At UN, Lavrov Mocked France on Libya, Follow Through on Reform & Yemen UNclear
By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos
UNITED NATIONS, September 22 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a press conference at the UN on Friday and not a word of it had to do with the UN itself, much less reforming it. He passed easily from one country situation to another, even if he did mix up the long time reporters of AP and Reuters (retired). He told a good story about France's then foreign minister Laurent Fabius begging for his support to fight forces in Mali to whom France had air-dropped weapons in Libya's Mafusa mountains. But on reform - the Department of Political Affairs, the Secretariat's power grab of UN funds and programs and country teams, nothing. Inner City Press has waited to report on a blistering - but apparently unsupported from Moscow - speech by Russian deputy ambassador Sergey Kononuchenko, and now puts it online here. It characterizes the UN Secretariat's moves as a power grab. But as with the humanitarian situation in Yemen, an on-again, off-again issue with Russia, what is the level of commitment to follow through? We'll be asking, when we can. Watch this site. Lavrov met Thursday evening with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and gave him a gift. Present on the UN side was Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, with whom Inner City Press spoke nearly an hour later on the way down in the elevator. Before the Guterres and Lavrov shook hands, Lavrov asked why there were two blue UN flags behind them, and not a Russian one. But nations' flags are displayed by the UN only for heads of state; Lavrov laughed. Video here. Alamy photos here. The meeting went long and left Bangladesh' Sheikh Hasina waiting. But the stakes were and are high - not that one could tell from the generic read-out the UN later issued: "Today, the Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. They exchanged views both on the United Nations reform and on international situations, in particular Syria, the wider Middle East, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They also discussed peace and security issues in Europe, including with regard to Ukraine." (Earlier on September 21 Inner City Press asked Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin if he'd spoken with China; he answered that "no one" supports Russia's proposal for peacekeepers in Ukraine, which didn't really answer the question.) Guterres had paced around waiting for Lavrov, and made a point of indicating that he could write as long as he wanted in the UN's visitors' book. (To Uzbekistan's president, as Inner City Press reported, Guterres showed his preference at the end of the day, and after a long Paraguay signing, for just a signature). Ambassador Nebenzia and his Deputy were there, as well as spokesperson Maria Zakharova. Lavrov scheduled a press conference in the UN for September 22 at 1 pm.
At UN, Lavrov Mocked France on Libya, Follow Through on Reform & Yemen UNclear
By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos
UNITED NATIONS, September 22 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a press conference at the UN on Friday and not a word of it had to do with the UN itself, much less reforming it. He passed easily from one country situation to another, even if he did mix up the long time reporters of AP and Reuters (retired). He told a good story about France's then foreign minister Laurent Fabius begging for his support to fight forces in Mali to whom France had air-dropped weapons in Libya's Mafusa mountains. But on reform - the Department of Political Affairs, the Secretariat's power grab of UN funds and programs and country teams, nothing. Inner City Press has waited to report on a blistering - but apparently unsupported from Moscow - speech by Russian deputy ambassador Sergey Kononuchenko, and now puts it online here. It characterizes the UN Secretariat's moves as a power grab. But as with the humanitarian situation in Yemen, an on-again, off-again issue with Russia, what is the level of commitment to follow through? We'll be asking, when we can. Watch this site. Lavrov met Thursday evening with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and gave him a gift. Present on the UN side was Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, with whom Inner City Press spoke nearly an hour later on the way down in the elevator. Before the Guterres and Lavrov shook hands, Lavrov asked why there were two blue UN flags behind them, and not a Russian one. But nations' flags are displayed by the UN only for heads of state; Lavrov laughed. Video here. Alamy photos here. The meeting went long and left Bangladesh' Sheikh Hasina waiting. But the stakes were and are high - not that one could tell from the generic read-out the UN later issued: "Today, the Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. They exchanged views both on the United Nations reform and on international situations, in particular Syria, the wider Middle East, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They also discussed peace and security issues in Europe, including with regard to Ukraine." (Earlier on September 21 Inner City Press asked Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin if he'd spoken with China; he answered that "no one" supports Russia's proposal for peacekeepers in Ukraine, which didn't really answer the question.) Guterres had paced around waiting for Lavrov, and made a point of indicating that he could write as long as he wanted in the UN's visitors' book. (To Uzbekistan's president, as Inner City Press reported, Guterres showed his preference at the end of the day, and after a long Paraguay signing, for just a signature). Ambassador Nebenzia and his Deputy were there, as well as spokesperson Maria Zakharova. Lavrov scheduled a press conference in the UN for September 22 at 1 pm.
At UN, Lavrov Mocked France on Libya, Follow Through on Reform & Yemen UNclear
By Matthew Russell Lee, Photos
UNITED NATIONS, September 22 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a press conference at the UN on Friday and not a word of it had to do with the UN itself, much less reforming it. He passed easily from one country situation to another, even if he did mix up the long time reporters of AP and Reuters (retired). He told a good story about France's then foreign minister Laurent Fabius begging for his support to fight forces in Mali to whom France had air-dropped weapons in Libya's Mafusa mountains. But on reform - the Department of Political Affairs, the Secretariat's power grab of UN funds and programs and country teams, nothing. Inner City Press has waited to report on a blistering - but apparently unsupported from Moscow - speech by Russian deputy ambassador Sergey Kononuchenko, and now puts it online here. It characterizes the UN Secretariat's moves as a power grab. But as with the humanitarian situation in Yemen, an on-again, off-again issue with Russia, what is the level of commitment to follow through? We'll be asking, when we can. Watch this site. Lavrov met Thursday evening with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and gave him a gift. Present on the UN side was Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, with whom Inner City Press spoke nearly an hour later on the way down in the elevator. Before the Guterres and Lavrov shook hands, Lavrov asked why there were two blue UN flags behind them, and not a Russian one. But nations' flags are displayed by the UN only for heads of state; Lavrov laughed. Video here. Alamy photos here. The meeting went long and left Bangladesh' Sheikh Hasina waiting. But the stakes were and are high - not that one could tell from the generic read-out the UN later issued: "Today, the Secretary-General met with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. They exchanged views both on the United Nations reform and on international situations, in particular Syria, the wider Middle East, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They also discussed peace and security issues in Europe, including with regard to Ukraine." (Earlier on September 21 Inner City Press asked Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin if he'd spoken with China; he answered that "no one" supports Russia's proposal for peacekeepers in Ukraine, which didn't really answer the question.) Guterres had paced around waiting for Lavrov, and made a point of indicating that he could write as long as he wanted in the UN's visitors' book. (To Uzbekistan's president, as Inner City Press reported, Guterres showed his preference at the end of the day, and after a long Paraguay signing, for just a signature). Ambassador Nebenzia and his Deputy were there, as well as spokesperson Maria Zakharova. Lavrov scheduled a press conference in the UN for September 22 at 1 pm.
