Speakers at Opening Session for CSD IPM Highlight Linkages with Climate Change

23 February 2009: Speakers at the opening session of the Intersessional Preparatory Meeting (IPM) for the 17th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD17) highlighted linkages between climate change and CSD17’s thematic cluster of issues: agriculture, Africa, drought, desertification, land and rural development. The IPM is meeting in New York, US, from 23-27 February 2009.

Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, stressed the relevance of sustainable development in addressing current global challenges and crises, and called for integrated solutions and addressing climate change. He said the IPM needs to lay the foundation for the CSD’s discussions in May, but also “to demonstrate the relevance of sustainable development to addressing the multiple crises we face,” and to reach a common understanding of the “complex inter-linkages among these thematic areas and with the larger context.”

Tariq Banuri, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development, highlighted climate change as a cross-cutting issue for the session. He noted that “climate change is already affecting water patterns and therefore agricultural productivity, crop failure, food security, economic loss, and livestock death,” while “measures to combat climate change will need to keep the concerns of rural communities, especially the rural poor in mind.” [USG Sha’s Statement] [DSD Director Banuri’s Statement] [UN Press Release]

A fatalist Sha Zukang offers a pessimistic view of global food resources, calls for more CASH for UN, while offering “0” solutions

At a meeting yesterday on sustainable development, an unusual negativist - Sha Zukang, our dear leader, offered a very pessimistic view of the current global food and climate situation. He said that: -"food and financial crises to climate change are threatening global efforts to achieve development that is sustainable, or that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

This fatalistic approach is becoming the music of the day for most of liberal democrats and rejoicing the communists and socialists around the world, whom are finally seeing some sign of "failure of capitalism in the US", the same music has become a special tune for United Nations officials who see this as an opportunity to increase UN's budgets and embark into a spree of expenditures to "help the poor".

Those in the audience yesterday could easily understand that Sha Zukang's speech was not his and definitely he himself didn't understand what he was talking about. While he continued to use big words in a UN-ish barr-coded language he continued to make no sense in saying that: - “These multi-dimensional challenges do not have purely economic solutions, nor purely social or environmental ones. They require integrated solutions that combine economic, social and environmental elements,”.

If anyone in the street would hear this speech, first reaction would be what the hell this guy is saying? and second would be of what am I to expect from United Nations and/or Government as a result of this crisis? 

It seems that whoever wrote this speech forgot that since July 2008 the food prices around the world have declined sharply, and that thanks to the slow-down of the oil-prices and to a good harvest in late 2008 - the food availability is definitely not scarce. Sha Zukang continued to say that: -" food prices remain high, following on from last year’s crisis, and the global financial and economic slowdown has exacerbated the situation". Thank god none of DESA's speech writers are Wall-Street brokers otherwise we would have lost trillions - thanks to these ignorance.

But hey stop for a second and think - why would Sha Zukang be so fatalistic? Well he and his boss Ban Ki Moon needs more our tax-payers money to increase their non-transparent budgets and continue on the path of building a "world-government" which hopefully one day command markets and how people should leave (a kind of a global communism).

Dear Sha Zukang this is not China nor South Korea, so go sell your liberal and communist ideas somewhere else. If you really are committed to help the poor, start by overhauling DESA (which you promised 2 years ago) in which you:

1. Re-organize the current organigramme and align divisions to DESA's core mandates;
2. Re-organize current Human Resource structure(s) and streamline resources to meet real mandates and provide tangible savings;
3. Re-direct current resources to the poor by jump-starting programmes that aim for real poverty eradication and assist governments (member states) to affront current crisis better;
4. Re-assess DESA's current advisory services and retain the best quality advisors and get rid of junk and garbage that is killing our image and derailing needed funds to/for the poor;
5. Dismantle TCMS and get rid of technical cooperation since there are other parts of the organization who do it better;

Stop with the BS - Mr. Sha, do what you really do best, be yourself, be a good manager...that's what is required of you now.

DPADM a messy Division that produces only garbage that smells sh... a mile away

someone from DPADM went to Executive Office and placed a sexual harassment complain against one of the male Professionals of the Division. 

The complainant, who has been a nuts case since she was recruited four years ago from Guido Bertucci (illegally), and since than only rated as worst employee of the Division (and still kept on the job illegally), thinks that by raising the case against this Professional-Male will :

1. Oblige the Organization /Executive Office to extend her for at least the duration of the Internal Investigation (which in case of the UN takes Months or even Years);
2. Stop the career of this Professional who might be in line for a higher post, and therefore prepare the grounds for a "Bertucci surrogate" to take over that branch instead of this Male candidate (given the pending investigation on a fake sexual harassment case on him);
3. Oblige the organization to "transfer" her somewhere else, without a proper evaluation of her performance;

The Executive Office (Pelluso) should act now and not allow that this ridiculous, unprofessional, unethical and more important immoral cases continue in DESA/DPADM. We've had enough of Bertucci's surrogates and their strategies to stay and keep their jobs by illegal means. 

This bitch has to get what she deserves from long long ago - get FIRED for not performing and doing her job !!! Every-time a Bertucci surrogate wants to keep her job, they always come up with a sexual harassment case. 

Only at DESA fellows - only at DESA

Ubaldi out ! while Italian Mafia erases traces

You remember:

-  Catherine Gazzoli, the daughter of Frederick Gazzoli current Chief auditor in OECD in Paris ?

- Adriana Alberti and her husband?

- A bogus project with two fake CTAs in New York ?

- Bernard Kliksberg's beautiful life?

- A fake Mexican representative at Committee of Expert?

- Guido Bertucci and Furio De Tomassi?

- Catherine Pelluso and Marie Oveissi?

