For
UN,
Is Merely Being There Enough, with Ban Under Fire for a 2d Term?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 26 -- What has Ban Ki-moon accomplished as UN Secretary
General in Myanmar and Sudan, Inner City Press asked his spokesman
Monday, for the fourth day in a week.
“His record is
clear,” Spokesman Martin Nesirky replied. “From standing in front
of a still burning warehouse in Gaza, to visiting Haiti five days
after the earthquake, to visiting Darfur refugee camps... he has
achieved a huge amount.” Video here,
from Minute 26:55.
But
the three
achievements listed were only “being there” -- celebrities have
traveled to Haiti, and to refugee camps in Darfur and elsewhere.
Meanwhile
reports on the UN's performance in Sudan are largely negative. Rubble
still fills Haiti's streets. And even the Goldstone response is late,
due to failure to translate. Myanmar, telling, was not even mentioned.
Is
being there enough?
Seeking
the Ban
Administration's -- if not yet Ban Ki-moon's -- response to the
criticism being heaped upon his tenure, Inner City Press asked
Nesirky when he made a piece by a heretofore big UN supporter, “Good
Night, Ban Ki-moon.”
“We don't need
to comment on every piece,” Nesirky said, calling that piece a
“rehash.. a lot of what is in the piece has been seen before.” A
lot by not all: the piece mentions inaction on Sri Lanka:
“A
peacekeeping official pointed out that Ban had insisted on
behind-the-scenes diplomacy in Sri Lanka even as the government was
killing thousands of civilians in its campaign to erase the brutal
insurgency of the Tamil Tigers: "We're doing everything we can
to avoid saying anything at all about it. That's been our line on
practically everything. The SG is clear that his final consideration
is going to be the political costs of whether he should or shouldn't
speak." That's a very real calculation every secretary-general
must make. But, he added, "There's no sense that the
deliberations include, 'What should we do?'"”
Only
this year, Ban
after saying he would name a panel of experts on war crimes in Sri
Lanka, then delaying 90 days, has gone out of his way to limit the
scope of the panel to providing advice on “models of
accountability” to himself and the Rajapaksa government, if they
want it. The Rajapaksas have said they will deny visas to the group;
Ban through Nesirky has repeated declined to comment on the refusal
to cooperate.
UN's Ban on plane: he was there, cracked
windshield and direct responses not shown
Now
a brewing
fight is Ban's decision to bypass South African and other developing
world candidates to nominate a Canadian, Carman Lapoint-Young, as the
new head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services. Inner City
Press, which reported
exclusively on the move on the night of July
23, asked Nesirky for Ban's response to developing world countries
who say the post was meant for their regions.
Nesirky
once again
declined comment, except to say there is “very strong, overwhelming
support” for the nominee. Sort of like the overwhelming support for
a second term?
It
is time for Ban
Ki-moon to speak for himself on this controversy -- time for him to
“be there,” as it were. He will appear before the press Monday at
5:30. Before his appearance Friday at a reception for the press,
Inner City Press was repeatedly told not to ask about the
controversy, not to “hijack” the event. That cannot similarly be
asked on Monday evening. Watch this site.
* * *
At
UN,
As Ban Ki-moon Switches from S. African to Canadian As New OIOS Chief,
Post-Ahlenius Rebellion Spreads, Sources Say
By
Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 23 -- Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, reeling
from the
damning exit memo
of the outgoing head of the Office of Internal
Oversight Services, may now get himself in more troubling in naming a
replacement.
Earlier
this year,
Inner City Press reported that the new head of OIOS was slated to be
an auditor from South Africa. This would conform to many member
states' understanding that developed and developing countries would
alternate atop the OIOS: Karl Paschke of Germany, then Dileep Nair of
Singapore, then Inga Britt Ahlenius of Sweden. The next was slated to
be from South Africa.
But
diplomatic
sources tell Inner City Press that on July 23, after facing questions
for a week about his interactions with OIOS, Ban told regional
groupings that instead of the South Africa, he would be appointing a
Canadian.
This
has triggered
outrage among developing countries. It comes against the backdrop of
ad hoc meetings to “revitalize the General Assembly” which are
discussing requiring Ban Ki-moon to come before the GA to seek his
second term, and not only the Security Council.
UN's Ban and auditors 2008, Canadian and Dag under
Fire not shown
Specifically,
under
the heading “Selection of the Secretary General,” the draft
“takes note of the views expressed at the Ad Hoc Working Group at
the 64th session and bearing in mind the provisions of Article 97 of
the Charter, emphasizes the need for the process of selection of the
Secretary General to be inclusive of all Member States and to be made
more transparent.. including through presentation of candidates for
the position of the Secretary General in an informal plenary of the
General Assembly.”
Interestingly,
the
marked up draft of this pending paragraph reads as follows:
“10.
Affirms its commitment to continuing its consideration of the
revitalization of the General Assembly's role in the selection and
appointment of the Secretary General, including through (encouraging
(Algeria / NAM: delete and add 'the') Russian Federation: retain)
presentation of candidates for the position of Secretary General in
an informal plenary of the General Assembly before the Security
Council considers the matter (Russian Federation); Russian
Federation: bracket entire para.”
10
Alt.
Also encourages formal presentation of candidatures for the
position of the Secretary General in a manner than allows sufficient
time for interaction with member states, and requests candidates to
present their views to all Member States of the General Assembly
(Belgium / EU, US & Russia) (Algeria / NAM supports Islamic
Republic of Iran proposal of retaining as OP 10 bis).”
In
the Security
Council, placating or giving patronage to the five Permanent Members
would be enough to gain the second term. But if the GA and regional
grouping get involved, Ban's snubs like that of Africa for the deputy
post in the UN Development Program, and the devaluation of the Office
of the Special Adviser on Africa, could come back to haunt Ban. Watch
this site.
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