Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations

At UN, Afghan Envoy Tanin Supports Libya Action, Nothing on Maxwell or UNOPS

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 -- With the focus on Libya, Afghanistan's Permanent Representative to the UN Zahir Tanin sat down across from Inner City Press on March 22 and took a half dozen questions, ranging from UN Peacekeeping and murdered peacekeeper Louis Maxwell to the Karzai government's support for the military action in Libya. For YouTube video, click here.

Tanin expressed support for the action in Libya, saying it was to protect civilians. Inner City Press asked him about Germany increasing its presence in Afghanistan to make up for others' military resources transferred to Libya. Tanin indicated that the assets being transferred from Afghanistan weren't of the kind needed that anyway, and that Afghanistan is trying to take over its own security.

Inner City Press asked Tanin if the Karzai government has done anything on the public request by the UN, including the American chief of the UN Department of Safety and Security Gregory Starr, that it investigate and prosecute those responsible for shooting the UN's Louis Maxwell, at point blank range and on video. Tanin said he had nothing new on that. And a promised response from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations has not yet arrived.

Tanin at UN from YouTube thumbnail, video looks better, click here

Inner City Press asked Tanin if his government wants the UN Mission UNAMA to go. Tanin said it must be reconfigured and its mandate modified. He declined to comment on specific agencies like the UN Office of Project Services or UNDP, which recently told Inner City Press:

Dear Matthew, In response to your query related to refunds to USAID, USAID reviewed the projects in Afghanistan and accepted the majority of expenditures, amounting to $6.4M. USAID received final funds to the amount of US$1.2 million from UNDP. No collection agencies were involved in the process. Best, Sausan Ghosheh

The full story of UNOPS corruption in Afghanistan has yet to be told. One problem is that, as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky told Inner City Press on March 17, “UNOPS is not going to answer your questions” about Ban's son in law Siddharth Chatterjee's aborted promotion there.

And UNOPS still hasn't answered simple questions submitted last week. (Chatterjee's previous promotion was to be chief of staff in Iraq of Staffan de Mistura, now Ban's envoy in Afghanistan.

Tanin was asked about the Security Council reform process; his answer was an inconclusive as the process seems to some. Watch here, and watch this site.

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At UN on Libya, the UAE, Norway, Spain, Ukraine & Belgium Give Notice of Action

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, March 22, updated -- The United Arab Emirates, Norway, Spain, Ukraine and Belgium have provided notification to the UN they intend to take action in Libya under Security Council Resolution 1973, Inner City Press is reliably informed.

While Resolution 1973 requires countries taking action on Libya to give prior notification to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky did not answer repeated e-mail requests in the days after the resolution passed for a list of notifying countries. Even at the noon briefing of March 21, he did not have the list.

At 3:30 on Monday afternoon his office sent out an email listing “United Kingdom, France, United States, Denmark, Canada, Italy and Qatar” and saying that “those notifications have been transmitted to the Security Council.”

Since the UN's involvement in the military campaign in and over Libya is one of its attractions for some, it would seem the UN should more quickly and transparently disclose the notifications to the public, and describe the “coordinating” role assigned to Ban Ki-moon in Resolution 1973.

The Security Council Affairs unit worked hard over the weekend, but they are not the Spokesperson. They have not yet set up their own web site to make disclosures. But the Spokesperson's Office is lagging behind.

Inner City Press can now report that Spain, Norway, UAE, Ukraine and Belgium have provided notifications to the UN under Resolution 1973.

There -- was that so hard?

Update 1: to his credit, UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant rattled off the twelve names (the seven named yesterday, and five coming after.) This was confirmed by another P-5 country. A non permanent member's Permanent Representative was amazed that the names are not better made public.

Update 2: regarding Ukraine, it's worth nothing that it took weeks for Ukraine's parliament to authorized attack helicopters for the UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire, leading to the question: how fast can or will Ukraine move after giving notice?

Inner City Press has suggested to a P-5 Council member that a sign board be erected in front of the Council with the number -- and names -- of Libya notifiers under Resolution 1973. "Good idea," the P-5 representative said. But will it happen?

Footnotes: one reason for the dysfunctional relationship between the Spokesperson's Office and Security Council Affairs is that the Spokesman was ejected from Council consultations, and did little more to oppose this than a conciliatory and ineffective letter from Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar. Now when Security Council Affairs gets information of global interest, the Spokesperson's Office does not report it in anything like real time. Thus the UN decays. Watch this site.

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On Libya, As UN Council Punts Until Thursday, Mystery of Courtesy Passes, Lamamra, Spain & Norway

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 22 -- With bombs, and at least one US plane, dropping on Libya, the UN Security Council on Monday declined to “take cognizance” of a letter from Gaddafi's foreign minister Moussa Koussa, putting off the matter until a briefing by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in three days.

Ban is supposed to be coordinating enforcement of the No Fly Zone provided by Council resolution 1973. At the UN's noon briefing on Monday, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky to describe the coordination he is giving.

The answer was that he attended Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting in Paris on March 19, and is taking in notifications of the countries doing the bombing and transmitting these to the Security Council.