Following the above disclosures, the Italian Mafia inside DESA (no one should be offended in DESA for calling it Italian Mafia), have decided to start moving around its "people" in order not to give "too much image trouble" to Sha Zukang's Administration.

The Result? Barbara Ubaldi's contract has been terminated. She will be leaving DESA before her current contractual term expires. Please join us while we(DPADM) celebrate the early departure of Ms. Ubaldi. 

You are all welcome !!!

Move the UN to Elkhart - and Presto, Jobs ! Jobs ! Jobs !

President Obama picked Elkhart, Indiana to make a townhall-meeting pitch on Monday for the porker of an $800-billion-plusstimulus spending package — his rational being that “Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America.”

Obama — this is his description, not mine — presented Elkhart as a place of bewildered, helpless people, wandering the ruins of a dying private sector, picking through the debris of tested-and-failed-and-junked capitalism, waiting for the only possible form of salvation to arrive in the form of torrents of government funding for roadworks, extended unemployment insurance, etc… people with “no idea what to do or who to turn to.” So there he was, to save the day.

But even accepting Obama’s vision (in which it is hard to recognize any vestige of America’s pre-change character), there is, for Elkhart, a much better solution:

Move the United Nations to Elkhart!

The UN is on a spending spree that has entailed record-breaking budgets year after year, with expanding programs, reach, and jobs! jobs! jobs! Of course, about one-quarter of those many billions spent by the UN come from U.S. taxpayers, so it’s not as if the UN actually creates wealth. (But neither does the vast bulk of the stimulus spending bill). Like Obama, the UN is mainly in the business of transferring wealth, taking it from the more productive sectors and sinking it into the less productive (including, in substantial part, its own staff). But that’s no reason some of the money shouldn’t be sunk into Elkhart.

Consider: Right now, the UN is busy renovating its midtown Manhattan headquarters at a cost of some $2 billion. American taxpayers are likely to get stuck with that extravagant tab, just as they get stuck with the lion’s share of the bills for the sky-high costs of running the tax-exempt UN in Manhattan. UN personnel grumble constantly about the high cost of living, when not helping themselves to rent-controlled apartments or crowding out New York families for taxpayer-subsidized housing (see Kofi Annan’s old housing arrangements) .

Elkhart, by contrast, is an incredible bargain. There is space, there is parking (no more problems with those tawdry parking tickets) there are rentals galore(for monthly prices that would barely get you a parking space in Manhattan). There are airports. And lest anyone worry about depriving UN-ocrats of their cultural fix, Elkhart — however dire its financial straits — appears to be spending $18 million renovating the local performing arts theater.

Right now the UN is planning on dislocating its headquarters staff in any event, while the high-ticket renovations in Manhattan proceed. For $2 billion, imagine what could be built in Elkhart! Imagine the jobs as the UN gets down to work ordering such delicacies as the shrimp and crab buffet in the Delegates’ Dining Room, with which Sudan recently celebrated taking over the chairmanship of the G-77! Imagine the jobs as orders pour forth from the re-located UN for security, and furnishings, and limousines, and other staff amenities!

This would also solve the current spat over premises for the UN press corps, many of whose members have long enjoyed rent-free facilities at UN headquarters. The UN is now reconsidering that policy, which is drawing protests that some members of the media, especially from poor countries, would not be able to afford offices if they had to pay actual New York rents. Elkhart would solve all that. Manhattan would probably come out ahead as well, with a lot of space freed up for any Americans who might still believe that in the big city there are opportunities for even the reviled private sector to invent, create, and actually produce wealth (and pay taxes) — instead of simply waiting for Obama to arrive with his magic money machine.   

There is the drawback that there’s an even better case to be made for simply moving the UN out of America altogether — say to one of its more natural, spiritual homes, in Caracas, or Tripoli, or Tehran. But in emergencies, there may well be need for compromise. Seriously — why is it treated as reasonable to spend billions buffing up the UN in Manhattan, but unthinkable to do something as obvious as move it lock, stock and bureaucracy, to Elkhart?

Move the UN to Elkhart — and Presto, Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!

What nationality is Adriana Alberti's husband?

We have spoken before about Adriana Alberti's attempts to change her real nationality (American born) to Italian in order to profit the UN International Benefits while in New York. 

But the case of Alberti is becoming couriouser and couriouser by the day. People close to Furio De Tomassi's told us a very interesting story:

1. Dec 2002: 

Adriana Alberti flies to Morocco to attend the 4th Global Forum as Governance Expert;

- During the trip she get's married to a Moroccan 7 years younger than her;

2. Jan 2003: 

- This Moroccan fellow is hired from UN-DESA's TCMS (Marie Oveissi / Furio De Tomassi) without any competitive selection process as a Support Staff at the Statistics Office of  UN-DESA;

- At the time eventhough there was a freeze and was not allowed to hire foreign staff at "G" level positions, he comes in as 

 - Position: G3 - temporary 

-  Nationality: Moroccan

3. Jan 2005

this Moroccan goes out of the blue from Moroccan Nationality to United States Citizen and magically he ends up with:

- Position: G4 - fix term

- Nationality: USA

4. Jan 2008

this Moroccan goes even farther. He undertakes the US National Competitive Exam and ends up....guess what?

- Position: P3 - Permanent contract

- Nationality: USA

While many would question the above fast-track career of this Moroccan born, Italian acquired and sworned in US Citizen, we don't have any problem with it, and wish him good luck. 

The question though is raised that how come that Alberti's husband claims to be US Citizen (by marriage with Adriana Alberti) and is registered as US Nationality in the system - - -  while Ms. Alberti denies her legal US Citizenship and register herself as Italian Nationality in the UN  System? 

I bet she had to sworn in and file for her husband at US Immigration and Naturalization Service in order for him to acquire US Citizenship. I bet that, like everyone else, "Mr. Alberti" had to wait for at least 5 long years to get his passport in the mail.

