Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

At UN, As Ban Ki-moon Drops Africa & India for Swede & Argentine, Speaks of Fairness, Bans Questions

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 2 -- The UN's top troika on Friday dropped Africa and India in favor of Sweden and Argentine. Then Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his spokesman took no questions on this. Inner City Press exclusively reported that Ban was dropping Tanzanian Asha Rose Migiro as his Deputy, and reported in November 2011 that Argentine Susana Malcorra would be promoted.

  The Swede Jan Eliasson is replacing Migiro; Malcorra is taking over from Vijay Nambiar as chief of staff. Ban's real senior adviser, fellow South Korean Kim Won-soo, is being moved to "Change Management" for another Indian, Atul Khare.

  The obvious question is, since this is the UN: what about Africa? Ban Ki-moon has aggressive refused to abide by African Group and General Assembly directives for a full time Special Adviser on Africa. Now it's said that post might go to a non-Sub Saharan, Egypt's Maged Abdelaziz.

  Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky, increasingly testy when asked "tough" or even simple yes or no questions, ensured that these questions would not be asked, while allowing repeated questions from the same journalists. Ban's UN is hitting new lows daily, while Ban blathers about creativity, energy and even fairness. Ban at a minimum needs better representation. Watch this site.