On
Budget, US
Puts a
Ham-Hand on
Scale, Oman
Rejects, Jane
Holl Lute in
Hall
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 21 --
With US
President
Obama flying
to Hawaii as
the fiscal
cliff
approaches, at
the UN in New
York US
representative
Joe Torsella
is described
by multiple
sources as
playing
ham-handed
fiscal
hardball with
Oman on the
UN's scales of
assessment.
Much
earlier
today
Inner City
Press reported
on "some
attempts by
the
United States
to split the
Group of 77
irritated the
Group of 77
and
made progress
stop."
Now
we can report
more. A finely
tuned proposal
was on the
table,
balancing a
7.5% discount
in the
peacekeeping
scales of
assessment
and the change
of category of
Oman (like the
change of
Bahrain two
years ago)/
Oman agreed to
forgo a
one-time
windfall, and
the deal
seemed ready
to seal.
But
then US
ambassador for
management
Torsella, the
sources say,
gave a
so called "non
paper" to
Oman's
representative.
This
document
argued
clumsily that
the
coordinator of
the proposal
Singapore
would be
making Oman
pay more. This
was shown to
countries
including
Singapore, not
a source for
this, and was
rejected by
Oman.
Then
Torsella
compounded
matters by
demanding to
know why Oman
had shared
his
"non-paper."
It's called
transparency,
Joe, said one
close
observer.
Another well
placed Fifth
Committee
source told
Inner City
Press that
Torsella's
"attempt with
Oman threw
things off and
[angered] both
EU and Oman.
Oman got so
angry it
almost made
G77 take its
proposal off
the table, and
EU then made
effort to
finalize quick
before things
spiralled out
of control."
The genial
chairman had
no comment.
Ah, diplomacy.
As
noted,
Torsella was
at Morocco's
End of
Security
Council
Presidency
reception in
the UN Tent
Thursday
night, just
behind the
North Lawn
building where
the talks are
talking place.
Man's got to
eat. But how
will
re-costing
play out?
The General
Assembly hall
was been
booked
for 10 am on
Monday,
Christmas Eve.
Still time for
seven fishes?
(Click
here for that
story from
last year).
We jibe
because he can
more than take
it.
Thinner
skinned, on Lockheed
Martin,
spotted
at the UN on
Friday by
Inner City
Press sources
was Jane Holl
Lute,
previously an
Assistant
Secretary
General for
Peacekeeping
and now a
top official
in the US
Department of
Homeland
Security.
Why was she
at the UN?
Sources
exclusively
tell Inner
City Press it
is in
connection
with the Under
Secretary
General for
Safety and
Security
position being
vacated by
fellow
American Gregg
Starr. Click
here for
Inner City
Press' exit
Q&A with
Starr.
On
the upside, if
she looked
beyond DSS,
Holl Lute
could do more
to make the UN
Human Rights
Due Diligence
Policy
credible after
the 126
FARDC raped in
Minova than
has USG
Ladsous, click
here for that.
Footnote:
Inner
City Press
also report
that on a $8.7
million budget
proposal
to "implement
Rio+20," on
Thursday the
European Union
and
Japan proposed
to cut that
budget to
zero. This
gave rise to
howls
among the
Group of 77
and China, and
accusations
that the EU
and
Japan are
hypocrites on
sustainable
development
and the
environment.
Inner
City Press
went to
Friday's noon
briefing and
asked, "given
how
important
sustainable
development is
to the
Secretary-General
and his
statements,
it’s been
proposed by
Japan and the
European Union
to
cut funding
for the
implementation
of Rio+20 to
zero. This was
a
proposal made
by the two, by
Japan and the
EU, yesterday
and it seems
to me… what
is… does the
Secretariat
think about no
implementation
of Rio+20?"
Deputy
Spokesperson
Eduardo Del
Buey: Well,
Matthew, I am
not going to
get
into a budget
discussion
until we find
out what the
General
Assembly
decides.
Inner
City Press:
But can you
say that there
will be a
Secretariat
statement on
the budget
when it comes
up?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
If the
Secretariat
believes that
the… that a
statement is
warranted, one
may be issued,
but I can’t
promise you
anything on
that.
Now
we can report
that they also
proposed that,
not to be
"absorbed"
like Rio+20,
the budget
should
including
$40,000 for a
consultant on
the arms trade
treaty. More
screams of
hypocrisy. And
so it goes at
the UN.
, 
