By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Follow Up on
Exclusives
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 28 --
As Ban
Ki-moon's time
at the UN
winds down and
he prepares
coyly to run
for President
in South
Korea, his
packaging of
his legacy has
become a
vanity amateur
operation. It
is even worse
that we
thought.
Take
for example
the hard
cover book on
his conference
table when
he met
on September
18 with Donald
Tusk,
President,
European
Council and
Frans
Timmermans,
First
Vice-President,
European
Commission.
Inner City
Press
subsequently
went and saw
it give to
Poland, Chad
and it seems
clear (all)
others, up to
Algeria on
September 27
when Ban's son
in law dodged
Press
questions in
the UN lobby.
It is
called
“Highlights of
the tenure of
Ban Ki-moon,
2007-2016.”
Inner City
Press asked:
Why was this
done?
On
October 28,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's outgoing
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
UN transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
have you read…
“Liberation”
has a long
interview with
Anders
Kompass, and
among other
things, he
says that when
he was first
confronted
before his
badge was
taken off and
his mobile
taken, he was
asked about
the, quote,
boys in Mali,
i.e. at the
top levels of
the high…
Office of the
High
Commissioner
of Human
Rights didn’t
even know that
it had to do
with CAR
[Central
African
Republic], and
he calls Ban
Ki-moon’s
leadership
uninspired.
I wanted to
know, given
that he’s a
high-profile
UN official,
there are
other things
in it… what
do… does the
UN have any
response…?
Spokesman:
To say that I
disagree with
what Mr.
Kompass said
would be an
understatement.
I think… Mr.
Kompass, as it
relates to the
CAR and
others, those…
how they were
treated and
everything
around it was
looked into in
detail, in
impartial
detail, by the
review panel
the
Secretary-General
put
together.
And I have no
intention of
revisiting
it.
We’ve been, I
think, as open
as possible in
updating you
where we are
on these
investigations
into the CAR
on a regular
basis. To say
that the
Secretary-General
takes all
these issues
of sexual
abuse
extremely
seriously and
acts on them,
I think, in a
very strong
way.
ICP
Question:
One of the
things
criticized in
that report
was the kind
of
collaboration
of OIOS
[Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services] and
the Ethics
Office and the
then chief of
staff.
And I wanted…
Recently you
told me to ask
the Ethics
Office about
whether the…
whether the
propriety of
Ban Ki-moon
giving
speeches for
which $100,000
were
charged.
Is it true… do
they have a
spokesperson?
What’s the
status?
How is… I
thought it’s
through you
that we’re
supposed to
ask the
Secretariat
questions.
Is there an
Ethics Office
spokesperson?
Spokesman:
There’s no
Ethics
spokesperson…
you can either
contact them
directly, or
we can pass on
questions.
ICP
Question:
Please do.
We'll
see.
On
September 28,
after
reviewing it
then seeing it
taken offline,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
Beyond the
Vine video
here, UN
transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
You'd said
don't review
the book until
I see it, and
I did see
it. I've
seen it, and
I've read some
chapters.
So I wanted to
ask… there's
something I
wanted to ask
you about the
ones I've
seen. I
also noticed
that one way
that it was
online has
since been
taken offline,
which I find
it
strange.
I don't know
if you're
aware of that,
but somebody…
Spokesman:
The book will
be in
bookstores
within… early
October…
ICP
Question:
But it was
online for
sale, and now
it's no longer
online at all.
Spokesman:
I don't know,
Matthew.
ICP
Question:
Okay.
But here's my
question.
In the
chapters that
I saw written
by various
USGs
(Under-Secretaries-General),
including Mr.
[Hervé]
Ladsous,
Prince Zeid,
Mr. [Yukio]
Takasu, it
didn't seem
that, for
example, Mr.
[Anders]
Kompass and
the idea of
whistleblower
protection as
to the rapes
in CAR
(Central
African
Republic),
which is, I
think, you
would admit is
a major
event.
It may not be
a positive
event, but
it's not a
small
event.
It was talked
about in
newspapers all
over the
world. I
didn't see it
in the
book. So
I'm back with
the same
question:
Is this a book
of only
highlights,
positive
events of the
Ban Ki-moon
era or is it
an attempt to
do lessons
learned?