So Adriana Alberti claim her American Nationality only for her husband to get an American Passport to travel around the globe, but when it come to honoring America and the serving America at the United Nations she willingly throws her american Nationality in the garbage for her acquired Italian one - -  just to profit more.

Its ludicrous to have the husband US Citizen ( Moroccan born) and the wife Italian Citizen (US born).

We call Ms. Ahlenius of OIOS to investigate immediately UN-DESA's Human Resources and TCMS before Furio De Tomassi and Marie Oveissi destroy Adriana Alberti's file for ever.

Transparency at United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

We are going to continue in the weeks to come to take aim at Sha Zukang's promises in our last town-hall last June 2008.

It is something Sha Zukang has promised and we're holding him to it: TRANSPARENCY. If it's more than an updated slogan or window dressing, Sha Zukang might start by looking at his own management picks.

Latest Chinese appointments in DESA's cupola show the extend of transparency, ethics and professionalism we are about to expect from the new gang in town.

We thought we had enough of Italian mafia with Civili / Bertucci / De Tomassi / Pelluso and other 216 Italians floating around DESAs books. but it seems that the greed of our managers is really unlimited. What is unraveling inside DESA/DPADM as well as in other divisions show that those who took charge of DESA have no intention whatsoever nor the commitment to DESA's provision of quality advise and support to member states. 

With the appointment of Haiyan Qian to replace Guido Bertucci, we witnessed a clear non-transparent and determined will of Chinese Mafia and politics to pass over the objective, qualities and most importantly the need to restructure DESA's primacy in Public Administration.  Sha Zukang's choice couldn't be more off-target. This shows that we will continue with Business as usual. 

Is Haiyan Qian the best China could give to International Community ? How would you even consider having Haiyan and current Director of UNDP's Governance Unit (Moleketti) in same room speaking about the Public Administration ? 

Now we can all predict how all this will play off. 

The United States Mission to the UN posts in its website Internal and Confidential Reports on DESA Corruption

While DESA management remain silent about its internal corruption, finally member states are waking up and making their voice heard. The United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) has now posted in their website internal confidential reports on UN-DESA corruption.

http://www.usunnewyork.usmission.gov/Issues/oversight_main.php

The continuing ear-infection of Sha Zukang and his two ASG's leave honest staff no other options but to contact available member states and inform them on developments inside DESA and provide them with internal documentation in order to open their eyes and allow them to have a transparent look inside DESA's "high society" and it's "pay for play" modus operandi.

Korean-isation and Chinas-ation of United Nations

In this photo you can see how valuable is Lyn Pascoe (Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs) to Ban Ki-Moon. 

One cannot even realize who is the Secretary General? Is it Kim Won-so or Ban Ki-moon ?

WHAT A CARNIVAL !! This would never happen under Kofi Annan.

maybe the world should finally decide and nominate Kim Won-so in the post of Secretary General, and send the current charlatan and parrot home in Seoul, at least we would have to deal with the real "power man" instead of a fake SG.

DESA's Seoul Center plunged into scandals

During a recent visit of Ban Ki-Moon in Seoul, South Korea (July 3, 2008) he stated that his purpose of visit to Korea was to encourage Korean government to contribute more to international community, and underlined importance of further active roles of UN Family in Korea will get essential. 

At the end of his meeting in Seoul, little Ban would know that he was about to take a happy family photo with a rather disturbing and scandal embroiled branch of his own organization - called : United Nations Governance Centre (UNGC - http://www.ungc.org/)

Click in the picture for larger image

To be fair to Ban Ki-moon, UNGC was established on June 23, 2006, almost six months before Ban Ki-moon was appointed Secretary General. Eventhough the timing and selection of Seoul as the center of good governance for Asia would have left many in the region skeptical and think that it was just a move of South Korean government to strengthen their "candidacy" for the post of Secretary General (Ban Ki-moon was running for SG job at time of announcement).

In the agreement reached between DESA and GoSK (Government of South Korea), the goal of the United Nations Governance Centre (UNGC) is to act as an international and regional focal point for research, training and advocacy in government reinvention, and its functions will be oriented towards addressing information requirements of public officials, civil society, and the private sector. In the initial stages, UNGC would focus on e-government, government innovation, citizen participation, and public ethics in terms of research, capacity development, consulting and support activities.

on the opening day

All the above looked "very promising" if DESA ought to entrust the centre to anyone else other than Guido Bertucci, John Mary Kauzya and Elia Armstrong, who as usual would corrupt anything they would touch and manage on their way.

A very recent secret report from DESA's Executive Office details a massive abuse of power, UN immunities - including abuse with tax-deduction and other UN perks for SK Government officials as well as corrupt procurement practices and commitment of funds without any procedural approval from HQs.

While many at 23rd floor are "committed to secrecy on Seoul center" due to "sensitivity" it bears from Ban Ki-Moon being a south korean, the scandal has now become a heavy one, that even ASG Jomo has admitted that the center should be "shut down, or if it should continue it should not under DESA's flag".

With UNGC being the second scandal of DESA's centers in the world (UNTC - Thessaloniki Centre was the first one) now we wonder what would be the status of other centers of DESA ?

John Mary Kauzya and Catherine Pelluso have shortlisted Elia Yi Armstrong as replacement of Adil Khan

a shocking rumor is going thru the halls of UN-DESA. John Mary Kauzya and Catherine Pelluso have shortlisted the candidates that would allegedly take over the post of Head of Economic Branch - (former Adil Khan).

is absolutely amazing to even think that a more unqualified, ignorant, corrupt and un-ethical person to be shortlisted for this post. But hey, when UN-DESA has no other but John Mary Kauzya, who is under investigation for fraud, miss-management and gross-negligence conduct, to shortlist the future head of the Economic branch, this is the lowest level DESA has reached in years.

the fact that this korean lady can't stay longer at UNDP, tells a lot about her caliber and qualities.

