UN
Won't Answer
if UN Job on
Guyana PR's CV
Exists, Nor on
Ban's Protocol
P-3,
Promotions,
Caribbean
Connection
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Follow Up on
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 12 --
With a lack of
transparency,
increasingly
the case in
the UN of
outgoing
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon,
doubts only
grow.
Last
month
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric a
series of
factual
questions
about
promotions,
including in
the Department
of General
Assembly and
Conference
Management of
Under
Secretary
General
Catherine
Pollard of
Guyana.
Dujarric sent
one answer,
below, then
stopped.
On
October 12
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric about
Guyana's new
Permanent
Representative
to the
UN
Rudolph
Michael
Ten-Pow
saying,
through UN
Protocol,
that “until
his latest
appointment,
Mr. Ten-Pow
was the
Special
Advisor to the
United Nations
Coordinator
for
Multilingualism”-
that is, an
adviser to
Pollard.
But
does that
position even
exist? It is
nowhere
online. It's a
Caribbean
connection:
Those promoted
are from
Guyana and
Suriname.
There is also
the strange
case Frances
Fuller,
staffer to
former PGA
John Ashe also
of Antigua and
Barbuda, rest
in peace, now
in Ban
Ki-moon's
office, here.
But
Ban's
spokesman
Dujarric
doesn't answer
questions.
Here was his
first Q&A
on this:On
September 1,
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric:
Inner
City Press
understands
that the DGACM
position
vacated
yesterday is
being filled
by Ruth de
Miranda, whom
numerous UN
staff tell
Inner City
Press is
closely
aligned with
Catherine
Pollard... In
this light,
and in
connection
with the
UNanswered son
in law
questions,
this is a
formal request
that you state
pre-lid
1) if
Ms. Pollard
recused
herself from
the selection
of Ms. de
Miranda;
2) if
not, what
roles Ms
Pollard
played,
including in
the design of
the written
test, being on
the panel, etc
3) how
this is
acceptable and
what rules
apply.
Again,
as to the SG's
son in law,
this is a
formal request
that you today
(pre-lid)
provide
a) the
names and/or
other
identifiers of
the members of
the
interagency
advisory panel
which you say
selected the
SG's son in
law (to assess
whether they
can be
considered
independent of
the SG) and
the names of
the other
candidates (to
assess whether
the SG's son
in law was
arguably the
most
qualified)
or provide an
explanation of
WHY such
information in
this situation
will not be
disclosed.
About Ban's
son in law
Siddharth
Chatterjee,
Dujarric
stopped even
pretending to
respond. The response
has come from
Chatterjee's
former
military
commander in
Sri Lanka, Dalvir
Singh, calling
for Inner City
Press to be
“condemned in
the strongest
terms.” Very
classy.
On de Miranda,
Dujarric
responded: “
Ruth de
Miranda was
selected to
succeed Ion
Botnaru. I
think that
your answer is
correct.
The vacancy
was filled in
full
compliance
with the staff
selection
polices of the
organization.”
Inner City
Press
re-asked, “On
USG Pollard's
role in Ms. de
Miranda's
selection to
the D2 post,
you have not
described her
role nor
confirmed or
denied their
close
relation...
This is a
formal request
you answer
this today:
the position
USG Pollard
gave to Sonia
Elliott,
please state
if and why it
was done as a
“Temporary
Vacancy” TVA
and not as
“Acting,” and
USG Pollard's
role in the
process.”
This, like
Inner City
Press' request
for
information
about
Chatterjee's
military
activities in
Sri Lanka, has
done
unanswered. So
too questions
about Ban's
long time aide
Eun Ha
(Isabelle)
Kim, for whom
Inner City
Press is
informed
Pollard is
seeking to
create a new
P-3 position
in Protocol,
which falls
under her
DGACM. We'll
have more on
this.
, 
