To
UN Women, $100
M Offer by Qatar for
HQ, But UNFPA
Inks 15 Yr NYC Lease
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 14 -- Less than two weeks after the formation of
“UN Women,” to
consolidate the UN's agencies working on the issue, one of the
agencies has gone forward with a major lease of real estate in
Manhattan.
The UN Population Fund, UNFPA, has just reportedly
signed
a 15 year lease for three floors (131,000 square feet) at 605 Third
Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile,
multiple
sources tell Inner City Press that during the negotiations to form UN
Women, Qatar offered $100 million if it the headquarters would be put
in Qatar.
But
as Inner City
Press
reported earlier this month, Qatar is one of only three
countries which has never sent a female athlete to the Olympic Games,
along
with Brunei and Saudi Arabia.
So now matter
how much money is
offered, some ask how could the headquarters of UN Women be in Qatar?
UN's Ban and Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned,
$100 M not shown
A
Group of 77
source complained, as to UN agency headquarters, that an effect of
the European Union's push to form a UN Environment agency would be to
undermine the status of Nairobi, where the current UN Environment
Program is headquartered.
But maybe if
UNEP stepped out and signed a
big long term lease for more Kenyan real estate...
Footnote: while
following a series of stories by Inner City Press on the hypocrisy of
the UN closing its after school program on two days notice as it
discussed UN Women and "work life balance" Deputy Secretary General
Asha Rose Migiro said alternatives are being explored, so far nothing
has been announced. Watch this site.
* * *
Candidates
for
Top
UN Women Post From Rwanda, Tunisia, Malaysia, No Bachelet
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
2 -- As UN Women, the world body's so-called Gender
Entity, was birthed Friday in the General Assembly, Inner City
Press
learned for a well placed Mission about six of the eight candidates
for the Under-Secretary General position at the top of UN Women.
These
are
the
Rwandan foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, UN gender advisor Rachel
Mayanja (nominated
by Gabon), a Malaysian official who heads up the gender work of the
Non Aligned Movement, officials from Tunisia and Norway and, Inner
City Press is told, Sri Lanka's Radhika Coomaraswamy.
The
biggest donor,
assured for that reason a seat on the Executive Board, is said to
agree that the USG should come from the Global South. So the
Norwegian, it seems, has little chance.
UN's Ban and Bachelet, UN Women not shown
Earlier
on
Friday,
Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Secretary General Asha Rose Migiro
to name the candidates, since she had said the process would be open
and transparent. Eight countries, she said, have submitted names,
including one country naming another's national. She gave as an
example the United States nominating her. “Have they?” Inner City
Press asked. No, she said.
Not
on the list is
Michelle Bachelet of Chile. Some say she wanted UNICEF and is
miffed. Others say she will only take it if offered: i.e., if it is
not a competitive process. We'll see. Watch this space.
* * *
UN
Gender
Entity
Stalled
on Posts, Palestine and Cuban Pride, Ban Waits
to Take Credit
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
25
-- The UN negotiations on the so called Gender
Entity continues Friday into the evening, with three issues
outstanding. Each was a UN classic. Syria was championing a special
mention for women under occupation: that is, Palestine.
Cuba
disagreed
with
a paragraph suggesting that countries submit their
national programs for UN system review. And the donor countries and
the Group of 77 different on the distribution and number of posts,
that is, jobs. Follow the money.
And
follow the
posts. Inner City Press is informed that while many still hope that
former Chilean president Michele Bachelet would accept the Gender
Entity post, she had wanted UNICEF, which was given to American
Anthony Lake. Now the Gender post may go to a Rwandan minister.
Earlier
on
Friday,
Inner
City Press asked the chair and staffer of the Economic and
Social Council if, in exchange for the new Under Secretary General
post, the underlying Assistant Secretary General posts would be
eliminated. No, two would remain, was the answer.
DSG Migiro and Hamidon Ali, Gender Entity and
day care closing not shown
Of
the Secretariat,
Inner City Press asked:
Inner
City
Press:
this
has been set by the President of the General
Assembly, something of a deadline to get a draft done. So I’m
wonder… I understand that the Secretary-General is going to the
G-20 and all, but what is the role of the Secretariat? Not just the
Secretary-General personally, but Migiro, you know, the [Deputy
Secretary-General Asha-Rose] Migiro...
I
am
sure
that
the Secretariat is going to say, you know, this is a
reform that we brought about, this gender entity. What, in this
critical time, what’s the role of the Secretariat in sort,
providing I guess, you know, leadership on this gender entity? There
are some outstanding issues, and I just wonder whether the
Secretariat is chiming in, in terms of how this entity will deal with
the developed world or countries in which there is not a presence on
the ground? And then, you may not think it’s related, but have you
found out whose decision it was to close the
UN day care center on
two days’ notice? The issue that arose yesterday? I see them as
related. Maybe you don’t.
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
starting
with the big picture, gender empowerment,
gender equality, these are major priorities for the
Secretary-General, and for the United Nations as a whole. Indeed
gender empowerment is one of the key priorities of the
Secretary-General for this year, not least because he and the Deputy
Secretary-General have been pushing extremely hard for this new
gender entity to come onto being. And so, obviously, we’re
watching this very closely. We’re not just watching; I know the
Deputy Secretary-General in particular — this is something the
Secretary-General has asked her to focus on — he’s very much
involved in seeing how this passes through during the course of the
day and into next week.
And
I
would
anticipate that the Deputy
Secretary-General would want to speak to the media once we have a
clearer picture of what happens. It is a major priority; it’s
something that the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General
have been pushing extremely hard because they believe that it’s
essential for us to be able to make progress on many other areas of
work, not least, development. And as for the micro-picture, which is
not to belittle it at all, because child care is extremely important,
I do not have an answer. We’ve asked for an answer but we do not
have an answer at the moment.
We'll
be
waiting
for
that day care center closing answer -- and for the Gender Entity
denouement. Watch this site.
, 
