At UN, Defense of Ban's Failure to Appear Is Like Sudan's Bashir, Glass House Undermined

By Matthew Russell Lee 
July 1, 2010
The Inner City Press
http://www.innercitypress.com/undt1banshir070110.html
UNITED NATIONS, July 1 -- Under fire for seeming to thumb his nose at the rule of law in the UN, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's top lawyer Patricia O'Brien faced the Press on Thursday, reading a script. She said Ban has the right to appeal. But why, Inner City Press asked, appeal an order that the decision making official appear in the UN Dispute Tribunal? 
  By appealing such an order -- as took place in March -- Ban appears to align himself for example with Omar al-Bashir, who seeks to argue around the International Criminal Court's indictment without even appearing once before the ICC in The Hague.
"Your ICC analogy is interesting," Ms. O'Brien replied, but noticed that the ICC is criminal while the UNDT is administrative. But to many the principle is no different: by refusing to even appear, the rule of law is harmed. Bashir is fine with that. But why is Ban?
O'Brien deployed words like "suspensatory" impact, and cited one example where a senior UN official appeared by video conference to the Tribunal in Nairobi. But what happened in March, before now-gone Judge Adams? Why has Ban been criticized, first exclusively by Inner City Press in the Shaaban Shaaban case, then by the Post and Times, for undermining the UN's internal justice?
The director of the Tribunals Andei Terekhov argued that the New York staff like the system, as proved by the SMCC. But the New York Staff Union doesn't participate in the SMCC, as after an Inner City Press follow up he acknowledged. Sitting in the front row was the human resources official who had tried to divide and conquer the union. There was no time to follow up. 
The Head of Management tried to dodge the question of whether the closure on two days notice of the UN after-school program had been her decision. The decision was necessary, she said, while it is being reconsidered. But did you make it? The answer appears to be yes.
Footnote: After the UN justice briefing, the chief of staff of the President of the General Assembly told the Press that the Gender Entity is formed. It will be voted on on Friday. We'll be there: Watch this site.