Spokesman:
This is an
open
end-of-mission
report, if you
will, of the
Secretary-General
and his senior
staff of the
challenges,
the successes
and the
challenges.
No one has
ever claimed
that it will
be the
definitive
history of
tenures of the
Secretary-General,
Ban
Ki-moon.
My personal
sense is that
this was a
very positive
exercise.
Whether it
satisfies you
or not, you
know, c'est la
vie, but it's…
others will
be… you know,
others have
written about
the
tenure.
I look forward
to your own
book.
You know, I
don't really
know what more
words to use
about the
book.
ICP
Question:
I say this
because you
were saying
that it's not
a positive
spin.
It's a
review.
Would you
agree that Mr.
Kompass… this
was a major
event?
Spokesman:
Matthew, there
are… if you
look back ten
years, there
are a lot of
things that
happened in
the last ten
years.
Some of them
are more
important to
different
readers than
others.
You know,
it's… this is
why it's an
open book, and
everybody's
entitled to
have an
opinion about
it. On
that, I will
close my book
For
more than a
week, Ban
Ki-moon's
spokespeople
refused to
provide the
Press with
access to a
copy of Ban's
vanity press
book,
“Highlights of
the Tenure of
Ban Ki-moon,”
which Ban has
given to heads
of state
throughout UN
General
Assembly
debate week.
Now we see
why. The
“General
Editor” of the
book was Vijay
Nambiar, who
as Ban
Ki-moon's
envoy to Sri
Lanka lured
surrendering
fighters to
their deaths.
Now he
is editor, on
the UN's dime,
compiling a
book in which
each of Ban's
Under
Secretaries
General --
except
Cristina
Gallach, it
seems, who was
the publisher,
worse --
writes a
chapter
praising the
Dear Leader.
On
September 27,
Inner City
Press asked a
number of the
Unde
Secretaries
General who
wrote chapters
about the
book, and
asked Ban's
deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
I'd been
asking for
some time now
about this
book, and I've
actually now
seen a copy of
it. So I
wanted to ask
you, seems
that the
general editor
was Vijay
Nambiar, and
there's 15
chapters.
And they're
written by
various USGs
(Under-Secretaries-General).
Mr. Ladsous
wrote the one
on
peacekeeping.
So I just… I
wanted to
know, I think
when I first…
how much time…
how much of
Mr. Vijay
Nambiar's time
as Special
Adviser on
Myanmar was
devoted to
editing this
15-chapter
book?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Well, as you
know, he's a
Special
Adviser with a
series of
portfolios.
It's not
restricted
simply to the
situation in
Myanmar,
although that
has devoted an
amount of his
time.
But in terms
of their work,
a lot of
people were
involved
simply doing
basically a
lessons
learned
exercise, in
terms of
things that we
either did
well or could
have done
better over
the course of
Ban Ki-moon's
tenure.
That was the
point of that
exercise.
And regarding
the book, I
believe it is
to be
published
sometime in
the latter
part of
October.
ICP
Question:
When you said
like lessons
learned, like,
I was reading
in the chapter
by Prince Zeid
about… about
Rights up
Front.
It doesn't
seem to
mention Sri
Lanka and the
reason that
the policy was
elucidated.
So I guess…
can you point…
I guess when
it's released…
it's actually
been… it's now
available.
I wanted to
know how it's
consistent,
having these
USGs write
chapters about
their own
departments,
saying Mr. Ban
did this, Mr.
Ban did that,
with the idea
of a lessons
learned
exercise?
Deputy
Spokesman:
It's
consistent
insofar as
they're the
experts about
the work of
their
respective
bodies.
Of course, the
overall book
will touch on
most of the
issues that
happened over
the course of
the
Secretary-General's
tenure.
And it does
include, of
course, things
that could
have been
handled
better, as
well as things
that went
well.
But the idea
is to offer
some sort of
guide for the
next
Secretary-General
about how
things were
conducted over
this ten-year
phase.
And
then an online
version was
"deleted" by
the UN,
photo here
tweeted by
Inner City
Press.
Did
any of the
USGs resist?
As set forth
below, Herve
Ladsous had an
interest in
penning the
chapter to
exonerate
himself (and
blame Babacar
Gaye) for the
rapes in the
Central
African
Republic. Kim
Won-soo is
already
promoting
Ban's South
Korea
Presidential
run. But
Stephen
O'Brien?
