You have commented 358 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
International-UN-NGOs
Chiefs of World Bank and International Monetary Fund to Miss United Nations Forum
2008-11-26
The chiefs of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have declined to participate in a major U.N. conference next week on the financing of development assistance for poor countries, upsetting an effort to secure high-level attendance at a meeting aimed at goading the beleaguered financial giants into stepping up aid.

World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick and IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn confirmed Monday that they will not lead their agencies' delegation at a four-day conference in Doha, Qatar, beginning Saturday. But they will send senior advisers and remain committed to the goals of the conference, which will be attended by all of the 192 U.N. members, said officials from the two financial institutions.

Some top U.N. officials were visibly infuriated by what they viewed as a snub of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. One official accused Zoellick of trying to ensure that the major decisions on the financial crisis would be made by the less unwieldy Group of 20 nations, which met in Washington on Nov. 15 to try to coordinate international response to the meltdown. "It's fair to say that the secretary general was very disappointed and doesn't understand completely" why they will not be attending, the official said.
Posted by:Fred

#4  Another wise move.
Posted by: newc   2008-11-26 18:46  

#3  Maybe they're pissed off about this...

The U.N.'s Palace of Nations is falling apart. The Palais des Nations is the U.N.'s European headquarters, flanked by the Swiss Alps to the west and Lake Geneva to the east. Peacocks roam freely on the grounds of the pristine, 111-acre Ariana Park that surrounds it.

But on the inside, the onetime home to the League of Nations is plagued by 70-year-old wiring, fire hazards and miles of rusty pipes that have flooded the archives repeatedly. Asbestos lines some of the walls, and the roof is in danger of caving in. The palace is in need of a major facelift. The tab: one billion dollars, says Director General Sergei Ordzhonikidze, who heads the U.N. Office at Geneva.

Or this...

The U.N. Human Rights Council, frequently accused of coddling some of the world's most repressive governments, threw itself a party in Geneva Tuesday that featured the unveiling of a $23 million mural paid for in part with foreign aid funds.

In a ceremony attended by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo told the press that his 16,000-square-foot ceiling artwork reminded him of "an image of the world dripping toward the sky" — but it reminded critics of money slipping out of relief coffers.

"In Spain there's a controversy because they took money out of the foreign aid budget — took money from starving children in Africa — and spent it on colorful stalactites," said Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch.

Or maybe this...

U.N. Renovation Costs Balloon

Meanwhile, the six-year renovation project began with much fanfare in May. Originally projected to cost $1.8 billion, it now is more than $200 million beyond its expected costs, and the overruns are likely to get much worse.

Recently, the U.N. was hit with an unanticipated bill "exceeding $10 million," says one U.N. veteran.

Ah, yes. Ye Olde "Unanticipated Bill". NYC contractors musta had to carry drool buckets around when they first heard about this job.

The contractor, Skanska USA, was forced to install fireproof doors temporarily throughout U.N. headquarters during renovation work. The New York Fire Department reportedly insisted on the measure as a precaution during the reconstruction.

The U.N. thought the bill would be no more than $2 million, but the final tab was more than five times greater, a U.N. official said.

Grease a fire inspector with a coupla grand and that one coulda "went away".
Posted by: tu3031   2008-11-26 14:01  

#2  Miss United Nations? I'll bet she wants "world peace"...
Posted by: tu3031   2008-11-26 11:11  

#1  Even Chiefs of World Bank and International Monetary Fund had enough of UN?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2008-11-26 09:12  

00:00