At
UN,
Complaint of
Eliasson
Nepotism Filed
by
Whistleblower,
Now
Ban Ki-moon
Response
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 10, updated
June 11
-- Even before
Jan Eliasson
starts as Ban
Ki-moon's
second Deputy
Secretary
General on
July 1,
complaints of
nepotism and
corrupt hiring
have been
made.
Whistleblowing
sources
tell Inner
City Press
that
Eliasson's
"former
Special
Assistant Ms.
Shirin Pakfar
has been
brought from
Libya on a
Temporary Duty
Assignment for
90 days to
help start his
office,"
at an
estimated cost
of $70,000.
Inner
City Press has
also learned
that outgoing
DSG Asha Rose
Migiro's
chief of
staff, before
taking up the
Burundi post
he has won, is
slated to stay
on in New York
for the entire
month of July
to help
Eliasson
settle in. So
what is the
total cost of
this Deputy's
transition?
Worse,
the complaint
continues,
"Ms. Pakfar
has also made
it known to
many of her
colleagues
that she will
ultimately be
employed at a
key
P5 position
within the
Deputy
Secretary-General's
office after
she
completes a
year in Libya
and satisfies
the mobility
requirement
for
a promotion."
This
apparent
"gaming" of
Ban Ki-moon's
supposed
mobility
policy, which
for favored
officials like
Robert Orr and
Kim Won-soo
means only
moving
laterally
without
leaving New
York,
shouldn't
accompany
Eliasson's
tenure even
before he
begins.
While
the
complainant
had attempted
to send all
this
information
directly
to Ban
Ki-moon, they
suspected that
it would be
cut off and
not reach
Ban. Therefore
Inner City
Press is putting
it online,
here.
Inner
City Press
also sent it
and sought
comment from
Ban's top and
Associate
spokesmen, and
from Pakfar at
the UN.
Update:
more than 24
hours later,
the following
was received
as is, as
"expected,"
being
published here
in full:
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] UN
Date: Mon, Jun
11, 2012 at
3:24 PM
Subject:
Response to
your question
on Sunday
about
anonymous
accusations
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Cc: Martin
Nesirky [at]
un.org
In answer to
your question
from Sunday 10
June, the
Spokesperson
has this to
say and expects
the full text
to be printed:
First, let me
make it clear
that we do not
in the normal
course of
events respond
to anonymous
accusations.
The more so
where they
impugn
specific staff
members
without
attribution.
However, in
response to
your query,
the
Secretary-General’s
office does,
from time to
time, call on
the service of
staff members
from various
offices of the
Organization,
for limited
periods of
time, to help
support his
immediate
office.
This has
allowed the
Office to
benefit from
the rich
experience of
staff thorough
out the
Organization
while ensuring
that the
maximum number
of staff have
the experience
of working
with the
Secretary-General’s
immediate
office.
With regard to
the transition
between the
serving DSG
and the
incoming DSG,
it is
recognized
that the
current level
of activities
of the Office
must continue
and staff of
the office are
fully engaged
in supporting
DSG
Migiro.
Therefore, as
is the norm,
short term
assistance is
brought to
bear to help
coordinate the
transition of
incoming DSG
Eliasson. This
is a time
bound and
focused
activity.
Finally, the
Executive
Office of the
Secretary-General
has been
consistent in
its approach
to staffing
the
office.
Following the
Secretary-General's
open letter of
19 January
2007 on
positions in
his office, in
which he
invited staff
members who
meet the
qualifications
to express
interest in
being
considered for
placement in
his office,
posts have
been and
continue to be
circulated to
staff at
headquarters
and the
field.
For your
information,
there are
currently
three
positions
posted in
iSeek, 2 D-2
level and 1
P-5
level.
Others will
continue to be
circulated as
well.
This is the
open letter
from 2007:
19 January
2007
Dear
Colleagues,
My first three
weeks in
office have
been busy
ones, as I
have staked
out a number
of priorities
in the work of
the United
Nations. In
addition to
the many
challenges in
peace,
development
and human
rights, I
believe there
is also a need
to change the
working
culture of the
Organization
itself.
I am convinced
that for the
United Nations
to meet the
global
challenges of
the 21st
century, we
need to build
a staff that
is truly
mobile and
multi-functional
-- a staff
better
equipped to
serve our
Member States,
and uphold the
purposes of
our
Organization.
To give life
to those
principles in
an open and
transparent
manner, I
intend as far
as possible to
lead by
example. That
is why I am
taking steps
to promote
mobility in
the Executive
Office of the
Secretary-General.
As a first
step, I have
decided to
initiate a new
practice of
circulating a
number of EOSG
positions on
iSeek for a
period of 10
working days,
with a view to
opening these
positions to
expressions of
interest from
UN staff
members, both
at
headquarters
and in the
field. I hope
you will study
closely the
job
descriptions
below, and I
invite you to
express
interest if
you consider
that you are
fully
qualified and
meet all the
competencies
required for
one of the
positions. We
look forward
to receiving a
broad range of
expressions of
interest from
throughout the
UN.
As I undertake
these efforts
to lead by
example, I
look to all
senior
managers to
follow suit
and promote
mobility among
their staff in
the same
manner, beyond
the
requirements
of managed
mobility.
I thank all of
you for your
diligent
service and
dedication to
the work and
ideals of the
United
Nations.
Yours
sincerely,
Ban Ki-moon
, 
