At the UN, Curt Eulogies for Dictator, Revolving Door
and Budget Left for the Last Day
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN
UNITED NATIONS, December 21 -- Left to the last day
before Christmas holidays are the UN's scale of assessments for its budget, its
revolving door policy, and the resolution on Iran. "I don't have much for you
today," Kofi Annan's spokesman said to kick off his Thursday noon briefing. The
dictator of Turkmenistan had died during the night, and Inner City Press asked:
"Does the Secretary-General have any comment about the passing of the leader of
Turkmenistan?"
Spokesman:
Yes, as a matter of fact, as you were asking me questions, I was given a
statement. It says the Secretary-General has learned of the sudden death of
Turkmen President Atayevich Niyazov. President Niyazov made important
contributions to United Nations peace processes in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the family of the late
President and to the people of Turkmenistan.
It is said that whenever a
head of state dies, no matter how repressive, the UN is required to lower the
country's flag, and to issue a statement, even if curt and perfunctory. A more
artful statement might have said, "the UN feels as the people of Turkmenistan
do." But this is, after all, the UN, a club of sovereigns, whatever their human
rights records.
UNDP praised Turkmanbashi
right
until the end
- click
here
for analysis for earlier this Fall. And remember -- the just-left
Under-Secretary General for Management now works at the (Deutsche) Bank where
Turkmenbashi stashed three billion dollars. We're still waiting for a comment,
from spokesmen here or there.
The Deputy Secretary General, it is
reported, was buzzing through the UN's basement, going to the General Assembly
meeting where the budget was discussed, saying, we can tell them anything we
want.
Multiple sources place the Deputy
Secretary General over the draft revolving door policy, which would have
prohibited ex-officials from lobbying the UN for two years. The DSG wants that
out; some say the plan is to set up a sort of private UNDP, to be funded with UN
money. Time will tell.
Revolving
door, but no revolving chair - farewell in Staff Cafeteria
The president of the General Assembly
gave a news conference, at which most questions concerned the
budget-down-to-the-wire, and what each country will pay. What is the difference,
you ask, between 4.5 years and the average between six and three? The European
Union, which has been growing fasted, would like to include the six past years
to calculate its income. Japan, more recently slowing, would like to count only
the last three. Compromise and leave town, the staffers whisper.
The GA president answered
Inner City Press' question about the failure to enact the declaration on the
rights of indigenous people by saying she has met with "three or four NGOs."
Video here, from Minute 19:35. The
UN's own write-up of the press conference
does not even include the issue - click
here
to view. Perhaps it is the holiday season: only happy news.
In other noon briefing action, Inner City
Press asked rapid-fire about Kosovo, Nepal, the revolving door policy and the
Office of Internal Oversight Services. From the
transcript:
Inner City Press: Yesterday, the [European
Union] EU confirmed that it
will oversee policing of the judiciary in Kosovo after the Ahtisaari
announcement, and the quote was, "the international community does not want to
remain doing this. Has Ahtisaari said anything to predict this?" Is that the
way it’s going?
Spokesman: I
can't and I would not want to prejudge the conclusions of Mr. Ahtisaari’s
report. There are obviously a lot of comments being made left, right and center
but we have to wait for Mr. Ahtisaari's report.
Inner City
Press: In Nepal, there were earlier reports that everything was going smoothly
and now the Maoists have called for a general strike. Has Ian Martin or anybody
said anything? Is that a threat to the process?
Spokesman:
Obviously we would very much hope that all the parties in Nepal who signed on to
the peace process follow the procedures that have been agreed to....
Inner City
Press: I think earlier it was said that [Office of Internal Oversight Services]
OIOS would give us a briefing, maybe before the end of this year. Is that going
to take place?
Spokesman:
OIOS told me they would be willing to give a briefing as soon as the resolution
regarding OIOS has been passed in the General Assembly. Gail isn’t here. I
will check with her. When that happens, we'll go back to OIOS.
Inner City
Press: If it's passed Friday, they wouldn’t hold the briefing then.
Spokesman: I
would think early in the year. The idea is not to bury the briefing.
Inner City
Press: No, and also, not to say this is being buried, but the anti-revolving
door policy? Will it be announced tomorrow, before noon or after noon?
Spokesman: We
are determined to get it done before the end of the year. It is being
finalized. I would be very happy to announce it for you tomorrow.
Inner City
Press: And Ibrahima Fall, first we learned that there are two of them yesterday.
Spokesman:
Each person is their own person. They just happen to share the same last name.
Question: And
first name. That's what's confusing. But the Great Lakes Ibrahima Fall, is he
continuing on with his Great Lakes mandate?
Spokesman: I
think the mandate is continuing. Who is the other Ibrahima Fall?
Q The UNICEF
Ibrahima Fall, who went to [ Central African Republic] CAR?
Spokesman:
That's two different people.
The tale of the two Falls, twin Falls, Fall guys,
will continue.
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A,
UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile
(and weekends): 718-716-3540
At the UN, Iran Resolution Goes Blue as Ivory Coast
is Traded Away With No Follow-up on Hmung
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN
UNITED NATIONS, December 20 -- The featured bout at
the Security Council on Wednesday was all about Iran, a "text in blue"
circulating after the sun went down to the ten elected members who were excluded
from the draft's negotiation. This exclusion perhaps explains the reference to
them as the "E-10." E not for elected but for excluded. Ambassador Peter Burian
of Slovakia asked reporters questions if he had felt cut out with the two word,
"I agree," adding that "we are not involved in the negotiations" but should have
been, "at an earlier stage."
When P-5 Ambassadors de la Sabliere of
France and Emyr Jones Parry of the UK emerged, they said that they are open to
feedback, if other members want "a conversation." But voting is slated for
Friday.
On Wednesday in Abidjan,
Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo in a speech said that the UN-established
buffer-zone should be eliminated, and that the UN "should leave soon." In light
of the recent UN Security Council resolution demanding that Gbagbo finally hold
elections, this speech gave rise to questions later on Wednesday at UN
Headquarters in New York. Kofi Annan's spokesman first spoke vaguely about "the
process," then in response to Inner City Press' question, more specifically
about the Gbagbo speech. Video
here.
From the
transcript:
Inner City
Press: On Ivory Coast, Gbagbo gave a speech in which he said the buffer zone
should be eliminated, and essentially, many people say, he wants to attack the
rebels again. Is there something more, it’s not just that the process isn’t
going forward. It’s that he said that the UN process and the resolution are
not, have accomplished nothing for Ivorian. Are either the envoys there or the
Secretary-General going to say something more than "it's going too slow?"
