Inner City Press -- Investigative Journalism from the United Nations

In Campaign to Head UN WFP, A Race to Precedents' Depths, A Murky Lame Duck Appointment

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN

UNITED NATIONS, November 1 -- Both U.S. Ambassador John Bolton and Kofi Annan's spokesman faced questions Wednesday about the process to select a new executive director for the UN World Food Program. Each cited mixed precedents in defense of a process about which skepticism is growing.

Ambassador Bolton, in a stakeout interview Wednesday afternoon, was asked by Inner City Press why he and the U.S. are pushing to get a five year term for Josette Sheeran Shiner, when Amb. Bolton had previously said that Kofi Annan should not appoint any senior officials to terms beyond December 31, 2006, when Mr. Annan leaves. Video here, at Minute 4:43.

In response, Amb. Bolton stated that "the precedents have varied." After acknowledging that "there are examples to the contrary," he cited a precedent from late 1991, when Javier Perez de Cuellar gave his blessing to a five year term for Catherine Ann Bertini, then a U.S. Under-Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

Rarely has Amb. Bolton taken prior UN precedent as proof that a decision is a good one. Inner City Press asked Amb. Bolton whether, as a matter of U.S. reform, he believed that the short list of candidates should be publicly disclosed.

Democracy in DRC but not WFP?

Earlier on Wednesday, Kofi Annan's spokesman had refused numerous reporters' requests for the short list, which Inner City Press then summarized as "Sheeran Shiner, Banbury, Fowler and Fust," see Inner City Press' articles of September 29 and October 27.

Apparently referring to these, Amb. Bolton said, "I think the short list is already public." Video on UNTV, Minutes 6:30 though 7:40. But transparency of an institution is a choice, and should not be entirely dependent the fortuity of leaks and shoe-leather reporting. Amb. Bolton strode away from the stakeout, leaving many questions unanswered.

Among these questions are why Bush Administration officials are so insistent that Ms. Sheeran Shiner must be the one. They have reportedly told UN officials up to the level of Mark Malloch Brown that "President Bush wants this."

Despite the fact that, as a matter of UN reform, short lists of final candidates were made public in the selection processes for UNHCR, UNDP and even the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, Kofi Annan's spokesman on Wednesday insisted the list will not be publicly confirmed in this case, "because this doesn't go in front of the G[eneral] A[ssembly]," he said. Video on UNTV. Following Inner City Press, correspondents from the Washington Post, the New York Sun and the Times of London all followed up, asking the spokesman to explain the difference and then remaining unconvinced.

Back in April 1999, the prior UN spokesman was quoted about UNDP that "we expect to make a decision in a week or two," but as refusing to comment about the selection process. Under this veil, Mark Malloch-Brown was selected, over Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Poul Nielson, the nominee of the European Union.

In this WFP case, most observers give the Swiss finalist Walter Fust very little chance. Canada's Robert Fowler, it is said, has credit with Kofi Annan for Canada's help in making and keeping him Secretary-General. Still, it is still widely assumed that given the Bush Administration's insistence, Josette Shiner Sheeran is the favorite for the post, over fellow American (but Democrat) Tony Banbury.

Returning to Amb. Bolton's 1991 precedent, open source research finds Ms. Bertini's biography on the UN web site, which misstates that she was appointed in 1992, and lists a pre-selection vita more extensive then Ms. Sheeran Shiner's, which pointedly does not mention her at least 20-year association with Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Further research finds that in February 2006, Ms. Bertini appeared at the U.S. Institute of Peace to speak about North Korea.

In 1992, Josette Sheeran Shiner wrote a generally laudatory article about North Korea's Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, which appeared on April 15 front page of the Moon-owned Washington Times. Excepts from Ms. Sheeran Shiner's article, available through the Washington Times web site, but only for $2.95 --

Kim Il-sung asks for thaw in ties with the U.S.

By Josette Shiner THE WASHINGTON TIMES APRIL 15, 1992

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- ... President Kim, appearing relaxed and jovial in a 2 1/2-hour interview, followed by a private luncheon of roast goose and quail-egg soup. He seemed to be in vigorous health on the eve of his 80th birthday, presenting the image of a self-confident, reflective elder statesman... His robust appearance contradicts persistent reports in the West that his health is failing, and he discussed with zest and ease a range of topics, from nuclear weapons and the reunification of Korea to his recent visit with American evangelist Billy Graham, his enthusiasm for tiger hunting and his formula for a long life. The interview, at the Presidential Palace, was granted after a delegation of editors and reporters of The Times, led by Wesley Pruden, the newspaper's Managing Editor and editor-in-chief, had spent 11 days here interviewing highest-ranking government, military and Workers Party officials... "In my country now everybody has housing, nobody is sleeping outside. There are no beggars. There are no opium addicts. There's no unemployment, not a single person is without food and every child has 11 years' compulsory education. Plus we have free medical care and no taxation. I think these are the good points in my country"... "This is my philosophy: Even if the sky is falling down upon us, there will always be a hole for me to rise up through," he said. "When we were fighting against the Japanese imperialists I never felt pessimistic. If one feels optimistic there is nothing that can't be solved."

