Tuesday, February 28, 2012

UNJustice.Org: SAD FACT THAT DEATH OF A UN-WFP PILOT TRIGGERS UGLY DISPUTE OVER INSURANCE COVERAGE


Click here to view this on UN Justice page

20 October 2011

UNJustice is saddened to know about the quarrel over the tragic loss of Michael Allan Prior, a UN-WFP pilot from South-Africa.

UNJustice hopes that the relevant UN-WFP authorities will give effective attention to the serious concerns of the widow, Mrs. Sheila Prior, and resolve this sensitive matter.

Mr. Prior, 52 years old, was found dead in bed in his hotel room in Surkhet, Nepal, on 23 March 2010. The day after, the autopsy conducted at Kathmandu Autopsy Center, Department of Forensic Medicine, concluded that the cause of death was coronary atherosclerotic heart disease. A disease which has many risk factors, including stress.

Michael Allen Prior has deserved recognition for his work and it has included a thoughtful letter of condolence to Mrs. Prior from UN-WFP Executive-Director:

“Mike joined WFP’s efforts to combat hunger in March 2005 as a Consultant and served WFP in different challenging duty stations including Chad and Sudan. Mike joined WFP Nepal in September 2008 and continued to serve WFP with great dedication and steadfastness.

Colleagues who knew him personally, fondly remember him as a caring and compassionate human being, with a winning, sincere smile. He was always ready to help others, and was an incredible source of comfort and strength to his colleagues. He will be truly missed by the WFP,” Josette Sheeran wrote.

Mrs. Prior, who is 60 and unemployed, has told UNJustice of her devastation at her husband's death and she feels that she has been let down by the UN-WFP:

“I had a stroke the day UN-WFP informed me over the phone that Mike had passed away. UN-WFP gave me another blow when Mike’s belongings were delivered in ugly bags made of coarse cloth, it looked like a refugee’s belonging being sent back to his country delivered by a courier company.

I was not paid any life cover and I will lose everything Mike and I worked for, even the roof over my head. I tried everything to have an explanation, even their Facebook page, where I approached UN-WFP Executive-Director and received a comment from her that Office of Human Resources is the right place to go. But the Office of Human Resources is not responding to me anymore. They threatened to block me if I sent other messages to their Facebook page, and finally they did.

I was told that my late husband’s contract was from 4 July 2009 to 3 January 2010, and that it was extended. But UN-WFP Legal Department did not give me any proof of an extended contract. I fear that Mike was working for UN-WFP without a signed contract when he died in March 2010. Without a signed contract how can I know if Mike had applied for the voluntary life cover? It is their word against a dead man’s word.

I also have a medical report stating that when Mike started to work with the UN-WFP, in 2005, his heart was healthy. Then he went to Chad, Sudan and Nepal where, in November 2008, he collapsed on duty at the airport next to a UN Helicopter. The Chief Pilot gave Mike cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 1 hour and 15 minutes and saved him. The stress of his work and living in those places have injured his health. Mike’s heart problems showed in the autopsy are similar to those mentioned in the medical report after his collapse on duty in November 2008 –the electrocardiogram strip was classified abnormal, it showed left atrial enlargement and left ventricular hypertrophy. If this would have happened home, we would have done everything to find out what was wrong with Mike. Any employer that had an employee almost dead for over an hour will know that there is a serious health problem with that employee. After the 2008 accident my husband should have already been sent back home”, says Sheila Prior.

UNJustice is embittered to know that, on 11 October 2011, an officer in the UN-WFP Legal Department has responded to the widow’s concerns by saying “Dear Ms. Prior, As you know, WFP has already reviewed these issues and provided extensive responses to you and to your representatives. We have nothing further to add. Thank you.”

UNJustice recalls that any allegedly work-related injury is a serious matter of concern. UNJustice believes that and Mrs. Prior bitter disappointment should not be indifferent to the UN-WFP and calls on the UN-WFP to give an adequate answer to the multiple, excruciating questions raised by Mrs. Prior about the employment with the UN-WFP of her late husband.

Please take action to demand that the UN-WFP issues the instructions necessary to adequately consider the concerns of late UN-WFP pilot Michael Allan Prior’s widow, Mrs. Sheila Prior.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Haiti's Garry Conille - the protege of UNDP and Jeffrey Sachs - resigns 4 months into his term


(CNN) -- Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly said late Friday he had accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Garry Conille, thanking him for his service and promising to move quickly to replace him.

Conille just assumed the position in October after being ratified by the country's Senate. His reasons for stepping down were not immediately clear.

"This morning, Prime Minister Garry Conille presented me with his letter of resignation, I accepted it. I take this opportunity to thank him for his commitment. Of course, I regret that the resignation occurs in the context of where the country stands," said Martelly.