Spokesman:
We're obviously very concerned that no unilateral moves that would take place
outside of the agreed framework of the road map that’s been agreed by the
Security Council, with the African Union and ECOWAS. The UN has been in touch
with all the political parties to move together along the lines of the road map.
Later in the UN's second floor, Inner
City Press asked French Ambassador de la Sabliere what the Security Council
would do. Reference was made to issuing a Presidential Statement or PRST. But
when Inner City Press asked the Council's president for December, Qatar's
Ambassador, he said the Council is too busy working on Iran, he's aware of no
PRST. Another Council diplomat said France is taking the lead, and that because
of the Iran negotiations, some others in the Permanent Five are given France
more leeway on Ivory Coast than has recently been the case, apparently a
trade-off for a harsher stance on Iran.
A respected UN source, to whom this
scenario was described, said "Welcome to the UN" and asked how this is different
than the horse-trading in the U.S. Congress or many other national legislatures.
But are pork barrel project to fill potholes in Oklahoma City different than
peacekeeping forces in Abidjan?
Happier days in Cote D'Ivoire
At Wednesday's noon briefing
by Kofi Annan's spokesman, there were substantially more questions than answers,
on issues ranging from Nepal to the Hmong refugees threatened with refoulement
from Thailand back to Laos. From the
transcript:
Inner City Press: In Nepal, part of the
peace agreement, there's been a
threat by
the Maoists to call a national strike. Is the envoy there, or anyone, what is
the UN's position on whether the Government should have appointed ambassadors
before the Maoists?
Spokesman: I
don't have anything specific on that, I'm sorry.
Inner City Press: There was a letter by
Mrs. Coomaraswamy, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children
and Armed Conflict,
stating that
there is no question of her reappointment, her appointment runs through 2008.
So, I guess I'm wondering with all these [Special Representatives of the
Secretary-General] SRSGs, what is the process, is there any process for review
by the next Secretary-General or do those terms just run?
Spokesman: The
contracts of the [Under-Secretary-General] USG's end, if I'm not mistaken, early
next year. For the SRSGs, their contracts -- some of them run longer, they're
all on different terms. Obviously, it'll be up to the next administration to
decide how to proceed with those appointments or the retention of those people.
But, I can't speak to the post-1 January world.
This will
be re-visited in the "post-January 1st world," from which responses are awaited.
And now regarding the Hmong:
Inner City Press: These Hmong, people that
have left Laos and are in Thailand, governments in both
Laos and Thailand have said that
they are going to be returned to Laos, they say that they're facing death and
attacks by the Laotian military. I'm wondering, [Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees] UNHCR has said something. Is there some way to
find out thorough your office what is the status of that and what is actually?
Spokesman: We
can check with UNHCR.
And finally,
this question foreshadowing in the next day or two:
Inner City
Press: On this anti-revolving door policy, is it going to be definitely
announced before?
Spokesman: I
would very much like to be able to announce it before the end of this week.
Inner City
Press: Can you highlight to us, if there are any other policies that are going
to be finalized before the end of the year or before your last briefing? Is
there anything else on your radar screen?
Spokesman:
Yes, the two issues I do expect to announce something on -- one is the revolving
door policy and the other is the agreement having to do with the handling of the
papers from the Volcker Committee. We’d like to get those two things out and
done with before 31 December.
As previously reported, Inner City Press'
sources, as confirmed by a P-5 diplomat, indicate that a draft anti-revolving
door policy that would have prohibited lobbying for two years is being watered
down, by one of the 38th floor's powers in his final days...
At the UN, Jeffrey Sachs Answers the $75,000 Question
But Not on UNDP, Still Laudable Goals for 2025
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN- 16th in a series
UNITED NATIONS, December 20 -- Two faces of
development aid were on display Wednesday at the UN, and both on the same
person. Jeffrey Sachs took questions from journalists, urging them to "keep your
eye on" aid "commitments and gaps" to ensure funding for such initiative and
medicated bed-nets against malaria, and a Green Revolution in Africa project of
the Rockefeller and Gates Foundations. Smaller-scale, he acknowledged having
previously been paid $75,000 a year by the UN Development Program, but stated
that he has quite recently decided not to accept such funds in 2007 "so that
there will be no confusion." Some who welcomed the announcement expressed hope
that UNDP might someday become equally as adverse to confusion.
During the now three weeks of Inner City
Press' daily series on the UN Development Program, sources in UNDP have
described a process in which the entire staff of the UN Millennium Project,
which Mr. Sachs has led since 2002, was merged into UNDP, in seeming violation
of applicable recruiting and hiring rules. UNDP has stated in writing that it
will not respond to questions about these employment practices, nor will it
release audits, neither to the media nor to countries which fund UNDP. Regarding
Mr. Sachs, several UNDP sources suggested that inquiry be made into compensation
beyond the previously announced One Dollar a Year service to the Secretary
General.
On December 6, UNDP finally wrote to
Inner City Press, as is relevant to this story, that
Subject: RE:
Additional Qs re UNDP
From:
cassandra.waldon [at] undp.org
To: Inner City Press
Sent: Wed, 6 Dec 2006 6:27 PM
Dear
Matthew...we have decided to merge the work of the Millennium Project into UNDP.
To this end, UNDP has set up a new sub-unit in our poverty group, which will
consist of some 20 positions. To complete the integration by the end of the
year, UNDP management is using an expedited competitive recruiting process for
five lead positions. These five positions have been advertised and are in the
process of being filled. Five other positions do not require a competitive
process under UNDP recruitment procedures and will be filled with people
currently working for the Millennium Project. All other positions will be
recruited according to standard UNDP recruitment procedures, and this process is
on-going.
For the record,
Jeffrey Sachs will continue to be involved with the UN’s effort on the
Millennium Development Goals. As of 1 January, he will serve as Special Adviser
to UNDP on the Millennium Development Goals. His salary will continue to be
$75,000 per year.
Outside spokeswoman Erin Trowbridge had
previously confirmed in response to Inner City Press' questions that Mr. Sachs
was being paid $75,000; UNDP stated that this would continue in 2007.
Wednesday Inner City Press
asked Mr. Sachs for his view on whether UNDP should, like the UN Secretary, make
full copies of its audits available to any member state which asks, rather than
only providing summaries of audits, and then only to the 36 nations on UNDP's
Executive Committee, as is currently the case at UNDP. Inner City Press had on
Monday asked the same question to the
prime minister of Spain, who
said, yes, that should happen, "of course."
