UN CTBTO Boss sells Hillsboro Beach mansion for $10 million

Broward Daily Business Review

321 words

18 April 2012

by Eric Kalis ekalis@alm.com

A Hungarian diplomat has sold a Hillsboro Beach mansion for $10 million to a Fort Lauderdale trust, according to Broward County records.

Tibor Toth sold an 11,288-square-foot oceanfront residence at 991 Hillsboro Mile to a trust managed by Fort Lauderdale attorney David Hardin on March 30. Broward County recorded the all-cash sale Monday.

Toth could not immediately be reached for comment. Calls to Hardin were not returned by deadline.

For the past seven years, Toth has served as the executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization based in Vienna, according to an online biography. Before that, Toth was Hungary's permanent representative to the United Nations. His involvement with CTBTO dates back 30 years, and he has spent most of his diplomatic career discouraging the use of nuclear weapons.

Toth paid $2.75 million for the 0.66-acre Hillsboro Beach property in March 2002 and constructed the mansion five years later, according to Broward County records.

The three-story home with six bedrooms and 9 bathrooms had been listed for sale most recently at $15.9 million. The residence includes an eight-space garage, billiard and wine-tasting rooms, a home theater and a swimming pool, according to listings.

The house had been listed for nearly four years, with a peak asking price of about $18 million in September 2008, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Toth did not use the Hillsboro Beach mansion as his primary residence, according to the sale deed. He also owns a 19,416-squarefoot mansion on 2.43 acres at 3901 S. Ocean Blvd. in Highland Beach, according to Palm Beach County records. Toth paid $3 million for the oceanfront property in September 2003 and finished the home five years later.

Eric Kalis can be reached at (305) 347-6651

www.dailybusinessreview.com/PubArticleDBR.jsp?id=1202549235128&rss=dbr&slreturn=1

CTBTO Spokesperson and Chief, Public Information

Annika Thunborg,T +43 1 26030-6375

E annika.thunborgping@ctbtopong.org
M +43 699 1459 6375
I www.ctbto.org

CORRECTION

Dear blogger,

Please note that the article that has been posted on http://reformdesa.blogspot.com/2012/04/un-ctbto-boss-sells-hillsboro-beach.html

has been corrected in the Daily Business Review. You are kindly asked to either remove the original blog post or publish the correction and the corrected version of the article as it appears in the Review, copied below.

Many thanks!

Annika Thunborg

Spokesperson and Chief of Public Information
Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

UN, Vienna, Austria
www.ctbto.org

Connect with CTBTO on:

facebook   twitter   youtube   flickr

CORRECTION

• An article in the April 18 editions about a $10 million mansion sale in Hillsboro Beach incorrectly identified the seller, Tibor Toth, as a Hungarian diplomat who is executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization. According to a spokeswoman for the organization, the seller of the home is not the diplomat who works for the test ban organization. The Review regrets the error.'

THE CORRECTED ARTICLE

Hillsboro Beach mansion sells for $10 million

By Eric Kalis

Daily Business Review

April 18, 2012

A Hillsboro Beach mansion has been sold for $10 million to a Fort Lauderdale trust, according to Broward County records.

Tibor Toth sold an 11,288-square-foot oceanfront residence at 991 Hillsboro Mile to a trust managed by Fort Lauderdale attorney David Hardin on March 30. Broward County recorded the all-cash sale Monday.

Toth could not immediately be reached for comment. Calls to Hardin were not returned by deadline.

Toth paid $2.75 million for the 0.66-acre Hillsboro Beach property in March 2002 and constructed the mansion five years later, according to Broward County records.

The three-story home with six bedrooms and 9½ bathrooms had been listed for sale most recently at $15.9 million. The residence includes an eight-space garage, billiard and wine-tasting rooms, a home theater and a swimming pool, according to listings.

The house had been listed for nearly four years, with a peak asking price of about $18 million in September 2008, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

Toth did not use the Hillsboro Beach mansion as his primary residence, according to the sale deed. He also owns a 19,416-square-foot mansion on 2.43 acres at 3901 S. Ocean Blvd. in Highland Beach, according to Palm Beach County records. Toth paid $3 million for the oceanfront property in September 2003 and finished the home five years later.

