Inner City Press -- Investigative Journalism from the United Nations

At the UN, Housing Subsidy Spin, Puntland Mysteries and the Panama Solution

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

UNITED NATIONS, November 2 -- In the wake of U.S. Ambassador Bolton declaring victory over Venezuela -- he called it podiacide on Thursday, the shooting of self in the foot -- grumblings emerged Thursday about the stated compromise candidate, Panama. The Caribbean nations in the CARICOM group complained of not being consulted. Meanwhile in the General Assembly, voting moved into the eighth round between Belarus and Bulgaria, for a seat on ECOSOC. One veteran of the Guate-Zuela fight muttered, this is getting stale.

And so some dormant stories came to life. On housing subsidies paid by governments to UN officials, an issue Inner City Press has raised since August 24, the U.S. Mission finally provided Inner City Press a copy of the Secretariat's September 1 response. The letter, signed by Kofi Annan's chef de cabinet Alicia Barcena, stated that "as of 29 August 2006, according to the Organization's personnel records, eight currently-serving staff members are receiving subsidized housing. Payroll deductions are made in five of these cases."

On September 12, Kofi Annan's spokesman told Inner City Press that only one official was receiving housing subsidy. After getting the contrary letter from the U.S. Mission Thursday, Inner City Press asked Kofi Annan's spokesman to explain the discrepancy. He said the switch from eight to one came after September 1. Have they sent another letter? No. They thought it would just go away.

So too did UNHCR, on its deal with Pictet & Co., run by a member of the UN Investment Committee. A recent General Assembly document, A/C.5/61/6, shows Mr. Pictet up for re-election before the GA's Fifth Committee. Inner City Press has asked the GA President's spokespeople for logistics so as to attend and cover the meeting. Video on UNTV.

As to why UNDP's security chief was reportedly thrown out of Somalia's Puntland, the question was asked of UNDP by email, and of Kofi Annan's spokesman at noon. As of 8:50 p.m., no answer was provided. On Puntland, it's noted that the push by Australia-based Range Resource Ltd has continued, now reportedly in partnership with Canmex Minerals Corporation. They claim to have the support of the UN-supported Transitional Federal Government -- while others are saying that UNDP has opened in Mogadishu, we'll see.

Somalia fall-out

Thursday at 1 p.m., the incoming Security Council president gave his plan of work press conference. Peruvian Amb. Jorge Voto-Bernales answered question after question with variations of, "That's not on the agenda" and "That did not come up in the meeting." Video on UNTV. Kosovo? Haiti? Abkhazia? Appeals of sanctions list? Nothing. We'll see.

Also upcoming will be, at least, a briefing from the Office of Internal Oversight Services. Thursday morning after U.S. Amb. John Bolton credited the Bahel indictment to outgoing Under-Secretary-General Chris Burnham, Inner City Press asked if OIOS had played a role, and whether it is consistent with UN reform for OIOS to refuse to brief reporters. Video on UNTV. U.S. Mission's transcript:

Ambassador Bolton: I just have a couple of minutes here because I --

Reporter: Today's arrest --

Ambassador Bolton: Yesterday's arrest.

Reporter: Excuse me - that you credit Mr. Burnham with. What was OIOS's involvement in it? And do you think it's -- OIOS has refused to come and kind of brief reporters, and if you think that's appropriate --

Ambassador Bolton: The procurement task force I think was largely put together by the management in OIOS operations, and I'm sure they're not briefing for the same reason that I'm not going to comment on the substance of the indictment. You just don't do that. Their investigation continues, and I don't think they want to get into the substance of it.

Reporter: (Inaudible) their audits and stuff. They haven't come to -- many reporters have asked whether they can come to a briefing, just about their general work and --

Ambassador Bolton: A general briefing I think would make a lot of sense.

[Reporter: (Inaudible) I gather there are eight people who received housing subsidies. Do any of them receive housing subsidies from nongovernmental entities?
Ambassador Bolton: I don't know the answer to that question because the letter that you're referring to that I received several months ago now didn't specify that. I will be writing a letter back to the Secretary-General shortly, perhaps as soon as today, to inquire further into that matter.]

Two hours later, the spokesman announced that OIOS will come, but only in December. We'll be there.