It was this last that Ms. Sheeran Shiner later referred to, in a "Unification Speech and Talk," as "this wonderful thing that I published in the newspaper." Whether it is consistent with current U.S. foreign policy is another wonderful question.

Viewing the above functions, it is reported that "when the Seoul-based Joon Ang Daily would wonder how Moon�s Pyeonghwa Motor Corporation had won a $55 million exclusive deal to manufacture vehicles for the regime. The Seoul paper quoted Hwang Sun-Jo, a Uniﬁcation Church leader and head of Moon�s Tongil industrial conglomerate, who revealed that their good fortune became possible after Moon 'sent a Washington Times reporter to the North and made the country known to the West with a better image... Since then the North has conﬁded in the church.'"

Does this counter-intuitively provide support for Ms. Sheeran Shiner being anointed head of the UN World Food Program? Developing.

From the U.S. Mission's Nov. 1 transcript:

Inner City Press question: Ambassador, you've said that the secretary-general shouldn't appoint any new senior officials beyond his term of office at the end of the year. But on the World Food Programme, you seemed to say that he should appoint somebody for a five-year term. Can you explain that?

Ambassador Bolton: I think I've said in response to that question, which I've answered before, that the precedents for the appointment of the executive director of the World Food Programme have varied. In some cases, the outgoing secretary-general and the director general of the FAO have made the appointment. In some cases, the incoming Secretary-General has made the appointment because the terms are five years. In 1991, Javier Perez de Cuellar and the director general of the FAO appointed Cathy Bertini for a term beginning on January 1, 1992. That's one example of the outgoing secretary-general doing it. There are examples to the contrary as well. Our position on that is that we think Undersecretary Sheeran should receive the appointment and by this Secretary-General.

Inner City Press question: And should the shortlist be made public as a matter of U.N. reform and transparency?
Ambassador Bolton: I think the shortlist is public because I've seen it in newspapers.

WFP Brochure-Gate? John Bolton Has Not Seen Brochure of "Official" U.S. Candidate to Head World Food Program

UNITED NATIONS, October 31 -- "Did the U.S. State Department produce the brochure promoting Josette Sheeran Shiner to head the UN World Food Program?"

Nearly 7 p.m. Tuesday, Inner City Press asked U.S. Ambassador John Bolton this question.

"I've never seen the brochure," Amb. Bolton said. "So I can't comment on it." Video on UNTV, at Minute 4:40.

That can be quickly remedied -- click HERE for a scanned copy of the brochure, in PDF format.

Also on Tuesday, Inner City Press asked the General Assembly president's spokeswoman who in her purview may have seen the campaign brochure. WFP is run by a 36-member executive board, half of the nations appointed by the UN ECOSOC, half by the FAO.

The GA president's spokeswomen later said they do not answer for the ECOSOC, so Inner City Press put the question, in writing, to the mission of Tunisia, which chairs the ECOSOC. Similarly, Inner City Press has put the question to FAO, including asking if a provision of the FAO Constitution about picking the candidate with the most experience and technical competency applies to this WFP process.

Kofi Annan's spokesman, who has before him several related questions, explained that the Secretary-General and the head of FAO propose the new head of WFP to the WFP executive board. So was the attached brochure created only for two men? Or for the five-person interview panel, including Mark Malloch Brown and Jan Egeland, which whittled eight finalists down to four? Or for all 36 WFP Executive Board members? After a day of asking the Secretariat, the General Assembly, the head of ECOSOC and FAO, the answers should come Wednesday. And by then U.S. Amb. Bolton will have seen, one way or another, Josette Sheeran Shiner's brochure. One example: what is the statement about "Pulitzer Prize nominee" based on? Developing...

"Official" U.S. Candidate to Head WFP Circulates Brochure With Pulitzer Claim, UN Staff Rules Ignored

UNITED NATIONS, October 30 -- "We support the official American candidate, Josette Sheeran," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Monday, responding to Inner City Press' question about another U.S. citizen in the final four to head the UN World Food Program, current head of WFP in Asia, Tony Banbury.

Inner City Press asked, "How is the previously-announced U.S. candidate, Josette Sheeran Shiner, more qualified than Mr. Banbury?"

"She has enormous qualifications," said Amb. Bolton, citing international agricultural affairs and that she has the "full confidence" of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.Video on UNTV, Minute 7.

A four-page campaign brochure bearing Ms. Sheeran Shiner's photo on the cover states, "As executive director of WFP, I would ensure that this life-saving program has the resources, capabilities and global support to enhances its ability to respond with lightening speed to hunger and family."