Eric Kalis can be reached at (305) 347-6651.

ERIC KALIS

REAL ESTATE REPORTER | DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW

1 SE 3RD AVENUE: 900 | MIAMI, FLORIDA 33131

PHONE: (305) 347-6651 | FAX: (305) 347-6626

EMAIL: EKALIS@ALM.COM | WEB: WWW.DAILYBUSINESSREVIEW.COM

As predicted since 20th Sept 2011 - the plan to remove Roberto Villareal and replace him with Elia Yi Armstrong (South Korean) - was a successful one

Elia Yi Armstrong

(South Korean)

appointed:

Chief of Branch

Socio-Economic Development Branch

Division for Public Administration & Development Management

UN-DESA

The pianist, Elia Yi Armstrong, (see her CV) has finally worked out the plan to fire Roberto Villareal and position herself as the newest D1 at DPADM.

Yes, despite her current term at UNDP as Ethics Officer will end at the end of June 2012 (as per contract) Haiyan Qian, has selected thru a competitive process (check here to see process) Elia Yi Armstrong, who has a BA in Piano and a Master of 9 months from London Schools of Economics (despite her CV shows she was working in Chicago at the time she was supposedly studying for her full-time Master in London).

Well...good luck to Roberto Villareal, who was "demoted" for lack of managerial skills and removed from his job, in a well coordinated plan - which started already 12 months ago.

SCANDAL at UNDESA ROME: Audit of DESA’s Global Centre for Information and Communications Technology in Parliament Project: INT05X73

Should John-Mary Kauzya resign over yet another scandal under his direct supervision

Should Gherardo Casini be held responsible for this audit

or as usual who cares - is Italian Taxpayers money anyway !

----

FINAL AUDIT REPORT

Audit of DESA’s Global Centre for Information and Communications Technology in Parliament Project: INT05X73

BACKGROUND

In November 2005, the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in cooperation with the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) and a group of national and regional parliaments, jointly established project INT05X73, the Global Centre for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Parliament (the project). Established as a multi-lateral initiative on the occasion of the world summit on the information society (WSIS) in Tunis, Tunisia, the project is an effort to contribute to the empowerment of legislatures around the world to better fulfill their democratic functions by reinforcing parliamentary capacity to harness ICT tools and to place them at the service of the institutional process. The project pursues two main objectives: (a) strengthen the role of parliaments in the promotion of the information society, through fostering ICT-related legislation in light of the outcome of the WSIS; and (b) promote the use of ICT as a means to modernize parliamentary processes, increase transparency, accountability and participation, and improve inter-parliamentary cooperation. The project aims to achieve these objectives by providing a framework for sharing knowledge, coordinating actions, providing technical assistance, and pooling information and resources across legislatures around the world.

DESA’s Office in Rome (the DESA Project Office) serves as the project’s secretariat and is entrusted with achieving the project’s objectives and expected accomplishments, along with discharge of its day-to-day administrative and financial management functions. The DESA Project Office reports on the implementation of the project to an external high-level board (the Board), nominated by the UN, in cooperation with IPU, and to an advisory committee designated by the Board. Within DESA, the project reports substantively to the Division of Public Administration for Development Management (DPADM) and administratively to the Capacity Development Office (CDO). DPADM provides substantive backstopping of the project’s planning, implementation, and reporting responsibilities, while CDO provides administrative and financial management support. The project is headed by the Head of the DESA Project Office at the D-1 level, and assisted by three professional staff at the P-5, P-4, and P-3 levels and consulting experts. Table 1 presents the financial data for the project for the period from 1 November 2005 to 31 December 2009:

Table 1: Project’s Selected Budget Information (2005-2009) (in US dollars)

In its 2011 risk-based audit plan, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) identified DESA-operated technical cooperation projects as a high risk area on the basis of the nature of their significant reliance on voluntary funding and related capacities to achieve project objectives.

