Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

After Elevator Falls in UN Building, Injuring Staff, Ban's Office Unaware, Lawsuit?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 -- After a UN staff member was injured when an elevator fell to the first floor in the building the UN's rented at 380 Madison Avenue, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky about the fall, and if the UN is going to litigate against the landlord it chose, to protest its workers there.

Nesirky said while “safety of staff is paramount,” he hadn't heard about the elevator fall.

But less than an hour later, a Town Hall meeting on the topic was held in the UN's North Lawn building. Afterward, one of the UN officials who made a presentation in the closed door meeting said that the UN's version was sent out in a broadcast e-mail (which could or should have been read by Nesirky's office), and that it is too early to talk about litigation, until the health of the staff member is known.

He said the incident took place on a Friday, but that UN Management wasn't told of it until the following Monday, when it complained to the City of New York. City officials took action on Tuesday, but staff members who spoke to Inner City Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation say they are not convinced, and that there's been more than one elevator fall. We'll see.

Footnote: Ban is also under fire for the firing of elevator operators inside the UN, and their replacement by non-union contractors. Meanwhile Ban, who just returned for the weekend from a trip including Nigeria and Deauville, leaves again on June 1 for Italy. Watch this site.

Update of 2:59 pm -- Twenty minutes after publication of the above Inner City Press received -- not from the Spokesperson's Office -- the broadcast email:

Elevators in 380 Madison Avenue

There have been two recent incidents involving the elevators in 380 Madison Avenue. On Monday 16 May 2011, elevator cab #5 descended rapidly to the ground floor and stopped between levels. After 30 minutes the doors were opened and all five passengers were escorted out. No injuries were reported at the time.

On Friday 20 May 2011 at around 5pm, an elevator carrying two passengers descended rapidly from the 6th floor to the lobby level and stopped abruptly. At the time, no reports of the incident were received by building management or the security officers on duty. Both passengers left the building. Subsequently, one elevator passenger sought medical assistance and has since been admitted to the hospital having sustained back and knee injuries.

The 20 May incident was reported to the Office of Central Support Service (OCSS) on 23 May, OCSS then reported it to the building management and filed a formal complaint with the New York City Department of Buildings, the same day. An inspector from the Department of Buildings arrived on Tuesday 24 May and checked all elevators over a period of four hours, together with the building management, the elevator contractor and a UN security officer. The NYC Department of Buildings website now reflects the outcome of the city inspection as showing the complaint to have been resolved. The 380 building management has informed us that elevator maintenance will continue throughout this week.

Staff in 380 Madison have asked about using the stairs instead of the elevators. This is against New York City fire code as stairs can only be used for emergency egress. Please be assured that all efforts are being made to ensure the safety of staff.

The Facilities and Commercial Services Division continues to monitor the matter with the management of 380 Madison Avenue. Staff are encouraged to report any incidents of elevator malfunction immediately to security or building staff on duty and to file a report to the FMS helpdesk at 3-7376.
Andrew Nye, Officer In Charge
Facilities and Commercial Services Division
Office of Central Support Services

* * *

As Kyrgyzstan Bans Kiljunen, UN Ban Has No Comment, Sri Lanka Report Echoes

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 -- The UN's relationship with reports on ethnic violence and war crimes under Secretary General Ban Ki-moon gets more and more convoluted.

On Thursday, Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted to ban from the country Kimmo Kiljunen, the Finnish author of an independent report on last year's ethnic violence from entering the country, saying his findings were a threat to national security.

Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky if Ban or the UN had any comment on Kiljunen being barred from entering Kyrgyzstan. Nesirky began by emphasizing that despite “logistic” support, Kiljunen's was not a UN report. He then said the report could be useful.

If the UN thinks the report could be useful, Inner City Press asked, why no Ban Ki-moon reacting to its author being banned from the country?

Nesirky said again, there would be no comment.

After the violence in Kyrgyzstan, Ban action not shown

To some, this is similar to Ban's reaction to date to the Sri Lanka war crimes report that, under pressure, he commissioned from a Panel of Experts. While a recommendation was that Ban initiate an investigative mechanism, Ban immediately said that he cannot or will not do this without a vote by the General Assembly, Security Council or Human Rights Council.

It has been pointed out that the investigations are possible without such votes, for example in the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mapping Report. Nesirky told Inner City Press he would respond to this comparison, but has not.

It emerged this week that Ban has not even transmitted the Sri Lanka report to the UN in Geneva.

Now, on another report -- albeit one further removed from the UN -- Ban has no comment on the report's author being banned from the country.

From the UN's May 26 transcript:

Inner City Press: on Kyrgyzstan, this Kimmo Kiljunen.

Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: Kiljunen, Kiljunen, yeah.

Inner City Press: okay, however said, he is now being blocked from the country. The Parliament has voted to bar him because of his report on the violence that was in Kyrgyzstan. Given the UN’s role, you know, and stated… he said that the UN sort of supports his report. Is that true and do you have any comment?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, first of all, you know, let’s be clear that it was not a UN report. Some technical, logistical advice was provided to Mr. Kiljunen and those who put together the report. It’s an important step in the right direction. Again, talking about the need for accountability for actions that took place and crimes that were evidently committed last year in Kyrgyzstan.

Inner City Press: but does the UN, if you are thinking it’s a useful thing, what about this, the country now seeking to bar the author of the report. Is that --

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, that’s really a matter for the Kyrgyz authorities and Mr. Kiljunen. I don’t have any comment on that.