Somalia refugees. Who should head WFP? Does experience, and UN Staff Rules, matter?

The brochure lists, often repetitively, Ms. Sheeran Shiner's previous jobs, by far the longest of which was for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon-owned Washington Times. During that time, Ms. Sheeran Shiner was a member of Moon's Unification Church, which has since been renamed. Ms. Sheeran Shiner has stated she is no longer a member of the Unification Church.

The campaign brochure also states that Ms. Sheeran Shiner is a "Pulitzer Prize nominee." Doubts have emerged about this. The Pulitzer web site states that

"Nominated Finalists are selected by the Nominating Juries for each category as finalists in the competition. The Pulitzer Prize Board generally selects the Pulitzer Prize Winners from the three nominated finalists in each category. The names of nominated finalists have been announced only since 1980. Work that has been submitted for Prize consideration but not chosen as either a nominated finalist or a winner is termed an entry or submission. No information on entrants is provided."

The brochure lists Ms. Sheeran Shiner's work for William Bennett's "Empower America," stating that she "raised more than hundreds of thousands of dollars as CEO of Empower America." But sources tell Inner City Press that her departure from Empower America was due to not raising enough money.

Given concerns raised about Ms. Sheeran Shiner's qualifications to become the executive director of the World Food Program, legal inquiry has been made into relevant provisions of the UN Charter, of UN staff regulations and rules and of the FAO Constitution. All speak to the need to select the most competent candidate; Staff Regulation 4.4 and Staff Rule 104.14 provide that "if qualifications are equal, staff members already in the Secretariat or in other international organizations are given preference over others in filling vacancies."

WFP's Jim Morris has announced he is leaving, creating a vacancy. It is nearly a fait accompli that the post will again go to an American. Tony Banbury, a U.S. citizen who is current the head of WFP in Asia, has worked for the UN all the way back to 1988 in Thailand, 1995 in Cambodia, and from there to Bosnia and Croatia. He has actually run programs to deliver food for the WFP.

Monday at the UN, after the Security Council meeting on Lebanon and Resolution 1559, Inner City Press asked Amb. Bolton to articulate how Josette Sheeran Shiner is more qualified than Tony Banbury. Amb. Bolton replied that Ms. Sheeran Shiner is the "official candidate." But that does not answer, why? Nor does it answer the previous question, of why Kofi Annan in a lame duck period is being asked, by the U.S., to make a five year appointment. Is this any way to choose the head of the UN World Food Program?

A Tale of Two Americans Vying to Head the World Food Program, Banbury and Sheeran Shiner

UNITED NATIONS, October 27 -- The four-person short list to replace Jim Morris as head of the UN World Food Program includes Tony Banbury, a Democrat who worked in the Bush Administration for a year before rejoining the UN system and the current head of WFP's Asia operation, Inner City Press has learned.

As first reported by Inner City Press on September 29, the Bush Administration's nominee for the WFP post is Josette Sheeran (Shiner), formerly an editor of the Washington Times and a 20-year member, until 1998, of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. The two other short listers are Canada's Robert Fowler and Walter Fust. Sources say that many senior figures in the Bush Administration could live with Tony Banbury getting the job, given his strong credentials earned in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan. They simply couldn't or didn't choose to nominate a Democrat instead of a Republican, particularly a Republican with a history with the Unification Church, a sub-constituency.

Friday, a senior UN official confirmed to Inner City Press that Tony Banbury is on the WFP short list. The list was whittled from eight candidates to four by a five-person panel that included the UN's Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland and UNFPA's Thoraya Obaid, and well as two representatives from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Now the finalists will be interviewed by FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, who is currently in New York. It is widely known that Dr. Diouf does not get along with finalist Robert Fowler who has been serving as Canada's ambassador to the FAO in Rome. Dr. Diouf's views on Walter Fust, are not known. Nor are Dr. Diouf's connections with the Bush Administration although regarding these, the coming decision may speak loudly.

On October 25, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, as transcribed by the UN:

Question: On the World Food Program (WFP) process, we have heard that there is a shortlist. Is that true? Who is on it?

Spokesman: I have said all I have to say on that, and we expect an announcement in the next couple of weeks.

Inner City Press question: When the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) selected Mr. Guterres they did actually say who was on the shortlist. Is that not going to be done in this case?

Spokesman: The process here is slightly different because as opposed to UNHCR this is not an appointment that goes to the General Assembly. This is an appointment that is made jointly by the Secretary-General and the Director General of the FAO.

Concerns have been raised about Kofi Annan making five year appointments now that he remains Secretary-General for only nine more weeks. On September 27 at the UN, before the WFP nomination had become public, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters that Kofi Annan's appointment of new UN officials would only be okay if these officials' contracts ended "soon after January 1." Video here, at Minute 4:43.