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

The audit was conducted to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the DESA project’s risk management, control and governance processes in providing reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of its objectives. The key controls tested included those related to: (a) fundraising; (b) financial forecasting; (c) governance; (d) risk management and strategic planning; and (e) project performance reporting. The audit covered the project’s activities related to the five key controls for the period from 1 November 2005 to 31 March 2011.

AUDIT RESULTS

In OIOS’ opinion, the project’s risk management, control and governance processes examined were partially satisfactory to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of its objectives.

The project’s governance mechanisms, comprising an independent high-level board and advisory committee, and DPADM and CDO within DESA were adequate to oversee its activities. The project also had strong leadership to carry out its activities and to account for results. The project performance reporting framework had been instituted to report on project performance and utilization of resources. However, there were areas in need of improvement, as outlined below.

A formal fundraising strategy had not been formulated

The project did not have a fundraising strategy to secure the required funding in a timely manner to support the project’s activities. As of March 2011, only $5.3 million, or 31 per cent, of the total $16.6 million project budget had been secured. Reliance on the Government of Italy as the main donor and lack of a strategy to diversify funding sources exposed the project to undue financial risk and uncertainty.

(1) DESA should prepare a comprehensive fundraising strategy that commits the Board, the International Parliamentary Union, and other stakeholders to ensure the financial sustainability of the Global Centre for Information and Communications Technology in Parliament Project INT05X73.

DESA accepted recommendation 1 and agreed to prepare a formal fundraising strategy in the context of the second phase of the Centre, 2012 and beyond. Recommendation 1 remains open pending receipt of a copy of a comprehensive fundraising strategy from DESA.

Contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements were not adequately recorded

The project had received contributions in-kind from partners and collaborative arrangements, which were crucial value-adding support to the project’s sustainability and to subsidizing project costs in lieu of cash contributions. According to the DESA Project Office, approximately $3 million was received as in-kind contributions during the period. The tracking of such contributions, therefore, was essential to monitor the project’s inputs, as well as forecast its financial requirements on an ongoing basis. Monitoring such contributions was also essential in the discharge of DPADM’s oversight over the appropriateness of acceptance from partners of contributions and collaborative arrangements by the project. The DESA Project Office generally reported these contributions and collaborative arrangements to the Board, but there was no formal requirement to track, account for, and report them to provide accurate information on project costs. In the absence of adequate records for such contributions, there is no assurance that all project contributions and costs are properly accounted for.

(2) DESA Project Office should record all contributions in-kind from partners and collaborative arrangements and report periodically to the Board and the Division of Public Administration for Development Management to provide accurate information on project costs.

DESA partially accepted recommendation 2 and stated that there is an intrinsic value in informing the Board of all partnership arrangements, in accordance with ST/SGB/2006/5. The project will include a distinct section on such arrangements in its future reports to the Board, although no cost will be associated to these arrangements. OIOS maintains that it is important for project costs to be inclusive of all contributions, and reiterates recommendation 2, which will remain open pending action by DESA.

End-of-term evaluation and formal exit strategy of the project are pending

In strategically planning the project, evaluation was identified as a necessary component of monitoring results and activities during the mid-term and at the completion of project. The project document, therefore, called for two independent evaluations to be conducted on the achievements of its objectives; however, the mid-term evaluation was never conducted. Furthermore, no exit strategy was prepared for the project, which is scheduled to end on 31 December 2011. Without an exit strategy there is the risk that intellectual property assets could be lost after the project is ended.

(3) DESA should conduct the end-of-term evaluation and prepare an exit strategy for the Global Centre for Information and Communications Technology in Parliament Project INT05X73 prior to its extension or termination.

DESA accepted recommendation 3 and stated that it will prepare an end-of-term evaluation and exit strategy prior to the project’s extension or termination. Recommendation 3 will remain open pending receipt of evidence that end-of-term evaluation and exit strategy have been conducted.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

OIOS wishes to express its appreciation to the Management and staff of DESA for the assistance and cooperation extended to the auditors during this assignment.