Look at her CV (here)

What a shame !

At UN's DESA, Still No Accountability for Faked Work of Greek Center, New Chief Says

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, November 28 -- The new head of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Sha Zukang, spoke for his first time to the UN press corps on Wednesday. He addressed it head-on, saying he has been called "bad-tempered... aggressive, emotional and tough." It is "all true in a way," he said. "I hope you like me. If not, I don't mind." He added, "I am incapable of not saying what I think." Here's hoping.

            Inner City Press asked for an update on the Office of Internal Oversight Services investigations of DESA: Guido Bertucci, the Thessaloniki Center for "Public Service Professionalism," and consultants' contracts. Sha Zukang pulled out a piece of paper and read out from it. "My colleague provided this, anticipating some questions from you," he said. "Don't ask further questions, I don't know the details."

            In sum, OIOS released its audit of the Thessaloniki Center on August 2, 2007. While Sha Zukang said that DESA has fully implemented Recommendations 3 and 4, and part of the first recommendation, it is significant to consider the one still unacted upon:

"The Department should establish accountability for the inefficient use of consultants, including the irregular sign-off of a consultant's contract indicating that deliverables had been provided when no such deliverables had actually been received."

            This is as good a definition of corruption as any. But where is the accountability? Sha Zukang said to wait for the end of the year. One month remains. The OIOS report, A/62/176, also says that "[i]n its response to the draft audit report, the Department did not accept responsibility for the failure of the project. In addition, the Department rejected three of the four recommendations made by OIOS." Sha Zukang pointed out that the "OIOS investigative taskforce" did reach a finding of "no inappropriate conduct" with regard to one consultant, Catherine Elizabeth Gazzoli. Good for her. As to the rest of the investigation, Sha Zukang said it is still pending, with "no available timeline for completion." Typical OIOS.

Sha Zukang at WEF, Thomas Friedman not shown

            DESA's Johan Scholvinck answered Inner City Press' question about the report being launched, on the "World Social Situation 2007." Scholvinck said that DESA is an "analytical" body, without much of an "operational" side (which may be a blessing, see above), and that DESA does not try to overlap with the International Labor Organization. Rather, DESA works with the ILO, as well as with the World Bank, on such issues as youth employment.

            DESA has an implicit recommendation for the World Food Program, tucked into the report on page 140:

"the World Food Programme (WFP) has been a major driver of food-for-work schemes... those engaged in what is often onerous labor end up burning more calories than are gained."

            How or if WFP chief Josette Sheeran Shiner will respond is not yet clear. She has yet to speak to the UN Headquarters press corps.

            Wednesday, Sha Zukang recited the litany of issues on which DESA works, and said that since he assumed his post on July 1, he has been trying to focus more on the central mandate, "development for all." He said, twice, "it is a lot of work," adding ""without much outcome or productivity." Inner City Press welcomed him -- such candor is rare at UN Headquarters. Here's hoping.

* * *

Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNetpiece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here

  Because a number of Inner City Press' UN sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the poor, and while it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to conclude this installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the stated goals of the UN agencies and many of their staff. Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the information flowing.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com

UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Did Elia Yi Armstrong misrepresented her credential at UN-DESA ?

The former Ethics Senior Advisor at UN-DESA / DPADM, and current Director of Ethics Office at UNDP, is the real thing (or not?).


But let's examine her real CV (see herein attached from UNPAN)

Experience	Education
1984-1987 English Instructor Yonsei/Jilin Universities, Changchun, China	1985 - Associate (Piano pedagogy) Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto, Canada
1989-1990 Legislative Aide, State Senator William Maravitz's Office, Chicago, USA	1989 - Master of Science (social policy and planning in developing countries), London School of economics, UK

This woman seem to have been at the same time in two different places almost 8000 Miles distant. 

Furio De Tomassi illegally shortlisted and selected Adriana Alberti as Italian Associate Expert

Adriana Alberti, a New Jersey born, was illegally selected and hired as Italian Associate Expert from Furio De Tomassi. 

Is outrageous to even think that a person with such a controversial CV (click here for our story) that has paid no taxes in Italy during her entire life be selected and deprive a real italian from being selected for this job. But it seem that for Mr. De Tomassi and Catherine Pelluso rules do not apply. This fake italian made it to New York, as an "Italian Associate Expert".

Only to find out that 18 months later she had to resign and be expelled from the DESA's Associate Experts Programme for not declaring and paying US Taxes. The scandal at that time was again kept under the radar of everyone, thanks to Catherine Pelluso and Marie Oveisi who bent over to Bertucci and De Tomassi and arranged with the UN Tax Unit that Alberti pay all accumulated taxes. Today all the above has been doctored from the file of Alberti at Oveissi's office.

But Alberti was made to work for her uncle, and therefore only few months passed from the above scandal until her return - this time from the "window" when De Tomassi again, hired her as a Consultant under a Regional Italian Project at DPADM/DESA. She would never undergo any selection or proper HR scrutiny.

Today Alberti is a "respected" Senior Advisor in DESA's Governance Division. There is a problem though. This fake ITALIAN continue to be in the system as ITALIAN. She declares and receives International benefits, even-though she is a US citizen and finally pays US taxes (not even a dime in Italian taxes). 

Furio De Tommassi and Catherine Pelluso are the direct responsible for allowing this US citizen to collect $189,000 US Dollars in International Benefits (so far) when she should have been hired as a local consultant and/or expert. 

Mr. Sha Zukang should call the UN Tax Unit and take the files of Alberti of her years as Associate Expert where she was obliged to pay all accumulated taxes and was expelled for lying to UN and not disclosing her being a US citizen.

