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At
UN, National Competitive Exams
Are "Suspended," Favoritism Gaining
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee
of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, May 1 --
One of the UN's few mechanisms against favoritism, its
National Competitive Exam, has quietly been "suspended," Inner City
Press has learned. The UN's website
states that "the National Competitive Exam (NCE) aims to improve
geographic diversity amongst staff, which is essential for a truly
diverse
international civil service and is also very important to Member
States."
Earlier this year, Inner City Press was shown an e-mail sent out by a
senior
official in the UN's Office of Human Resources Management, headed by
Catherine
Pollard, that NCE is being scrapped.
At the May 1 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked
Deputy Spokesperson
Marie Okabe if this is true, and if so what would replace the NCE. Ms.
Okabe
said she knew nothing about this. But later in the afternoon,
apparently
prepared by the Department of Management headed by Angela Kane, the
following
arrived:
Subj: your
question
about national competitive exams
From:
unspokesperson-donotreply@un.org
To: Inner City
Press
Sent: 5/1/2009
1:43:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
UN is not
scrapping the National Competitive examinations. We have temporarily
suspended
these exams for revamping to make them more efficient.
Many have asked, why suspend the exam "for
revamping" -- why
not just design whatever improved system is ostensibly desired while
continuing
with the existing exam, through which applicants from under-represented
countries can compete to work for the UN?
UN's Angela Kane, center, in last long ago press
conference, new one needed
Others say that one of the
other few UN merit pathways, the G to P test,
is also being suspended. These people guess that neither will return in
positive form. Some Missions are said to be angry, as they learn of
this anti-reform.
Watch this site.
Footnote: so many
Department of
Management issues have arisen -- unlicensed dispensing of controlled
narcotics
in the Medical Services, asbestos controversies in the Capital Master
Plan,
failure to discipline in Nairobi and DESA, procurement irregularities
-- that it seems time for a press conference by
Angela Kane. Other say that a meeting was held at the U.S. Mission to
"get
the top DM post back." We'll see.
Click here
for a new YouTube video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian
deaths
in Sri Lanka.
Click here for Inner City
Press' March 27 UN debate
Click here for Inner City
Press March 12 UN (and AIG
bailout) debate
Click here for Inner City
Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click
here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
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
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN
Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
USA
Tel: 212-963-1439
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mobile (and
weekends):
718-716-3540
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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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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