Jeffrey
Feltman? Helen
Clark? We'll
have more on
this.
The
Peace
Operations
chapter is
ascribed to
Herve Ladsous,
under whom the
UN Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations has
been involved
in more and
more sexual
abuse and
exploitation
scandals.
(Ladsous, who
refuses Press
questions,
publicly linked
the rapes to
“R&R,”
video here.)
Ladsous'
chapter says
that after
rapes in the
Central
African
Republic “Mr.
Ban... in an
unprecedented
measure
demanded the
resignation of
the head of
MINUSCA,”
Babacar Gaye.
Since the
abuses
continued
after this
scapegoating,
it is a
laughable
conflict of
interest for
Ladsous to
write this
chapter of Ban
Ki-moon's
vanity press
book. Here
is a photo of
Ladsous' spin
of cholera in
Haiti.
The
Human Rights
chapter,
ascribed to
Jordan's
Prince Zeid,
is also an
embarrassment.
It brags about
“Rights Up
Front” without
describing how
Ban Ki-moon's
failure during
the Sri Lanka
bloodbath on
the beach in
2009 led to
the stated
change in
policy.
Tellingly,
Sri Lanka's
president this
week has
bragged that
Ban put now
pressure on
him for
accountability
during their
bilateral
meeting. Too
busy hawking
the vanity
press book.
This book
calls Rights
Up Front
“ground-breaking”
while burying
without
mention Ban's
failure in Sri
Lanka. Instead
it brags of
Ban's action
in... FYROM.
This is a
fraud.
Whether
Zeid, who was
selected for
his position
by Ban
(putting the
objectivity of
the chapter
into question,
to put it
diplomatically)
actually wrote
the chapter is
not clear: he
refers to
himself in the
third person.
Perhaps it is
catching.
The page on
which Ban's
supposed
“Rights Up
Front” is
laundered also
describes the
“Human Rights
Screening of
UN Personnel,”
involving
certification
by countries
which nominate
officials and
attestation by
the
individuals
nominated.
Inner City
Press has
asked Ban's
spokesman if
Ban's son in
law Siddharth
Chatterjee
made this
attestation
with regard to
his activities
in Sri Lanka
-- without
answer. We'll
have more on
this.
The section on
Responsibility
to Protect
brags about
Ban's work in
Cote d'Ivoire,
Guinea,
Kyrgystan and
Kenya (where
Ban gave the
top UN job to
his son in
law) - but
doesn't
mention
Burundi. And
where is
Zeid's review
of Ban's
performance on
Yemen?
Team
Ban refused to
show a copy to
the Press,
even though we
discovered it
was and is
listed in the
UN Department
of Public
Information
catalog as
finished in
August, for
sale for $45.
Click
here for photo
Inner City
Press tweeted.
On
September 26,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN Transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
I'd asked
Stéphane
[Dujarric]
about the
book,
Highlights of
the Tenure of
Ban Ki-moon,
that was given
to the Heads
of
State.
He said wait
for it to show
up; it's not
ready
yet. It
will be in the
bookstore.
Then I looked
in the
catalogue of
DPI
(Department of
Public
Information),
and it said it
was…
publication
date:
August 2016;
price:
$45. So
it's
finished.
I don't
understand.
Was it not put
in the
bookstore so
it could be
given first to
Heads of
State?
What's the
distinction
of… where does
it stand?
Deputy
Spokesman:
No, the book
has not yet
been put out
as a sale
edition, but
that will
happen fairly
shortly.
ICP
Question:
Okay.
Because I
mean, I guess
I want to
reiterate the
request to… I
don't want to…
I'll give you
the copy back,
but it does
seem like if
it's… if it's…
if the
publication
date has
passed and
you've already
passed it out,
what's the
problem with
seeing it?
Deputy
Spokesman:
It simply
hasn't been
distributed as
a sale
item.
That is going
to happen,
however.
Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric and
for three
days, nothing.
Then this:
"You
asked me about
the book the
Secretary-General
has been
giving to
visiting
dignitaries.
The genesis of
this reflects
the
Secretary-General's
efforts to
ensure a
smooth
handover to
his
successor.
