UN
Dodged on Dealings
with North Korea by WIPO and UN
Credit Union, ICP Asked
US Nikki Haley
By Matthew
Russell Lee, follow up
UNITED NATIONS,
May 16 – While the UN's World
Intellectual Property
Organization helps North Korea
with a patent application for
social cyanide (FOX here),
Inner City Press on May 16
began to ask US Ambassador to
the UN Nikki Haley about it (video here, more to follow). At
noon, Inner City Press had
asked the UN about that and
its reporting that the UN
Federal Credit Union,
regulated by the US National
Credit Union Administration,
openly solicits the business
of both North Korean employees
of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea's mission to
the UN and the members of the
UN Association of the USA
(UNA-USA), amid questions of
immunity and a previous UNFCU
settlement for sanctions
violations. UN
briefing video here,
from Min 10:20.
While a
statement from Ambassador
Haley about WIPO, and one
hopes UNFCU, may be
forthcoming, here
is this afternoon's video:
UN
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric
dodged on whether Secretary
General Antonio Guterres would
this time talk to WIPO chief
Francis Gurry, as he did not
as Gurry deployed criminal
defamation law against the
press; he also wouldn't answer
on UNFCU. UN transcript:
Inner City Press: I want
to ask you something. I
have a couple questions about
North Korea. One is, I'm
sure you've seen the Fox story
about WIPO [World Intellectual
Property Organization] doing a
patent application for North
Korea for the production of
sodium cyanide, which is
banned to be trans… to be
brought into the
country. And I know
before you'd said… it wasn't
clear to me if the
Secretary-General had
communicated with WIPO about
their use of criminal
defamation against
journalists. But, is
this something that concerns
him? And I also… I also
want to ask you about the UN
Federal Credit Union (UNFCU)
openly soliciting deposits
from… from the Mission of
North Korea, as well as the
employees of the Mission
despite having previously
settled sanctions charges for
just… for such activity on
another sanctioned
country. Do you think
that this is consistent with
this whole idea of tightening
up…?
Spokesman: I don't speak
for the Credit Union.
They're an independent
body. I would agree… I
would urge you to question
them. On the [Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea]
and the Fox News report,
obviously, I think what's
contained in the report is
disturbing and demands looking
into. The Panel of
Experts… the Security Council
Panel of Experts, as you know,
is an independent team
reporting to the
Council. And they have
the prerogative to look into
all alleged violations of DPRK
sanctions and report to the
Council
accordingly. I
think, as noted in the
article, the Panel's
coordinator said the Panel
will look into the
issue. And I think we'll
need… the Panel will do its
work and report back.
And if… we will obviously look
more directly into the issue,
as well from our end.
Inner City Press: Given
that there have been previous
allegation… previous
allegations and reported
retaliation at WIPO concerning
North… activities with North
Korea, do you think it's
something… do you or the
Secretary-General think it's
something that the CEB [Chief
Executives Board] or some kind
of system-wide… does it need
to be reiterated to the UN
agencies that these sanctions
are reported?
Spokesman: I think the
need… the absolute need to
respect the sanctions regime,
both whether it's from Member
States or within the UN, I
think, is clear and should be
clear to everyone.
UNFCU's
website lists
under “Missions to the UN in
New York eligible to join
UNFCU” that of “North Korea
(DPRK).” Now, after the latest
North Korean launch, US
Ambassador to the UN Nikki
Haley on May 14 told
ABC's This Week that the
screws will be tightened on
North Korea, to isolate them.
So, at the UN, what about the
(US regulated) UN Federal
Credit Union?
Inner City Press
asked UNFCU's Senior Manager
of Media Relations Elisabeth
Philippe questions including
“why some UN member states'
missions to the UN are
eligible to join UNFCU,
including the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea,
and others are not, why
members of UNA-USA became
eligible to join UNFCU, what
regulatory filings in any
UNFCU made for this change in
field of membership, and any
restrictions on the use of
these UNA-USA members' funds,
and what services UNFCU offers
to UN agencies and country
teams, in which countries, and
if there are any restrictions
or safeguards.”
On deeming
the North Korean mission and
all of its employees eligible,
UNFCU's Ms. Philippe told
Inner City Press, “The
employees of any mission to
the United Nations based in
New York are eligible to apply
for UNFCU membership. The
employees of all missions are
eligible to join once their
mission has submitted an
application and been
approved.” The website says
the mission itself can join
UNFCU. On May 10, Inner City
Press asked the chairman of
the UN Security Council's
North Korea Sanctions
Committee Sebastiano Cardi
about North Korea's embassy in
Berlin
renting out space as a hostel,
video
here. What safeguards
does UNFCU, with UNA-USA's
members in its field of
membership, have?
On UNFCU
expanding its field of
membership to including anyone
who joins UNA-USA, Ms.
Philippe told Inner City
Press, “UNA-USA is the largest
UN advocacy organization in
the United States. UNFCU is a
financial organization
providing retail banking for
the UN community. Members of
UNA-USA, who are US citizens
or permanent residents of the
US, are eligible to become
members of UNFCU. In December
2013, the National Credit
Union Administration (NCUA),
the US regulatory body which
oversees US federal credit
unions, approved the expansion
of UNFCU membership to include
UNA-USA based on a shared
mission and values in support
of the United Nations. UNA-USA
members who become members of
UNFCU are eligible for the
full suite of products and
services available to UNFCU’s
field of membership.”
But what
is in the “full suit of
products and services”
available from UNFCU? The US
Office of Financial Asset
Control or OFAC settled
charges against UNFCU for, in
connection with Mission
employees, violating
sanctions, see here. And Inner
City Press' third question,
about precisely what services
“UNFCU offers to UN agencies
and country teams” - including
for example in North Korea -
remained at publication time
unanswered. Now this: "As a
member-owned financial
institution that serves the UN
community globally, UNFCU
provides bank account services
to UN/agency staff, and
consultants subject to payroll
requirements of the various UN
agencies and subject to the
rules and regulations
governing all US Financial
Institutions. Accounts are
maintained in US dollars and
are protected by federal share
insurance through the National
Credit Union Administration.
UNFCU complies with US
regulations, including those
governing US economic
sanctions." But why then did
UNFCU settle charges of
sanctions violations? We'll
have more on this. Inner City
Press previously exclusively
reported for example
that "Sudanese nationals
working for the UN have had
part of their salaries paid
into UN Federal Credit Union
accounts, in U.S. dollars.
Then they were told that these
dollar accounts were frozen,
and could only be transferred
to the Bank of Khartoum."
Watch this site.
***
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