Later on Monday, Ban's Spokesperson's Office squawked that seven countries had thus far provided notice: the US, UK, France, Denmark, Canada, Italy and a single Arab country, Qatar.

The European side of the list seems to have omissions, like Norway and Spain which is providing refueling. But what of Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia? Are the last two too busy in Bahrain?

After the Security Council kept Moussa Koussa at arms length -- and Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin admonished a Western spokesman for spinning the press about it, click here for that story -- the Council held a closed meeting about Sudan.

Inner City Press asked Sudan's Ambassador for his country's position on the action in Libya. We are members of the Arab League, he said, we support that position.

But isn't Sudan also a member of the African Union, which has criticized the bombing, and couldn't even get into the country as provided for in the resolution? We are a member of both, Sudan's Ambassador said, leaving the UN microphone.

Dabbashi previously at UN, courtesy pass not shown or explained

In explanation of the African Union position there is not only the money and support Gaddafi threw around the Continent for so long -- there is also the under reported role on the AU Peace & Security Council of Ramtane Lamamra of Algeria, a country which has strongly supported Gaddafi. On Monday, Lamamra apparently lost his cell phone, as he didn't answer repeated media calls seeking his comment or explanation.

The UN, for its part, did not explain the meaning of the “courtesy passes” spokesman Nesirky said that Ibrahim Dabbashi and Shalgam have been reduced to.

Inner City Press asked a lower ranking Libyan diplomat, who said “at least they still have passes.” He added that it is Shalgam who will decide who will speak for Libya on Thursday. Watch this site.

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At UN on Libya, Churkin of Russia Tells Western Spokesman Not to Spin the Press, "This Is Where Distortions Come From"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 21 -- Outside the UN Security Council on Monday afternoon, a Western Council member's spokesman was telling reporters that as he had predicted, the Council had declined requests for any meeting about the military action in Libya until Thursday.

Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin came out of the Council chamber and apparently heard this. He stopped on the steps up to street level, turned back and said, “I must say to that young man, the President of the Council is supposed to brief the media.”

He pointed at the Western spokesman and asked, “You are from which delegation?”

The Western spokesman answered. (Since these spokespeople say they are speaking on background, for now the answer is being withheld.)

Churkin continued, “Double check with your Ambassador. It's really impolite and rude. It's the President who is supposed to brief the media.”

After Churkin went upstairs, there was speculation about what had triggered the confrontation. On March 16, Churkin had complained about being portrayed as an obstructionist.

Inner City Press later on March 16 asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about what Churkin had said about Russia's ceasefire in Libya proposal. She said the proposal did not go far enough.

On March 21, Churkin came back. “Now we know where all the distortions come from.”

Inner City Press suggested to him that the Russian Mission's spokesman should brief the media more often.

Churkin previously speaks to press, spokesman not shown

While that seems to be the consensus among most of the stakeout press corps, others note that some delegation's spokespeople are more likely that others to tell reporters about other countries' positions, while demanding off the record treatment.

This happened during the first Council resolution on Libya earlier this year, when Portugal was accused off the record of being “weak” on the referral of the case of Libya to the International Criminal Court.

Later, reporters were urged to “ask Brazil” if they were making problems with the ICC referral. In fact they were, though not at the spinner had implied. Rather, Brazil objected to the US demanded carve out from the ICC referral for countries that are not members of the ICC: not only the US, but such countries as Algeria and Ethiopia, which are not members of the ICC.

“Now we know where all the distortions come from”? Oh that it were so. Watch this site.

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UN Envoy Al Khatib Is On Board of Jordan Ahli Bank, Links With Libya Central Bank

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, March 8 -- In selecting Abdul Ilah al Khatib as the UN's envoy on Libya, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon moved quickly -- maybe too quickly.

Since serving as the foreign minister of Jordan, describe even some close to Ban as an autocracy, al Khatib has served on the boards of director not only of Lafarge Jordan Cement Company but also of Jordan Ahli Bank.

Jordan Ahli Bank is active beyond that country's borders. A sample connection: along with Libyan Foreign Bank, a fully owned subsidiary of the Central Bank of Libya, Jordan Ahli Bank is a top 20 shareholder of Union de Banques Arabes et Francaises.

Could there be conflicts of interest? Did the UN's Ban administration even consider these?

Ban previously claimed that 99% of his officials have made public financial disclosure. But when Inner City Press showed this is not true -- even Ban's close ally Choi Young-jin, his envoy in Cote d'Ivoire, declined to make public financial disclosure -- Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said Ban's statement had been “metaphorical.”

Now Ban names and injects al Khatib into a struggle about democracy and free press, when as Inner City Press noted yesterday

"Foreign Minister Abd al-Ilah al-Khatib in January initiated a criminal defamation suit against weekly newspaper al-Hilal's editor-in-chief Nasir Qamash and journalist Ahmad Salama. He [al-Khatib] objected to the content of a January article, and said his tribe had threatened to beat up Salama if he failed to take action. The case remains in the courts at this writing."

By what process was al-Khatib vetted and selected? Watch this site.

Click for Mar 1, '11 BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN Corruption

These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund. Video Analysis here

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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