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On Libya, UN Stonewalls on Flights of Volunteer Envoy, Confirms Vandewelle

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 12 -- The UN's engagement on Libya has come slightly more into focus, though still vague on money. On Monday, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's envoy on Libya Abdul Ilah Al-Khatib told Inner City Press that he is still a “proud” Senator in his native Jordan, and works for the UN only as a volunteer.

On Tuesday, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky to confirm that Khatib demands and receives UN planes to fly from Jordan to locations other than Libya, and that he has UN-paid staff in Libya. Nesirky defended the flights without yet providing information, including if the planes come of the UN missions in the Congo or Sudan:

Inner City Press: At the stakeout yesterday, Mr. [Abdul Ilah] al-Khatib clarified and said he is now, he is a volunteer and remains a senator in Jordan. And I just, I don’t want to belabour it, except to say that some say there is still kind of a… the issue of serving both the UN and a Government at the same time, they’re not sure there is a precedent for that and think that OLA [Office for Legal Affairs] may have criticized it. And also I wanted to know whether in fact he’s flown, requests or demands a UN plane to fly from Jordan to various meetings not in Libya and also has UN staff in Jordan. What’s kind of the cost and what’s the… is the thinking, if he doesn’t personally receive a salary, there is no possible conflict of interest with being a sitting politician in a country in the region?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, I think Mr. Al-Khatib can speak for himself on that particular topic, and evidently did so yesterday. That’s the first thing. Second is that, of course, a special envoy working on a topic as high profile and complicated as this one could be expected to have people supporting him from the Department of Political Affairs, and that is certainly the case.

Inner City Press: his staff is someone that worked for him in the past? Was it a UN staff member forwarded to Amman? ... Is this a new trend?

Spokesperson: Well, let’s not extrapolate from one particular case. This is an important role that Mr. Al-Khatib has and is carrying out. He is widely respected in the region; he knows the players in the region and evidently has access to them, too. And that’s clearly, in the present circumstances, rather important. He obviously also needs to travel, not just to Libya but to other countries in the region. And another one would be, for example, the Contact Group meeting that’s going to take place in Istanbul. That’s quite normal and understandable for someone who is working on a topic in a role where he is precisely supposed to be coordinating and liaising between different groups and seeking to mediate a solution to this crisis.

Inner City Press: Do the planes… just one last thing, do the planes come from UNMIS [United Nations Mission in the Sudan] or from [MONUSCO in the Congo]

Spokesperson: I’d need to check what planes are used, if any. I would need to check on that. I don’t know the answer.

  Seven hours later, no answer had yet been provided.

Ban meets his envoy, now a volunteer, UN planes & staff not shown

  One answer that Nesirky's office did belatedly come up with concerned the UN's hiring of Dartmouth profession Dirk Vandewelle. Twice Nesirky's deputy Farhan Haq declined to confirm the hiring, which a UN source told Inner City Press was "pathetic." On Tuesday, Nesirky's office belatedly sent this:

Subject: Your question on Dirk Vandenwalle
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 10:03 AM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Regarding your questions from last week, we can confirm that Dirk Vandenwalle is working with Ian Martin's team dealing with the transition in Libya. He was hired as a consultant.

  But as what cost? And as some wonder, why would a Special Adviser need Political Advisers? Watch this site.