In Campaign to Head UN WFP, A Race to Precedents' Depths, A Murky Lame Duck Appointment

UNITED NATIONS, November 1 -- Both U.S. Ambassador John Bolton and Kofi Annan's spokesman faced questions Wednesday about the process to select a new executive director for the UN World Food Program. Each cited mixed precedents in defense of a process about which skepticism is growing.

Ambassador Bolton, in a stakeout interview Wednesday afternoon, was asked by Inner City Press why he and the U.S. are pushing to get a five year term for Josette Sheeran Shiner, when Amb. Bolton had previously said that Kofi Annan should not appoint any senior officials to terms beyond December 31, 2006, when Mr. Annan leaves. Video here, at Minute 4:43.

In response, Amb. Bolton stated that "the precedents have varied." After acknowledging that "there are examples to the contrary," he cited a precedent from late 1991, when Javier Perez de Cuellar gave his blessing to a five year term for Catherine Ann Bertini, then a U.S. Under-Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

Rarely has Amb. Bolton taken prior UN precedent as proof that a decision is a good one. Inner City Press asked Amb. Bolton whether, as a matter of U.S. reform, he believed that the short list of candidates should be publicly disclosed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kofi Annan's spokesman had refused numerous reporters' requests for the short list, which Inner City Press then summarized as "Sheeran Shiner, Banbury, Fowler and Fust," see Inner City Press' articles of September 29 and October 27.

Apparently referring to these, Amb. Bolton said, "I think the short list is already public." Video on UNTV, Minutes 6:30 though 7:40. But transparency of an institution is a choice, and should not be entirely dependent the fortuity of leaks and shoe-leather reporting. Amb. Bolton strode away from the stakeout, leaving many questions unanswered.

Among these questions are why Bush Administration officials are so insistent that Ms. Sheeran Shiner must be the one. They have reportedly told UN officials up to the level of Mark Malloch Brown that "President Bush wants this."

Despite the fact that, as a matter of UN reform, short lists of final candidates were made public in the selection processes for UNHCR, UNDP and even the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, Kofi Annan's spokesman on Wednesday insisted the list will not be publicly confirmed in this case, "because this doesn't go in front of the G[eneral] A[ssembly]," he said. Video on UNTV. Following Inner City Press, correspondents from the Washington Post, the New York Sun and the Times of London all followed up, asking the spokesman to explain the difference and then remaining unconvinced.

Back in April 1999, the prior UN spokesman was quoted about UNDP that "we expect to make a decision in a week or two," but as refusing to comment about the selection process. Under this veil, Mark Malloch-Brown was selected, over Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Poul Nielson, the nominee of the European Union.

In this WFP case, most observers give the Swiss finalist Walter Fust very little chance. Canada's Robert Fowler, it is said, has credit with Kofi Annan for Canada's help in making and keeping him Secretary-General. Still, it is still widely assumed that given the Bush Administration's insistence, Josette Shiner Sheeran is the favorite for the post, over fellow American (but Democrat) Tony Banbury.

Returning to Amb. Bolton's 1991 precedent, open source research finds Ms. Bertini's biography on the UN web site, which misstates that she was appointed in 1992, and lists a pre-selection vita more extensive then Ms. Sheeran Shiner's, which pointedly does not mention her at least 20-year association with Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Further research finds that in February 2006, Ms. Bertini appeared at the U.S. Institute of Peace to speak about North Korea.

In 1992, Josette Sheeran Shiner wrote a generally laudatory article about North Korea's Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, which appeared on April 15 front page of the Moon-owned Washington Times. Excepts from Ms. Sheeran Shiner's article, available through the Washington Times web site, but only for $2.95 --

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- ... President Kim, appearing relaxed and jovial in a 2 1/2-hour interview, followed by a private luncheon of roast goose and quail-egg soup. He seemed to be in vigorous health on the eve of his 80th birthday, presenting the image of a self-confident, reflective elder statesman... His robust appearance contradicts persistent reports in the West that his health is failing, and he discussed with zest and ease a range of topics, from nuclear weapons and the reunification of Korea to his recent visit with American evangelist Billy Graham, his enthusiasm for tiger hunting and his formula for a long life. The interview, at the Presidential Palace, was granted after a delegation of editors and reporters of The Times, led by Wesley Pruden, the newspaper's Managing Editor and editor-in-chief, had spent 11 days here interviewing highest-ranking government, military and Workers Party officials... "In my country now everybody has housing, nobody is sleeping outside. There are no beggars. There are no opium addicts. There's no unemployment, not a single person is without food and every child has 11 years' compulsory education. Plus we have free medical care and no taxation. I think these are the good points in my country"... "This is my philosophy: Even if the sky is falling down upon us, there will always be a hole for me to rise up through," he said. "When we were fighting against the Japanese imperialists I never felt pessimistic. If one feels optimistic there is nothing that can't be solved."

