At
UN,
Ban
Doubles Down on Developed World for OIOS, Nambiar Spins to Staff
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
26, updated -- The UN Secretariat may be playing fast and loose
with applicable resolutions and Administrative Instructions as it
races to try to put behind it the controversy opened by the End of
Assignment Report by outgoing chief of the Office of Internal
Oversight Services Inga Britt Ahlenius, diplomats and UN staff say.
As
Inner City
Press exclusively
reported
on the night of July 23, Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon met with regional groups and told them he couldn't find a
qualified replacement for Ahlenius from the developing world, and so
he was going with a Canadian. The name of Carman Lapointe-Young is
being submitted to the General Assembly.
But
several
developing world countries are now saying that when OIOS was founded,
the top post was supposed to rotate between the developed and
developing world. So far it has been Germany, Singapore, Sweden --
and Canada? Even if Ban manages to ram his nomination of Carman
Lapointe-Young through the General Assembly, it will increase bad
feelings, and bad karma.
Carman
Lapointe-Young, click here
for a speech of hers on audits
Next,
we
have the
letter from Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar to OIOS staff,
trying
to assuage them with assurances that Ban respects the “operational”
independence of OIOS. But in fact, applicable Administrative
Instructions show that Ban was supposed to appoint a OIOS review
panel which, once appointed, could confirm D-2 level staff like
Robert Appleton without Ban having a veto. This was never done, and Catherine
Pollard's lengthy answers last week did little to buttress
Ban's position.
Click here for
Nambiar's letter to all UN
staff, forwarded to Inner City Press and
published here exclusively as a public service.
Ban
held a
reception with the Press on Friday, but Inner City Press was
repeatedly told not to ask anything about the Ahlenius memo, and
didn't. Ban will appear more formally with the press on Monday at
5:30 p.m. -- it's hard to imagine these issues not arising them.
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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