UN
Told ICP
Doesn't Have
Ashe Docs, But
PGA Served by
DGACM, Must Keep
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 4 --
Without one
mentioning the
name of John
Ashe, much
less his
fellow
indictees Ng
Lap Seng,
Frank Lorenzo
and Sheri Yan,
on November 3
both UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon and
President of
the General
Assembly
Mogens
Lykketoft gave
speeches about
post-indictment
reform.
After
the two
speeches,
Inner City
Press asked
Lykketoft
about his
proposal still
allow
financial
flows from
"host
organization[s]"
like Ng Lap
Seng's Sun
Kian Ip Group
and if
Lykketoft
would
establish a
Freedom of
Information
procedure so
that the Press
and public
could
requested
documents.
Lykketoft
replied, on
this, "we have
no access
whatsoever to
documents from
earlier PGA
offices." Video here.
Then
when Inner
City Press
asked UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
"Does the
Secretariat
have any of
Mr. Kutesa or
Ashe’s
documents?"
Dujarric
replied, "I’m
not aware that
we do, because
those are the
documents held
by the
presidents
themselves."
This is
a major
problem - how
can this be?
Lykketoft on
November 3
publishes some
"transparency"
material on
his Office's
website which,
upon Inner
City Press
review,
appears
largely
derived from a
previous PGA
Handbook by
Switzerland
and "its" PGA
Deiss. That
docuemnt
states:
... "the
Department for
General
Assembly and
Conference
Management
(DGACM)
Executive
Office is
responsible
for all
financial,
personnel, and
general
administrative
matters
concerning
DGACM,
including the
Office of the
PGA.. In
executing
his/her
duties, the
PGA is
supported by
the Office of
the President
of the General
Assembly
(Office of the
PGA, or OPGA).
The team
supporting the
PGA is also
called “the
Cabinet of the
PGA.” Although
the Office of
the PGA is
independent in
the execution
of its
mandate, for
administrative
purposes it is
attached to
the Department
for General
Assembly and
Conference
Management
(DGACM)."
So
doesn't DGACM
have these
documents?
Here's a UN
"Frequently
Asked
Questions"
Inner City
Press has
found:
"records, like
all assets,
are the
property of
the
Organisation...You
need to list
the most
important
groups of
records and
documents
required to
fulfill your
function. You
should be
familiar with
how these key
records are
protected, who
has access to
them and how
long they need
to be kept.
What are you
and your team
members
specific
responsibilities?"
What,
indeed. We
will have more
on this. Watch
this site.
From the PGA's
Office's
transcript:
Inner City
Press: thanks
for doing the
stakeout.
I see in your
information
note under
official
travel, it
says that
other funding
sources can be
used including
host
organisation.
And since some
of the
allegations
are that, for
example, as
recently as
August 2015,
Mr. Ng Lap
Seng and his
Sun Kian Ip
foundation...
he's since
been
indicted...
travel for UN
staff,
ambassadors
and others to
Macau, how is
this going to
close that
loophole in
which a
business...
in... in... a
business
executive can
offer luxury
hotels,
first-class
tickets to
faraway
places?
And I also
wanted to ask
you... I'm
going to say
this, I guess,
diplomatically.
The Presidents
of the 68th
and 69th
sessions, both
of their
spouses took
compensated
positions with
NGOs that have
since been...
the heads have
since been
indicted,
Global
Sustainability
Foundation and
South-South
News, I mean
the heads of
each.
How would you
address
that?
And, finally,
would you
consider
implementing
some sort of a
freedom of
information
policy in your
office i.e.,
rather than
just putting
things on your
website, if
the press or
public make a
request for a
document,
unless there's
some reason to
withhold it,
to make it
available in a
certain period
of time?
Thanks a
lot.
Sorry for the
long question.
President
Lykketoft:
"I think I'm
not able to go
much further
into the
accusations
raised.
That's not for
me to... to
comment
on. And
I can say that
we have no
access and
thus maybe
also a
procedure that
should be
changed in the
future, but we
have no access
whatsoever to
documents from
earlier PGA
offices.
So I can't
give you any
details about
what was
present there
and... and...
in that
connection, I
think, it's...
it's of
interest what
the
Secretary-General
just said
about the
investigation
he has put
into force
about what is
of information
in connection
with the case
in other parts
of the UN
organisation.
But we have no
access to any
of this now if
you look
backwards.
If you look
forwards, of
course, I
would be
willing to
provide any
kind of access
to information
about
travelling I
do during my
tenure as
President.
Much of what
we have
committed
ourselves to
do has to be
generalized
during the
considerations
in the General
Assembly over
the
revitalisation,
probably in...
in the
shape... in
the form of
resolution.
But what I can
tell you here
is what we
will do, how
we will
proceed with
the openness
of information
during this
coming year."
Dujarric tried
to say that
having records
about the
Trust Fund
account that
Ashe barely
used was
enough. But
where are the
documents? Is
there no UN
document
retention
policy
applicable
here? Dujarric
did not
answer. We'll
have (much)
more on this.
Mogen
Lykketoft,
meanwhile,
couldn't bring
himself to say
Ashe's name,
only referring
to the
President of
the 68th
General
Assembly
session.
Lykketoft, who
allowed his
Office to be
used for
fellow Dane
Helle
Thorning-Schmidt
to campaign
for the top
spot in the
UN's refugee
agency UNHCR,
said he will
be making
reform
proposals. We
will be there
- with
questions for
Lykketoft.
Ban
again
mentioned what
he told Inner
City Press at
his last
stakeout, a
task force
under his chef
of staff
Susana
Malcorra. But
as Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Dujarric, with
all due
respect, Malcorra
accepted one
of Ng's South
South Awards,
for Ban.
We'll have
more on this.
, 