In addition to
the usual
issue briefs
on the full
a-to-z agenda,
the
Secretary-General
felt that it
would be
beneficial for
the
Secretariat as
a whole to
assess in an
open, broader,
more thematic
way the
challenges
that were
faced, to
explain the
approaches
that were
taken to
address them,
and to
catalogue the
obstacles that
were
encountered
along the way
and how they
were -- or
were not --
overcome.
This exercise
was undertaken
by small
working groups
across the
Secretariat,
funds and
programmes. It
was also an
important
exercise in
teamwork
across the
Secretariat
and a useful
exercise for
staff members
at all levels
who
participated,
providing the
opportunity to
pause and look
back at what
has been
achieved in
each of their
areas of
competency.
While the
insights
provided
should help
inform the
next
administration,
it was also
decided, in
line with
Secretary-General's
general policy
on
transparency,
that it may be
of interest to
a wider
audience and
as such, it
was decided to
issue it for
publication.
In this
regard, there
will be an
initial print
run for book
of 500
paperback
editions and
1,000
hardcovers. It
will be sold
in the
Bookshop and
through our
other
distribution
channels and
be published
through DPI’s
publication
unit."
So it
IS a vanity
press
publication.
How much did
it cost? Why
has Ban's
office been
unwilling to
show a copy,
if it is such
an "open"
approach? What
does it say
about Yemen?
Haiti cholera?
Sri Lanka? The
John Ashe / Ng
Lap Seng case?
Burundi? Ng
Lap Seng and
the promotion
of Ban's son
in law?
On
September 22,
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric, transcript here:
Inner
City Press:
Earlier today,
you sent me an
answer about
this… the book
that the
Secretary-General
has been
signing and
giving to
Heads of
State.
What I wanted
know… I mean,
I'd asked you
in writing how
much it cost
and to see a
copy of the
content,
because it
seems to be
called
Highlights of
the Tenure of…
I've seen the
cover.
And then
you've said
that it's sort
of an open
review,
including…
does it have
self-criticism
or…?
Spokesman:
The book… you
know, you will
be able to see
the book when
it hits the UN
Bookstore
shortly.
I don't have a
copy on my
desk,
unfortunately.
As I said,
it's an open
exercise
reflecting on
what went
well, what
went wrong
during the
last 10
years. I
think any time
in this
organization
where we can
take the time
to stop, pause
and look back
is very
useful.
It's something
that we don't
do often
enough.
Obviously, the
Secretary-General
will give his
successor
direct
personal
advice.
There will be
handovers of…
kind of
handover
briefs of
papers that
will be
internal.
But, I think
an open and
transparent
look back on
the tenure, as
I said, with
what went well
and what went
wrong will be…
I think is
useful to all,
is useful to
the next
Secretary-General
and his team,
is useful to
Member
States.
As I said, the
book should be
available
soon, and it
will be… it's
the same
version that
the
Secretary-General
is giving
visiting heads
of delegation
as a gift.
ICP
Question:
How many were
printed?
You said that
there will be
1,000… 500
paperback and
1,000 hard
cover… have
they already
been printed?
Spokesman:
They're in the
process of
being printed
and some
advanced
copies…
ICP
Question:
Okay.
Just… people
that have seen
this answer
have asked me
this, so I
wanted to ask
you
this. Do
you see a
contradiction…
if the people
writing the
book are, in
fact, UN staff
whose job is
dependant on
the UN, how
open a review
is it? I
mean…
Are there
anonymous
chapters?
Spokesman:
I think,
before… I
would
encourage you
to review the
book once
you've read
the
book.
And I would
encourage
everybody to
do that.
On
September 23,
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric, UN transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
about the
book, but I
did want to
just… I'd
asked you how
much it cost,
and I don't
know if
there's an
estimate of
the cost of
the book and
what budget…
at a minimum
what budget…
was it
authorized by
the GA?
Which
department
paid for it?
Spokesman:
The Department
of Public
Information
publishes…
regularly
publishes
books on all
sorts of
issues.
It's part of
the regular
publishing
budget.
ICP
Question:
Right, because
you'd said…
you made it
appear that
initially it
was going to
be just an
internal
document…
maybe I
misread your
answer…?
Spokesman:
No, I didn't
think… no, it
will have a…
it will be a
book, like… I
think you and
I may disagree
on what a
definition of
a book is, and
it will meet
that
definition.