September 29 at the UN, Inner City Press asked Ambassador Bolton if the U.S.'s position is that Josette Sheeran (Shiner) could be given a five-year WFP term even before Kofi Annan leaves the UN in three month. Ambassador Bolton answered that the appointment could be made before January 1, that "the precedents have differed." Video here, from Minute 8:15, the US mission's transcript:

Inner City Press: On the secretary-general transition and the World Food Program looking for a new executive director, I've heard that the U.S. put forward Josette Sheeran Shiner. Is it your position that this should not be done until January 1st or that she could be appointed and given a five-year term prior to that?

Ambassador Bolton: She could be appointed prior to January 1 or thereafter. And the precedent has differed from reappointment to reappointment.

U.S. Ambassador Bolton added that Josette Sheeran Shiner was "the most qualified candidate."

As Inner City Press reported on September 29, open-source research reflects that Josette Sheeran (Shiner) was an active member of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church from 1975 through at least 1996. After that date, it is reported that she went "into the world," including into William Bennett's Empower America organization and then the U.S. State Department, in order to spread the Unification Church's message and position. Beyond controversial views on abstinence, mass-marriage and other matters, including the UN, these include business ties with and praise of North Korea.

The internal U.S. State Department memo obtained by Inner City Press stated that

"For the past several weeks, we have been working with the White House to search for a highly qualified candidate to succeed Jim Morris as Executive Director of the World Food Programme. We now have an excellent candidate in Ambassador Josette Sheeran (Shiner)... Through the course of a distinguished career in government, business and journalism, Ambassador Sheeran has excelled as a diplomat, humanitarian, business leader and development policy leader."

The reference to journalism is to Ms. Sheeran's tenure as managing editor of the Moon-owned Washington Times.

In that capacity, in 1992 Ms. Sheeran went on an 11-day visit to North Korea, leading up a feature article commemorating the 80th birthday of Kim Il-Sung's 80th birthday. "Even if the sky is falling down on us, there will always be a hole for me to rise up through," said Kim -- a sentence Sheeran-Shiner later recollected, as recounted by the American Prospect, as "this wonderful thing which I printed in the paper."

Sheeran-Shiner's interview with Kim Il-Sung painted him as a "self-conﬁdent, reﬂective elder statesman rather than the reclusive, dogmatic dictator he is usually portrayed as in the West."

Now Kim Il-Sung's son is being portrayed by Ms. Sheeran-Shiner's nominator as a threat to international peace and security. More documents on the North Korea - Moon connection are online here.

Josette Sheeran's first appearance in the media was in Time magazine of November 10, 1975, in an article entitled "Mad About Moon" --

"One typical worried parent is New Jersey's state insurance commissioner James Sheeran, three of whose daughters�Vicki, 25, Jaime, 24, and Josette, 21�are Moon converts. He wants laws to protect people from 'cruel and exotic entrapment of their minds, souls and bodies.' Late one night last August, Sheeran decided to act when Josette, normally compassionate, showed little interest upon learning that her grandmother was in the hospital. He, his wife and a son drove to Moon's school to seek Josette. Fifteen Moon men materialized, a scuffle ensued, and state police arrived amid mutual charges of assault."

In fairness or under the doctrine of equal time, Inner City Press has heard a person who states that she "worked with Ms. Sheeran at the Office of the Untied States Trade Representative" and that "she severed her ties with the Unification Church... do you actually think the State Department's security clearance process" who have passed a Unification Church member?

Well, yes. George H.W. Bush has given speeches extensively praising Sun Myung Moon. But it's duly noted here, this missive from a person who worked with Ms. Sheeran also at the Washington Times, that after 20 years of membership in the Unification Church, it's stated that all ties were then severed. It remains newsworthy, also on the shifting positions on whether Kofi Annnan should be allowed to hand out five-year appointments in the less than three months he has remaining in office. U.S. Amb. Bolton said Annan shouldn't make appointments beyond the end of 2006, then receiving new instructions, said there'd be precedent to give Ms. Sheeran five years right now. Would he and the Bush Administration take the same position on Tony Banbury? We'll see.

WFP insiders have pointed out to Inner City Press that within the U.S. State Department, of Josette Sheeran (Shiner) it is said, "She is no Al Larson," her predessesor as Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs. These WFP sources note that Ms. Sheeran Shiner has no experience in humanitarian operations, or in emergency relief work, in international affairs, or in managing a large, complex, multi-billion dollar agency. One argues, "it would still be possible for Kofi Annan to retain an American for the WFP post and to not agree to the Bush Administration's rather unqualified candidate. After the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, America learned a lesson: Don't place unqualified political appointees in charge of critical emergency response agencies. The same lesson applies to leadership considerations for the WFP, the global 'first responder' for floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis the world over."

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