Mr. Sha Zukang should initiate an investigation into the hiring and retaining of the services of Adriana Alberti and other so-called Italian Associate Experts who currently work for DESA/DPADM and the way they made it thru the system.

Mr. Sha Zukang should make public the finding of his investigation and held responsible those managers who acted against the rules and regulations of the UN system.

The staff of UNDESA deserve to know what is going on. 

Little Italy goes bankrupt while Chinatown opens for business

CHINATOWN THIS WAY !

Chinese Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Under Secretary General for DESA:

Sha Zukang (Chinese)

Chief of Office of USG for DESA:

Juwang Zhu (Chinese)

Special Assistant to USG for DESA:
Jian Tan (Chinese)

Director of Division of Public Administration and Development Management:

Haiyan Qian (Chinese)

OIOS Risk Assessment Report on UN-DESA

On June 10th 2008, the Internal Audit Division of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of the UN Secretariat reported to Sha Zukang with a detailed report on management risks at DESA. (Click on the picture)
Dagfinn Knutsen, Director of Internal Audit sent the report (Audit File# 08-01411 and Assignment Nr# AN2007/540/01) to DESA's USG asking Mr. Zukang to properly evaluate and take into account the risk assessment of DESA and ensure that appropriate risk mitigation measures are in place.

Our blog wanted to post the attached Audit already back in July, but we thought that by giving some times to Sha Zukang he would have done the right thing. Well - as ll know he failed miserably to do the right thing, and his administration has resulted as corrupt and colluded as those of Desai and Ocampo.

We ask DESA staff to read the report, learn from it and ask explanations from your supervisors as to what have they done so far to implement the report.

We will continue to bring to you the entire internal-secret reviews, audits and management decisions on DESA. Only by making it transparent and public our mistakes we will be able to eradicate once and for all the internal corruption of Catherine Pelluso, Marie Oveissi, Furio De Tomassi, Guido Bertucci, Elia Armstrong, and many others (soon to come).

Enjoy it....

Bogus project with two fake CTA's in New York and no one working in the center

Today we will visit a bogus project, totally fake and inexistent with a fake website and no products, but that pays well and keeps two CTA's at Headquarters in New York, while nothing exists on the ground.

http://www.unpan.org/innovmed/index.asp

Within the framework of United Nations’ efforts to promote economic and social development, the Programme for Innovation in Public Administration in the Euro-Mediterranean region has been established to assist interested governments in improving their governance and public administration systems and to provide policy makers, experts and citizens in general with relevant regional knowledge and information on governance.

Who implements the Programme?

The Programme is implemented by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, through its Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM), with the support of Formez – Training and Research Centre based in Rome, with branches in Naples (Arco Felice) and Cagliari, Italy. It has been launched in mid 2003.

Who funds the Programme?

The Programme is financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Italy through Funds in Trust to UNDESA.

From the above one would think that this "huge" project funded with Italian Taxpayers money, have huge offices and thousands of activities on the ground. Well hold your thought, the project is composed by the following staff:

---

Adriana Alberti, Chief Technical Adviser  Programme on Innovation in Public Administration in the Euro-Mediterranean Region  Governance and Public Administration Branch  Division for Public Administration and Development Management  United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Email: alberti@un.org Phone: 212-963-2299

---

Laila Fala, Governance Specialist  Programme on Innovation in Public Administration in the Euro-Mediterranean Region  Governance and Public Administration Branch  Division for Public Administration and Development Management  United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) Email: falal@un.org Phone: 917-367-5012

Yes both of them in New York, implementing and "running" an inter-regional project from the 17th floor of DC2 building...... But why be so mean and not trust them - give them the benefit of the doubt? Let's review together  the above mentioned website, maybe they really did what they say they did.....

WHAT'S NEW?

Upsss - There is nothing new (Click here) 

REGIONAL INFORMATION ON GOVERNANCE?

Upsss - a blind copy of CIA country profile with UNDP links (Click here)

INNOVATORS NETWORKS? 

Upps - words but there are not networks - the links are bogus and lead you no-where...(Click here) 

BEST PRACTICES?

please don't even go there - is like buying a designer bag in Naples - its so fake and empty and lead to no where.. (click here) 

PILOT PROJECTS?

Uppsss...after 5 years there are not pilot projects....(Click here) 

If you happen to go to Naples in Italy among many things they sell for turists are some typic metal box-es beautifully hand-painted - with script - "THE BOX CONTAINS AIR FROM SORRENTO"......

Well it seems that Guido Bertucci, Adriana Alberti and some other unknown elements have been selling .....well ......PURE AIR...... to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Meanwhile the two ladies in New York who are supposed to maintain the above AIR-BOX receive the following remunerations:

Adriana Alberti (P5)

annual Salary After deductions: US$121,774.31

monthly Salary After deductions: US$ 10,147.86

Laila Fala (L4)

annual Salary After deductions: US$108,857.80

monthly Salary After deductions: US$ 9,071.48

And the kids in Gaza continue to die waiting for United Nations to save them...........

Stelzer lost......

anyone seen Thomas Stelzer?

Someone should remind the guy that he works for the UN-DESA in New York, and there are no UN-DESA offices in Vienna or other countries in the world. 

You should come back Mr. Stelzer, and dedicate your time to real policy coordination, for which you are selected and paid for. Stop spending DESA's and world tax-payers money on first class travel. If you wanted to travel this much, than you should have asked for the World Tourism Organization in Barcelona and not DESA. 

