By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
Follow Up
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 26, more
here, Video I here -- Minutes after the
UN announced
on November
26 the
departure of
Office for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs chief
Baroness
Valerie Amos,
Inner City
Press asked
UN Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq if
the vacancy
would be
advertised for
candidates
from all
countries, or
if it is set
aside for
Amos' United
Kingdom.
Now
it appears the
UK may be
preparing
itself -- unsuccessfully
so far -- for
the real possibility
of losing the
OCHA post.
Multiple
sources on
January 26
told Inner
City Press
that the UK
has sought to
take over the
Iraq UN Special
Representative
of the
Secretary General
post currently
held by Nickolay
Mladenov.
This was
interpreted as
related to the
UK seeing the
OCHA post
going to
another
candidate,
whether from
Germany
(Martin
Kobler), Italy,
the UAE or
elsewhere.
But, sources
on the UN's
38th floor
tell Inner
City Press,
the answer to
the UK
successor to
Mladenov in
Iraq has been
"no."
Inner
City Press
asked the UK
mission for
comment on
both -- "the
UK proposed
nominee to
succeed
Nickolay
Mladenov as
SRSG in Iraq /
UNAMI, and
separately how
this might be
related to the
competition to
replace
Valerie Amos
atop OCHA" --
and had been
told "Senior
appointments
are subject to
open
competition
and are the
decision of
the
Secretary-General."
Inner City
Press is
informed by multiple
sources that
it was
directly to
the Secretary
General's
office on the
38th floor
that the
kibosh was put
on UK nominee
for UNAMI in
Iraq.
(Another
no: On January
16, Inner City
Press asked,
will the aid
groups OCHA
works with
play any role
in the review?
Video
II here.)
Back on
January 9,
Inner City
Press
exclusively
reported that
the UK after
first
submitting
only the name
of Andrew
Lansley has
added too
more, scarcely
more
qualified.
And,
significantly,
the Italy had
nominated Emma
Bonino,
sources
exclusively
told Inner
City Press,
and Germany
nominated
Martin Kobler,
currently the
head of the
UN's Mission
in the Congo.
On January 14,
Inner City
Press was
informed by
sources of
another
candidate, a
minister from
the United
Arab Emirates,
Lubna Khalid
Al Qasimi, a
member of the
ruling family
of Sharjah.
The UAE has,
it is noted,,
the
"Humanitarian
City." And the
UAE did give
$1 million to
OCHA's CERF
last month.
Bonino is well
regarded in
international
circles -- one
source said
she is "too
strong a
character" for
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon to
choose,
another notes,
sadly, health
concerns --
and Kobler
after Iraq has
his experience
in the Congo,
for better and
worse. Either
is more
experience
than the UK
troika.
Beyond
Lansley, whose
qualification
is a brief
visit to UN
health
conferences,
the other UK
candidates
sources tell
Inner City
Press are
Caroline
Spelman and
Stephen
O'Brien.
On January 17,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's lead
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, video here, transcript
here:
Inner
City Press: On
the OCHA
recruitment
process to
find the new
person, I've
been informed
that the UK
has submitted
two additional
names to make
a total of
three, that
Italy, Germany
and UAE have
also put
forward names
and I'm sure
others.
So, is it a
wide open
process?
Have other
countries
submitted more
than
one? Is
it still a
matter of
looking,
giving in the
first instance
a look to the
UK of those
three names?
What of the
request by a
number of
highly
respected
humanitarian
NGOs
[non-governmental
organizations]
that the
inter-agency
standing
committee,
i.e. these
NGOs that are
outside of the
UN system, be
given some
role in the
review
process?
And I wanted
to know what’s
the response
of the
Secretary to
that request.
Spokesman
Dujarric:
Obviously, the
recruitment
process has
been to get
the best
possible
person.
Not for the
first time,
you seem to
have more
information
than I
do. I
have to say,
we will not go
into the
details of the
recruitment
process.
As we said
earlier, a
call went out
for names, for
candidates.
A recruitment
process is
ongoing but
the
Secretary-General
is solely
responsible
and it is
being done
under his
authority.
Inner City
Press:
In previous
cases, even
when there's
no short list
given out,
there's a
review panel,
and I guess
the request…
since it's
been made
semi-publicly
in a petition,
especially for
a job that
involves
providing aid
in conjunction
with NGOs all
over the
world--
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I think the
Secretary-General
and his senior
staff are well
aware of what
the job
implies.
And one could
argue that
every senior
job in the UN
involves
working with
outside
partners.
The
recruitment is
being handled
by the
Secretary-General
and his staff.
So...
no. Another
no.
Could the UK
really lose
this Under
Secretary
General post?
It's looking
more likely.
If Kobler were
chosen, would
fellow German
Angela Kane
have to leave?
We'll have
more on this.
, 
