At the UN, Gbagbo and his Gbaggage, Toxic Waste and Congolese Sanctions

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:

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

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of UNReported.org

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.

UN office in Abidjan

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.
Similary, 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...

Ivory Coast Stand-Off Shows Security Council Fault Lines: News Analysis By Matthew Russell Lee of UN-Reported.org

UNITED NATIONS, October 31 -- The fault lines on Ivory Coast were in evidence Tuesday night at the UN, as the clock wound down on one negotiated system of government with no agreement on the next. Finally past six p.m. the Ambassadors emerged, announcing they will continue Wednesday at four.
"Doesn't this leave a power vacuum?" John Bolton and Japan's Kenzo Oshima were asked. Both answered no, saying that November 1, when a new regime is needed, is November 1, even if it's late-night in Abidjan. "If you say so," one wag muttered.
France had proposed a Security Council resolution which, while allowing Laurent Gbabgo to remain as president for yet one more year, would shift most of his powers to the Prime Minister, Charles Bany. Four nations on the Council, three of them veto-wielding Permanent Member, threatened to abstain from the resolution unless Gbagbo for example retains the power appoint "civilian and military officials."
Inner City Press asked Amb. Bolton if the U.S. wants Gbagbo to retain this power. Amb. Bolton said he didn't want to get into those details. Video on UNTV. (He also stated he'd never seen the campaign brochure of the official U.S. candidate to head the UN World Food Program, Josette Sheeran Shiner, click here for the story and here for the brochure.)

Ivory Coast: Divisions not shown Behind the scenes, Gbagbo has reached out with business deals to sundry of the Permanent Five, China in particular. The U.S. built a new large embassy in Ivory Coast. Most recently at the UN, the French Defense Minister said her country has few remaining economic interests in Cote D'Ivoire.
After the no-vote, correspondents winced, imagining French Amb. de la Sabliere's report-back to Jacques Chirac. France faces opposition, from three of the other four P-5, on an issue of import to it.
The UK asked for modest changes to Operative Paragraph 4 of the resolution, then declared itself ready to approve. UK Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry told reporters that what's needed is a firm resolution, unanimously adopted and is also, improbably, clear. French Ambassador de la Sabliere strode north through the UN hallway with three reporters in tow, expressing hope about tomorrow. Japanese Ambassador Oshima left quickly, to host his mission's Halloween party on the last night of his Council presidency. And now your correspondent heads that way as well. Developing.

At the UN, Silence from UNDP on Cyprus, from France on the Chad-Bomb, Jan Pronk's Sudan Blog
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press of the UN

UNITED NATIONS, October 20 -- What is the UN's policy on free speech? The policies differ in the UN Development Program, which praises repressive regimes in Turkmenistan and Zimbabwe while criticizing the legislature of Cyprus, and in the Secretariat, which has discussed but not acted as its envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk has run a "personal" blog about events in Darfur.

Jan Pronk's blog hit the world news on Friday, as the al-Bashir government has declared him persona non grata for a mid-October post, still available online, reporting two losses by the Sudanese army to the rebels of the National Redemption Front, NRF, who are not signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Pronk's blog has been an open secret within UN Headquarters; UN staff have referred reporters to the site for information not available on the UN Mission to Sudan website. As senior peacekeeping officials at the UN have said privately that more international criticism is needed of the rebels, and not only of the government, for atrocities in Darfur, the UN has not made this point overly public, perhaps concerned of falling afoul of the mobilized concern symbolized by George Clooney's recent UN appearance.
As Inner City Press reported on October 18, nuanced or contrarian voices on Darfur are found among those above or outside the fray, like 92 year old, long-time UN hand Sir Brian Urquhart, or for example on Jan Pronk's blog.

On the topic of blogs, Inner City Press on Friday asked Kofi Annan's spokesman was asked at his regular press conference whether the UN has a policy on blogs, given that UN employees have been fired for writing unauthorized books about such topics as romance amid humanitarian missions.
"We have not kept up with technology," the spokesman acknowledged. Pressed by other reporters to stand behind or renounce the content of Jan Pronk's blog, the spokesman repeated again and again, "it is a personal blog." He was asked for a more definitely answer; we'll see.

S-G & Pronk
Also still unanswered are a series of questions Inner City Press has put to the UN Development Program, UNDP. Two weeks ago, Inner City Press asked UNDP's main spokesman William Orme for an update on a UNDP-funded involuntary disarmament program in Uganda which, after Inner City Press' reporting, was suspended earlier this year, see www.InnerCityPress.com/ungc062906.html. In two weeks, UNDP has not provide an answer, despite cajoling from Kofi Annan's spokesman's office, which has repeatedly told Inner City Press that answers would be forthcoming and the delays would be "ironed out."
On October 18, the spokesman said, "I don’t have any of the details of this event involving UNDP and Turkmenistan. I know that you and UNDP have had some issues and you’ve had some trouble talking to them. We will try to negotiate some sort of communication channel between you and UNDP, so you can get your answers to your questions."
For the record, Inner City Press has taken the same approach to UNDP as other agencies of the UN and of governments, and even corporations: questions about issues, and a request that answers be provided in less than two weeks, and without agita or insults.
The questions about UNDP has Inner City Press has asked in the past months have included UNDP's public praise of repressive governments in Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe and Turkmenistan, UNDP's funding to the judiciary of Sudan's al-Bashir government, and UNDP's acceptance of funding from Shell to produce a report about the Niger Delta. UNDP's spokesman has expressed outrage that certain questions have been asked, and has then refused to answer any more questions.
Meanwhile UNDP's director Kemal Dervis has not appeared for a press conference in the UN Headquarters building for fourteen months.

UNDP / UNPOS Controversial Funding in Cyprus: Issue Raised

Friday the issue of UNDP's controversial funding of materials in Cyprus supporting "the Annan plan" was raised to Mr. Annan's spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Video's on UNTV, and for a pro-UNDP narration of the Cyprus issue, click here. There are check stubs reflecting payment to journalists, and requests in to the U.S. State Department. Inner City Press will be following these documents where they lead and, wider, the UN Office of Project Services.

In the Cyprus controversy, the activity was undertaken by the UNDP-administered UN Office of Project Services, UNOPS, with money provided directly to UNOPS by USAID, an arm of the U.S. State Department. A wider question raised is what standards this UNDP-administered UNOPS has.

Friday at the UN on these UNDP-Cyprus issues, Kofi Annan's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that "Bill Orme will get back to you." Skepticism was expressed by another reporter covering the Cyprus issue -- "UNDP never answers questions," he told Inner City Press -- and later by another longtime UN correspondent, who recounts a vituperative response by the same Bill Orme, which he told Kofi Annan's spokesman about.
If there are special issues, they are UNDP's lack of standards, and lack of accountability and transparency.

At dusk fell Friday on Turtle Bay, UNDP's Bill Orme was seen inside the UN Spokesman's glass-walled office. Despite this time spent trying to excuse, explain or mischaracterize UNDP's delay in providing answers and basic information, not even an answer to the Uganda disarmament question posted two weeks ago in writing was provided.
There is something wrong at UNDP, and it is noteworthy that the Secretariat purports to be unable to address it. This is a developing story.