Inner City Press -- Investigative Journalism from the United Nations

On Water, UNDP Talks Human Rights, While Enabling Violations in Africa and Asia, With Shell and Coca-Cola

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

UNITED NATIONS, November 9 -- In Chad, nine percent of people have access to improved sanitation, and 42% of people have access to not-unhealthy water. These represent increases from seven and 19 percent, respectively, in 1990. By the United Nations math, Chad is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal for water, since it has doubled access.

Inner City Press asked UN Development Program Associate Administrator Ad Melkert if UNDP shouldn't set some minimum percentage of a country's population with access to clear water and sanitation, then direct resources until the basis threshold is met. Mr. Melkert answered that the lag, in Chad and elsewhere, is due to inequality, particularly but not only in the slums of cities.

Inner City Press asked Mr. Melkert to address, for example, the criticism by Zimbabwean opponents of the Robert Mugabe regime of UNDP's sponsorship of a Mugabe-led Human Rights Commission. The question has been put to UNDP Communications staff, resulting in generally boilerplate responses. The request that Administrator Kemal Dervis come and answer the question remains outstanding, although Monday his staff indicated that this will happen in December.

On November 6, UNDP Associate Administrator Mr. Melkert said that he declined to address the "specific example of Zimbabwe," but that UNDP has an "interest in economic growth and development" and to "improve life for the poor."

Reminded by Inner City Press of the Mugabe regime's mass eviction of 700,000 people, nearly all of them poor, Mr. Melkert said UNDP tries to make points how the poor could best be served. "Some environments are easier to make the point in," he said. "And in some places we are more successful than others."

Water work in Chad

In Turkmenistan, which the UN has just named as a major human rights abuser, UNDP praises the government, including on UN Day. In Uzbekistan, UNDP has helped the Karimov regime to collect taxes, and with its Internet programs. While the UNDP report puts Uzbek internet usage at 36%, most web sites are blocked, and Uzbek's surfing and communications are systematically spied on.

Speaking of communications, here are some recent responses from UNDP to questions from Inner City Press.

From: william.orme [at] undp.org

To: Inner City Press

Cc: kemal.dervis [at] undp.org; dujarric [at] undp.org

Sent: Mon, 23 Oct 2006 11:00 AM

Inner City Press question: On Turkmenistan, how does UNDP explain its participation in and statements in connection with Turkmenbashi's celebration earlier this month of partnership with UNDP while Turkmenistan's human rights record, including but not limited to the recent death in custody of a critical journalist, has led even the EU to take action and step back from a trade pact?

UNDP Answer: As you know, the United Nations Development Program is the coordinator of UN system activities in UN member-states in the developing world as well as the leader of long-term UN development efforts in all UN member-states in the developing world. UNDP a permanent presence in all these member-states, which are the sovereign hosts of the locally based projects and international staff of the UN funds, programs and agencies. UNDP's historic commitment over 50 years to its ongoing work in developing nations on the UN system's behalf has never been contingent upon nor construed as an endorsement of the specific policies or practices of specific host governments. The UN agencies which have the mandate of reviewing and responding to reports and incidents of the kind you cite -- UNESCO and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights-- have spoken out clearly forcefully on such cases on behalf of the Secretary-General and the entire UN system.

Beyond excusing UNDP's praise of a massive human rights violator, this response calls into question UNDP's desired future, more powerful role, as proposed by the Coherence Panel on which UNDP's Administrator served, along with the ex-president of Tanzania, Ben Mkapa, Robert Mugabe's hand-picked mediator to deal with the UK.

From another, more elaborated UNDP response, with emphasis added:

Question: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has just released a human development report in Nigeria that was funded by Shell. Environmental groups have said it is a highly compromised report, given the issues that have surrounded Shell in Nigeria. What standards does the UN have in terms of funding from corporations to fund something like a human development report?

[Belated] Response: UNDP is a development organization dedicated to poverty reduction. In recent years, we have learned that we can best achieve this objective by working in partnership with a broad array of stakeholders including government, communities, civil society and the private sector. This partnership builds on our experience working with extractive companies in China, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Indonesia and most recently, in Angola.

Among the various development actors in Nigeria, our broad comparative advantages lies in our human development values and neutrality, both of which have translated into trusted relationships with governments, civil society, communities and increasingly, the private sector. Publication of National Human Development Reports as well as participation in national and state strategic planning processes to promote dialogue around human development priorities has reinforced our coordination and advocacy roles. We have also teamed up with donors to gain valuable experience in support of conflict prevention.

