QUESTIONS TO BAN KI-MOON AND SHA ZUKAND ON ELIA ARMSTRONG

To: H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon

     Secretary-General

     United Nations

Cc: H.E. Mr. Sha Zukang

     Under-Secretary-General

     Department Economic and Social Affairs

     United Nations

Cc: Mr. Robert Benson

     Director Ethics Office

     United Nations Secretariat

Cc: Mr. Stephen Kisambira

     President

     United Nations Staff Union

Date: September 18, 2008

Subject: Questions regarding Elia Yi Armstrong 

With latest changes back-and-forth Ms. Armstrong's curriculum  vitae  raises  more  questions  than  it  answers regarding  her profile ; specifically  :

 

a) She  presents  herself  as " Project  Coordinator  for  Economic and Social affairs" Concretely  ,  what  projects has  she in mind since,  under  the sub-title  Profile , she states  that she " has been  working  as a public administration  Consultant  and Adviser at  the  United Nations..." ?

 

b) Has she been a Coordinator or  a Consultant  /Adviser in  UNDESA;  have  her duties, in other  words, been  chiefly  managerial or chiefly  advisory ?

 

c)  In either case, what credentials  (academic degrees, publications, tested high-level experience over  a period  of  years ) is she able to produce as proof of preparation for either of these roles :

• Has  she earned  an  advanced degree  in Public  Administration ,from a  recognized  University?
• Other  than  a BA degree  in  Social  Work ,from  the University of  British Columbia ,  and a one-year  course at  the Masters'degree level, at the  LSE ( UK), in the field  of  social policy  and  planning , what proof of  in-depth study and research in either Economics or Social Affairs is she able to produce?
• Did  she  actually  attend  graduate courses at the LSE ? How could she be  concurrently  in full-time attendance of courses  towards a Master's degree in London and working as "legislative aide at State Senator Marovitz's Office in Chicago", from 1989 to 1990 (see :Experience ) ?

d)  Where does she base  her claim of Specialization in public sector ethics? Specifically:

• Other  than  a brief  stint   (1995-1996) as Management  Trainee in the Privy Council  Office of the Government  of Canada, with  few-month secondment  to  the OECD, what practical experience in  public sector management did she bring to UNDESA, which she joined in 1997 ?
• Other than  the few months  that she  spent in the newly established UN Secretariat - Ethics Office, of the Department of Management in the UN  Secretariat, what practical experience ,  substantive knowledge and skills  in  the complex  field  of Ethics  did she bring  back  to DESA in 2006  or the UNDP,  which she  has recently joined  as Head  of  the Ethics  Office ?
• Did she act  as an "ethics  adviser " or as a program manager in the  office of the Director  of DPADM ,from  2006 to 2008; what role or part, if any did she play in the conduct of the in-depth investigation of the scandal-riddden division of DPADM, by the OIOS/PTF ?
• Given the senior level of her present post as head of the Ethics Office of the UNDP, is it  fair  to  ask what serious proof of competence in Ethics she can produce to substantiate her claim to this high-level position ?..Has  she  an advanced  degree in either Law/Ethics or  in Political Science ? Has she  published, in scholarly journals or in UN reports, articles that would prove that she  commands deep kowledge of the issues  that  are  involved ;
• Other than "teaching  a  mini-course  on  Accountability, as  an  Adjunct  Instructor ,at Columbia  University" - where her husband teaches, has she demonstrable  skills in communicating  knowledge and understanding of Ethics, as required of the Head of a major Ethics Office?

e) Given the very  short  span in  which Elia  Armstrong  has  moved from junior -level officer  or consultant  in UNDESA to a very senior post in a highly sensitive area of the UNDP,  is it  fair to  ask whether  her  meteoric  rise , in  the past  two  years  especially, has  a lot  to do with her Korean origin and marriage to  a Professor of Korean History  at Columbia  University  and correspondingly little to do with substantive qualifications, at least as demonstrated  by  her clearly  skimpy  resume ?

f) Last but not least, under affiliation in her CV, Ms. Amstrong states that she was/is a "Fellow" with International Institute for Public Ethics. Can you please confirm or deny this statement?