At
UN,
Ban “Melts Down, Admits” Dealing An OIOS Post to a South
African, Calls Ethics Questions Small, 2d Term in Play
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 9, updated -- “I always do the right thing,” UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon said Monday, faced with long pending questions
about mis-management and undermining the independence of the UN
Office of Internal Oversight Services.
But
Ban appeared
to admit violating a founding principle of OIOS, that the Secretary
General not intrude and give out top OIOS jobs on a political basis.
He was asked
repeatedly to confirm or deny that he promised the
second level OIOS post to a South African, to gain support for his
appointment of a Canadian, Ms. Lapointe Young, to replace outgoing
Inga Britt Ahlenius. (Inner City Press was the first to report this
deal, here.)
At
first Ban
suggested these questions be dealt with in a separate session. Then
he portrayed them as “small” questions. Many reporters were
unclear if they were being directed to not get into “personal” or
“personnel” questions.
The
latter seems
difficult, since Ban ultimately said he had personally taken the
personnel decision to give the second OIOS post, even before the
ostensibly independent new director comes in, to a South African
candidate.
Many
correspondents
were frustrated at how the press
conference was run,
with no questions taken on Sudan -- which is threatening to throw the
UN out, while starving the residents of the Kalma Camp -- or the
Rwanda election or the Ban administrations flip-flip on Kashmir.
But
even those
most focused on UN management and Ms. Ahlenius' damning End of
Assignment Report were dissatisfied by Ban's answer that any
questioning of his administration's ethics is unfair. There are a range
of questions, including about Ban's most senior advisers. These, they
say, will be coming out as a second term for Ban is considered.
UN's Ban pre melt down, post deals not shown
Ban
was asked
about his Gaza flotilla panel -- he said no side agreement was made
with Israel not to interview its soldiers -- but not about his
stalled and even most constrained panel on Sri Lanka war crimes.
He
was asked about
appointing Alvaro Uribe to the Gaza panel, despite Venezuela's recent
complaints. Ban said he has known Uribe as Secretary General for a
long time, and that Uribe has his “full confidence.” What will
Venezuela, the next head of the Group of 77 and China, say?
As
one snarky
correspondent said after what he called Ban's “melt down,” this
politically is the time when alternate candidates to become Secretary
General in 2012 will begin to appear, even before the upcoming
General Debate in mid September. Watch this site.
Footnote:
even
on the ostensible
topic of Ban's first press conference since
the Ahlenius memo, the High Level Panel on Global Sustainability,
lack of candor became apparent. When, after his loss of power in
Australia, Kevin Rudd flew to New York and met with Ban, Inner City
Press attended the photo op, and noted that Ban's climate advisor
Janos Pasztor was in attendance, and that the meeting lasted a full
50 minutes.
Inner
City Press
asked Ban's spokesperson if the meeting involved the offering of a UN
position of any kind. It was just a courtesy call, Inner City Press
was repeatedly told -- even after Rudd, back in Australia, bragged
through his spokesman about the offer of a post.
At
the end of
Ban's press conference, Inner City Press asked Pasztor if in the
meeting with Rudd, the supposed courtesy call, this post was
discussed. Yes, Pasztor said. Some courtesy call. The same snarky
reporter laughed at the inclusion of US Ambassador Susan Rice on the
panel, calling it a craven attempt to nail down US support for a
second term as Secretary General. We'll see.
Update
of 12:41 pm:
after publication of the above, UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply sent
this:
Subject:
UN
Spokesperson's clarification regarding the Office of Internal
Oversight Services
Date: Mon, Aug 9, 2010 at 12:34 PM
The
Secretary-General
wants to make it absolutely clear that the
recruitment process for the Director of the Investigations Division
will start only after the new Under-Secretary-General of the Office
of Internal Oversight Services has taken up her post. This selection
will be conducted strictly in accordance with the established rules
and procedures. The assertion that a South African was offered the
job is completely unfounded.