It was this last that Ms. Sheeran Shiner later referred to, in a "Unification Speech and Talk," as "this wonderful thing that I published in the newspaper." Whether it is consistent with current U.S. foreign policy is another wonderful question.

Viewing the above functions, it is reported that "when the Seoul-based Joon Ang Daily would wonder how Moon�s Pyeonghwa Motor Corporation had won a $55 million exclusive deal to manufacture vehicles for the regime. The Seoul paper quoted Hwang Sun-Jo, a Uniﬁcation Church leader and head of Moon�s Tongil industrial conglomerate, who revealed that their good fortune became possible after Moon 'sent a Washington Times reporter to the North and made the country known to the West with a better image... Since then the North has conﬁded in the church.'"

Does this counter-intuitively provide support for Ms. Sheeran Shiner being anointed head of the UN World Food Program? Developing.

Inner City Press question: Ambassador, you've said that the secretary-general shouldn't appoint any new senior officials beyond his term of office at the end of the year. But on the World Food Programme, you seemed to say that he should appoint somebody for a five-year term. Can you explain that?

Ambassador Bolton: I think I've said in response to that question, which I've answered before, that the precedents for the appointment of the executive director of the World Food Programme have varied. In some cases, the outgoing secretary-general and the director general of the FAO have made the appointment. In some cases, the incoming Secretary-General has made the appointment because the terms are five years. In 1991, Javier Perez de Cuellar and the director general of the FAO appointed Cathy Bertini for a term beginning on January 1, 1992. That's one example of the outgoing secretary-general doing it. There are examples to the contrary as well. Our position on that is that we think Undersecretary Sheeran should receive the appointment and by this Secretary-General.

Inner City Press question: And should the shortlist be made public as a matter of U.N. reform and transparency?
Ambassador Bolton: I think the shortlist is public because I've seen it in newspapers.

WFP Brochure-Gate? John Bolton Has Not Seen Brochure of "Official" U.S. Candidate to Head World Food Program

UNITED NATIONS, October 31 -- "Did the U.S. State Department produce the brochure promoting Josette Sheeran Shiner to head the UN World Food Program?"

Nearly 7 p.m. Tuesday, Inner City Press asked U.S. Ambassador John Bolton this question.

"I've never seen the brochure," Amb. Bolton said. "So I can't comment on it." Video on UNTV, at Minute 4:40.

That can be quickly remedied -- click HERE for a scanned copy of the brochure, in PDF format.

Also on Tuesday, Inner City Press asked the General Assembly president's spokeswoman who in her purview may have seen the campaign brochure. WFP is run by a 36-member executive board, half of the nations appointed by the UN ECOSOC, half by the FAO.

The GA president's spokeswomen later said they do not answer for the ECOSOC, so Inner City Press put the question, in writing, to the mission of Tunisia, which chairs the ECOSOC. Similarly, Inner City Press has put the question to FAO, including asking if a provision of the FAO Constitution about picking the candidate with the most experience and technical competency applies to this WFP process.

Kofi Annan's spokesman, who has before him several related questions, explained that the Secretary-General and the head of FAO propose the new head of WFP to the WFP executive board. So was the attached brochure created only for two men? Or for the five-person interview panel, including Mark Malloch Brown and Jan Egeland, which whittled eight finalists down to four? Or for all 36 WFP Executive Board members? After a day of asking the Secretariat, the General Assembly, the head of ECOSOC and FAO, the answers should come Wednesday. And by then U.S. Amb. Bolton will have seen, one way or another, Josette Sheeran Shiner's brochure. One example: what is the statement about "Pulitzer Prize nominee" based on? Developing...

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