The partnership with Shell will allow us to greatly expand our activities in the Delta. Our focus will be on developing a human development agenda in consultation with all the stakeholders in the broad areas of governance, biodiversity, HIV/AIDs and sustainable livelihoods. We see these objectives as unrelated to Shell�s operations and we take no position on their activities. Our role in this partnership, as in any other, is the development, management and implementation of projects together with local governments, civil society and Delta communities, the transparent management of funds, and monitoring and evaluation against our objectives.

Leveraging Shell�s willingness to finance a partnership aligned with UNDP�s mission and core values gives UNDP the very real opportunity to make a tangible improvement in the conditions in the Delta. It will allow us to build a program that involves not just Shell, but all the important stakeholders � communities, civil society, government and the private sector. UNDP�s broad-based stakeholder approach both to defining priorities and to implementing the projects will help improve the development impact of the millions of dollars currently flowing into the Delta...

UNDP's corporate partnerships, apparently overseen by no outside source, include deals with Coca-Cola, which is accused of rogue-like water usage in at least two continents. Human rights, anyone? There's something in the water...

Will UN's Revolving Door Keep Human Rights Lost, Like Bush's Call and WFP Confirmation Questions?

UNITED NATIONS, November 8 -- The UN's top ranks are clearing out, before any policy on post-employment restrictions are in place. This week Deutsche Bank announced it has hired outgoing UN Under Secretary of Management Chris Burnham.

Wednesday Inner City Press asked Kofi Annan's spokesman whether any post-employment restrictions apply to Mr. Burnham and now Deutsche Bank, and to address the issues raised by a senior UN official going to the main private banker of the leader of Turkmenistan, portrayed as a human rights abuser in a recent UN report. This report describes the "gross and systematic violations of human rights continu[ing] in the country." A/61/489.

Policies are being "elaborated on," the spokesman vaguely said. He was asked, will they not apply to those leaving? Will they apply to Mr. Annan?

"The Secretary-General is not a staff member," the spokesman said. "There is currently no policy on post-employment restrictions at the UN. One is being elaborated."

Inner City Press has obtained a copy of the draft post-employment policy. It proposes that "a former staff member of the [UN], at the Assistant Secretary-General level or above is prohibited from making, with the intent to influence, a communication to or appearance before any staff member [for] two years."

Strikingly, the only "sanction for violation" of this proposed policy would be to "have a note placed in the individual's official status file indicating the nature of the violation and the recommendation against any future employment by the Organization."

And this was the "gold standard" of post-employment restrictions? And as to Mr. Burnham new master, Deutsche Bank - Turkmenbashi, what about the "mainstreaming of human rights" which Kofi Annan has called for?

And what of the transparency that Messrs. Annan and Burnham have called for? There is at the UN apparently a taboo on any questions related to religion, in service of hard ball. The day after Josette Sheeran Shiner's rubber stamp confirmation by the executive board of the World Food Program, Swiss newspapers report that U.S. President George W. Bush called and pressured Jacques Diouf, head of the Food and Agriculture Organization, threatening to cut U.S. funding unless Ms. Sheeran Shiner got the job. Click here for English, here for original French.

Wednesday Inner City Press asked Kofi Annan's spokesman about this call, whether Jacques Diouf let Mr. Annan know of the U.S. interest to the highest levels. "Ask the White House or FAO," the spokesman advised, adding that Mr. Annan "has not had a conversation with the White House in the last two to three weeks." Transcript here. The Nov. 8 Washington Post reports that U.S. officials, presumably UN-based, asked it not to mention Ms. Sheeran Shiner's 20-year affiliation with Sun Myung Moon. Still the White House and FAO can and will be asked.

Inner City Press question: The Government of Serbia has called for Martti Ahtisaari to resign saying that he was engaged in secret negotiations with Albania about the future of Kosovo. So, one, if the UN has responded in any way to that, and two, what is the status of his plan. First one, and then the other.

Spokesman: Mr. Ahtisaari is in charge of the process, he works for the Secretary-General. It�s up to him, to the Secretary-General, to decide on his fate. But it�s clear that the Secretary-General expects Mr. Ahtisaari to continue to lead this process until its conclusion. We had said, and the Secretary-General said recently, that he did not exclude the possibility that these talks would not slip beyond the end of this year, but the discussions are continuing.