ICP
Question:
Right, but
it's already
that.
Does it have
an ISBN
number…?
Spokesman:
I haven't
looked on the
back. I
have no doubt
that it will
have an ISB
number.
ICP
Question:
Do you have a
copy?
Spokesman:
I do not have
a copy.
You… you know,
wait… wait to
read the book
before you
review
it. And
as soon as
it's available
in the
bookstore, I'm
sure you can
expense it.
ICP
Question:
Can it be
changed?
What I'm
saying, is it
a final
version?
The printed
copies that
are being
given…?
Spokesman:
It's not
going… no,
it's final.
ICP
Question:
And final
thing, just on
substance… I
saw it.
It's called
Highlights of
the
Tenure.
So, how is
this
consistent
with the idea…
the subtitle
of the book is
Highlights of
the Tenure of
Ban
Ki-moon.
How is that
consistent
with an
objective
self-critical
view that will
help the next
Secretary-General?
Spokesman:
You know, you
could write
10,000 volumes
of just every
day exactly
what happened.
Correspondent:
Highlights
doesn't mean
positive?
Spokesman:
If you're
going to
publish…
highlights is
the important
things.
I mean, we can
disagree on
the definition
of what
"highlights"
means.
So is Sri
Lanka, for
example, a
"highlight" or
a low-light
for Ba
Ki-moon? Watch
this site.
For the next
meeting, with
Denmark's
Prime Minister
Lars Lokke
Rasmussen,
another copy
of the Ban
vanity book
was out, along
with a pen to
sign it.
By the
last meeting
of the day,
after Inner
City Press
tweeted then
first
published this
story, the
copy of the
book for UNASUR's
Ernesto Samper
Pizano was
covered
up with a file
by Ban's
staff. Is this
on the level?
In
the hall was
the office of
Nardos
Bekele-Thomas,
moved out of
the top job in
Kenya so Ban's
son in law
could occupy
it before Ban
leaves.
Legacy,
indeed....
The
Friday before
UN General
Assembly week
starts in
earnest,
reporters at
the UN were
told of some
of the
upcoming
meetings and
how, despite
restrictions,
to cover them.
Inner
City Press
asked the head
of the UN's
Department of
Public
Information
Cristina
Gallach why
DPI says the
non-resident
correspondents,
the vast
majority of
journalists
covering the
UN, will be
placed in
basement
Conference
Room 1 where
no only food
and beverages
but even water
is not
allowed.
(In
Ban's
conference
room there is
water and,
we've noted at
his all-Korean
meeting, tea.)
Gallach's
reply cited to
“professionalism”
and rules,
both of which
she invoked
when she ousted
and then
evicted
Inner City
Press from the
UN earlier
this year.
Ironically,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric less
that an hour
later explained
having
violated the
rules (about
those without
cameras not
attending
photo ops) so
that South
Korean print
journalists
could witness
Ban's speech
to politicians
visiting from
Seoul.
The
UN's rules are
selectively
implied, in
this case to
censor.
Last October
19, 2015 Inner
City Press asked Gallach about her attendance at the South South Awards
of Ng Lap
Seng, the
Macau-based
businessman
under house
arrest for
bribery at the
UN.
On September
16, Inner City
Press asked
Gallach about
the
since-released
Office
of Internal
Oversight
Services audit,
which found
that her DPI
did not due
diligence on
events by Ng
Lap Seng
fundees.
Gallach said
that the
outside event
- the case in
Federal court
- is being
followed. So
Inner City
Press asked
for her
response to
testimony in
the case that
South South
News, which
unlike Inner
City Press the
rule-invoking
Gallach left
in its UN
office
despite or
because of it
not asking any
questions at
the UN, was
named as a
“conduit of
bribery.”
This, she did
not answer.
After the
briefing,
which included
film maker
Richard Curtis
whom Inner
City Press
asked about
the Next SG
race,
Gallach's
staffer asked
for further
information
about the
water(less)
issue.
Inner City
Press added
the exclusion
of
non-resident
correspondents
from access to
the UN's EZTV
which shows
more events
than the UN
webcast. See flier
here of the
Free UN
Coalition for
Access,
also ejected
and sign torn
down under
Gallach. What
will change?
We'll see.
Watch this
site.
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