On Peacekeeping,
ICP Asks of Liberia Staff Unpaid,
Spox Promises Response, None,
Like Haiti
By Matthew
Russell Lee, video here,
photo here
UNITED NATIONS,
February 13 –
When UN
Peacekeeping pulls out of
Liberia it leaves behind it
claims of non-payment, up to
$39 million, by national
staff, an echo of the UN's
shameful shrinking in Haiti
not paying for the cholera it
brought. On February 13, Inner
City Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript
here: Inner City Press: in
Liberia, I mean, we had the
briefing. It seemed… you
know, the staff… national
staff that worked there have
been protesting, saying that
they have been shorted by a
total of $39 million over the
life of the Mission.
Several of them say that they
got… when they raised the
issue of… of unpaid wages,
they were summarily
dismissed. I'm just
wondering, how does this… with
the UN Mission, whatever its
status is — seems like it's
pulling out — how… what are
the… where do these people
take their claims if, as they
say and show documents, they
were underpaid…?
Spokesman: Let me find
out from our colleagues what
the… the mechanism. I'm
sure there's some sort of
residual mechanism, but let me
find out on this particular
case." Seven hours later,
nothing. When UN Peacekeeping
chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix held
a rare press conference on
January 24, Inner City Press
encouraged him to speak more
and asked about Cameroon
(video here)
and how the UN is vetting
“peacekeepers," as that
country's army is burning down
whole villages in the
Anglophone zones. Lacroix
insisted that vetting is
intensive, without yet
providing details as to
Cameroon. Now on January 27,
quite possibly using the money
the Department of Public
Information under Alison Smale
has shifted from Kiswahili
to English language social
media, the UN blithely tweeted
its thanks to Cameroon for its
peacekeepers. But how are they
vetted? We'll have more on
this. Inner City Press asked
about what sources tell it,
that the ostensibly vetting of
troops from Sri Lanka, after
the bloodbath on the beach
there, consists of one OHCHR
staffer in Geneva. Lacroix
said he wasn't sure on that.
First, Inner City PRess asked
him about the so-called Cruz
report's statement that
“contingents lack basic
technology needed to conduct
operational activities against
hostile actors and to collect
tactical intelligence.
Individual equipment (e.g.
night-vision goggles), weapons
(e.g. special weapons and
ammunition), and vehicles
(appropriate to the terrain
and threat). This proposed
project will identify required
basic technology and propose
methods to provide the
required technology to
T/PCCs.” Lacroix said it's all
in how you use the equipment:
sit in and not ON an APC.
Inner City Press for the Free
UN Coalition for Access urged
Lacroix to speak more at the
UN Security Council stakeout,
as for example Alain Le Roy
(but not Herve Ladsous) did.
We'll see. Watch this site. UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres says
he has a "zero tolerance"
policy for sexual harassment.
But his chief of "Global
Communications" Alison
Smale argued that all UN
staff including victims should
"speak with one voice" which
several staff told Inner City
Press they took to mean, Don't
make the UN look bad. Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric
about it, despite getting cut
off (Vine here),
UN transcript here,
longer tweeted video here:
Inner City Press: I
heard there was a call about
speaking with one voice on
sexual harassment at the UN
this morning. And I
wanted to… I guess I wanted to
ask you, because some staff
members have had a question,
this idea of speaking with one
voice, does it in any way
contradict the idea that staff
are free without speaking with
the same voice as the rest of
the UN, or is UN management to
speak to the press, is
there…Spokesman: There's
no… it's just to ensure… I
think it's important from a
communications standpoint that
all our colleagues are fully
aware of the current state of
play of rules and
regulations. I think
you're con… I don't know the
English word, but you're
mixing up the two. I'll
come… I'll come back to you."
This while a UN compendium on
the discipline it meted out
from 1 July 2016 to 30 June
2017, obtained by Inner City
Press and put online here,
cites "mitigating
circumstances"
including "long
service in
mission
settings"
for
harassment, abuse and public
sex, and provides those
accused with compensation From
the UN document: "A staff
member sexually harassed an
individual, who had worked for
an entity external to the
Organization and then joined a
United Nations agency, by
making unwanted advances,
sending improper messages of a
sexual nature and continuing
to attempt to contact the
individual. There were
mitigating circumstances.
Disposition: separation from
service, with compensation in
lieu of notice and with
termination indemnity.... A
staff member repeatedly and
inappropriately touched the
body of another staff member
who was working in a
subordinate position in the
office of the former.
