UNITED
NATIONS, May
20 -- An
internship in
the UN was
auctioned off,
ultimately for
$26,000, in a
process extensively
covered
and
questioned
by Inner City
Press. The UN
said it was
embarrassed by
the
auction or the
"optics," and
resisted Inner
City Press'
questions
about the
sale.
After
Inner City
Press asked
several times
about it, the
description of
the
internship
being
auctioned was
"amended,"
as the UN
spokesman put
it, to
read:
"Take
advantage of
this exclusive
opportunity
for a 6-week
internship in
NYC working
for Bruce
Knotts, Chair
of the UN-NGO
Committee on
Human
Rights. You
will gain
inside
knowledge of
just how the
UN really
operates and
have
tremendous
opportunities
to make
invaluable
connections.
This truly is
the ultimate
internship
opportunity
for
any college or
graduate
student
looking to get
their foot in
the
door!"
The
auction, on
CharityBuzz.com,
said it was to
benefit the
RFK Young
Leaders. Press
inquiries to
that entity
and its
parent, the
RFK
Center, did
not yield any
answers. But
today, at
least, we have
a
detailed
answers about
how such
internships or
grounds-passes
work,
from the
Director of
the UN
Department of
Public
Information's
Outreach
Division,
Maher Nasser.
Inner
City Press,
along with
another DPI
question to
which it is
still
awaiting the
answer -- why was
UNTV shut off
while
Palestinian
negotiator
Saeb Erakat
was giving a
speech on
Monday morning
-- asked
Nasser, "I
heard when you
told DPI-NGO
orientation
that it makes
the UN look
bad, and that
the UN is not
obligated to
let the person
('m. alam')
who purchased
the internship
into the
building. Is
that
the case? And
you could keep
me informed on
this, when the
purchased
internship is
to begin and
what the UN /
DPI does?"
To
his credit,
Nasser
provided Inner
City Press
with the most
detailed
UN response to
date on the
auctioned
internship:
Subject:
Question
re the
auctioned
internship,
thanks
From: Maher
Nasser
[at] un.org
Date: Mon, May
20, 2013 at
2:38 PM
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
InnerCityPress.com
Hi
Matthew, On
the internship
issue, as you
know from the
relevant
website, this
was for an
internship
with an NGO,
not an
internship at
the UN. The
optics of it
and use of the
UN's image
implied
otherwise,
which is why I
flagged it in
the
orientation
with newly
associated
NGOs as
something that
hurts the UN
and is not
acceptable.
Every
NGO associated
with DPI is
entitled to
only six
yearly passes,
two of
which are for
youth
representatives.
The names to
whom the
passes are
issued are
provided by
the
president/head
of each NGO.
By providing
the names, the
NGO certifies
that these
names
represent the
NGO
concerned. Up
till now, we
have had no
reason not to
grant a pass
to
people
designated as
representing
an NGO. An old
system of
temporary
passes issued
throughout the
year was
discontinued
by DPI several
years ago.
With
reference to
the six names
provided, and
as I said
above, this
has
not happened
in the past,
if we find out
that someone
had to pay or
buy a slot on
that list, we
would take it
up with the
concerned NGO
and depending
on the
feedback, not
endorse that
name for a
pass.
In
view of the
case of the
auctioned
internship, we
are preparing
language to be
added to the
forms to be
completed by
DPI associated
NGOs to avoid
such
possibilities
in the future.
So
at a minimum,
the "m. alam"
on whose
behalf $26,000
was bid
for this
internship
might not be
endorsed for a
pass to
actually
enter the UN.
Would they get
a refund? And
what do the
UN-NGO
Committee on
Human Rights
and the RFK
Center have to
say? Watch
this
site.
Footnote:
While
we await
another
division of
DPI's promised
answer to the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
about how
and why UNTV
shut off
during Saeb
Erakat's
speech, we
note
complaints
received about
the press
corps move-back
to the
Secretariat
building,
particularly
among
broadcasters
about special
charges,
special deals,
special
inquiries. The
DPI official
in question is
aware of
several
of these
complaints;
watch this
site.
, 