I. INTRODUCTION

1. The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) conducted an audit of the operations of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ (DESA) Global Centre of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Parliament project INT05X73 (the project) located in Rome, Italy.

II. AUDIT OBJECTIVE

2. The audit was conducted to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the project’s risk management, control and governance processes in providing reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of its objectives. The key controls tested for the audit included those related to: (a) fundraising strategy; (b) financial forecasting capability; (c) governance; (d) risk management and strategic planning; and (e) project performance reporting. These key controls are defined as follows:

(a) Fundraising strategy - controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that the project has the necessary funding to achieve its objectives and expected accomplishments.

(b) Financial forecasting capability - controls that provide reasonable assurance that the project has the ability to forecast contribution receipts and mitigate risks related to its sustainability.

(c) Governance - controls that provide reasonable assurance that the project has proper independent and internal governance and oversight mechanisms to oversee the project’s activities and ensure accountability.

(d) Risk management and strategic planning - controls designed to provide reasonable assurance that risks relating to achievement of the project’s objectives and expected accomplishments are identified and assessed, and that action is taken to anticipate, avoid, mitigate, or manage risks.

(e) Project performance reporting - controls that provide reasonable assurance that the substantive results of the project’s activities and the utilization of the allocated financial resources are accurately and completely reported in a timely manner.

III. AUDIT SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY

3. OIOS conducted the audit from January to March 2011. The audit covered project activities related to the period from 1 November 2005 to 31 March 2011.

4. To gain a general understanding of the project’s operations, OIOS reviewed the project document, organizational structure, terms of reference of the Board and Advisory Committee, agendas and minutes of board meetings, annual work plans and cost plans, financial authorizations, monthly financial imprest reports, progress reports, financial statements, publications and other outputs, staffing table, job descriptions, and other relevant information. OIOS also reviewed the project’s public website and obtained project statistical data and other documentation. In addition, OIOS reviewed reference documents contained in the report of the World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS) held in Tunis, Tunisia in 2005. OIOS also conducted interviews with DESA officials in New York and Rome.

5. To assess the adequacy of internal controls, OIOS considered whether the selected key controls provided reasonable assurance that DESA managed the project effectively to achieve its objectives and conducted relevant tests to assess whether policies and procedures were implemented consistently.

IV. OVERALL ASSESSMENT

6. In OIOS’ opinion, the project’s risk management, control and governance processes examined were partially satisfactory to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of its objectives. The project’s governance mechanisms, comprising an independent high-level board and advisory committee, and DPADM and CDO within DESA were adequate to oversee its activities. The project also had strong leadership to carry out its activities and to account for results. The project performance reporting framework had been instituted to report on project performance and utilization of resources. However, there were areas in need of improvement as outlined below.

V. AUDIT RESULTS

A. Fundraising strategy A formal fundraising strategy had not been formulated

7. The project did not have a fundraising strategy to secure the required funding to support the project’s inputs, activities and outputs in a timely manner. As of March 2011, only $5.3 million, or 31 per cent, of the total $16.6 million project budget had been secured. The Government of Italy contributed $5.1 million or 93 per cent of the total contributions received, while the European parliament, together with the Government of Honduras, contributed $64,298, or one per cent of the total receipts. While the project had partially been successful in overcoming this funding gap through receipt of contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements, reliance on the Government of Italy as the main donor and the lack of a strategy to diversify funding sources exposed the project to undue financial risk and uncertainty.

8. Moreover, although the Board had responsibility to ensure proper fundraising and advocacy for the project’s activities, in practice, the Head of the DESA Project Office was mainly responsible for mobilizing funds and reported annually the project’s financial situation to the Board and DESA. However, there was no clear evidence of the involvement by the Board, IPU, or DESA in fundraising efforts to address the adverse situation. As a result, opportunities to leverage the individual and collective strengths of all stakeholders to mobilize resources, including their broad experience and networks, as well as to improve the project’s access to donors and exploit all fundraising options, could not be pursued effectively.