Statement by Mr. Sergey Kononuchenko, Deputy Permanent
Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, on the
presentation of the report of the Secretary-General on advancing the
United Nations development system
Mister Chairman,
| thank Secretary-General for the delivered presentation. We have carefully studied the report,
which, unfortunately, raises not hopes, but rather serious concems for the future of the United
Nations development system (UNDS)
Most conclusions and recommendations contained therein extend beyond the framework of
mandates, agreed by Member States in the Quadrennial comprehensive policy review of
operational activities for development of the United Nations system (QCPR). It is obviously an
attempt to weaken control by Member States over the system paired with occasional neglects of
national ownership principle. This is reflected both in misinterpretations of the 2030 Agenda for
sustainable development and the QCPR.
The list of questions to the report is rather long. ll dwell on several points of utmost importance.
1. In the GA resolution 71/243 (QCPR) the governments have decided to conduct a selective
tuning of the UNDS in order to fortify transparency, coherence and accountability to Member
States. Any reform, especially a fundamental one, is out of the question.
In this regard we are seriously concerned with the presented recommendations on the merger of
development and humanitarian approaches as well as the endorsement of the "New Ways of
Working” document, which is not intergovernmentally agreed. An attempt to introduce conflict
prevention in the work of the UNDS is also inappropriate. This contradicts the very first guiding
principle of the QCPR, directly prescribing the system “to respond to the development needs of
programme countries".
2. The suggestions to create new entities like the so-called “steering committee" and an
independent evaluation unit, anchored to the Executive Office of the SG, are not adequately
‘substantiated. The essence of the QCPR provisions was to strengthen accountability and effective
interaction of current divisions with Member States, to create transparent and clear working
methods but not to bureaucratize and entangle the organizational structure.
Besides what staffing and budgetary implications will be associated with these steps? Why the
issues of coordination and evaluation cannot be regulated within the acting structures, such as
Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) and the
Joint Inspection Unit (JIU)?
3. The report outlines substantial gaps in the work of the UNDS in the context of the Sustainable
Development Goals: water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, responsible consumption
and production, industry, infrastructure and the environment. At the same time there are no
considerable recommendations thereto.
Furthermore, the UNDS continues to be forced to work in the field of human rights and sustaining
peace.
4. | would specifically like to underline the unjustified extension of the UN Secretariat authority.
Though the QCPR does not contain a single mandate on the subject, for some reason these
recommendations constitute the lion's share of the report.
First of all it applies to the transition of chairmanship in the UN Development Group to the Deputy
Secretary-General. Alongside with the reassessment of the principles of the UN country teams
assembling, as well as the proposed line to transform Resident Coordinators from operational
managers into political actors, we see this recommendation as a step towards the centralization of
governance over the UNDS. As a matter of fact, such measure is undermining the neutral and
universal nature of the current decision-making mechanism and creates a legal backdoorinstrument to endorse politically biased standards of the operational activities while evading
Member States’ approval.
The fundamental principle of the QCPR is the ownership and leadership of national governments in
the area of sustainable development. This applies both to determination of national development
Priorities, strategies and policies as well as to related issues of forming the country teams, methods
of their interaction with national governments and formulation of their final objectives, particularly
the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).
Besides, the QCPR has reaffirmed that the RC system is owned by the UNDS as the whole, which
means that all matters regarding reconstruction of their profile, selection and evaluation process
are subject to discussion and affirmation by Member States, based on consensus. The
consequences of disregarding this principle would be grave — to the point of total loss of credibility
with the programme countries.
5. Proposed innovations on the H@ level also have insufficient evidence. This applies to gradual
merger of all Executive Boards of UN development agencies based in New York. Even if we ignore
illegitimacy of UN Secretariat intervention into the work of the boards, differences in their
membership and, moreover, specific mandates of individual agencies, the effectiveness of such
measure is highly doubtful
Mister Chairman,
The QCPR provisions unambiguously intend to fortify transparency, responsiveness and
accountability of the UNDS to Member States. The governments have defined the development
system as a neutral, objective and trusted partner, and not as a conductor of norms and standards
convenient to a close circle of prejudiced elements of the system. It was precisely the partnerprofile
that was supposed to be strengthened during the formulation of the current report.
The proposed recommendations however do not take into account the existing demand of recipient
countries for thematic services of the UNDS. Its conclusions are mostly speculative, they disrupt
the current fragile balance and exceed the framework of both the QCPR directives and sustainable
development pillar in general. It is doubtful that this controversial vision of available resources and
capacities of the system can be utilized to guide the elaboration of effective proposals to improve
its work.
Thank you for your attention