French Ex-Minister Takes $1 UN Post, Says UNDP Should Release Audits, Will Work with Google

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

UNITED NATIONS, February 19 -- The UN must show its donors where their money goes, former French foreign minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters Tuesday, upon being appointed the UN's Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development. Starting with the big picture, Inner City Press asked if Douste-Blazy believes that aid to counter-act climate change, a topic much discussed in the past month at the UN, should be able to count as overseas development aid, of the type pledged at the G-8 meetings. "As you know," Douste-Blazy said, "there is a close link between poverty and climate change. It is very difficult to set up two different funds." 

  Getting more specific, Inner City Press asked him if he believes that the UN Development Program and UNICEF should break from their current policies and begin routinely providing copies of audits to donors, without censorship or restrictions. "Yes," Douste-Blazy answered, continuing on to refer to developing "new tools with the computer." Video here, from Minute 40:41.  Douste-Blazy said "it is possible to study with Google," and said he would work with them. Video here, from Minute 38:48.

   Ironically, earlier in the briefing when Douste-Blazy was still in UN protocol's green room, spokesperson Marie Okabe was asked by two media outlets about Google's reported "censorship of a UN-accredited journalist," which Ms. Okabe said she had read about, and would look into. Video here, from Minute 22:44. Later, Okabe repeated by e-mail the denial of UNDP, which does not address any censorship request by the U.S. Committee for UNDP, on whose board of directors serves a representative of military contractor Lockheed Martin, click here for that. And click here for an update.

Douste-Blazy in previous post, in Senegal

            Douste-Blazy was asked if this would be a full time job and said yes, "it is a full job." Later in the day, however, the spokesperson's office put out an amended announcement, adding that while Douste-Blazy will be a UN Under-Secretary-General, he will received only one dollar a year.  Some in the press corps wondered, how can it be a full time job? One recalled back to a scandal in Morocco, first reported by Le Canard Enchaine, when a broken-up hotel room attributed to Douste-Blazy was repaired at the expense of the King of Morocco. Innovative, indeed. None of this means that Douste-Blazy may not do an excellent and needed job raising funds to help the poor -- we hope we does, and will continue to report on it. And on this:

            That Douste-Blazy is now a USG makes him subject to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for USGs to voluntarily disclose their personal finances, Ms. Okabe confirmed to Inner City Press after the briefing. But as a USG, can Douste-Blazy receive benefits from the French government? Staff members cannot. But can honorary, dollar-a-year USGs? This remains to be seen.

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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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Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

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