By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
16 -- Of Tony
Blair's many
blatant
conflicts of
interest with
his "UN"
Middle East
Quartet role,
now the
Financial
Times quotes
unnamed
diplomats that
his role may
be reduced;
"“He has been
ineffective in
this job. He
has no
credibility in
this part of
the world.”
It is called
the UN Quartet
and Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon is one
of the four.
But when Inner
City Press has
repeatedly
asked the UN
Spokesperson
about Blair's
proliferation
of conflicts
of interest --
JP Morgan
Chase,
PetroSaudi,
countries --
the UN has
said,
absurdly, to
ask Blair's
office if
these are
conflicts.
(This is the
same UN which
has done
nothing about
a Cote
d'Ivoire
diplomat
openly selling
UN
Peacekeeping
positions in
Haiti and DR
Congo, as
exposed by
Inner City
Press - a UN
that claims to
have "zero
tolerance.")
On
November 10,
2014 after it
was reported
that Tony
Blair's
company has a
41,000 pounds
a month
contract
lobbying for
PetroSaudi,
while Blair is
the envoy of
the UN /
Quartet on the
Middle East,
Inner City
Press asked
the UN if this
isn't a
conflict of
interest. Video here.
UN
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
first said the
question
should be put
to "Tony Blair
Associates."
Inner City
Press asked if
it isn't a UN
determination
to make. Haq
replied that
it is for the
Quartet, for
which he would
not speak. And
now?
In November
2013 Tony
Blair was in
the UN talking
about
terrorism.
Inner
City Press
asked then,
can't there be
conflicts of
interest
between this
work and the
money he
receives from
banks like
JPMorgan Chase
(which just
settled
predatory
lending
related
charges for
$13 billion),
and from
countries like
Kazakhstan?
After
the UN
repeatedly
refused to
answer this
question when
Inner City
Press asked
it, at a
stakeout on
Thursday Inner
City Press put
it directly to
Blair: can you
address the
potential
conflicts of
interest?
Blair
replied,
"There never
is" a conflict
of interest.
He did not
answer about
the Quartet,
but only his
foundation,
which he says
is "separate"
and works in
35 countries.
He
concluded
before walking
away that "I
just point out
that I
actually spend
the vast bulk
of my time on
pro bono
work." Video
here.
Vast
bulk is what
percent? And
what is
Kazakhstan
paying $11
million for?
Who else is
paying what?
Back
on March 14 of
this year
Inner City
Press asked
the UN
spokesperson:
Inner
City
Press: Tony
Blair, who has
a role in the
Quartet and
for the UN in
the occupied
territories,
is receiving a
salary of
$11.7 million
a year from
Kazakhstan.
And I wanted
to know
whether this
could be
viewed as any
kind of a
conflict of
interest,
whether
apparently he
doesn’t file
at least a
public,
financial
disclosure. I
wanted to know
whether he
does, given
his UN role,
do a financial
disclosure to
the UN and
whether direct
payment by a
Government
could be
viewed as a
conflict of
interest given
his role, his
UN service.
Deputy
Spokesperson:
We’ll have to
check on that,
Matthew, I
don’t have
anything on
that.
[The
Deputy
Spokesperson
later said
that Mr. Blair
is not a staff
member of the
United
Nations, and
that any
questions on
this issue
should be
referred to
his office.]
Blair's
office
doesn't
respond. But
on November
21, 2013 when
Inner City
Press asked,
Blair did
respond --
sort of --
that "I
actually spend
the vast bulk
of my time on
pro bono
work." So what
is Kazakhstan
paying $11.7
million a year
for? Watch
this site.
, 