"I don't have any considered view or any
expertise on this," Mr. Sachs responded on Wednesday, declining to comment
further on audits.
Inner City Press then asked Mr. Sachs to
comment on the complaints of UNDP staff that the Millennium Project personnel
are being brought into UNDP in violation of staff rules -- "making a mockery,"
one impacted UNDP staffer called it.
"I am not aware of any of that process,"
Mr. Sachs said. "I don't do that stuff."
"But isn't it the case that you are paid
$75,000 a year by UNDP?" Inner City Press asked.
"That was during the
Millennium Project. Is it not the case going forward," Mr. Sachs said. Video
here,
from Minute 12:20.
Inner City Press wanted to ask about
UNDP's statement, two weeks ago, that these payments would be made in 2007 as
well, but the moderator turned to another reporter, promising to allow further
questions from Inner City Press later.
Messrs.
Sachs and Annan
Mr. Sachs went on to speak of bed-nets
and projects in Malawi, to praise Hillary Benn of the UK and a fertilizer
conference in Nigeria. A reporter from a salmon-colored daily opined that UNDP's
Administrator Kemal Dervis has been missing in action for 14 months, and that
UNDP's communications office is barely function, other than to strike back at
reporters in attempts at brand control; he referred to the sound of tumbleweed
blowing down First Avenue. Mr. Sachs responded that Mr. Dervis has been busy
with the high level panel on coherence, after which the level of emailing has
"scaled up."
Once allowed another question, Inner City
Press asked about UNDP's email of December 6. "Was that not true at the time?"
"That's not true," Mr. Sachs said. "I
will take in one dollar in salary, honorary."
Inner City Press asked Mr. Sachs to
explain accepting the payments in previous years, after acknowledging that it's
not a huge amount of money.
"To tell you the truth, I'm
not really sure," Mr. Sachs said. "I took a modest salary, it's not modest for
most of the world [but] modest in the context of round the clock work for four
years, sir." Mr. Sachs paused. "I did not do this job for the money, I can
assure you," he said. Video
here,
from Minute 43:56. This final line, but neither the correct figures or
quotes, appear in the UN's official write-up of the briefing, click
here
to view. Then again, the
write-up
on UN's "unofficial" News Service did not mention any figure, or the issues, at
all, click
here
to view. (The UN's reflexive is sometimes Orwellian defensiveness and
revisionism is not, we're clear, the fault of Professor Sachs.)
After the press conference was over and
the cameras were turned off, Mr. Sachs repeated to Inner City Press, "I did not
do this job for the money, I've had much more lucrative offers."
Inner City Press asked when the decision
was made to not accept the money in 2007.
Very recently, was the answer.
Presumably after UNDP's December 6 email. Why, then, didn't UNDP send Inner City
Press an update, in which case the $75,000 question would not have come up at
Mr. Sachs' press conference, and MDG questions could have been asked, such as
the one Inner City Press posed afterwards:
If in
Chad
the percentage of people with access to improved water systems
rose
from 19% to 42%, while that is in a sense cutting the problem in half, is 42%
acceptable? Mr. Sachs pointed out at the Goal is to cut in half those without
access to clean water. Can a metric be designed to not provide "false positives"
of acceptable levels of being confined to unclear water? We'll see.
Mr. Sachs said, "I know you mean well,
but be careful."
News analysis: While a
right-tilting but sunny journalist afterwards quipped that he'd say the same to
Mr. Sachs, Inner City Press wants to distinguish between legitimate journalistic
inquiry into UNDP, and the wider UN's system of Dollar-A-Year promoters, and any
attack on the goals Mr. Sachs promotes: the eradication of extreme poverty by
2025. There are lacks of transparency, and the wasting of bottled-up talents
from below due to favoritism and a star-system at the top -- but eradication of
extreme poverty is the goal, to be advanced in 2007 and beyond. Mr. Sachs'
defenses of Africa against stereotypes are also heartfelt and much needed, and
should and surely will continue.
A wider development scandal,
as pointed out by Mr. Pink, is the World Food Program's function of dumping
surplus U.S. commodities and thereby undermining Africa's own agricultural
markets, and then swooping in as the hero to solve a problem WFP itself has
helped create. With
Josette Shearan Shiner
slated to take the WFP reigns at year's end, that too will be a focus.
Again, because a number of Inner City Press' UNDP sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the
poor, and while it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to
conclude this installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the
stated goals of UNDP and many of its staff. As they used to say on TV game
shows, keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we
apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the
information flowing.
Burundi Spin at the UN, Amid Coup Trial and Ceasefire
Not Implemented, Great Lakes Commission Moves In
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at
the UN
UNITED NATIONS, December 20 -- As the UN
Operation in Burundi is slated to end on December 31, at UN Headquarters on
Wednesday a briefing was held, complete with "End of Mission Press Kit." This
contained photos of Burundi and much happy talk about the country's future. But
was Inner City Press asked in the briefing, the
ceasefire agreement has yet to be
implemented, and the previous
president is currently on trial for an alleged coup attempt. In line with a
recent
cautionary speech
by the UN's own William Lacy Swing, envoy to the Congo, is now the time for the
UN to pull out?
"It is an issue concern, there is no
doubt," said Nureldin Satti, Acting Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Burundi. "The ceasefire has not been implemented," the
problem turns on one of "provision immunity." Through the Arusha process, rebels
and those in the "political class" are to receiving interim immunity until a
truth and reconciliation commission and high chamber are established. The
result, according to another UN staffer, is that there are young men with guns
in camps around Bujumbura, and not enough jobs to be had.
Inner City Press also asked
about the
coup trial
of Domitien Ndayizeye. "I'd like to trust the government to respect and abide by
due process," said Nureldin Satti. Good luck.
Thai
peacekeepers leaving Burundi
After a later Security Council briefing
by Ibrahima Fall, about the Greak Lakes peace process, Inner City Press asked
Mr. Fall about conditions in Burundi. Mr. Fall repeated, as if by rote, that the
UN has done a great job in the countries of the Great Lakes, an assertion that
many, including in the UN system, would challenge. Inner City Press asked about
immunity not only in Burundi but also for Joseph Kony, the head of Uganda's
Lord's Resistance Army. Mr. Fall's response predicted a balancing of justice and
peace. But when asked what this balancing might consist of, Fall only said it
would be found in Juba. They're still looking.
