Increasing authoritarianism threatens the Fund's sustainability
As the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant. But for exposure to have an impact, the perpetrators must have a sense of shame. In the case of many of the people surrounding the UN Pension Fund, there’s no sign of it. The Fund is increasingly surrounded by people with an authoritarian bent. Add incompetence to the mix, and it’s a toxic brew that jeopardizes the Fund’s sustainability.
Thanks to the CCISUA (Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations) leadership for standing up for the interests of Fund members and for their success in pushing back against unnecessary outsourcing of the Fund’s investments. Their advocacy has apparently triggered the ire of members of the Pension Board who launched a barefaced and characteristic attempt to silence and intimidate them. In the following two articles, read the exchange of letters between the Board Chair and the CCISUA President and the commentary on the issue by Michelle Rockcliffe, CCISUA Adviser on Pension..
“UN Staff News: Updated information on the outsourcing of the fixed-income portfolio of the Pension Fund”
“The UN Pension Board’s unethical Ethics Policy,” by Michelle Rockcliffe.
http://unpension.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-un-pension-boards-unethical-ethics.html
It’s a fact that self-interest, vindictiveness, and raw ambition have often characterized the actions of many surrounding our fund. Some are questioning what the thwarted ambitions of one of the Pension Bureau’s members, who fought unsuccessfully for the position of CCISUA president after her stint as president of the NY Staff Union, may have had to do with the Board’s assault on CCISUA for advocating for the interests of Fund members. Sadly, our interests as Fund members too often fall afoul of petty politics.
Michelle Rockcliffe also exposes shameless double-speak and non-transparency in the Fund’s sharing of outdated investment information on its website, in the following article:
In “Is OIM Transparency Improving?”
http://unpension.blogspot.com/2022/07/un-pension-fund-is-oim-investment.html
Further, in “Egregiousness, hubris, and a violation of the AFICS/NY-Bylaws” Michelle, recently elected to the membership of the AFICS/NY Governing Board, describes the refusal by the AFICS/NY (Association of Former International Civil Servants) governing board, in violation of its bylaws, to allow her to participate in its pension committee, while courting and hand-picking controversial persons (non governing board members!) to join the committee. It matters on many levels, not least because the AFICS/NY pension committee is a stepping stone to membership on the FAFICS delegation to the Pension Board.
http://unpension.blogspot.com/2022/07/un-pension-egregiousness-hubris-and.html
See article on the topic titled “What happens when rights are violated within the UN” published by The Citizen:
See also my recent article on the topic:
http://unpension.blogspot.com/2022/05/un-pension-fund-stacking-decks-11-may.html
I first made the call in 2019 for UN retirees to suspend paying membership dues in response to non-transparency and undemocratic practices of the purported retiree umbrella organization, FAFICS. The 25 per cent of retirees who are members of the 60 associations of FAFICS must withhold our membership dues until that organization which impacts the operations of all AFICS associations world-wide and wields undue influence on our pension, reforms its practices.
Please keep informed on important pension issues by visiting the blog and sharing information widely with active and retired UN staff.
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