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At UN, Safety Goat Resurfaces in UNDP, Strikes on the Horizon, Michel's
Basement Praise
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
June 25 -- At the UN, safety of
staff is much talked about but now in question more than ever. In the
run-up to
the bombing deaths of UN staff in Algeria in December, the UN's
Designated
Officer in Algiers was far from
forceful in raising security issues. The
follow-up
report the UN issued yesterday, as redacted by its Office of Legal
Affairs, states that this Designated Officer, Marc de Bernis of the UN
Development Program, "was separated from duty in Algiers and
transferred." (Paragraph
84). Inner City Press asked UNDP where de Bernis
is now. UNDP's spokesman responded that "Marc de Bernis is
currently working as a Senior Advisor for strategic partnerships in the
UNDP
liaison office in Brussels, which handles relations with the EU and
EC."
Let's hope that safety is part of the partnership, and is raised when
necessary.
OLA
chief Nicolas
Michel, along with the Staff Union, met Wednesday with the 14 countries
which
have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Safety
of UN and
Associated Personnel. First to ratify was Norway, the nation
of the first UN staff member to die in the line of duty, Ole Helge
Bakke, shot and killed outside Jerusalem in 1948. R.I.P.. Wednesday's
14 nations almost fell back to 13, but Netherlands arrived at the
last minute to claim its plaque. The Netherlands has been embroiled in
UN
scandal
for having paid the rent for Dutch national Eveline Herfkens while
she
ostensibly served as the head of the UN Millennium Campaign. While the
Dutch
government now admits that was illegal, Ms. Herfkens is refusing
legislative
requests that she return the money. Nicholas Michel must feel right at
home, so
to speak, after reports
earlier this year that he rent from the Swiss
government, some $10,000 a month. Since then he has refused to
speak with the
Press. A Balkan reporter who asked him to explain the UN's stance on
Srebrenica
was not only rejected, he was told he could not record even the attempt
to ask
the question.
At UN, safety and sound in basement, subsidy
not shown
Srebrenica
is the
second Michel / OLA connection with the Dutch, and the safety of UN
personnel.
The UN is being sued for its role in the deaths in Srebrenica, but
claims it is
immune. Nicolas Michel was asked to explain this, but said do not
record me. He
chatted amiably with the Swiss Ambassador on Wednesday. "About rent,"
muttered one wag.
Note: there is
yet more labor strife on the horizon.
Those who man the cameras and microphones and associated machines for
UN TV and
Radio face the end of their contracts on Monday. The contractor has not
renewed
the contract; last time, they were given a three year deal with raises
of zero,
two and two percent over three years. The UN staff in charge of
overseeing
negotiations is set to go moonlight in Beijing. Will there be a strike
or
sick-out? Watch this space.
* * *
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
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Other,
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in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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