Okay, then. Also continuing is the inquiry into the resolution by Belarus and Uzbekistan calling for more "respectful" dialogue on human rights. From Tuesday's noon briefing's transcript:

Spokeswoman: I can check on the status of that, because I know that they have been talking. I�m not sure if it�s been introduced, but I know it�s on the agenda.

Inner City Press question: One part of the resolution says that the country-specific resolution should only be used in case of massive violations related to genocide and ethnic cleansing, and I think that the current GA practice is that there are human rights resolutions on these issues that fall short of that standard. I think the current GA practically there are resolutions issues short of that. I don�t know if the President herself has any view on this -- not necessarily this resolution but on country-specific resolutions that are brought up?

Meanwhile, a senior UN official in a place to know has confirmed to Inner City Press that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is negotiating with "some of the richest nations on Earth" to make sure the UN doesn't get overcharged for the naval component of UNIFIL off Lebanon. Inner City Press has learned that some are demanding depreciation and other costs for their ships, which they earlier claimed they were contributing. Chief among the chiselers is Germany...

On Somalia, We Are All Ill-Informed, Says the UN, Same on Uganda, Lurching Toward UNDP Power Grab

UNITED NATIONS, November 7 -- As a proxy war in Somalia gathers force, UN envoy Francois Lonseny Fall on Tuesday declined the name the six countries documented as violating the UN arms embargo. A UN report last May named Ethiopia, Eritrea, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and referred to a "clandestine third-country," widely thought to be the United States.

At UN Headquarters, Inner City Press on Tuesday asked Mr. Fall if he could now identify this "clandestine" party. Video on UNTV, from Minute 34:21.

"You and I, we are on the same level," Mr. Fall responded, adding that the UN Monitoring Group for the Somalia sanctions is independent from his office. Video on UNTV, Minute 34:55. Asked by Inner City Press about reported fighting in the Puntland region, and about the terrorism alert issued by the U.S. for East Africa, Mr. Fall largely punted.

"Regarding the threat against American interests in the region... it is from American sources, I cannot give more comment on it," he said. He said there is no fighting in Puntland, despite reports to the contrary (click here for some).

After the briefing, Inner City Press as told that when Mr. Fall first spoke publicly of his work, he was too forthcoming, and that he was asked by the UN to be less forthcoming. Mission accomplished. Still, his good humor covers a multitude of (briefing) sins. Whether this process is helpful to Somalis is another question.

Back on August 16, in response to one of five questions from Inner City Press, Francois Lonseny Fall said that during the morning�s Security Council consultations, the issue of Ethiopian troops in Somalia "didn't come up." He added that no member of the Security Council asked about the issue. Video is at http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/pressbriefing/brief060816.rm

Tuesday, Inner City Press interviewed Chinese Ambassador Wang, asking for China's thinking on the possibility of an IGAD force now going into Somalia.

"The Africans have different opinions" on that, said Ambassador Wang. "We are watching the Africans to see what they feel is best." That is the line, on the record.

Going off the record, an- /the other major power let it be known that they support a limited lifting of the Somalia arms embargo, for IGAD and to strengthen the seeming-doomed Transitional Federal Government.

Mr. Fall had briefed the Security Council, and afterwards Inner City Press asked this month's Security Council president, Peruvian Ambassador Jorge Voto-Bernales, what the timeline for any Council action would be. Video on UNTV.

Amb. Voto-Bernales said cautiously that there are "options under consideration" to address Somalia's "fragile situation," and that the Council "stresses dialogue between the parties."

The same could be said of Uganda -- and was, hours later, after the Council's consultation on the Lord's Resistance Army. In this case the UN's briefer, Ibrahim Gambari, declined to speak to the press. While at the noon briefing, spokesman Stephane Dujarric had said that Mr. Gambari "would be happy to speak with you at the stakeout," when the time came, Mr. Gambari cut to the elevator and went on up. There were references to Myanmar. But the effect was to continue the UN's silence as LRA leaders indicted by the International Criminal Court travel freely, and now ask to meet with outgoing head of UN Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland.

(Insider's note: while Mr. Egeland has said he is outgoing from his New York-based OCHA position, it is being circulated that the UN will set up a new agency, based in Scandinavia, which Norway will largely fund and which Mr. Egeland will head. Watch this site.)

After the Uganda briefing, not a single official or Ambassador came to the stakeout. Inner City Press followed Amb. Voto-Bernales down the hall and asked whether a presidential statement may be released. "Yes," Amb. Voto-Bernales responded. Any guidance for Mr. Egeland? "It was discussed."