It turns out, as one generally sharp
correspondent in French found out, that there are two Ibrahima Falls in the UN
system, and it's the other Fall, the Fall guy, who recently visited the
Central African Republic. Similarly there are two Lamine Cisse's, although at
least each spelling somewhat different.
The Great Lakes Commission is
establishing its Secretariat in Bujumbura, clearly an expression of hope and
confidence. We wish them well.
At the
UN, Annan's Long Goodbye, With Oil for Food in the Air and Hothouse Musical
Chairs
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN
UNITED NATIONS,
December 19 -- Tuesday Kofi Annan said multiple goodbyes. What he did not
cast off was a deep-seated resentment of the press for its role in developing
the story of the Oil for Food program. Even as staff were applauding him, he
brought the issue up. As one Annan supporter told Inner City Press, "Kofi should
have defended Oil for Food two years ago. Now it sounds defensive." Meanwhile more concrete and pervasive fixes to
transparency have yet to be accomplished, and the pending anti-revolving door
policy, slated to be signed by Annan this week, has reportedly been watered down
(by Annan's Deputy, according to a Security Council source on Tuesday.)
This
column covers Mr. Annan's final press conference, his farewell to staff in the
UN cafeteria, including staff members' tributes, and a final, similar speech he
delivered to journalists later in the evening in the Delegates' dining room.
Inevitably it touches on the still-heating-up search for jobs, the musical
chairs and agita upstairs. Throughout the day Mr. Annan returned again
and again to the Oil for Food scandal, and to a call that it was a "one-off,"
and that UN staff should not be painted with a broad brush. This last was said
in response to Inner City Press' question at Mr. Annan's final press conference.
Transcript below, and video
here,
from Minute 41:45.
Not
raised at Mr. Annan's press conference was not only a car still-unresolved, not
only Mr. Annan's ultimate non-action on human rights in Zimbabwe, but even the
outright war heating up in Somalia. Many said the presser was too bland and made
no news. Perhaps because he was leaving, questions such as "tell us your top
three achievements" were asked. Click
here for
the full one-hour video -- one detail it misses was a fly that buzzed around the
rostrum at the press conference began, incongruous and alive and then suddenly
gone.
At
Annan's farewell to staff, there was a crowd standing out in the lobby. Some
said the event should have been held in the GA hall or some larger venue. Inside
the cafeteria, Mr. and Mrs. Annan were on a raised area where usually lunch is
eaten. Tributes were given by staff members.
Robin
Delarocca spoke movingly of her service, and of to whom Mr. Annan says hello in
the UN hallways. Gordon Tapper told a story about Mr. Annan given allergy
medicine to his wife. Three of Mr. Annan's security team -- two left without
last names, John and Louie, by the third, a comedian, who will also go unnamed
-- handed him a mock-up grounds pass, two feet tall with the word "RETIREE" down
the left side. "It's a good picture," the master of ceremonies said. "I should
have used you more, as an M.C. at these things," said Ahmad Fawzi, previously a
spokesman, now head of the media division of the Department of Public
Information.
To
venture into the musical chairs of positions, because the topic is so much
discussed within UN headquarters these days without being covered elsewhere, the
current spokesman is said to be seeking a Fawzi-like position. Another opines
that after a sufficient time away, Ban Ki-moon might bring him back. "They sure
could do worse." The scuttlebutt on Peacekeeping is that the mysterious vote
against Mr. Ban during a summer straw poll was from France, to signal it wanted
to keep the DPKO slot. Whether it will remain Mr. Guehenno, who ambled into the
staff cafeteria to hear Annan's goodbye, remains to be seen. DPKO deputy Hedi
Annabi gave a speech, how Mr. Annan called his home on a Saturday evening and
asked to speak to his wife. Mr. Annabi said this was Annan's way of apologizing
for having to call on a Saturday evening. The scuttlebutt on the U.S.
peacekeeping ambitions has them gunning for the Number Two spot. But who would
take the Saturday evening call with the aplomb of Annabi?
More
reachable by email is Jan Pronk, former SRSG for Sudan, who was in Headquarters
on Tuesday. Inner City Press caught up with him on the escalator, in the S-G's
view; blogging was discussed and best wishes were offered. It is a charitable
season: earlier on Tuesday, when Inner City Press asked the Vice President of
Iraq for his review of SRSG Qazi, it was effusive. Video
here.
Last
presser, long goodbye
During
the cafeteria ceremony, the representative of New York UNICEF's staff
association noted that Mr. Annan at his press conference earlier in the day had
"reminded a reporter of the hard work" of the staff. See transcript below. There
are many talented staffers who could do more to help the world than their
supervisors, sometimes cronies and yes, sometimes abusive, allow. Beyond Oil for
Food, which Annan mentioned twice in his cafeteria farewell, what for example of
the ex-head of UNHCR and the charges of sexual harassment? In Inner City Press'
ongoing UNDP series, what of
Kalman Mizsei,
until recently the head of Europe and CIS States? Did the lack of coverage of
such behavior help the UN or its staff in any way? This is why aggressive
investigative and workplace reporting should be encouraged and not, as Mr. Annan
put it, "painted with a broad brush."
From the
press conference transcript:
Inner City Press: Mr. Secretary-General,
I’m going to use the word “transparency” rather than “corruption”. UN reform has
been a theme in recent years. But some are saying that it has been focused
mostly on the Secretariat, not on the funds, programs and agencies of the UN
system. Recently an investigative series about UNDP: your Deputy
Secretary-General had only harsh words for it. But the Spanish [Prime Minister]
yesterday, sitting where you are, joined
a call for transparency or providing
audits of UNDP to all the Member States,
rather than as is the case now, only summaries to some Member States. I am
wondering what you see as the next steps, in terms of increased transparency in
the whole UN system, not only the Secretariat, and what you see as the next
steps in UN reform more generally.
The
Secretary-General: Well, obviously, I don’t know what my successor will have in
mind. But the UN and its agencies have tried to be as transparent and
responsible, for the resources entrusted to them, and they do provide records to
their governing board and to the countries supporting them. Quite a few of these
institutions have already gone through their own reform, from UNDP to UNICEF to
UNHCR, and the other agencies -- ILO, UNESCO -- have gone through their own
institutions and report to their own governing board. And I hope they will
remain vigilant and continue to do so. I don’t have the details of the issue you
are referring to, but UNDP is a very responsible and serious organization and
highly respected.