* * *

UN Sri Lanka Report Not Transmitted to Geneva, Ban Waits for What?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 24 -- Not only has UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon not asked for any Security Council, General Assembly or Human Rights Council action on the UN Panel of Experts report on war crimes in Sri Lanka -- he hasn't even transmitted it to Geneva, his spokesman acknowledged to Inner City Press on Tuesday:

Inner City Press: This is just a factual question that somebody has raised. That report of the Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka… I mean, rather, has the Secretary-General transmitted this report in some sort of a type of a formal fashion to either the High Commissioner on Human Rights or to the Human Rights Council in the run-up to its June session?

Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: As you know, we have said that the Secretary-General is studying the recommendations in the report that was submitted to him. That’s the first thing. The second is that he is also awaiting a response from the Sri Lankan authorities, an official response. In the meantime, he has already said that he will take up the recommendation that was made with regard to looking at what there is to learn internally about the UN’s response to what happened in Sri Lanka. And that mechanism of whatever form it takes will be going ahead in due course. With regard to the specific points you’ve made, the report is publicly available, in its entirety. It was published as you know, and is available for Member States and for the different parts of the UN system to see.

Ban portrayed in Sri Lanka with Basil Rajapaksa & gun

Inner City Press: I don’t know why the UN works that way, but there seems to be some expectation of a formal transmittal from New York to Geneva, and I just wanted to know… I mean, maybe I am wrong, but has that… has that taken place or will it be taking place?

Spokesperson: Well, as I say, it’s in the public domain. It’s publicly available and many Member States and others have seen it and I am sure that they are taking it rather seriously.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka has invited countries to come and learn its counter terrorism techniques, which are described in the UN Report. Watch this site.

Footnote: Ban Ki-moon spokesman Martin Nesirky has yet to provide any answer on why Ban says no investigation of war crimes in Sri Lanka can begun absent a vote by an inter-governmental body, in light of the UN Mapping report on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

* * *

At UN on Sri Lanka, Ban's Inaction on Report Contrasted With Rwanda Mapping

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 -- When the UN Panel of Experts recommended to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that he establish an investigative mechanism for war crimes in Sri Lanka, Ban responded that he'd only do so upon a vote of one of the UN's three “inter-governmental bodies.”

Ban's claimed powerlessness, however, was called into question this week on the margin of the Human Rights Council vote in the General Assembly.

It was pointed out that when for example the UN did an investigation of abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the so-called Mapping Report with much information about Rwanda, it had not waited for any vote by the HRC, GA or Security Council.

Ban, it was said by contrasted, wants to say he can or will only act on tens of thousands of civilians' deaths if one of the three bodies makes him. “Some leadership,” a expert in UN legal practice based in Geneva told Inner City Press.

At the UN's May 20 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky to respond to this criticism, as well as to a published report in Sri Lanka that Ban has already negotiated away the Panel of Experts' recommendations in a closed door meeting with Sri Lankan Permanent Representative Palitha Kohona.

Nesirky tried to limit the questioning by insisting “last question,” then saying he would revert with information about the mapping report, which had not happened more than five hours later.

From the UN's May 20 transcript:

Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: Matthew, last question.

Inner City Press: Well, I don’t know, I have a couple.

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, a last question; you can choose.

Inner City Press: well… There is an article in the Sri Lankan press that reports, and maybe you will just deny this one, in which case, I hope to have, to ask you about a protest that was held outside yesterday. But there is an article in the Sri Lankan press saying that the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and Permanent Representative Palitha Kohona, have substantively discussed the Panel of Experts report and the forthcoming, now delayed, LLRC [Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission], and have come to an agreement; that there is some agreement reached, which recommendations would be implemented by Sri Lanka, which ones would not be, and that essentially the matter is finished. I can, I mean, the article, it is in [inaudible]; and I wonder whether the UN, given that it’s apparently, its’ summarizing a meeting between the two, is this accurate or not accurate?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, as you know, we’ve been very clear; the report has been published in its entirety. You can see the recommendations that there are there, and the Secretary-General stands by the report that’s been prepared for him by the Panel of Experts. That’s the first point. The second is that we have repeatedly said in the run-up to the report being published, and after the report was published, that the Government of Sri Lanka is welcome to provide its response, its official response, to the report. And we would welcome that. We haven't seen it yet.

Inner City Press: This is related to that. Yesterday, in connection with this Human Rights Council vote today, it was said that the Secretary-General does have the power to begin his own investigative mechanism of a sort, and that this was the UN system’s — the report they did on Rwanda, the mapping report — that this was a report that was done by the UN system without authorization by any intergovernmental body. Is that accurate?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, as you know, we’ve been quite clear on that. Firstly, accountability is for the national authority in any given case. And in this case, it is no different: accountability is for the Sri Lankan authorities. We’ve also said that, in this report on accountability that was given to the Secretary-General, it sets out that the Sri Lankan authorities should indeed be doing this. It also says that — and the Secretary-General said this in his statement with the report — that there needs to be, to take it forward, there needs to be either consent from the national Government, the national authorities — in other words the Sri Lankan authorities — or there needs to be a mandate from an intergovernmental body; and you know what they might be. And that’s the position.

Inner City Press: So the mapping report, which intergovernmental body authorized it?

Spokesperson Nesirky: I can give you the details on that later.

But five hours later and counting, no information had been provided. Watch this site.

These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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