In the UN, Oversight Is Undermined by Funded Relocation of Jobs, Fishy in Denmark

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

UNITED NATIONS, September 5 -- As the UN Development Program proposes to substitute the president of its and the UN Population Fund's Executive Board, Danish Ambassador Carsten Staur, for the UN Ethics Office as monitor of retaliation, questions about conflict of interest are multiplying. Denmark has pursued and obtained the relocation of offices and jobs from both UNFPA and UNDP and its affiliates to Copenhagen. While in some cases Denmark has appeared to pay for the jobs by providing relocation financing-- characterized by insiders as "slush funds" -- to the agencies, it also appears that by relocating posts to Denmark, at least a confluence of interest, rather than oversight, is created.

            UNFPA's most recent audit, under the heading "Relocation of Procurement Services Section" on page 93, note 21, states that

"Funding was received from Denmark to support the relocation of the Procurement Services Section from New York to Copenhagen. A total of $1.3 million was received [and] the Copenhagen Procurement Services Section office, in premises shared with the procurement operations of other United Nations organizations, became operational...."

            On September 4, Inner City Press sent Danish Ambassador Carsten Staur a few simple questions, including how was the $1.3 million to be used? On the morning of September 5, Inner City Press sent four officials at UNFPA some questions, including how was the $1.3 million actually used? Neither provided any response at all. Inner City Press asked because well-placed sources, anonymous due to founded fear of retaliation, say that these funds are in practice unrestricted, and can be spent on items not related to relocation.

Staur as Danemark, along with Korea

            This was also the case when Denmark lured the headquarters of the UN Office of Project Services, UNOPS, to Copenhagen before the joint UNDP / UNOPS / UNFPA Executive Board even voted on the matter. Denmark has also gotten the procurement and personnel functions of the Inter-Agency Procurement Services Office (IAPSO) unit, long under discussion to be merged into UNOPS, and the UNDP Global Environmental Facility. As previously reported, Denmark is now gunning for 61 more jobs from UNDP -- at precisely the moment that UNDP's leadership is counting on Danish Ambassador Staur to create the impression that despite the findings of the UN Ethics Office' Robert Benson, that UNDP prima facie engaged in retaliation, Staur's Executive Board can credibly deal with this issue. It is not credible, and it is riddled with conflicts of interests. That hasn't stopped them in the past, but now the heat and spotlight are on.

            Staur first became visible at the UN in his January 25, 2007, press availability with UNDP's Associate Administrator Ad Melkert, click here for video. It was only later, on March 16, that Staur presented his credentials to Ban Ki-moon to become Denmark's permanent representative to the UN. So what was he on January 25?  Given non-response, searching the public record one finds Staur back in the Nordic Business Review of February 6, 2001, "Denmark set to resume aid to Zimbabwe next year." Developing.

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Clck here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (which had to be finalized without Ban's DPA having responded.)  Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

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