Recommendation 1

(1) DESA should prepare a comprehensive fundraising strategy that commits the Board, the International Parliamentary Union, and other stakeholders to ensure the financial sustainability of the Global Centre for Information and Communications Technology in Parliament Project INT05X73.

9. DESA accepted recommendation 1 and agreed to prepare a formal fundraising strategy in the context of the second phase of the Centre, 2012 and beyond. Recommendation 1 remains open pending receipt of a copy of a comprehensive fundraising strategy from DESA.

B. Financial forecasting Gaps in project budget and actual contributions

10. The Government of Italy approved its initial contribution of $1.6 million in 2005. However, the bulk of its contributions amounting to $3.5 million was not received until 2008. Although a vacancy announcement had been published on Galaxy in October 2006 for recruitment against the Executive Coordinator’s post, the Head of the DESA Project Office in Rome was requested in May 2007 to concurrently serve as the Head of the DESA Project Office ad interim due to insufficient funding. The project could not forecast when the position of the head of the DESA Project Office could be filled with a full-time person.

11. Timing of the actual receipt of contributions also affected the project’s capacity to undertake technical assistance missions, a main component of the project, to respond to the growing need of parliaments in developing and transitioning countries in the implementation of ICT initiatives. These activities, which had a planned budget of $775,000, were limited to only three missions prior to the late recruitment of the P-5 professional. Once the P-5 professional was hired in 2010, the project was able to schedule technical missions to developing countries in Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean, over four years into the project. Limited finances also affected the ability to forecast financial feasibility of translating publications into the UN official languages other than English. Due to limited funding, only 5 out of 16 publications were produced in French, while only two were produced in Spanish. Outreach across the UN official languages, therefore, was limited.

12. Earmarking of the contributions also affected the project’s financial forecasting capability. For example, the European Parliament paid $128,174, but the full contribution was earmarked to pay for the costs of travel for participants of a project-related conference and any savings from the contribution were required to be refunded to the donor. In this case, the project refunded to the European Parliament approximately $15,250, effectively reducing contribution income. The Head of the DESA Project Office was ultimately able to secure contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements to defray project costs and implement planned activities, but this was mainly done on an ad hoc basis and not without reduction to the project’s planned activities. As of March 2011, the project had forecasted a budget of $25 million to extend the project from 2011-2020 and this forecast is not supported by prospective donors.

13. DESA’s financial forecasting capability for the new project could be strengthened by the procurement of a predictable supply of contributions resulting from a comprehensive fundraising strategy committing all project stakeholders. DESA stated that financial forecasting is fully dependent upon commitments of donors which are formalized through contribution agreements.

Contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements were not adequately recorded

kind contributions during the period.

14. The project had received contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements of: (a) two associate experts from the Government of Italy and the Government of the Netherlands; (b) conference facilities at the world e-parliament conference in 2007, 2008 and 2009; (c) services and expertise of parliamentarian staff for assessment missions; and (d) resource persons for training and workshops, and daily subsistence allowance subsidies for parliamentarians traveling from developing countries to attend international meetings. These contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements, which were received between 2007 and 2011, were reported to the Board, in general, but were not accounted for in

15. Contributions from partners and collaborative arrangements were crucial value-adding support to the project’s sustainability and they subsidize project costs in lieu of cash contributions. The tracking of such contributions, therefore, was essential to monitor the project’s inputs, as well as forecast financial requirements on an ongoing basis. Monitoring such contributions was also essential to DPADM’s oversight over the appropriateness of acceptance from partners of contributions and collaborative arrangements by the project. However, there was no formal requirement to track, account for and report contributions to the Board and DPADM.

Recommendation 2

(2) DESA Project Office should record all contributions in-kind from partners and collaborative arrangements and report periodically to the Board and the Division of Public Administration for Development Management to provide accurate information on project income and costs.