Disposition: a
fine of one month’s net base
salary and separation from
service, with compensation in
lieu of notice and without
termination indemnity. A staff
member performed a sexual act at
the workplace in the presence of
employees of a contractor, and
in a second instance, performed
a sexual act in public view.
Mitigating factors included the
staff member’s long service in
mission settings. Disposition:
separation from service, with
compensation in lieu of notice
and with termination indemnity."
This (mis) use of mitigating
factors hearkens back to the
just-previous head of UN
Peacekeeping, the fifth of six
Frenchmen in a row atop DPKO,
saying that peacekeepers
committed sexual abuse due to a
lack of "R&R," which most in
the UN(CA) press corps ignored.
On January 12 Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric had
no comment at all when Inner
City Press asked about the
widely reported sexual
harassment allegations against
the deputy chief of UNESCO,
Frank La Rue. When Inner City
Press asked a second time on
January 17, Dujarric said La Rue
is no longer in his position.
But what are the UN's policies,
now in light of the Guardian's
report and UN official Jan
Beagle's letter to the editor
about it? Inner City Press is
informed that on January 23
there was a UN wide conference
call on which two contradictory
positions were expressed: let
staff talk freely to the media,
or in the alternative, "speak
with one voice," meaning
control. Could this be Guterres'
"Global Communications"
strategy, a continuation of
censorship? On January 22, Inner
City Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript
here:
Inner City Press: as I'm sure
you know, Jan Beagle has written
to The Guardian about the series
about sexual harassment.
And, among other things, she
said, unequivocally, the UN
staff are free to speak… free to
speak to the media, which, if
true, is a great thing. I
just wanted to ask you about,
there's a UN rule that says that
for statements or announcements
to the press, permission is
required, and I'm aware of a
number of cases, but, for
example, the case of Emma Reilly
in the UN system at the Office
of the [United Nations] High
Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR), she was explicitly told
that she could not speak to the
press. And I know that
because that was explained to me
and… so… so can you just… what I
want to do, rather than…?
Can you make clear… if, in fact
you're announcing that staff can
speak freely and will not be
retaliated against, this would
be the time. Spokesman: I
understand. Okay.
There are media guidelines in
which staff members are told
they can speak to the press in
their areas of
responsibility. Obviously,
I think it's clear that they
should tell… they should do it
in concert with their
supervisors. There need to
be some coherence. But, I
think the larger point is, if a
staff member feels they have
been wronged, they have not…
they have exhausted every
avenue, they feel they live in a
climate of fear, the press
remains an outlet. Inner City
Press: I understand, as
whistle-blowers, there's all
kinds of rules of what… you have
to exhaust your ability inside
the system before you speak, but
that's not what Jan Beagle told
The Guardian. She said
staff aren't… aren't prohibited
at all, and I want to read you
something that… that Emma
Reilly… this was quoted to
her. “As a conduct
provision, within the UN system,
it would not be proper for
international civil servants to
air personal grievances or
criticize their organizations in
public.” And, obviously,
the type of harassment we're
talking about… Spokesman:
As I said, there are media
guidelines, and, obviously as…
I'll repeat what I've
said. If people feel
they've exhausted every avenue
and they need to “blow the
whistle” on a situation, the
press remains an outlet. Inner
City Press: Right, but if
they get retaliated against, can
they hold up the letter and…?
Spokesman: We do not want
to have… We are working, I
think, with great effort in
ensuring that we create an
atmosphere in which staff
members are… feel they can speak
up to their supervisors, to
other outlets, and report on
harassment or retaliation.
That is our focus. Yes,
sir. " Back on January 18, Inner
City Press asked Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: the article
just came out, but it describes
some policies that I think you
could address. One policy
that it mentions is that some UN
agencies have a six-month
statute of limitations on
complaints. Is that
something the Secretary-General
is interested in changing, and
another… Spokesman: I
don't know which UN agencies the
article is referring to.