Obviously,
I cannot say that there may not be one or two bad apples, as we have here and we
have in any other institutions. But again, we have to be careful not to
generalize and tar every staff member with the same brush. I have often said
that the UN staff and people in these agencies deserve our appreciation and
thanks. They often serve in places where Governments are afraid to send their
troops, and they really do a lot for the world. So we should also look at some
of the contributions they make, not always trying to look for something to hit
them on the head with. If there’s something that is wrong, you should criticize,
but you should also look at the positive work that they do.
As to the
statement that he is unaware of the "specific issues" about UNDP's policy of not
providing copies of audits to any members states that ask (as even the
Secretariat does), but only summaries of audits to those on its executive board,
Inner City Press' UNDP series has
laid these differences out, and UNDP Number Two
Ad Melkert last week acknowledged the
difference and that it should be fixed.
Note that
back on June 23, 2006, Inner City Press asked Mr. Annan about UNDP and
documents. From the
transcript:
Inner City
Press: Mr. Secretary-General, this is also on small arms. Earlier in the week I
asked your spokesperson about UNDP-funded disarmament in Uganda of pastoralist
tribes that use the guns really to defend their herds. I guess what I want to
ask is, although we are still pursuing it, there seem to be abuses in the
program; we have asked how much funding UNDP provides for the disarmament of
pastoralist tribes. I will say that for four days we have been unable to get
even a number about how much is funded. So I guess, this idea of freedom of
information act, which I once asked you about before? Is it your sense that a
UNDP agency should be able to, in four days, disclose how much it is funding a
program?
SG: I am not
sure I would tie that to a freedom of information act. I am not sure whom at
UNDP you asked, but this kind of information is generally open; the UN
peacekeeping budgets are open, and the amounts of money we spend on disarmament
efforts are public information, for the public. So I really don't know whom you
asked in UNDP, and why you haven't got it. And really, don't expect me to give
you an answer. But I wish you pursue it. They should be able to give it to you.
The above
concerned
UNDP's funding of a plan involving
disarmament in Karamoja, where
soon the Ugandan army was killing women and children in the name of disarmament,
as decried by the UN's own Louise Arbour. In June 2006, Mr. Annan stated he
didn't know about these UNDP issues. On wider UNDP issues in December 2006, a
similar answer. Is it time for more hands-on? Some say it is.
But on
the issue of treating UN staff fairly, there is much to be said. There are many
talented staffers who could do more to help the world than their supervisors,
sometimes cronies and yes, sometimes abusive, allow. So to not inquire into
these problems is not a favor to staff -- quite the opposite.
Mr.
Annan's cafeteria talk ranged, as he put it, from P1 to the top, from WHO in
Geneva in 1962, through applications for Brazzaville or Alexandria in Egypt, to
ECA in Addis Ababa for six years through DPKO to the top. He praised his team on
the thirty-eighth floor, including "Nadia and Sergio and Elizabeth Lindenmeyer
and Riza." One wanted to hear thanks to, for example, Edward Mortimer,
supervisor of words, who at the final goodbye of the evening confirmed not only
that the same staffer wrote Kofi Annan's and Ban Ki-moon's jigsaw-like speeches
for the Correspondents' Association dinner, but that the staff has done it two
other times, on Monday night and at an IPA event. Annan on Tuesday thanked
deputies past and present, and "the first woman chef de cabinet -- but hopefully
not the last!"
This
seemed directed at Ban Ki-moon. For his deputy slot, there's talk of Colombia
and foreign minister, of the head of UNFPA, and, perhaps more promising on human
rights, of the head of UN-HABITAT, she of the detailed report on the Mugabe
regime's mass evictions in Zimbabwe. Some concerns are being expressed about the
speed, or lack thereof, in the naming of names. One Security Council source on
Tuesday told Inner City Press that this holiday season, with so many on
vacation, is a time to keep watch on the still-smoke-filled rooms. Keeping
watch is what we do -- check this site.
Again, as they used to say on TV game
shows, keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we
apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the
information flowing.
Other Inner City Press
reports are available in the ProQuest service and some are archived on
www.InnerCityPress.com --
UNDP's Ad
Melkert Says He Will Finally Increase Transparency, Describes Fraud in
Russia, Dodges Uganda
In Eastern
Congo, Kidnapper of UN Peacekeepers Is Made a Colonel, Clooney And Now
Guehenno Might Stay
At the UN,
Ocampo 1 Says Kony To Jail and Ocampo 2 Sees No Serious Bertucci
Charges, Dueling Parties
In UNDP's Book,
Strong's Scandals Are Missing, While Workers Complain, MMB Schmoozes the
Korean Mission
At UNDP, Flighty
Rhetoric Founders in Mismanagement, MMB's Net, a Genocidaire and Whither
ECOSOC
At the UN,
Disabled Are Freed from a Footnote, Murky Answers from Gbagbo to Kosovo
to a Genocidaire
Countering UN's
Vanity Press, UNDP Histories from Below, Brussels and Two Views of Omar
Bakhet
At the UN,
Indigenous Indignation, Revolving Door Mysteries and Peace Pipe
Belatedly Smoked
At the UN,
Questions of Congo Mass Graves and Kazana, Mugabe and Forests and Rich
German Ships
UNDP Is
Important For The Poor, and Therefore Must Be Made Transparent
As UN
Speechifies, UNDP Audits Are Still Being Withheld, While War in Somalia
