At
UN Economic Commissions,
Politics of Job, Mercedes and
Elevators Like Guterres, Carpet
Bag
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS,
May 22 – How politicized are
the UN's regional economic
commissions and how much do
they come to mirror the man at
the top, Antonio Guterres?
Inner City Press on May 22
asked the UN about the Latin
America commission, ECLAC, and
exclusively heard more about
the one in Beirut, ESCWA.
At the May
22 UN noon briefing, Inner
City Press asked, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: Alicia
Bárcena, the head of ECLAC
[Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean],
has been named by Mexican
presidential candidate and
front-runner [Andrés Manuel]
López Obrador. He said
publicly that he would name
her to be Mexico's ambassador
to the UN. So, I'm just
wondering, what's the policy
of a sitting UN
official... it's not her
fault that he said that, but
I'm just wondering is there
some procedure at the UN when
a country or a… a front-runner
in an election says:
you'll be my person at the UN?
Spokesman: “Look, I
can't comment… I don't know
what the President said, but
we expect all senior UN
officials to apply the high
standard of ethics.”
Guterres
is planning to move
UN jobs to Mexico City, and
Barcena has gotten special
treatment for some staff at
her ECLAC. Meanwhile from
ESCWA in Lebanon Inner City
Press is exclusively informed
the Guterres' practice in New
York are being replicated, by
an official whose performance
as Iraq's Ambassador to the UN
Inner City Press has
positively reviewed, Mohamed
Ali Alhakim.
In New York,
Guterres drives an armored
black Mercedes; it seems a
request for one worth $160,000
has been made for ESCWA, as
well as a dedicated elevator
just like Guterres has. [This
last is blamed on the previous
Executive Secretary, on which
we may have more.] There's a
request for $35,000 worth of
Iranian carpets, including for
the "VIP room." This one,
Inner City Press has been
told, was questioned by an
official performing the
procurement function - who was
then disciplined up and out,
from Beirut to Rome, P4 to P5
despite muffled talk of being
a low performer. This is how
the UN works.
There's an
attempt to “freeze” a post for
the niece of a Lebanese
politician. A fish rots from
the head and it all starts on
the UN's 38th floor, where
Guterres and his spokesman are
trying to ban
Inner City Press'
live-streamed coverage, just
as they still restrict
Inner City Press to coming in
through the UN tourists
entrance and being required to
have UN minders.
We'll have more
on this - and on this: we're
told that of Guterres' new
Under Secretary General for
Political Affairs Rosemary
DiCarlo blocking off two full
hours for her predecessor
Jeffrey Feltman, who Inner
City Press is exclusively told
is vying with Jane Holl Lute
for the UN's cushy part-time
Cyprus envoy
job. Greece's foreign minister
Nikos Kotzias will meet
Guterres on May 23 - and
Guterres and Dujarric will try
to ban Inner City Press' live
stream coverage, as even Ban
Ki-moon never did. Watch this
site.
***
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