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UN's Top Official Srgjan Kerim Accepts Outside Funding, Calls for Reform Which UK Supports

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

UNITED NATIONS, March 18 -- The current President of the UN General Assembly, Srjgan Kerim, has his living costs and rent paid by the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which also arranged with Mr. Kerim's employer, the WAZ media group, to keep him under contract even while he serves at the UN. Having gotten these arrangements confirmed by Kerim's spokesman, Inner City Press on Tuesday asked Kerim if this might present a conflict of interest, and what he would propose.

    "It is the right of those who pay to ask favors," Kerim candidly responded, calling the situation "unbearable." He said he will instruct the two facilitators of the General Assembly revitalization resolution to raise the issue. Inner City Press asked the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative John Sawers for the UK's view of the president of the General Assembly accepting funding from his government or a private corporation. "There are certain things in this building that are out of date," Ambassador Sawers replied, calling such funding an "unusual situation, inherited over the years." He said the UK would in principle support a GA resolution to address the issue.

            Ascertaining the financing of the current President of the GA has taken several rounds of questions, not all of which have been answered. Last month, Inner City Press' questions (video here, from Minute 33:31) led his spokesman to state that "no, the President has not requested a credit card, he inquired... about his entitlements including also any entitlements and obligations covering family members. He has not made any request for car and security for his wife."

            Inner City Press followed up with a question about Kerim's rent at Essex House, his arrangement with the WAZ media group, and even if he has asked that his lunches in the UN's Delegates Dining Room be paid for. This resulted in a confirmation that "it is the Government of Macedonia that covers the cost of the President's accommodation in New York and also provides him with income to cover his living costs." Inner City Press' request to know how the size of these payments was not answered by the spokesman. Rather, even before Kerim's in-person call for reform, a written response was provided to Inner City Press that "the General Assembly President should be covered through the regular UN budget. He believes that as a matter of principle and logic this should be the case to clearly indicate that the President is fully accountable to the General Assembly and not to his / her sending Government."

Srgjan Kerim behind the UN, FYROM funding and "unbearable" pressure not shown

            Ironically, while Mr. Kerim while running for the presidency committed to call his country by its UN name, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or FYROM, since assuming office he has repeatedly called it Macedonia, including in the written responses provided to Inner City Press. He visited, as a personal trip, the country's incoming honorary consul in Naples, Florida, a trip that Inner City Press covered. (Inner City Press has covered Kerim's views on UN ethics, the budget, climate change and vows of transparency.)

  To his credit, Kerim on Tuesday did not deny that funders ask for favors. "We cannot leave it to character," he said, asking "who can guarantee that every President will show resistance" to such pressure? He emphasized that the PGA is the only UN official elected by all member states, hence the UN's top official. He said that Article 21 of the UN Charter directs the General Assembly to make rules for the office of the President of the General Assembly, but the GA has provided neither guidance nor funding. Kerim says he is asking for a change, and the UK for one says it will in principle support the request. We'll see.

Footnote: Speaking just after the General Assembly's end of the year budget vote, Kerim suggested that the agenda item on "GA revitalization" should be replaced with the notion of the Assembly's role in "strengthening the United Nations system," and said "how well this Assembly performs depends on the Member States... when you are active and engaged, it allows any President of the Assembly to show leadership." This issue of removing the Office of the President of the GA from an anachronistic conflict of interest position will require leadership to solve. Presidents only serve for one year, making structural changes hard to accomplish. Kerim has at least admitted publicly that there is a problem. Now, will there be a solution? Will Ban Ki-moon, with a longer tenure than Kerim to solve this problem, get involved?

Kerim at the home of Ban Ki-moon -- Kerim's Essex House rental is paid by FYROM

The response:

Subj: Re: Hi Janos, here are questions as / in context discussed
Date: 3/12/2008 2:33:32 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: PGA Spokesman [at] un.org
To: Inner City Press

Hi Matthew, as promised getting back with answers -- this is what I have for you:

   The Presidents of the General Assembly are not UN staff members but elected officials for a one year term and do not receive a salary from the UN. Therefore, Presidents had maintained their employment status and financial arrangements with the employers they had prior to assuming the Presidency. This is the practice followed by the current General Assembly President. His sending Government has made an arrangement with his employer the WAZ media group allowing for the one year release of Dr. Kerim to take up his duties as GA President, at the same time maintaining his contractual status with the media group.

   It is the Government of Macedonia that covers the cost of the President's accommodation in New York and also provides him with income to cover his living costs. His official travels and representation are covered by the United Nations. He has an annual budget of $280, 000 made available by Member States to allow him for the proper discharging of his functions. This covers official travel and representation as well as transportation, communication and security related costs.

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

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