UN-DESA fails to implement mobility, while 70% of its Managerial force is expected to retire - there is a total lack of succession planning

Our dear leader Ban Ki-moon in his address to General Assembly on September 23, 2008, said:

In closing, let me briefly return to the theme of my address to you last year – a stronger UN for a better world. The foundation of all our work is accountability. The UN Secretariat, including myself, is accountable to you, the Member States. And that is why I push so hard, so strongly for UN reform.

We need to change the UN culture. We need to become faster, more flexible and more effective and more modern. In the coming weeks, I will ask you, the Member States, to support my proposals for a new human resources framework. We need to replace our current system of contracts and conditions of service. It is dysfunctional. It is demoralizing. It discourages mobility between UN departments and the field. It promotes stagnation, rather than creativity. It undercuts our most precious resource – the global, dedicated corps of international civil servants that is the backbone of the United Nations.

But at United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), our management composed by:

• USG- Sha Zukang - Arm Expert;
• ASG- Jomo Kwame Sundaram - the only Economist;
• ASG- Thomas Stelzer - former President of Klangforum Wien, a leading ensemble for contemporary classical music;

have still to initiate an internal assessment and implementation of Ban's plans.

All these three gentlemen have been on the job at minimum one year (Stelzer - Feb 08). They need to initiate immediately an assessment of the age structure of the staff across in DESA, to assess the overall dimensions of the average ageing of staff and its impact on human resources management policies, including succession planning, and its financial implications, with a special emphasis on the Professional staff.

All the reports that come from Catherine Pelluso's office provide only general statistics on gender, geographical distribution and the basic demographic profile of staff. Most reports do not pay sufficient attention to age-related issues, lack analytical details about the consequences of the existing age structure, and do not call the attention of Senior Management in DESA and OHRM at Secretariat to the likely impact of the age structure. Often these reports are submitted either for the purposes of "information" or "taking note of" and rarely contain proposals to address age-related issues which are about to engulf Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

Both Catherine Pelluso and TCMS's Marie Oveissi are totally ignorant of what a Succession planning tool mean and how that affect the work of the department. For Pelluso and the entire Executive Office at DESA, "succession planning" is done as part of vacancy management, and in most cases it does not go beyond filling vacancies. Instead Sha Zukang should invest in a professional Human Resource Specialist within Executive Office - who should follow professionally the HR strategies and age structure of DESA against the particular mandate and objectives to be accomplished our Department.

Good and fresh example is that of Director of DPADM - instead of being prepared for Guido Bertucci's retirement (and failing to collect the $34,000 as established by OIOS Investigation and requested by Ban Ki-moon), DESA's EO failed to have in place a succession plan and thus being ready to replace both Bertucci (D2) and Khan(D1) right after their departure in July 2008. The lack of such detailed planning led to a leadership gap and a total chaos for the work of the division for the past nine months.

Lack of a coherent HR planning in DESA leads to major implications for a real succession and in endless process of replacing those who retire. While many now believe that such practices are "man maid" - whereby corrupt managers make "deals" with Executive Office (EO) in order to either remain in their positions post-retirement date, or micro-manage the vacancy and replacement process to ensure "continuity".

We will continue to talk about these problems..........

Eight months to appoint replacements for D2 (DPADM) and D1 (SEGMB)

the process of replacing Gudio Bertucci the former D2-Director of DPADM and Adil Khan the outgoing D1-Chief of SEGMB, has been anything but transparent and accountable. 

In the case of D1-Chief of SEGMB, since the beginning the process has been tainted with mismanagement of applications and proper shortlisting. Sources very familiar with the Executive Office of Sha Zukang tell us that until recently the panel had to interview and review "late comers" to the process, who have been entering thru the "back-door" and were not shortlisted with the first pile of applicants back in July-August 2008. 

Sources very familiar to the process say that until late October at least 4 shortlisted candidates were still standing and were presented to Sha Zukang. But that list suddenly changed a week before USG's departure to Doha with the addition of another "extra one", and soon after removal of two.

"Justice delayed is justice denied" says a person familiar with OHRM rules and regulations. The source says that such delays only prove the inability, unprofessionalism and unethical behavior of DESA's current management, thus allowing major doubts over the entire process. 

If Sha Zukang, Rob Vos and Hayian Qian would have followed the rules of the game, they should have re-advertised by now twice the post, for failure to find qualified applicants to fit the job in the first bunch. But keeping and holding for 8 months same initial bunch of applicants and adding to the group without proper screening process it only adds up to the already bad image of the Department. 

The source says that whatever decision the Panel took again "very recently" it would be better if they publish now the whole list of applicants and transparently explain their choice and ratings. Otherwise many at Executive Office have seen the correspondence between the Panel-USG-OHRM-CRB-USG, and if those exchanges out to be made public, it might result into another blow for DESA's management as well as to another "tainted post" which would soon after may become disputed and subject to OIOS further investigations. 

While other UN funds and programmes have increased enormously their transparency and becoming more and more accountable, DESA continues to run as a 1800' - feudal organization. How can you expect member states to trust the Economic and Social Affairs Department of the UN, when we never follow what we preach to others?

Your reputation is at stake here Mr. Zukang as well as that of your two ASGs. How ethically and transparently you will handle the replacement of Guido Bertucci and Adil Khan (and some others) will affect our trust in you.

Anectodes and observations

Accountability?           "Ideally the UN, foreshadowing a future world government, ought to be run by a global meritocracy -- rule by the best.  In practice, it is the opposite. Any state that can be legally defined as one can join the UN -- it is a club having no rules of probity or morals. …  The result is failure and graft.  UN officials are not answerable to bodies like Congress or the U.K.'s Parliament, which would be sure to track down, expose and punish gross abuses and manifest failures.  No senior UN official has ever gone to jail.  It's rare for anyone to be sacked or removed.  The top brass resist any kind of investigation, on principle.  The oil-for-food inquiry is unique in that it has taken place at all and seems to be garnering results.  But will any punishment be meted out?  Will any serious reforms be pushed through?  Of course not. …"

Paul Johnson, "The UN is for talk, not actions," Forbes (US), March 14, 2005.