“If
you say
so.” Compare to video, here.
And, there are two D-2 posts in
OIOS...
* * *
At
UN,
As Ban's Sustainability Panel May Include Rudd, Can His Rule Be
Sustained?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 9 -- After weeks without taking questions from the
independent press at the UN, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will hold
a press conference Monday at 11. While questions of mis-management,
silence
on Darfur and powerless panels on Sri Lanka and the Gaza flotilla
swirl, a more upbeat pretext
for the presser has been found.
Ban will announce, or launch in UN
parlance, a “High Level Panel on Global Sustainability.” In announcing Ban's
long delayed press conference, the UN said it “will also address
other topics, including the Secretary General's recent trip to
Japan.”
Just before
he left on that trip, Ban took a single on
camera question, about his Gaza flotilla panel. For this question, he
chose the UN's own media, UN Radio. The self-interview was then
called a “media stakeout” by UN Television.
While
presumably
in an attempt to build suspense the UN's announcement said that the
“full list of Panel Members and their Terms of Reference will be
available at the press conference,” one possible member of the
Panel has been asked about by Inner City Press, repeatedly, resulting
in a series of “no comments” from the UN.
After
his loss of
power in Australia, Kevin Rudd flew to New York and met with Ban
Ki-moon. Inner City Press attended the photo op, and noted that Ban's
climate advisor Janos Pasztor was in attendance, and that the meeting
lasted a full 50 minutes.
(While Inner
City Press published its photos, it appears that none of UN Photo's
shots are on the UN website, when searched by "Rudd.")
Inner
City Press
asked Ban's spokesperson if the meeting involved the offering of a UN
position of any kind. It was just a courtesy call, Inner City Press
was repeatedly told -- even after Rudd, back in Australia, bragged
through his spokesman about the offer of a post.
UN
climate
staffers and Ban Ki-moon defenders approached Inner City Press to say
that what was being offered was not a full UN position, rather
membership on a new body -- the “High Level Panel on Global
Sustainability.”
This
would explain
the claim that the UN position Rudd was referring to would not
require relocating to New York, and would allow him to remain
involved in politics in Australia. His goal seemed to be to show his
successor his high international profile, to gain the foreign
minister spot. While this now seems unlikely, and Rudd's project of
seeking a Security Council seat may also be abandoned, this morning's
announcement may well involve Kevin Rudd.
Kevin Rudd stakeout re climate, 2009 -- UN post 2010 not shown
If
it does, it
will represent Ban causing a “major embarrassment” for the
current leader of Australia, Julia Gillard. Why would Ban do this?
Sources say that the Obama administration, which could veto a second
term for Ban, has urged Ban to find a position for Rudd.
Some
wondered why
Ban would name Alvaro Uribe to his Gaza flotilla panel just after
Venezuela delivered to Ban a letter accusing Uribe of trying to raise
tensions in the region. Now, Venezuela speaks of using its upcoming
post as head of the Group of 77 and China to try to stop a second
term by Ban. Watch this site.
Footnote:
Ban
is made a pattern of collecting outgoing heads of state. He named
Uribe to his Gaza flotilla panel even before Uribe left power in
Colombia, on August 7. Uribe will be deputy to former New Zealand
prime minister Geoffrey Palmer, a protoge of Helen Clark, whom Ban
named as the head of the UN Development Program (from which she has
increasingly commandeered other top UN posts, often to Ban's
detriment as in the case of naming Paul Kagame as Zapatero's co-chair
for MDGs advocacy, and a Costa Rican over African candidates for the
Number Two spot at UNDP.
Some
see the
contradiction: Ban refused to allow ostensibly independent OIOS chief
Inga Britt Ahlenius to choose her deputy, but allowed Helen Clark to
ignore a commitment made to the African Group to get the deputy post
at UNDP, when Clark was named to the top job, representing the
developed world. And so it goes in Ban's UN.
* * *
, 
