UNITED
NATIONS, November 10 --
Amid mounting
questions
about the UN
using only
unpaid interns,
favoring the
most affluent,
a group of interns tried to raise the issue inside the UN on November 10. But UN Security first told them they could not display their (small) signs, then tried to prevent photographing and filming of the muted protest by the press. This is today's UN. This too: Inner City Press tweeted a photo, and broadcast live Periscope video.
The November 10 protest in rainy New York was preceded by one in Brussels, “standing up for those who cannot afford working for free;” in Geneva on this theme shoes were lined up on the street.
This comes at a time when Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's UN is moving to give raises to its Under Secretaries General such as Herve Ladsous, who linked peacekeepers' raping to their lack of “R&R” and “distraction.”
Inner City Press and the Free UN Coalition for Access (FUNCA) have previously asked the UN about this issue and covered it, as has VICE News, which was on the scene Nov 10.
Inner City
Press on
September 4
again asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
it, video
here, transcript here:
Inner
City Press: I
have been
meaning to
just follow up
on this.
The letter
that was
written to the
Secretary-General
by unpaid UN
interns in New
York and
Geneva, seemed
like it was
responded to
by USG
[Under-Secretary-General
Yukio]
Takasu.
It's not clear
— I guess I
wanted to ask
you. Is
the
Secretariat
saying that
it's an
administrative
instruction
some time back
that precludes
them from
paying interns
from the
developing
world, so that
the pool can
become more
diverse?
Or are they
really saying
that the GA
has
definitively
made it
impossible?
Is there any
consideration
in asking the
GA to address
the issue?
Spokesperson
Dujarric:
It's a valid
of
question.
I haven't seen
the
letter.
I need to take
a look at
it.
Nobody has
shared it with
me.
Nobody tells
me anything
here.
You know, I
think on the
issue of
interns, it is
also — I think
it's also
important to
remember that
the UN has a
global
presence, not
in every
country in the
world, but
almost every
country in the
world, and we
do take
interns
locally, so I
think there's
also…
obviously
there's a
greater mass
of interns at
our
Headquarters
station, but
we do take
interns… most
UN offices
take interns
in different
places, which
doesn't
include the
need to
travel.
Let me look in
the letter and
I'll get back
to you.
Inner City
Press:
Can you get
data on that?
Spokesman:
Probably not,
because I
don't think it
exists.
Really.
Back
on August 11,
Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric, video
here, UN transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
I'm sure
you've seen
this story
about the New
Zealand intern
at the UN in
Geneva living
in a
tent. I
want to ask
sort of a more
fundamental
question,
which is that
what would the
UN say to
those who say
that by having
so many
entirely
unpaid
internship, it
basically, it…
it limits this
possible
career step of
learning to
only the most
affluent
people…?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I think it's a
very valid
point.
The debate
around the
payment of
interns is one
that's been
going on for
some
time. We
are not in a
position to
pay our
interns.
It's too bad
in a way,
because I
think it does
limit the
opportunity to
those who are
able to pay
their own way
and house
themselves.
Unless the
General
Assembly
changes those
rules, there
is no change
in
sight.
What's
important is
that any
internship be
used as a
learning
opportunity
for the intern
and not be
used as, you
know, as free
labour or as a
substitute for
work done by
staff.
Inner City
Press:
Okay. Is that
something that
the
Secretary-General
has ever
raised to the
GA [General
Assembly] or…?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I'm not aware
of that.
Back in May
2013 an
internship in
the UN was
auctioned off,
ultimately for
$26,000, in a
process extensively
covered
and questioned
by Inner City
Press. The UN
said it was
embarrassed by
the auction or
the "optics,"
and resisted
Inner City
Press'
questions
about the
sale.
After
Inner City
Press asked
several times
about it, the
description of
the internship
being
auctioned was
"amended,"
as the UN
spokesman put
it, to
read:
"Take
advantage of
this exclusive
opportunity
for a 6-week
internship in
NYC working
for Bruce
Knotts, Chair
of the UN-NGO
Committee on
Human Rights.
You will gain
inside
knowledge of
just how the
UN really
operates and
have
tremendous
opportunities
to make
invaluable
connections.
This truly is
the ultimate
internship
opportunity
for any
college or
graduate
student
looking to get
their foot in
the door!"
The
auction, on
CharityBuzz.com,
said it was to
benefit the
RFK Young
Leaders. Press
inquiries to
that entity
and its
parent, the
RFK Center,
did not yield
any answers.
But today, at
least, we have
a detailed
answers about
how such
internships or
grounds-passes
work, from the
Director of
the UN
Department of
Public
Information's
Outreach
Division,
Maher Nasser.
Inner
City Press,
along with
another DPI
question to
which it is
still awaiting
the answer --
why
was UNTV shut
off while
Palestinian
negotiator
Saeb Erakat
was giving a
speech on
Monday morning
-- asked
Nasser, "I
heard when you
told DPI-NGO
orientation
that it makes
the UN look
bad, and that
the UN is not
obligated to
let the person
('m. alam')
who purchased
the internship
into the
building. Is
that the case?
And you could
keep me
informed on
this, when the
purchased
internship is
to begin and
what the UN /
DPI does?"
To his
credit, Nasser
provided Inner
City Press
with the most
detailed UN
response to
date on the
auctioned
internship:
Subject:
Question
re the
auctioned
internship,
thanks
From: Maher
Nasser [at]
un.org
Date: Mon, May
20, 2013 at
2:38 PM
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Hi
Matthew, On
the internship
issue, as you
know from the
relevant
website, this
was for an
internship
with an NGO,
not an
internship at
the UN. The
optics of it
and use of the
UN's image
implied
otherwise,
which is why I
flagged it in
the
orientation
with newly
associated
NGOs as
something that
hurts the UN
and is not
acceptable.
Every
NGO associated
with DPI is
entitled to
only six
yearly passes,
two of which
are for youth
representatives.
The names to
whom the
passes are
issued are
provided by
the
president/head
of each NGO.
By providing
the names, the
NGO certifies
that these
names
represent the
NGO concerned.
Up till now,
we have had no
reason not to
grant a pass
to people
designated as
representing
an NGO. An old
system of
temporary
passes issued
throughout the
year was
discontinued
by DPI several
years ago.
With
reference to
the six names
provided, and
as I said
above, this
has not
happened in
the past, if
we find out
that someone
had to pay or
buy a slot on
that list, we
would take it
up with the
concerned NGO
and depending
on the
feedback, not
endorse that
name for a
pass.
In
view of the
case of the
auctioned
internship, we
are preparing
language to be
added to the
forms to be
completed by
DPI associated
NGOs to avoid
such
possibilities
in the future.
So at
a minimum, the
"m. alam" on
whose behalf
$26,000 was
bid for this
internship
might not be
endorsed for a
pass to
actually enter
the UN. Would
they get a
refund? And
what do the
UN-NGO
Committee on
Human Rights
and the RFK
Center have to
say? Watch
this site.
Footnote:
While
we await
another
division of
DPI's promised
answer to the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
about how and
why UNTV shut
off during
Saeb Erakat's
speech, we
note
complaints
received about
the press
corps move-back
to the
Secretariat
building,
particularly
among
broadcasters
about special
charges,
special deals,
special
inquiries. The
DPI official
in question is
aware of
several of
these
complaints;
watch this
site.
, 
