The following documents detail correspondence between the UN and FOX News with respect to a Breaking Point investigation, "United Nations Blood Money," that aired on FOX News Channel and was posted on FOXNews.com. UN Under-Secretary Shashi Tharoor has written two letters outlining inaccuracies in the FOX report. FOX acknowledges receipt of the first letter but did not correct nor defend the inaccuracies listed in Mr. Tharoor's first letter, prompting him to repeat the information in yet another letter.
Letter to FOX News Senior Vice President John Moody from Shashi Tharoor, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
Dear Mr. Moody,
I am, once again, compelled to write to you concerning David Asman's Breaking Point story "UN Blood Money," the latest incarnation of which aired on Fox on 9 February 2005.
It was with genuine disappointment that we, at the UN, noted this new edition repeated many of the errors we had drawn to Fox's attention in September last year, and even added some new inaccuracies.
I am most grateful to Fox for giving me the chance to correct some of these problems on air, during the Geraldo Rivera segment that immediately followed the broadcast.
However, in the interest of fair and balanced reporting, I would appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight on matters I simply did not have the time to confront during that three-minute appearance. To that end, I would be grateful if you would post this letter on the Fox News website along with the attached update to the 'The Facts about the Oil for Food Programme' sheet that you originally posted in September last year.
As my colleague, UN Chief of Staff Mark Malloch Brown, made clear at a press conference in February, the Volcker Inquiry's interim report demonstrated that some of the problems Fox News and others identified about the Oil for Food Programme were clearly correct. We thank you for helping bring these to light. Secretary-General Annan has already instituted changes to our management practices that will improve accountability and transparency, and should make such failings less likely in the future.
That said, highly exaggerated accounts of what went wrong (and why) only do a disservice to everyone, including your viewers. In the short term it is the UN that suffers, but such claims can only ultimately damage the credibility of Fox News itself. I certainly hope that Fox and other media outlets maintain their scrutiny of our efforts, just as I hope that they insist on reporting their findings in an accurate, fair and objective fashion.
Yours sincerely,
Shashi Tharoor
Under-Secretary-General
for Communications and Public Information
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New York, 7 March 2005 -
Secretary-General's statement on Sudan:
The members of the Security Council came to see me this morning, at my request, to discuss Sudan.
I asked them to come and see me because I am worried that we are not moving fast enough to deal with the appalling situation in Darfur. There have been a lot of efforts on the humanitarian side, and by the African Union on the security side, which go in the right direction. But they are not enough. We keep getting reports which show that the killing and raping and burning are still going on.
I was glad to hear from Council members that they hope to have a new resolution in the course of this week, which will include agreement on a mechanism for holding individuals accountable for these dreadful crimes. That is good. We must send a clear message that the world is not going to tolerate them.