and Sudan, Pronk Blogs On
Waste, Fraud and
Abuse at UNDP in Vietnam, While UN Secretariat Urges Censorship
At the UN,
Questions of Humanitarian Aid and Congo Body Count, Despots' Crackdown
on Dissent
In UNDP,
Questions of Money Wasted, Neutrality Trampled, Russian Office Audits
Withheld and Sachs Expenses
From Baidoa
to the UN, Denials on Ethiopian Troops Being in Somalia, Resolution Is
Passed
Retaliation
Found at UNDP, While Dervis Is Focused on Turkey, In Two Weeks Will Take
Questions
Annan's
Spokesman Silent on 150 Dead in Congo, War in Somalia - But in Loud
Defense of UNDP's $567,000 Book
At the UN,
Interlopers into Somalia Are Discussed, With Chadian Pull-Back,
Peacekeepers and Uganda's Karamoja
UNDP Spent
$567,000 on Book to Praise Itself, While the Well-Placed Feed Off UNDP's
Core Budget and Prime Postings
As UNDP Questions
Mount, Mark Malloch Brown Calls Them Irresponsible, Answers Only in
Vanity Press
In UNDP Series,
Questions of Jeffrey Sachs and Associates Payments, From $1 to $75,000
From Sleaze in
Vietnam to Fights in DC-1, UNDP Appears Out of Control at the Top
On Somalia,
Past Arms Embargo Violations Forgiven in Zeal to Contain Islamic Courts
In UNDP, Drunken
Mis-Managers on the Make Praised and Protected, Meet UNDP's Kalman
Mizsei
From Violent
Disarmament in Uganda to the National Bank of Serbia, UNDP Leaves Others
to Answer for It
UNDP Sources Say
Dervis Fires Malloch Brown-linked Officials, Then Offers Hush-Up Jobs
On Somalia, Fiji
and Oil-for-Food, UN Ambiguity Leads to Hypocrisy and Corruption
At the UN,
Indigenous Rights Get Deferred, As U.S. Abstains, Deftly or Deceptively
At the UN,
Threat and Possible Statement on Fiji Spotlights Selection and Payment
of UN Peacekeepers
At the UN, China
and Islamic Dev't Bank Oppose Soros and World Bank On How to Fight
Poverty
At the UN,
Misdirection on Somalia and Myanmar, No Answers from UNDP's Kemal Dervis
UNDP Dodges
Questions of Disarmament Abuse in Uganda and of Loss of Togo AIDS Grant,
Dhaka Snafu
At the UN, The
Swan Song of Jan Egeland and the Third Committee Loop, Somalia Echoes
Congo
UN Silent As
Protesters Tear Gassed in Ivory Coast, As UNMOVIC Plods On and War
Spreads in Somalia
In the UN,
Uzbekistan Gets a Pass on Human Rights As Opposition to U.S. Grows and
War's On in Somalia
At the UN,
Cluster Bombs Unremembered, Uighurs Disappeared and Jay-Z Returns with
Water -- for Life
From the UN,
Silence on War Crimes Enforcement and Conflicts of Interest on Complaint
from Bahrain
En Route to
Deutsche Bank, the UN's Door Revolves, While Ban Ki-moon Arrives and
Moldova Spins
As Two UN
Peacekeepers Are Killed, UN Says Haiti's Improving, Ban Ki-moon on
Zimbabwe?
Nagorno-Karabakh President Disputes Fires and Numbers, Oil and UN, in
Exclusive Interview with Inner City Press
Inside the UN,
Blaming Uganda's Victims, Excusing Annan on Mugabe, and U.S. Blocked
Darfur Trip
U.S. Blocked
Council's Trip to Darfur Meeting, Brazzaville Envoy Explains After U.S.
Casts a Veto
At the UN,
Council Works Overtime To Cancel Its Trip About Darfur, While DC Muses
on John Bolton
UN Panel's
"Coherence" Plan Urges More Power to UNDP, Despite Its Silence on Human
Rights
On Water, UNDP
Talks Human Rights, While Enabling Violations in Africa and Asia, With
Shell and Coca-Cola
Will UN's
Revolving Door Keep Human Rights Lost, Like Bush's Call and WFP
Confirmation Questions?
On Somalia,
We Are All Ill-Informed, Says the UN, Same on Uganda, Lurching Toward
UNDP Power Grab
On WFP, Annan and
Ban Ki-Moon Hear and See No Evil, While Resume of Josette Sheeran Shiner
Is Edited
Would Moon
Followers Trail Josette Sheeran Shiner into WFP, As to U.S. State Dep't?
At the UN,
Positions Are Up For the Grabbing, Sun's Silence on Censorship, Advisor
Grabs for Gun
In WFP Race,
Josette Sheeran Shiner Praises Mega Corporations from Cornfield While
State Spins
At the UN,
Housing Subsidy Spin, Puntland Mysteries of UNDP and the Panama Solution
In Campaign to
Head UN WFP, A Race to Precedents' Depths, A Murky Lame Duck Appointment
At the UN,
Gbagbo and his Gbaggage, Toxic Waste and Congolese Sanctions
WFP Brochure-Gate? John Bolton Has Not Seen Brochure
of "Official" U.S. Candidate to Head World Food Program
Ivory Coast
Stand-Off Shows Security Council Fault Lines: News Analysis
At the UN,
It's Groundhog's Day on Western Sahara, Despite Fishing Deals and
Flaunting of the Law
"Official" U.S.
Candidate to Head WFP Circulates Brochure With Pulitzer Claim, UN Staff
Rules Ignored
Senegal's
President Claims Peace in Casamance and Habre Trial to Come, A Tale of
Two Lamines
A Tale of Two
Americans Vying to Head the World Food Program, Banbury and Sheeran
Shiner
At the UN, the Unrepentant Blogger Pronk, a Wink
on 14 North Korean Days and Silence on Somalia
At the UN,
Literacy Losses in Chad, Blogless Pronk and Toothless Iran Resolution,
How Our World Turns
Sudan Pans Pronk
While Praising Natsios, UN Silent on Haiti and WFP, Ivorian Fingers
Crossed
UN Shy on North
Korea, Effusive on Bird Flu and Torture, UNDP Cyprus Runaround, Pronk is
Summoned Home
At the UN,
Silence from UNDP on Cyprus, from France on the Chad-Bomb, Jan Pronk's
Sudan Blog
Russia's Vostok
Battalion in Lebanon Despite Resolution 1701, Assembly Stays Deadlocked
and UNDP Stays Missing
As
Turkmenistan Cracks Down on Journalists, Hospitals and Romance, UNDP Works
With the Niyazov Regime
At the UN,
Darfur Discussed, Annan Eulogized and Oil For Food Confined to a
Documentary Footnote
With All Eyes
on Council Seat, UN is Distracted from Myanmar Absolution and Congo
Conflagration
As Venezuela and
Guatemala Square Off, Dominicans In Default and F.C. Barcelona De-Listed
At the UN, North
Korea Sanctions Agreed On, Naval Searches and Murky Weapons Sales
At the UN,
Georgia Speaks of Ethnic Cleansing While Russia Complains of Visas
Denied by the U.S.