16. DESA partially accepted recommendation 2 and stated there is an intrinsic value in informing the Board of all partnership arrangements, in accordance with ST/SGB/2006/5. The project will include a distinct section on such arrangements in its future reports to the Board, although no cost will be associated to these arrangements. OIOS maintains that it is important for project costs to be inclusive of all contributions, and reiterates recommendation 2, which will remain open pending action by DESA.

RTT NEWS: UN Committee Calls For Staff Cost Cutting Measures

(RTTNews) - The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the U.N. General Assembly has called on the Organization to do more to avoid "egregious examples of waste" in such areas as the daily subsistence allowance to United Nations staff traveling on official business and the use of frequent flyer miles.

After scrutiny, the Representatives of the Committee agreed with the main thrust of the 20 proposals issued by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon in his report on more effective utilization of resources for official United Nations air travel, which was introduced by Warren Sach, Officer-in-Charge of the Department of Management.

Reacting to both the proposals and the existing practices that they were intended to improve, delegations noted that some current policies and practices in the area of air travel were wasteful and even "disturbing," and welcomed proposed changes.

The report of the Secretary-General recommends spending the U.N.'s over $73 million airfare budget more efficiently. It also calls for scrapping the current policy of paying daily subsistence allowance to staff members traveling on official business even while they were in flight.

Instead, he proposed paying daily subsistence allowance beginning at the arrival of an official at his or her destination and ending the last night spent at that location. He also recommends, among other things, that frequent flyer miles gained as a result of official business not be used for personal travel, and that United Nations officials be encouraged to use such miles on official business travel. The report concluded on the basis of a study that creating a formal program for the management of frequent flyer miles for official travel was not cost-effective....

TO read full story click here

Rio+20: Social media countdown to UN sustainable development forum kicks off

12 March 2012 –

The 100-day countdown to the United Nations conference on sustainable development that will be held in Brazil in June kicked off today with a call to governments, businesses and civil society to make sustainability a core issue for the future.

During the past months, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has consistently highlighted sustainable development as a priority issue for the UN, arguing that the upcoming conference, known as Rio+20, will help pave the way for a new social contract for the 21st century, chart a development path that leads to greater social justice and help create ‘the future we want.’

“The stakes are rising,” he said in a press release. “One hundred days to a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We must agree on sustainable solutions to build the future we want.”

In celebrating the 100-day mark, expected participants of the Rio+20 forum, including global stakeholders and UN system partners, will take to social media (#futurewewant) and share messages of support and highlight the more important issues and objectives of the summit, slated to take place in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June.

Sha Zukang, who is Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the Rio+20 conference, also applauded the integration of new media as part of the countdown to the event...

For more click here

Mike Fegelman: The UN’s eroding moral compass

National Post (click here for full story)

As another telling example of how the UN has lost its moral compass, on March 9, just one day after International Women’s Day marked the achievement and continued challenges of women, the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women,passed the only country-specific resolution condemning Israel for the supposed intolerable living conditions of Palestinian women.

No action was taken against Iran, where girls are stoned to death for allegedly committing adultery, or Syria, where women are indiscriminately tortured, raped, and murdered by the Assad regime. The plight of Saudi Arabian women who are treated as chattel under monarchy-sanctioned gender apartheid was altogether ignored. The United Nations only censured Israel, one of the world’s most progressive defenders of women’s rights, for exclusive and unwarranted opprobrium.

For full reading of this story click here

NYSUN: - Nephew of Yasser Arafat Surfaces as Aide to Kofi Annan on Road to Damascus

By BENNY AVNI, Special to the Sun | March 6, 2012

http://www.nysun.com/foreign/nephew-of-yasser-arafat-surfaces-as-aide-to-kofi/87733/

UNITED NATIONS — Yasser Arafat’s nephew, Nasser Al-Kidwa, will accompany former Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is scheduled to visit Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus this weekend. Mr. Al-Kidwa’s visit will renew a complex history of relationship between two infamous Middle Eastern families that have dominated the region’s politics for much of the last century.

The president of the Arab League, Nabil el-Arabi, today announced the appointment of Mr. Al-Kidwa as a deputy to Mr. Annan, who was recently named special envoy to Syria of both the United Nations and the Arab League.