                                                                                                           

 

Accountability’s importance, then and now        “[A free people has] an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge,  I mean, of the character and conduct of its rulers.”

                                    John Adams, second American president, 1797-1801

 

“Adams had in mind the ministers of the British crown in the reign of King George III, and presumably he knew that the knowledge  in question was interactive, moving mostly in the direction of the man being discovered as a thief but also toward the man afraid of finding out that he’s been robbed.”

                                                Lewis Lapham, “Uncle Sam”, Harpers’ Magazine (US), January 2007, pp. 7-9.

Latest rumors on Replacement of Adil Khan (SEGMB)

after eight months of a prolonged and secretly held vacancy announcement, shortlisting and selection process (which took 5 months) for replacement of Chief of SEGM Branch of DPADM in DESA, and which process led to the temporary appointment of Jay De Vera's as Chief of SEGMB (only so he could retire at D1 salary) -  a confidential source reports that the decision about the replacement of Adil Khan as Chief of SEGMB has been made. His replacement will allegedly be a Mexican - an outsider. 

Rob Vos, who apparently chaired the interview panel, reportedly is notorious for favouring appointments of "university" type persons and former research associates. Staff of DPAD says that: "He is still totally clueless about the low value of "academic" qualifications for the work of the UN". Since joining DESA he has demoralized his staff in DPAD by running his Division like a University Faculty. Staff of DPAD complain also that there is zero weight given to experience in the UN and past contributions to DESA, nor to management experience and expertise. 

Same source report that under Mr. Vos chairmanship of the selection panel, he insisted that not one internal DESA candidate was considered capable of managing SEGMB. Sources say that allegedly the only other candidate who received highest recommendations was a fellow countryman of Mr Vos. While same source says that two internal candidates from DESA were dropped at last minute in favor of the external ones. 

Enough said. Mr Sha maybe doesn't know that as matter of policy all selection panels are required to recommend at least one internal candidate for each senior position to be filled.

This requirement will ensure that Mr Sha is afforded the opportunity to select an internal candidate if he so wishes. The game of eliminating all internal candidates to ensure free passage for the favoured external candidate must be stopped. 

If the above would be true it would be a real hypocrisy. It would be inconceivable that not ONE single DESA staff is deemed qualified to fill this particular position. Or maybe this is a new policy to bring in Koreans, Chinese and/or other "preferred" nationalities.

A collection of lies from Ban Ki-moon on Reforming the United Nations

The following are the statements made by our Secretary general when he started office in 2007.  He promised to reform management and operations practices as follows:

PURE LIES

Improving accountability and oversight 

“To improve accountability, it is not enough just to talk about it.  We must take a deep and detailed look at our internal systems, and examine what practical steps need to be taken to improve them.”

Setting the highest ethical standards

“I will seek to set the highest ethical standards. The good name of the United Nations is one of its most valuable assets – but also one of its most vulnerable. The Charter calls on staff to uphold the highest levels of efficiency, competence and integrity, and I will seek to ensure to build a solid reputation for living up to that standard. I assure you that I will lead by example.”

Providing and Efficient, transparent and service-oriented Secretariat

“To do the job expected of it, the UN needs a strong, robust empowered Secretariat.  My vision is an administration focused on results – efficient, directed, pragmatic and accountable.” 

Establishing a mobile, multi-skilled and motivated staff with access to internal justice

"If we are to attract, recruit and keep the high quality staff the UN needs, we must change our human resources framework and move away from rules that are anchored in the past."

Championing a more integrated UN family approach to achieve common goals

"In an ever more interdependent world, a coherent and strong United Nations is needed to meet an immense set of global challenges and a wide diversity of needs. It should respond to the diverse needs of countries and perform as one at the country level, and have the governance, management and funding practices in place to support those efforts."

The guillotine started ...

shaking up everyone ? Well you better be .......with Ban Ki-moon taking away the permanent appointment and replacing those with "continuous" ones, you better get ready to kiss .... because it will depend on your supervisor's evaluation whether you will continue or not on the job. 

On the other hand the impact of a potential "UNDP deal" in the horizon is already being felt with plentiful of DESA Advisors being extended for only 6 months. And this is only the beginning...........

From Wall street the crisis has now reached DC2 and DC1 main floors, and the tightening up of donors will have an immediate and "short term" effect on those seating in project posts to start with. 

While Ban Ki-moon has increased on paper the UN budget for next biennium, and managed to get an additional 91 posts for Secretariat (mostly DPA), none of those will be coming our way (for DESA). Meanwhile the guys with big pocket seem to have run out of CASH and even if they start printing money and photocopying $100 bills - DESA wont see a penny of it. 

UNDP, UNOPS as well as Regional Commissions who are on the ground are already running on tight budgets and have already reduced their AOS to keep afloat. Their desire for inter-agency cooperation is at the lowest since the One UN agenda came along. With donors running low in cash - no one wants to share "development markets". And as most in UNDP would say: "they 'aint got time for DESA's BS advisors....who come and overcharge their projects". Hey it aint their fault .....they all trying to survive. 

Unless DESA's boss, Sha Zukang, wakes up and really tighten up this ship, come out clean and with a real restructuring plan - 2009 doesn't look good at all. Specially with a poor performance like the recent one in Doha. 

With a myriad of UN satellites and parasites, NGOs, research institutes as well as $1000/day freelancers competing on daily basis for same CASH --> DESA has really lost its relevance thanks to the poor quality of in-house advice/advisors, extreme bureaucracy,  outrageous "administrative overheads" and lack of a courageous management willing to reinvent our organization. Maybe Sha Zukang should reconsider bringing back Guido Bertucci, he together with TCMS would reinvent the house in a week.

