In UN's Corporate Frenzy, Western Union Dismisses Boycott, Coke Exonerates Itself, UNICEF Plays Footsie

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

UNITED NATIONS, February 25 -- The UN system's partnering with the corporate world has reached a fever pitch, with safeguards still in evolution, virtually non-existent in such entities as the US Fund for UNICEF and the U.S. Committee for the UN Development Program. At a panel discussion on Monday, Inner City Press asked the CEO of Western Union about a boycott by a coalition of immigrant groups based on over-priced wire services. "There will always be issues that occur," was the pat response, followed by a reference to Western Union's "advocacy" to keep immigrants in the U.S. --hardly surprising, given its business model -- and its philanthropy.  Video here, from Minute 2:36:39.

   As was demonstrated on February 21 at the UN, at a briefing by Leena Srivastava of the New Delhi-based group The Energy and Resources Institute, TERI, corporate funding of non-profits has many motives. Coca-Cola funded TERI to review it use of water in India, and the resulting study was reported as exonerating Coke and militating for its continued sales on college campuses. Inner City Press asked Ms. Srivastava if it wasn't a conflict of interest, to study Coke with Coke's money. "Who else would pay for it?" she asked.  Video here. But Pepsi is also a TERI funder. Or, more productively, perhaps the student boycotters should have been approached for funding.

Boycott of Western Union, Footsie For Good not shown

            While UNICEF has strenuously avoided in-person responses about its role in giving the UN's North Lawn to Gucci earlier this month, for a fundraising event that Gucci claimed was to celebrate its opening of a store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, UNICEF's Hilde Johnson was on Monday's panel. Inner City Press asked about the Gucci event, and Ms. Johnson replied that while UNICEF used the so-called "FTSE-4-Good" principles, it has no control over US Fund for UNICEF, which fronted the Gucci event. But then stop the Fund, like the national committee in Germany, from using the logo to bring it into disrepute. 

     Since the Gucci event, a number of ambassadors for major UNICEF-funding countries have approached Inner City Press with their concerns about the event, that UNICEF would feel it needed money so much as to make the UN look bad. Maybe UNICEF and the wider UN will learn from this. It appears clear that the US Fund for UNICEF, which never answered follow-up questions about the event, feels it has nothing to learn, just more lawns and logos left to trample.  Likewise, the U.S. Committee for UNDP has on its board of directors a representative from UN (and military) contractor Lockheed Martin, the safeguards regarding which Inner City Press has asked UNDP, without answer.

            After Inner City Press asked Ms. Johnson of UNICEF for a response, it was quickly told that it shouldn't have been allowed to ask a question, despite a previous moderator inviting questions from throughout the ECOSOC Chamber.  Ms. Johnson's answer could barely be heard over the threat, "Should I call security?" This is the free press at the UN these days.

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These reports are usually also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

Because a number of Inner City Press' UN sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the poor, and while it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to conclude this installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the stated goals of the UN agencies and many of their staff. Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the information flowing.

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