What is clear is that the
Secretary-General wants to see,
across the board, in parts of
the UN over which he has no
direct-line authority — as you
know, some specialized agencies
and others, he has no direct
authority — but through the
Chief Executives Board, he wants
a harmonization and he wants
effective policies to be put in
place to ensure that people feel
free and comfortable coming
forward. Inner City Press: How
about comfortable
speaking? One of the… one
of… the article says that… that…
that those interviewed spoke on
condition of anonymity, quote,
partly because they are
precluded from talking publicly
by UN rules governing
staff. Can you say from
this podium that UN staff are
free to speak to the press about
abuse they suffer within the UN
from superiors? Spokesman:
No one is putting a gag
order. I don't… but you
know, obviously, those quotes
are anonymous quotes. I
can't address them. But
the whole point is to create an
atmosphere in which people who
have suffered harassment or who
are… feel comfortable to come
forward and speak and
comfortable enough without any
fear of retaliation, which would
be unacceptable. Inner City
Press: And the one last thing,
it talks about OIOS [Office of
Internal Oversight Services]
and… and interviewing the wrong
people and bungling
investigations. And I just
wondered, since… I think since
Ms. [Heidi] Mendoza took over, I
haven't seen her have a press
conference, and I'm just
wondering if… on this issue, if
this issue is important enough
in order to understand how
investigations are done.
Spokesman: Look, we will
have people come forward to talk
about investigations. I
can't speak for OIOS, but I
know… you know, I know as for…
they have been investigating
these cases, I think, 15 reports
in 2016 and about 17… 18 in
2017." So he had those numbers,
if-Pressed. Inner City Press
asked, if UNESCO's investigation
finds the allegations, including
that the victim had a mental
breakdown, are well founded,
should La Rue remain a UN
official? Periscope
video here.
Dujarric
had no comment. Here's
video of La Rue answering
Inner City Press' questions in
October 2016, saying he wants
"transparency in UN bodies."
Having heard nothing back from
Dujarric, despite sending him a
link about the La Rue case, on
January 17 Inner City Press
again asked Dujarric about it,
UN transcript here:
Inner
City Press: I'd
asked you, it was last week
about this Frank La Rue
complaint or case at UNESCO, and
so what is the position, I
understand that he's entitled to
due process… Spokesman:
"No, I think you may… you may
have seen that UNESCO announced
that he was relieved of his… of
his post. Whether it's
administrative leave, I don't
know what the exact term is, but
he's no longer in that… in that
function. UNESCO has its
own investigative mechanisms,
which are fully… fully under
way. And whether it's
UNESCO or the Secretariat,
there's obviously zero tolerance
for… for sexual harassment, and
the case will be… will be
investigated." We'll have more
on that - and this: throughout
2016 New Zealand documentary
maker Gaylene Preston and her
crew staked out the UN Security
Council along with Inner City
Press, awaiting the results of
the straw polls to elected Ban
Ki-moon's sucessor as UN
Secretary General. Preston's
focus was Helen Clark, the
former New Zealand prime
minister then in her second term
as Administrator of the UN
Development Program. Preston
would ask Inner City Press after
each poll, What about Helen
Clark's chances? Suffice it to
say Clark never caught fire as a
candidate. Inner City Press told
Preston, as did many other
interviewees in her documentary
“My Year with Helen,” that it
might be sexism. But it might be
power too - including Samantha
Power, the US Ambassador who
spoke publicly about gender
equality and then in secret cast
a ballot Discouraging Helen
Clark, and praised Antonio
Guterres for his energy (yet to
be seen). Samantha Power's
hypocrisy is called out in
Preston's film, in which New
Zealand's Ambassador complains
that fully four members of the
Council claimed to be the single
“No Opinion” vote that Clark
received. There was a private
screening of My Year With Helen
on December 4 at NYU's King Juan
Carlos Center, attended by a
range of UN staff, a New Zealand
designer of a website for the
country's proposal new flag, and
Ban Ki-moon's archivist, among
others. After the screening
there was a short Q&A
session. Inner City Press used
that to point out that Guterres
has yet to criticize any of the
Permanent Five members of the
Council who did not block him as
the US, France and China blocked
Clark, with Russia casting a “No
Opinion.” And that Guterres
picked a male from among
France's three candidates to
head UN Peacekeeping which they
own, and accepted males from the
UK and Russia for “their” top
positions. Then over New Zealand
wine the talk turned to the new
corruption at the UN, which is
extensive, and the upcoming
dubious Wall Street fundraiser
of the UN Correspondents
Association, for which some in
attendance had been shaken down,
as one put it, for $1200.
The UN needed and needs to be
shaken up, and hasn't been. But
the film is good, and should be
screened not in the UN
Censorship Alliance but directly
in the UN Security Council, on
the roll-down movie screen on
which failed envoys like Ismail
Ould Cheikh Ahmed are projected.
“My Year With Helen” is well
worth seeing.
***
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