For full story on CNN click here

Friday, February 24, 2012

Ramos Horta: "...UNDP is only good at doing studies, they don't execute projects"

My statement to event on transition yesterday; it was also addressed by President Jose :


UNCLE HELEN IN THE CLOUDS

RAMOS HORTA SAYS: "UNDP GOOD FOR NOTHING"

Ramos Horta: "...UNDP is only good at doing studies, they don't execute projects"



‘‘You know how many layers of bureaucracy there are when the European Union wants to help East Timor? Well, they don’t provide the funds to us, the funds allocated are managed by world bank. And the world bank has its own layers of bureaucracy. And they charge for that. The project is then managed by UNDP. ButUNDP is only good at doing studies, they don’t execute projects.’‘

JOSE RAMOS HORTA
PRESIDENT OF EAST TIMOR

InnerCityPress: On Syria, of Kofi & "Mission Impossible," Double Pensions & Boutros, Baker

By Matthew Russell Lee

Click here for this on @InnerCityPress

UNITED NATIONS, February 24 -- Around the UN in New York the day after former Secretary General Kofi Annan was appointed joint Arab League - UN special envoy to Syria, diplomats and staff were abuzz about other candidates considered, and what the naming of "Kofi" meant.

Sources told Inner City Press that the other candidates considered included not only Finland's Martti Ahtisaari, who garnered Russian opposition for his Ahtisaari plan for Kosovo independence from Serbia, but another former UN Secretary General, Boutros Boutros Ghali, vetoed by the US for a second time.

An American, James Baker, was in the mix, as was Algerian former prime minister Mawloud Hamrouch and Kuwaiti former foreign minister Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.

Annan was selected. Inner City Press asked his former chief of communications Edward Mortimer, who replied, "I salute Kofi for his courage in undertaking what looks like the ultimate 'mission impossible.'"

Another long time UN source told Inner City Press that this work might be a way of "making Kofi pay for his two pensions," referring to his double dipping of pensions as former UN staffer and then Secretary General. Inner City Press has asked Ban Ki-moon's top two spokesmen about this, and how Annan's mission will be funded, after for an answer before noon. Watch this site.

Financial Times: Gates attacks "outdated" UN food agencies


While Helen Clark is totally detached from reality - Bill Gates attacks WFP and UN Food Agencies
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To read FULL ARTICLE go to Financial Times clik here



Bill Gates©Getty

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder turned philanthropist, has broken a taboo in the development community by publicly accusing UN agencies of allowing infighting and inefficiency to undermine the battle against hunger.

The comments by Mr Gates, the largest donor to food security from the private sector, echoes the thinking of many government officials and hunger activists. But few senior donors have publicly denounced the problems of the UN system.

The UN has three agencies devoted to food security with a combined annual budget of roughly $4.5bn: the Food and Agriculture Organisation, founded in 1945; the World Food Programme, created in 1961, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, founded in 1977. Although the three are based in Rome, they act largely as independent entities with little interaction.

Mr Gates, who has donated roughly $2bn to food security in the past decade and plans to give another $2bn in the next five years, told an audience of the three agencies in Rome that the current system was “outdated and inefficient”.

To read FULL ARTICLE go to Financial Times clik here

Thursday, February 23, 2012

UNDP SCANDAL: - Is this corruption or telepathy ? Even when a manager is rightfully appointed - UNDP process lacks transparency



On 18th October 2011 - the UNDP Watch announced the appointment of Jens Wandel as the new Director for BOM at UNDP.

4 months before the Secretary-General appointed him (only yesterday) at this position.

Is this corruption or telepathy ? Was the hole process fair or rigged ?

Well believe it or not, as of last night, while Jens Wandel is rightfully celebrating his new job, there is a request for full investigation into Ban Ki-moons & Helen Clark appointments, since this was already "predicted" 4 months in advance in press.

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U.N. Leader Ban Ki-moon Accused of

Secretive Hiring Practices and Stonewalling


By George Russell

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Editor's Note: See bottom for update to this story.

As Ban Ki-moon begins his second term as United Nations Secretary General, he has come under withering criticism from within the world organization over the way he hires and replaces top managers.

In a remarkably harsh report, a special U.N. investigative unit has charged that the way Ban chooses his most important managers is shrouded in excessive secrecy, that he keeps U.N. member states in the dark about top job vacancies, that he has created elaborate and arcane titles and functions, and skimps on detailed reference checks that could determine whether top officeholders are qualified to do their jobs.

Moreover, the inspectors say, the selection process has become so cumbersome that “appointments are not always made on time,” there is “almost no overlap between incumbents,” and that “ positions are vacant for long periods of time.”

CLICK HERE FOR THIS STORY ON FOXNEWS

Shame on you Helen Clark - your UNDP web page in Syria shows happy children while babies are killed

Click on Picture for larger image



HELEN CLARK RESIGN NOW !!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

UNDP in Syria hides the war from public - its website shows only great development