Mr. Al-Kidwa served as ambassador in the Palestinian observer mission here before returning to Ramallah in 2005. After ending his high profile, 18-year Turtle Bay stint, the Arafat scion played a minor, mostly behind the scenes role in Palestinian Arab politics. He was said by several observers to be waiting for the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahoud Abbas, to vacate the top post before entering local politics in earnest.

Today’s announcement surprised some here at the United Nations, where two officials who spoke to the Sun last week said that Mr. Annan had initially rejected the candidacy of the Palestinian scion and was looking elsewhere for an Arabic-speaking deputy. But the former secretary-general’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, said today that Mr. Al-Kidwa “has been appointed by the League of Arab States” AND denied that Mr. Annan had “rejected” the candidacy.

Mr. Annan represents Secretary General Ban and the Arab League. Mr. Ban was said by several U.N. officials to have “swallowed” the appointment unhappily after conducting an icy relationship with his predecessor. Nevertheless, aides to the Secretary General say that it was Mr. Ban who suggested to the Arab League that Mr. Annan would represent both in Syria .

It remains to be seen how the beleaguered Damascus strongman, who took power at Syria in 2000 after the death of his father, Hafez Al-Assad, will approach the renewal of a long history of rollercoaster relations between the Assads and the Arafats.

DESA's super-protected Ethics consultant Bernardo Kliksberg involved in a corruption scandal at Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

by Bea Edwards on March 06, 2012 ( The Whistleblogger / 2012 )

CLICK FOR THIS STORY HERE

So ethics guru Bernardo Kliksberg is back in the news. On March 1, FOX News' George Russell published a detailed piece about Kliksberg’s peculiar departure from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in January 2007, just before the Social Capital and Ethics Initiative “coordinated” by him ran completely out of steam. The Norwegian and Canadian Governments funded this effort, and a whistleblower at the IDB disclosed repeated and costly ethical violations by Kliksberg, using the funds of the initiative.

It seems that Kliksberg, the author of More Ethics, More Development, among other treatises, is himself guilty of diverting funds from the IDB’s ethics initiative.

This takes, in the immortal words of Sarah Palin, cojones.

Thomas Stelzer: - DESA's first class sleeping beauty get's one more year extension

Well dear DESA staffers you heard it well - if for the past 4 years you were wondering what Thomas Stelzer did as our Assistant Secretary-General - wonder no more - he was just extended from Ban Ki-moon (the Korean) for one more year - so Mr. Stelzer can continue to sleep on First Class while shuffling between Vienna and New York every weekend.

Subject: Your question at the Noon Briefing
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply @un.org
Date: Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 4:06 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Mr. Stelzer's contract was extended until March 2013. This extension will represent his 5th year as Assistant Secretary-General.

(Click here to view this on Innercitypress.com)

Thomas Stelzer has accumulated 6.2 Million Frequent Flyer Miles in 4 years. Enough to pay for all Rio+20 participant tickets ! Will he do it ?

How to guide for dummies: Ousting your boss at the United Nations (the sure way)

OUSTED

Roberto Villarreal

All United Nations staffers UNITE !

Does your boss abuse his authority and treats you like a piece of SH*T ?

Does your boss abuse his/her Dept funds by hiring personal friends as consultants without proper selection process?

Does your boss have no consideration of you, unless you become his/her tool and or servant as if it was 1800'?

Does your boss think he/she is a king/queen of the Dept, anyone else is "peasant"?

