Ban Names Former Boss To Environment Post
By Benny Avni
May 2, 2007
The New York Sun
Original Source: http://www.nysun.com/article/53655
UNITED NATIONS – Taking a page from a system widely criticized during the days of his predecessor, Secretary- General Ban announced yesterday the appointment of his former boss at the South Korean Foreign Ministry, Han Seung-soo, and two others to U.N. posts carrying that each carry a symbolic salary of $1 a year.
Separately, a former U.N. deputy secretary-general, Mark Malloch Brown, was officially hired by his friend and landlord, George Soros, as vice chairman of both Mr. Soros's Quantum Fund and his philanthropic arm, the Open Society Institute, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Mr. Malloch Brown has been at Yale University since leaving the United Nations.
Mr. Malloch Brown's new appointment makes his partnership with Mr. Soros official. The New York Sun first reported an arrangement under which Mr. Malloch Brown rented a house from Mr. Soros in the affluent suburb of Katonah, N.Y.
The rental deal was struck during the time Mr. Soros's Open Society Institute cooperated on several international projects with the U.N. Development Program, which was then headed by Mr. Malloch Brown. Both men have denied any conflict of interest.
At the United Nations yesterday, Mr. Ban's spokeswoman, Michele Montas, announced the appointments of three special envoys on climate change, including a former Norwegian prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland; President Escobar of Chile, and Mr. Han, a former South Korean foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations who has also served as the president of the General Assembly. Much esteemed in Seoul, Mr. Han is said to be Mr. Ban's good friend and mentor.
The three new appointees will serve on a $1-a-year salary and will be Mr. Ban's first appointments of special envoys working under the symbolic salary arrangement.
Separately, Mr. Ban is reviewing the assignments of almost two dozen envoys inherited from Mr. Annan, who were appointed under similar arrangements.
According to a senior aide who requested anonymity, Mr. Ban decided to use the arrangement to allow the United Nations to utilize the services of well-respected world figures while avoiding the high fees that they usually command. The official added that, unlike similar appointees under Mr. Annan, the three will work in their own countries rather than relocating to New York.
Last November, Rep. Tom Coburn, a Republican of Oklahoma, sent the incoming Mr. Ban a letter urging an overhaul of U.N. practices, including the special envoy arrangement. Citing several incidents under which the $1-a-year employment portfolio was used to shield officials accused of wrongdoing, Mr. Coburn called on Mr. Ban to eliminate this arrangement that at best appears inappropriate and at worst obstructs justice.
Several U.N. officials accused of wrongdoing in oil-for-food investigations were kept on the symbolic salary, allowing them to maintain immunity from prosecution while remaining in America under diplomatic arrangements.
Special envoys are allowed to receive lecture fees and other honoraria. Travel expenses, such as hotel fees and airfare, are paid by the United Nations.