At the UN,
Deference to the Congo's Kabila and Tank-Sales to North Korea, of
Slippery Eels and Sun Microsystems
At the UN,
Annan's Africa Advisor Welcome Chinese Investment, Dodges Zimbabwe, Nods
to Darfur
At the UN,
Richard Goldstone Presses Enforcement on Joseph Kony, Reflecting Back on
Karadzic
UN Defers on
Anti-Terror Safeguards to Member States, Even in Pakistan and Somalia
Afghanistan
as Black Hole for Info and Torture Tales, Photos and Talk Mogadishu, the
UN Afterhours
Amid UN's Korean
Uproar, Russia Silent on Murder of Anna Politkovskaya, Chechnya Exposer
UN Envoy Makes
Excuses for Gambian Strongman, Whitewashing Fraud- and Threat-Filled
Election
Sudan's UN
Envoy Admits Right to Intervene in Rwanda, UNICEF Response on Terrorist
Groups in Pakistan
At the UN, As
Next S-G is Chosen, Annan Claims Power to Make 5-Year Appointments,
Quiet Filing and Ivory Coast Concessions
Chaos in UN's
Somalia Policy, Working With Islamists Under Sanctions While Meeting
with Private Military Contractors
U.S. Candidate
for UN's World Food Program May Get Lame Duck Appointment, Despite
Korean Issues
At the
UN, U.S. Versus Axis of Airport, While Serge Brammertz Measures
Non-Lebanese Teeth
Exclusion from
Water Is Called Progress, of Straw Polls and WFP Succession
William Swing
Sings Songs of Congo's Crisis, No Safeguards on Coltan Says Chairman of
Intel
Warlord in the
Waldorf and Other Congo Questions Dodged by the UN in the Time Between
Elections
In Some New
Orleans, Questions Echo from the South Bronx and South Lebanon
In New Orleans,
While Bone Is Thrown in Superdome, Parishes Still In Distress
At the UN, Tales
of Media Muzzled in Yemen, Penned in at the Waldorf on Darfur, While
Copters Grounded
US's Frazer
Accuses Al-Bashir of Sabotage, Arab League of Stinginess, Chavez of
Buying Leaders -
Click
here for
video file by Inner City Press.
Third Day of UN
General Debate Gets Surreal, Canapes and Killings, Questions on Iran and
Montenegro and Still Somalia
On Darfur, Hugo
Chavez Asks for More Time to Study, While Planning West Africa Oil
Refinery
At the UN, Ivory
Coast Discussed Without Decision on Toxic Politics, the Silence of
Somalia
Evo Morales
Blames Strike on Mobbed-Up Parasites, Sings Praise of Coca Leaf and Jabs
at Coca-Cola
Musharraf Says
Unrest in Baluchistan Is Waning, While Dodging Question on Restoring
Civilian Rule
At the UN, Cyprus
Confirms 'Paramilitary' Investigation, Denies Connection to Def Min
Resignation, CBTB Update
A Tale
of Three Leaders, Liberia Comes to Praise and Iran and Sudan to Bury the UN
UN Round-up:
Poland's President Says Iraq Is Ever-More Tense While Amb. Bolton Talks
Burmese Drugs, Spin on Ivory Coast
As UN's Annan
Now Says He Will Disclose, When and Whether It Will Be to the Public and
Why It Took So Long Go Unasked
At the UN,
Stonewalling Continues on Financial Disclosure and Letter(s) U.S.
Mission Has, While Zimbabwe Goes Ignored
At the UN,
Financial Disclosure Are Withheld While Freedom of Information Is
Promised, Of Hollywood and Dictators' Gift Shops
UN's Annan Says
Dig Into Toxic Dumping, While Declining to Discuss Financial Disclosure
A Still-Unnamed
Senior UN Official in NY Takes Free Housing from His Government,
Contrary to UN Staff Regulations
UN Admits To
Errors in its Report on Destruction of Congolese Village of Kazana,
Safeguards Not In Place
As UN Checks
Toxins in Abidjan, the Dumper Trafigura Figured in Oil for Food Scandal,
Funded by RBS and BNP Paribas
Targeting of
African Americans For High Cost Mortgages Grew Worse in 2005, While Fed
Downplays Its Own Findings
The UN and
Nagorno-Karabakh: Flurries of Activity Leave Frozen Conflicts Unchanged;
Updates on Gaza, Gavels and Gbagbo
The UN Cries
Poor on Lawless Somalia, While Its Ex-Security Chief Does Business
Through Ruleless Revolving Door
At the UN,
Micro-States Simmer Under the Assembly's Surface, While Incoming Council
President Dodges Most Questions
"Horror Struck"
is How UN Officials Getting Free Housing from Governments Would Leave
U.S., Referral on Burma But Not Uzbekistan
Security Council
President Condemns UN Officials Getting Free Housing from Governments,
While UK "Doesn't Do It Any More"
At the UN,
Incomplete Reforms Allow for Gifts of Free Housing to UN Officials by
Member States
Rare UN Sunshine
From If Not In Chad While Blind on Somalia and Zimbabwe, UNDP With Shell
in its Ear on Nigeria
Annan Family
Ties With Purchaser from Compass, Embroiled in UN Scandal, Raise
Unanswered Ethical Questions
At the UN, from
Casamance to Transdniestria, Kosovars to Lezgines, Micro-States as
Powerful's Playthings
Inquiry Into
Housing Subsidies Contrary to UN Charter Goes Ignored for 8 Weeks, As
Head UN Peacekeeper Does Not Respond
On the UN -
Corporate Beat, Dow Chemical Luncheon Chickens Come Home to Roost
Stop Bank
Branch Closings and Monopolies in the Katrina Zone, Group Says,
Challenging Regions- AmSouth Merger
Ship-Breakers
Missed by UN's Budget for Travel and Consultants in Bangladesh, Largest
UNIFIL Troop Donor
With Somalia on
the Brink of Horn-Wide War, UN Avoids Question of Ethiopian Invasion
In UN's Lebanon
Frenzy, Darfur Is Ignored As Are the Disabled, "If You Crave UNIFIL,
Can't You Make Do With MONUC?"
UN Decries
Uzbekistan's Use of Torture, While Helping It To Tax and Rule; Updates
on UNIFIL and UNMIS Off-Message
On Lebanon,
Russian Gambit Focuses Franco-American Minds, Short Term Resolution Goes
Blue Amid Flashes of Lightening
Africa Can Solve
Its Own Problems, Ghanaian Minister Tells Inner City Press, On LRA Peace
Talks and Kofi Annan's Views
At the UN, Jay-Z
Floats Past Questions on Water Privatization and Sweatshops, Q'Orianka
Kilcher in the Basement
In the UN
Security Council, Speeches and Stasis as Haiti is Forgotten, for a
Shebaa Farms Solution?