If all or any of the above applies to you, you can have your boss expelled from the United Nations, very easy:

1. Start a signatory complain campaign - where at least 50% + of staffers of that Dept/Branch should sign in;

2. Deposit your claims/complain with Ethics and Ombudsman, let is seats there for 30 days (chances are you wont hear from them) ;

3. After 30 days, bring your claim to the office of OHRM/BoM the desk responsible for your Dept (Secretariat only);

4. Wait for another 30 days, meanwhile initiate individual complains to the highest hierarchical authority in your Dept (Director, Chief or ASG/USG). This will serve the purpose of filling up the file that will be used against your boss later on;

5. After 90 days mark, start sending complains to the Executive Office of USG of your Dept (Make sure you mark your communication - URGENT);

6. In mean time copy all your boss's files, communications and all financial transactions he/she signed off, which you think were against the UN rules and regulations, including the list of all individual consultants he/she hired without proper selection process, it will be handy when you fight the battle later on;

7. Call for staff meeting and demand from management that your boss be expelled from UN (on above grounds) and just use the phrase: "we are afraid to return to work under him/her leadership", "there is fear of retaliation", etc. United Nations can go against 1 or 2 but cannot afford to go against a larger number of staffers thus the easier way is to get your boss out of the way "FAST".

GOOD LUCK !

United Nations: Abuse of Authority at work place (DESA/DPADM/DMB)

Following the meetings at UN-DESA's flagship division of DPADM, there seem to be a clear case of abuse of authority happening at DMB.

But as usual with Haiyan Qian traveling to China to celebrate Chinese new year, and many at Executive office of Sha Zukang totally disengaged on the matter, it seems that the Mexican (Roberto Villareal) might have a real chance of getting over this with a Note-to-File. The question is what about those staffers who signed the petition, will there be any retaliation against them? Some now say that they are afraid to even continue to work under him since he "is known for being vindictive". So the question is will Haiyan Qian take action before she departs or will all this matter turn into those usual "clan battles" inside DESA, where abuse of authority becomes part of the "managerial charm"?

This is what UN's rules say about abuse of authority at work place:

Abuse of authority is the improper use of a position of influence, power or authority against another person. This is particularly serious when a person uses his or her influence, power or authority to improperly influence the career or employment conditions of another, including, but not limited to, appointment, assignment, contract renewal, performance evaluation or promotion. Abuse of authority may also include conduct that creates a hostile or offensive work environment which includes, but is not limited to, the use of intimidation, threats, blackmail or coercion. (ST/SGB/2008/5)

CV of Villareal:

Mr. Roberto Villareal joined the Division for Public Administration & Development Management as the new Chief of the Socio-Economic Development Branch (which will now be known as Development Management Branch) on 22 April. His most recent assignment was with the Division of the Regional Competitiveness and Governance of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), where he served as its head.

Mr. Villareal has served the Federal Government of Mexico for over 20 years, assuming the responsibilities of high level posts in different ministries and in diverse fields of socio-economic development. He previously served as the Undersecretary for Regional and Urban Development and Head Unit Social and Regional Policy, for the Federal Government of Mexico. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Is Elia Yi Armstrong cleaning up the place at DPADM so she can have a D1 served on a silver-plate?

On 20th September 2011 we predicted that Elia Yi Armstrong (on her way out from UNDP) would stir-up the waters and get either John-Mary Kauzya or Roberto Villareal out of their jobs.

Since Sept 2011, we confirmed the fact that Roberto Villareal was having major interpersonal problems with the staff at his Development Management Branch (DMB) of DPADM/DESA.

Well...less than 4 months later, our predictions are coming true, in a major investigation involving UN Ombudsman, Office of USG Sha Zukang and DESA's OHRM, there seem to be more than "issues" between staffers at DMB/DPADM.

Some say this is just an "Italian Job" to get the Mexican (Villareal) out, and plain the way to return of Elia Yi Armstrong (who seem to be more friendly with "the Italians"), others say that this is a failure of Haiyan Qian and DESA's management in first place to detect well in advance that Villareal, even at his previous job in Paris had similar inter-staff "issues", thus his appointment at the helm of DMB/DPADM (without a proper selection process) made things worst at DPADM. Another groups say that Villareal is a hardworking guy who detest "lazy employees who seat and do nothing all day", and thus he expresses his frustration with anger towards those who fail to deliver.

Whatever the option or situation might be, Villareal seem to be headed for a major confrontation.

Let's see what will happen.

ONLY AT UN-DESA !

UNDER SHA ZUKANG' MANAGEMENT !