22 June 2010, the Secretary-General announced the appointment of a Panel of Experts to advise him on the implementation of the joint commitment included in the statement issued by the President of Sri Lanka and the Secretary-General at the conclusion of the Secretary-General's visit to Sri Lanka on 23 March 2009.

  What exactly has the UN done about Sri Lanka?

And here is the UN's June 3 announcement, and Inner City Press' immediate questions, here.

 Meanwhile UN staff advocates have written to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, his chief of staff and Ladsous, among others, demanding resignations. On June 2 Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who Banned any Inner City Press question to Ladsous on May 29, what Ban Ki-moon DID, once he learned in March about the rapes.Video here and embedded below.

 Dujarric said he had nothing to add to his previous answers. Huh?

 Inner City Press asked Dujarric, in light of OHCHR Zeid using a private email address for UN business, what the UN's record retention policy is. Dujarric said the policy must be available somewhere. To this has the UN descended.

  Dujarric said the investigation by Lapointe's OIOS, discredited in the leaked emails, will "lead where it will lead." But Lapointe has told OIOS invstigators to not go beyond what they are asked to look at -- in this case, only the whistleblower. This is called a cover up.


Many are asking why UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid, while emailing with the UN Ethics Office and OIOS, was using a private Gmail address, and not his work account.

 When Hillary Clinton used the UN Security Council stakeout to belatedly answer questions about her own use of private email while US Secretary of State, it was described as an accident of scheduling, or attempt to use the UNSC backdrop to convey gravitas. But the echo now with Prince Zeid also using private email for presumably public business raises similar questions.

  But will the questions be asked, much less answered? Reuters, typically, ran a piece on May 30 repeating Zeid's press release, withlittle analysis of his role, or use of private email, or Herve Ladsous, who has now been emailed staff advocates' call for resignations.

  Anders Kompass was asked to send his side of the story -- to a private email address, but wisely declined.

Beyond the treatment of Kompass himself, the documents show pressure brought to bear on lower-level staff to make and thereby launder the high officials' desire for an investigation of Kompass.

  Most directly, it is asked, what UN staff member will now report fraud or misconduct, knowing that OIOS and the Ethics Office will then discuss the accusations with their boss? This is a question Inner City Press on May 29 asked UN Spokesman Staphen Dujarric, who BannedInner City Press from putting a single question to Ladsous - the question has yet to be answered.

    UN staff advocates have written directly to Ban Ki-moon and his deputy, Ladsous and Atul Khare and others, demanding resignations. They are offended by the exposure of lack of independence at the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services and UN Ethics Office, and question whether the US should cut off funding under the 2014 U.S. Consolidated Appropriation Act, section 7048(a)(1)(B). After reading those leaked documents, how exactly can the U.S. Secretary of State (or anybody else) certify that the UN's whistle-blower policy fulfils the Act's requirements? Is there any "independent adjudicative body" in this chain? Evidently the Ethics Office and OIOS are not."

  The staff notice Ban's appearance at another softball soccer game, among those who are supposed to hold him and the UN accountable. The call for Ladsous to resign out be fired has spread from the African Group to Latin America and GRULAC...

  On May 7, Inner City Press asked more questions about this - including to Herve Ladsous himself.

  After a long closed-door consultation meeting of the Security Council, Ladsous emerged. Inner City Press asked him, based on Paragraph 9 of the UNDT ruling, Why did you ask Kompass to resign?"

  Ladsous stopped and said, "I deny that." Inner City Press put the handheld video online, here.