UN Knew of Child
Soldier Use by Two Warlords Whose Entry into Congo Army the UN
Facilitated
Impunity's in
the Air, at the UN in Kinshasa and NY, for Kony and Karim and MONUC for
Kazana
UN Still Silent
on Somalia, Despite Reported Invasion, In Lead-Up to More Congo Spin
UN's Guehenno
Says Congo Warlord Just Needs Training, and Kazana Probe Continues
With Congo
Elections Approaching, UN Issues Hasty Self-Exoneration as Annan Is
Distracted
In DR Congo, UN
Applauds Entry into Army of Child-Soldier Commander Along with Kidnapper
Spinning the
Congo, UN Admits Hostage Deal with Warlord That Put Him in Congolese
Army
At the UN, Dow
Chemical's Invited In, While Teaming Up With Microsoft is Defended
Kofi Annan
Questioned about Congolese Colonel Who Kidnapped Seven UN Soldiers
UN Silent As
Congolese Kidnapper of UN Peacekeepers Is Made An Army Colonel: News
Analysis
UN's Guehenno
Speaks of "Political Overstretch" Undermining Peacekeeping in Lower
Profile Zones
In Gaza Power
Station, the Role of Enron and the U.S. Government's OPIC Revealed by UN
Sources
UN's Corporate
Partnerships Will Be Reviewed, While New Teaming Up with Microsoft, and
UNDP Continues
BTC Briefing,
Like Pipeline, Skirts Troublespots, Azeri Revelations
Conflicts of
Interest in UNHCR Program with SocGen and Pictet Reveal Reform Rifts
UN Grapples with
Somalia, While UNDP Funds Mugabe's Human Rights Unit, Without
Explanation
UN Gives Mugabe
Time with His Friendly Mediator, Refugees Abandoned
At the UN,
Friday Night's Alright for Fighting; Annan Meets Mugabe
UN Acknowledges
Abuse in Uganda, But What Did Donors Know and When? Kazakh Questions
In Uganda, UNDP
to Make Belated Announcement of Program Halt, But Questions Remain (and
see
The New Vision,
offsite).
Disarmament
Abuse in Uganda Leads UN Agency to Suspend Its Work and Spending
Disarmament
Abuse in Uganda Blamed on UNDP, Still Silent on Finance
Alleged Abuse in
Disarmament in Uganda Known by UNDP, But Dollar Figures Still Not Given:
What Did UN Know and When?
Strong Arm on
Small Arms: Rift Within UN About Uganda's Involuntary Disarmament of
Karamojong Villages
UN's Selective
Vision on Somalia and Wishful Thinking on Uighurs
UN Habitat
Predicts The World Is a Ghetto, But Will Finance Be Addressed at
Vancouver World Urban Forum?
UN's Annan
Concerned About Use of Terror's T-Word to Repress, Wants
Freedom of Information
UN Waffles on
Human Rights in Central Asia and China; ICC on Kony and a Hero from
Algiers
UN & US,
Transparency for Finance But Not Foreign Affairs: Somalia, Sovereignty
and Senator Tom Coburn
Human Rights
Forgotten in UN's War of Words, Bolton versus Mark Malloch Brown: News
Analysis
In Praise of
Migration, UN Misses the Net and Bangalore While Going Soft on Financial
Exclusion
UN Sees Somalia
Through a Glass, Darkly, While Chomsky Speaks on Corporations and
Everything But Congo
Corporate Spin on
AIDS, Holbrooke's Kudos to Montenegro and its Independence
The Silence of
the Congo and Naomi Watts; Between Bolivia and the World Bank
Human Rights
Council Has Its Own Hanging Chads; Cocky U.S. State Department Spins
from SUVs
Child Labor and
Cargill and Nestle; Iran, Darfur and WHO's on First with Bird Flu
Press Freedom?
Editor Arrested by Congo-Brazzaville, As It Presides Over Security
Council
The
Place of the Cost-Cut UN in Europe's Torn-Up Heart;
Deafness to Consumers, Even by the Greens
Background Checks
at the UN, But Not the Global Compact; Teaching Statistics from
Turkmenbashi's Single Book
Ripped Off Worse
in the Big Apple, by Citigroup and Chase: High Cost Mortgages Spread in
Outer Boroughs in 2005, Study Finds
Burundi: Chaos at
Camp for Congolese Refugees, Silence from UNHCR, While Reform's Debated
by Forty Until 4 AM
The Chadian
Mirage: Beyond French Bombs, Is Exxon In the Cast? Asylum and the
Uzbeks, Shadows of Stories to Come
Through the UN's
One-Way Mirror, Sustainable Development To Be Discussed by Corporations,
Even Nuclear Areva
Racial
Disparities Grew Worse in 2005 at Citigroup, HSBC and Other Large Banks
Mine Your Own
Business: Explosive Remnants of War and the Great Powers, Amid the
Paparazzi
Human Rights Are
Lost in the Mail: DR Congo Got the Letter, But the Process is Still
Murky
Iraq's Oil to be
Metered by Shell, While Basrah Project Remains Less than Clear
Kofi, Kony,
Kagame and Coltan: This Moment in the Congo and Kampala
As Operation
Swarmer Begins, UN's Qazi Denies It's Civil War and Has No Answers if
Iraq's Oil is Being Metered
Cash Crop: In
Nepal, Bhutanese Refugees Prohibited from Income Generation Even in
their Camps
The Shorted and
Shorting in Humanitarian Aid: From Davos to Darfur, the Numbers Don't
Add Up
UN Reform:
Transparency Later, Not Now -- At Least Not for AXA - WFP Insurance
Contract
In the Sudanese
Crisis, Oil Revenue Goes Missing, UN Says
Empty Words on
Money Laundering and Narcotics, from the UN and Georgia
What is the Sound
of Eleven Uzbeks Disappearing? A Lack of Seats in Tashkent, a Turf War
at UN
Kosovo: Of
Collective Punishment and Electricity; Lights Out on Privatization of
Ferronikeli Mines
Abkhazia:
Cleansing and (Money) Laundering, Says Georgia
Post-Tsunami
Human Rights Abuses, including by UNDP in the Maldives
Citigroup
Dissembles at United Nations Environmental Conference
Other Inner City Press
reports are available in the ProQuest service and some are archived on
www.InnerCityPress.com --
Copyright 2006 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com - phone: (718) 716-3540
