UN
Access Craved
by HRW, Amnesty
Get Job, Who
Watches
the UN?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 30 --
Who watchdogs
the UN on
human rights,
on issues
from bringing
cholera to
Haiti to working with rapists in the Congo,
and with child
soldier
recruiters in
Mali?
When
Inner City
Press asked
Human Rights
Watch to
disclose what
issues its
Ken Roth was
raising to UN
Security
General Ban
Ki-moon, HRW's
UN
lobbyist
Philippe
Bolopion declined,
saying that
HRW wants to
maintain
access:
"To preserve
our ability to
have frank
discussions
with UN
officials and
advance our
advocacy
goals, we
don't
typically
communicate on
the content of
discussions we
have with
them."
Amnesty
International
with its wider
membership has
generally been
more
active. But a
question is
raised this
week by the UN
hiring as a
spokesperson
for its Department
of Political
Affairs
the head of
Amnesty's UN
advocacy
office Jose
Luis Diaz
(whose work,
for example
on Sri Lanka,
we have in
full
disclosure
praised in the
past).
Under
the same "anti
revolving
door"
provision that
prohibit bank
regulators
from going
directly to
work for bank,
some might
wonder
about a person
going from a
job which
presumably
includes
watchdogging
the UN's own
performance
directly to
working for
the UN.
With
all due
respect the
same questions
arise: how
long was the
job
being applied
for? Was there
any recusal?
For
the human
rights
"community,"
if there is
one, these may
be
uncomfortable
questions. A
UN job may be
viewed as
better paying,
or
as offering a
better
opportunity to
impact rather
than just
complain
about issues.
But are there
safeguards,
when already
the UN is
hardly
held to
account? We
hope to have
more on this.
Watch this
site.
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