Finally, for this pre-Washington report, a summary of the upcoming Coherence report has been circulated, highlighting the differences between the present and the proposal. Many of the proposal involve giving more power to the aforementioned UNDP, including "UNDP head becomes UN Development Coordinator" and "UNDP to lead and coordinate early recovery." Would it be a good idea to give more powers to UNDP as it is currently constituted and makes, or does make, itself available and transparent? More on this in coming weeks -- some, in fact, at or just after 8 a.m. on November 9, watch this site.

On WFP, Annan and Ban Ki-Moon Hear and See No Evil, While Resume of Josette Sheeran Shiner Is Edited

UNITED NATIONS, November 7 -- In the hours after Josette Sheeran Shiner was "confirmed" as the new head of the UN World Food Program, questions continued to arise.

At the UN spokesman's noon briefing, reporters asked about Ms. Sheeran Shiner's now-UN resume, which omits previous claims of status as Pulitzer Prize finalist and as promoter of the interests of U.S. agribusiness, and about the involvement of the U.S. and of Ban Ki-Moon (and another Moon, see below) in choosing Ms. Sheeran Shiner.

At a 10 a.m. stakeout interview, Inner City Press asked U.S. Amb. Bolton: "On WFP, did the U.S. reach out to the incoming secretary- general, Ban Ki-Moon, in order to get his position on it? Video on UNTV, from Minute 2:48.

Ambassador Bolton replied, as transcribed by the U.S. Mission, "My understanding is that the secretary-general consulted Ban Ki-Moon's office, and we certainly supported that and supported the decision to go ahead with Josette Sheeran's announcement. As I've said to you before, this is almost exactly what happened in late 1991, when Javier Perez de Cuellar and the then- director general of the FAO [Edward Saouma] when they appointed Cathy Bertini to be the executive director of the World Food Program."

At the UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Kofi Annan's spokesman Stephane Dujarric when Mr. Annan had communicated with Ban Ki-Moon, and if the decision on Ms. Sheeran Shiner had already been made before they spoke.

Mr. Dujarric replied that that the two had spoken "in the past few days," after Mr. Annan had interviewed Ms. Sheeran Shiner, and characterized the process as "consultative" and "rigorous."

Inner City Press asked if Ms. Sheeran Shiner had been asked, by Mr. Annan or the other outgoing UN official who interviewed her, including Mark Malloch Brown and Jan Egeland, about her 20-year affiliation with Sun Myung Moon and for her position on his stated views, including that the UN should be destroyed, or merged with the U.S..

As reported by Associated Press, Mr. Dujarric replied that "People's religious affiliation is their own. People are not judged on their religious affiliation."

Mr. Dujarric also said, "People's religious affiliation is not a matter of concern." Video on UNTV, Minute 22:26 to 23:17.

Sun Myung Moon's speeches, proudly online, deal not infrequently with the United Nations, including for example his statement that

"All five organizations will integrate into a new UN. Until today the United Nations has represented only the political realm... Through the United Nations, we can connect to the whole world and unite the whole world. The world is the extension of the family. Students, centering on True Mother, will form a big plus in relationship to the big minus formed by the IRFWP and FWP. Centering on True Mother, mind and body must be completely united, and on that foundation True Mother goes to unite with True Father; then all children, young and old, will all be completely unified, resulting in the unification of the whole world." http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon95/SM950207.htm

Reuters reported that "she joined Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church in 1975 and was married in a mass wedding but left the church in 1997." The Times of London went further:

"Ms Sheeran joined Rev Sun Myung Moon�s South Korea-based Unification Church in 1975 and married in a mass wedding before leaving the church about 1997. UN officials said that Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, had been reluctant to appoint Ms Sheeran, Washington�s official candidate, fearing that she lacked logistical experience."

"in Rome, where WFP has its headquarters, some officials privately expressed concern. 'She has never distanced herself from the views of this group which, given its extreme nature, you would think was appropriate,' said one. He referred to Mr Moon's claims that the Holocaust was a result of the death of Jesus. 'It's sufficiently bizarre to warrant an explanation - that, and the duration of her involvement.'"

According to the UN spokesman, no question was asked, by Kofi Annan, Mark Malloch Brown, Jan Egeland -- nor apparently Ban Ki-Moon. Perhaps the answers to these questions, pre-Rome, are to be found in Washington, DC. Developing...

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