Japan
& EU Move
to Cut
Rio+20, US
"Divides on
Scales," of
R2P &
Ban's Car
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 21 --
Alongside the
approach of
the US fiscal
cliff
in Washington,
at the UN in
New York the
annual budget
fight is
entering the
end-game.
Thursday the
gloves came
off, tellingly
about
a $8.7 million
budget
proposal to
"implement
Rio+20" on
sustainable
development.
The
UN Advisory
Committee on
Administrative
and Budgetary
Questions
ACABQ
supported the
budget item.
But 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.
There
are other
fights, on a
proposed
salary freeze
in the UN
Common System
and the
deferred issue
of re-costing
of the budget.
The funding
and
mandate of the
Responsibility
to Protect
office is
being
questioned,
while other
"Special
Political
Missions" are
almost agreed.
Less
certain is Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
"mobility"
proposal,
on which Ban
met with a
group of
Permanent
Representatives
and got
feedback
sources say he
did not
expect. Still
the effort
continues.
Seemingly
less
contentious
than in other
years has been
the scales of
assessment.
But, a good
Fifth (Budget)
Committee
sources
exclusively
tells Inner
City Press
that "some
attempts by
the United
States to
split
the Group of
77 irritated
the Group and
made progress
stop."
The
US Mission's
budget and
reform
ambassador Joe
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 seven
fishes for
Christmas Eve?
(Click here
for that story
from last year).
This year, how
will
re-costing
play
out?
What
about reform
issues like
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon this
week
accepting as a
gift from
South Korea an
armor plated
Hyundai? What
safeguards are
in place?
Watch this
site.
Footnote:
the UN
provided Inner
City Press
with this
answer to a
related,
previously
asked question
about the
Capital Master
Plan:
Subject:
Answer to your
question
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Tue, Dec
18, 2012 at
10:12 AM
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Please
find our
answer to the
question your
asked
yesterday at
the Noon
briefing:
"The CMP is
contributing
to a report
the Chef de
Cabinet is
preparing on
what lessons
the
Secretariat
(not just the
CMP) can learn
from Hurricane
Sandy."
If you
say so. Watch
this site.
, 