Unless you guys get smart and move fast to DPKO, OCHA, WFP or UNRWA (where the real CASH still exist), you better get ready to ride the storm and learn HTML because all will end up web-surfing and entering data into useless databases, which at the end are not being used from member states because UNDP/UNOPS and others competing already on the groundare  developing their own projects closer to the "reality" and close to the MONEYYYYYYYY.

Good luck !

At UN, Ban's Town Hall Is Stacked with Pre-Screened Questions, on G-to-P Injustice and Permanent Contracts, Few Answers

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, January 5 -- As Ban Ki-moon kicked off his third year as Secretary General, reviews Monday by UN staff outside Ban's town hall meeting were less than glowing. "It was like a Soviet event," one well-placed staffer quipped to Inner City Press, "complete with pre-selected questions and answers read out of a book." Another marveled how "it's a new day every day in Ban's UN," constant reinvention with no memory of previous new beginnings not followed up on.

Other Headquarters employees grumbled that other duty stations, from Geneva and Vienna to Nairobi, were given questions first. The head of the New York Staff Union, who had been asked to disclose his question in advance, inquired into the elimination last month of the UN's permanent contracts, and whether this violated the UN Charter. Union officials complained that no real answer was given.

Also from New York, a General Service staff member asked Ban why not extend educational benefits to General Services as well as Professional level staff. Ban answered that the limitation comes from the General Assembly, and that American citizens will not get such stipends unless they move and serve in Geneva or elsewhere. At least there was one seemingly unscripted question. The broader unfairness and waste of talent occasioned by the wall between Professional and General Services staff remains unaddressed.

Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson at Monday's noon briefing to respond to this Charter-based argument. The Charter doesn't require or provide for permanent contracts, she responded. The new term is "continuing." But what about whistleblower protection? And what about Article 101 of the the Charter's reference to staff being "permanently assigned"?

Inner City Press spoke with a number of senior UN officials on their way in and out of the town hall meeting. One demanded off the record treatment, when discussing Team Ban's crack down on the Press. Others, however, to their credit made no such request.

Peacekeeping chief Alain Leroy, walking in with his colleague Susana Malcorra, replied about the Lord's Resistance Army that the UN Mission in the Congo must focus in the Kivus, and cannot provide protection to the North. Click here for more on that.

The current Special Advisor on Africa may not long retain that title. "I started with Small Islands," he said, adding that he'd prefer not to be too identified with the Continent. So if Ban in fact complies with the stated wish of the General Assembly, expect a new Africa Advisor.

Controller Warren Sach confirmed that for a time he had been officer in charge of the Department of Management, but not on the day for replying to a report of UN retaliation. The resulting letter to the editor was by Catherine Pollard, "that was December 26," Sach said, "she was in charge." And as the Arab League meeting about Gaza droned on the basement, Ms. Pollard held court in the Delegates' Lounge. Every day is a new day.

Footnote: the Town Hall meeting was closed to the press. Even member states were not, at least as of Monday night, able to access the video. Delegates' link to the UN's intra-net had not been undated so far in 2009.

Is this any way to run the so-called World's Body? We may have more on this.

UN System Will Lack Justice Come January 2009

by Government Accountability Project

The UN’s Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) has released a report criticizing the Secretary-General for failing to implement General Assembly mandated internal justice reforms in a timely manner. 

In 2007, the UN General Assembly committed to establishing a new, independent justice system to ensure the due process rights of staff members and hold managers and other employees accountable. It was originally envisioned that this new system would take effect on January 1, 2008, but the General Assembly extended this deadline to January 1, 2009 at the request of the Secretariat. 

Now it appears that the Secretariat will also miss the January 2009 deadline. According to the ACABQ’s report:

Since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 62/228 in December 2007, none of the 30 posts authorized for the Office of Administration of Justice (18 new posts and 12 redeployments) have been filled…As a consequence of the lack of staff in the Office, as well as the fact that the statutes of the Dispute and Appeals Tribunals have not yet been adopted, delays have occurred in such areas as the development of procedures for the transition phase, a code of conduct for legal practitioners, terms of reference for the registries and a training and communications plan for the new system of internal justice…The procedures related to the new mechanisms of the disciplinary process, including the reporting of misconduct, investigations, the due process rights of staff, the evaluation of investigation reports and disciplinary proceedings, have not yet been completed. (paragraph 5 and 16(d))

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Joint Disciplinary Committee – one of two main bodies in the current UN justice system – has reportedly submitted a resignation letter, effective December 31, the sunset date of the current system. According to this letter, “there is no valid reason to continue, even as a transitional measure, to rely on this obsolete system. Justice will be much better served by focusing all efforts on launching the new system as soon as possible, and bringing all pending cases before it.”

This effectively means that unless the Secretary-General takes immediate action to complete the reform process, there will be no functioning justice system at the United Nations on January 1. In other words, whistleblowers and other employees at the United Nations – the organization charged with promoting human rights – may have no venue whatsoever through which to defend their own rights. 

This could not come at a worse time, as the number of people seeking relief through the justice system has recently increased, with an “exceptionally large number of new cases filed in the first half of 2008.” (paragraph 8) The number of disciplinary cases at the United Nations, jumped from 72 in 2006 to 277 thus far in 2008. (paragraph 10) 

As the legal cliché "justice delayed is justice denied" suggests, a delay in justice tends to be most harmful to the victim in the case and violates a person’s right to a speedy trial. Therefore, it is critical that the international body meet the January deadline. In doing so, however, the Secretary-General must also adhere to the recommendations made by the Redesign Panel in its original report and address the concerns raised by the UN Staff Union and seconded byGAP.