No. 6, 5 August 2010
Dear Colleagues,
It is not often that the United Nations Staff Union touts its achievements. The information regarding its achievements is usually reserved for the end-of- term reports of the President and the Staff Council. However, recent events require us to do so, to clarify the misleading information from the Administration.
The fallout from the end-of-assignment report of the former Under-Secretary-General, Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), has been so compelling that senior administration officials have, in their attempt to annihilate Mrs. Ahlenius’s report, issued statements with varying inaccuracies and taken credit for matters that the United Nations Staff Union spearheaded and achieved against all odds presented by the Administration.
In a message posted on iSeek on 23 July 2010, the Chef de Cabinet claimed that the Secretary-General "introduced a new internal justice system” because he "is committed to building a stronger, flexible and accountable Organization." This statement is inaccurate, considering that the Secretary-General delayed the implementation of the new system of administration of justice by more than one year and has, in at least one instance, parried with or defied the United Nations Disputes Tribunal.
The President has invited the Chef de Cabinet to provide a clarification regarding the Secretary- General's role in establishing the new system of administration of justice, and his cooperation with it since its inception on 1 July 2009. The Chef de Cabinet is yet to respond.
Even as Mrs. Ahlenius's report is being disparaged for being inaccurate, the inaccurate countering statements lend a degree of credibility to her observations about the posterity of the United Nations. We fault her, however, for speaking up while on her way out. Mrs. Ahlenius had the space and authority to air her views a while back, which should have provided her with the opportunity to answer her critics, in the interest of the Organization.
In the wake of Mrs. Ahlenius’s report came another story authored by the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) and titled "Top finance website praises UN Pension Fund performance", which was posted on iSeek on 3 August 2010. The story's link directs the reader to an article at top1000funds.com titled "How active contrarian realism saved the UN" in which the UNJSPF officials claimed credit for saving the Pension Fund. Not so long ago, however, the very officials cited in that article were at the forefront of a vigorous attempt to outsource the management of the Pension Fund investments. The Staff Union countered with a protracted struggle that successfully averted those officials from the perilous venture. The Staff Union was vindicated when Wall Street became "gall" street.
The United Nations Staff Union takes this opportunity to claim credit for the ongoing conversions to the permanent appointment for the eligible staff members. We congratulate you on this significant achievement. However, to whom much is given, of him or her shall much be required. Staff members holding a permanent appointment have a responsibility to dispel the perception that a permanent appointment breeds deadwood.
Warm regards,
Stephen Kisambira
President, United Nations Staff Union
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