At
UN,
Of 23
Officials Not
Listed on
Financial
Disclosure,
Orr Says He
Filed
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 20 --
More than a
week after
Inner City
Press asked
the UN why
several UN
officials were
not listed on
the UN's web
site
as having made
any public
financial
disclosure
filing for
2010, the
UN responded
about one of
the officials.
The UN said
that "global
goods" adviser
Robert Orr had
in fact filed,
that it was
the
UN's web site
that was to
blame. The UN
asked for what
it called a
correction --
the report
that Orr was
not listed
was, of
course,
accurate --
and refused to
answer about
the other
officials
whose
names do not
appear.
One
concludes that
in Ban
Ki-moon's UN,
it's viewed as
legitimate to
answer
questions a
week or more
after they are
asked (and
then to demand
"corrections").
It also
appears that
it's every
official for
him or
herself. Inner
City Press
asked about
the lack of a
listing for UN
Development
Program
Administrator
Helen Clark,
who has
refused to
hold press
Q&A
sessions at
least at
headquarters
in New York.
There has
still be no
answer; the
same is true
for apparently
outgoing
Department of
Political
Affairs chief
Lynn Pascoe.
(c) UN Photo
Ban, Kim
Won-soo and
Orr previously
at Davos,
upcoming
Occupy igloo
not shown
Inner
City Press
asked
this question
on Tuesday,
November 8:
Inner
City
Press: On
public
financial
disclosure,
what I wanted
to ask you,
I think
earlier this
year the
Secretary-General
said that 99
per cent
of his
officials had
filed public
financial
disclosures in
the system
that he
himself has
filed in. And
a more recent
review shows
that
that’s not the
case…
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: A
report by Fox
News.
Inner
City
Press: I know,
I knew you
were going to
say that,
absolutely
sure. But it
is actually
the UN’s own
website, and
you can look
at
and among the
officials…
Spokesperson:
I do, Matthew.
Inner
City
Press: I am
sure you do.
Spokesperson:
I do.
Inner
City
Press: Okay, I
mean, I am
talking about
the UN’s
website. Why
hasn’t… why is
Mr. [Robert]
Orr’s name not
listed? Just
as
one example. Why
is Helen
Clark’s name
not listed
and why… and
what does Ban
Ki-moon say
about the 20
officials who
said they will
disclose by
not
disclosing?
Spokesperson:
Well, I think
there are a
couple of
points, and I
believe that
we
will return to
this in a
little bit
more detail a
little later;
not
right now. But
the key point
is that you
have to ask
the question:
financial
disclosure to
whom? The
system of
financial
disclosure is
intended to
ensure that
senior
officials
disclose their
financial
assets and so
on to their
employer — to
the United
Nations — to
ensure that
there is no
conflict of
interest. That
is a normal
procedure in
any
organization,
indeed in any
private
company, too.
And there is a
distinction
between that
disclosure to
the employer
and to the
general
public. I
expect that I
will have more
to say on
this a little
later, but I
don’t have
anything
further at
this
point.
Inner
City
Press: But I
guess I just
wanted to…
because I was…
I mean,
particularly
the…
Spokesperson:
I don’t think
you listened
to what I said
at the end
there, I
don’t have
anything
further at
this point.
Inner
City
Press: I know,
but this story
came out as
you said
you’ve
seen some time
ago. But Mr.
Orr, he was at
the stakeout
today,
obviously I
didn’t ask him
about this,
but it’s a
pretty simple
question, when
you look at
the list of…
he didn’t even
file and
say, “I am
choosing not
to disclose”.
He is just not
listed. So
is there
something, is
this website
not what it
purports to
be, i.e.
a list of
senior UN
officials…?
Spokesperson:
As I said,
Matthew, I
would
anticipate
having
something
further to
say on this,
but not right
at the moment.
Inner
City
Press: Later
today, you
think?
Spokesperson:
I said a
little later,
I don’t know
exactly when.
Okay. Yes, one
last question,
yeah?
Not
only were the
answers not
provided later
that day -- as
to Bob Orr it
took nine
days, and
there was
still been not
answer for
example about
Helen
Clark, much
less Lynn
Pascoe.
Inner
City Press
asked about it
again on
November 10,
and then got a
generic
answer,
disclosing
that 23
officials
never answered
the public
financial
disclosure
call and that
of those who
did respond,
more than a
third
did not make
any public
financial
disclosure.
(This despite
Ban's
claim to Inner
City Press
earlier in the
year that 99%
of his
officials had
complied, a
figure which
Nesirky later
called
metaphoric).
Finally
as to one
of the 23
officials not
listed on the
UN website,
the UN nine
days
after the
question was
asked sent
this:
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
@un.org
Date:
Thu, Nov 17,
2011 at 2:44
PM
Subject:
Financial
disclosures
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
With
regard
to the Fox
News 10
November
article,
please be
informed that
Robert Orr
filed his 2010
voluntary
disclosure and
authorized its
publication on
time, as he
had done in
every previous
year. The
delay
in posting was
due to an
administrative
oversight
beyond his
purview.
His 2010
disclosure is
now online.
Here's the
link:
http://www.un.org/sg/ethicalstandards/2010/Robert_Orr_FD_10.pdf.pdf
Even
this
disclosure
lists a mutual
fund with a
"thrift" -- a
generic
term for a
financial form
eliminated by
the Dodd -
Frank act, and
a
disclosure
that does not
name the
institution.
But duly
noted,
although not
response was
provided about
Helen Clark,
Lynn Pascoe or
the 20 other
officials not
listed.
Less
than 24 hours
after the
above response
was sent, the
UN asked Inner
City Press
when
it was going
to "correct"
its report
that Orr had
not been
listed. Inner
City Press
said it would
be publishing
a new article,
but what about
Pascoe and
Helen Clark?
No answer was
given.
For the
record, it is
not a
correction
when the
report was
true was
written.
The
"administrative
oversight" has
not been
explained. But
we are going
back and
adding a link
to this to the
earlier
stories.
Only in Ban's
UN. What ABOUT
Helen Clark,
Pascoe and the
others?
Watch this
site.
, 
