6 thoughts on “Part II of What’s going on at the United Nations Delegates Lounge?”

1. An interesting article on the issue was published at Inner City Press. See here. The article is reproduced below (thanks to the (former) fellow-interns who found it):

   UN Bans Interns from its Bar, Pictures on Facebook and Long Lines for Beer Led Two Delegations to Complain
   Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Muse

   UNITED NATIONS, April 5 — The UN negotiates with dictators in North Korea and Uzbekistan and with indicted war criminals in Uganda. But faced with noise, mess and long lines for beer caused by its own interns’ presence once a week in the UN Delegates’ Lounge, rather than talk and seek a solution, the UN has simply banned all interns from the bar.

   The new policy was in place on April 4, and the Lounge was at best half as crowded as usual. Bar sales declined by slightly less, thirty-five percent, with some using this as evidence that interns had brought in their own liquor. Several Ambassadors complained to Inner City Press, with one delegate prominent in climate change debates saying that while he rarely spoke with the interns, he now missed their presence, their “energy.” This is the UN, he said. Couldn’t they have been negotiated with and some compromise reached?

   By far the majority of those Inner City Press spoke with in the bar on Friday night after interviewing Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic were opposed to the new absolutist policy of barring the interns. In further inquiry with Ban Ki-moon administration sources, two countries’ delegations to the UN were identified as having lodged complaints that operated as “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” as one source put it, winking and saying this phrase was a clue to which regional group both complainants are from.

   Others argue that the identity of this complainers is less important than the new technology which made this year’s intern antics more of a worry to the UN than before. Some interns were posting photographs from the Delegates’ Lounge on Facebook and other social media sites. This was viewed as going too far, and rather than negotiate, the decision was made to simply prohibit entry by interns.

   Some with longer memories say that the current move to ban the interns was set in motion by a breathy New York Post article in September 2007, describing the Delegates’ Lounge as a singles bar with disco music. The Post’s writer for that story has not been seen since in the building. Also impacted are journalists not deemed resident correspondents, and contractors, such as those running UN TV, many of who have worked in the UN for decades while the private company holding the contract has changed. (An affiliate of the current contract holder is said by sound-men or sound-persons to be near to bankruptcy.)

   Recently the Delegates’ Lounge has innovated in its offers, from expanding the wine list to bringing in beer on tap, including an organic brew. Since the bar is run by the same contractor as the cafeteria, Aramark — the work force is involved in a contract dispute, quietly marked by the deployment of “UNITE HERE” union lapel pins — often sandwiches and salads not sold during the day are given out free at night in the bar. On April 4, there was more food than people, as chef salads sat uneaten, alongside a tray-load of cold mozzarella sticks.

   Aramark’s flash web site to drum up outside business for its Delegates’ Dining Room catering service promises “this world renowned setting where diplomats, ambassadors and world leaders dine, celebrate and arbitrate.” But in this case, there was no arbitration.

   Several highly-placed Ban Administration officials frequent the Delegates’ Lounge on Fridays, and one wonders what this new policy, if unaltered, says about their diplomatic skills and commitment to egalitarianism. The UN is already almost laughably hierarchical, with its system of coded identification cards worn around the neck, and employment status grouped into G for General versus P for Professional, with very little mobility between the two.

   A defender of the new policy told Inner City Press that there are simply “too many interns,” even if they could be convinced to forego Facebook. But why not then deem one Friday for interns with last names A to L, the next for M to Z? While the situations are not comparable, would the UN stop providing services in the field because too many people lined up for them? Or would they try to come up with a workable system?

2. Hey Otto,

   I am indeed back in Notts, after a couple of weeks in very snowy Quebec. I don’t know the extent of the destruction of Fubar- I only knew it was Fubar when I was talking to that German mission intern on St Patrick’s Day. So I hope that it’s not totally destroyed!

   I do know that if anyone is to be excluded from a place at the UN, it will be interns, as the UN runs on a very strong system of hierarchy. Which is why, as fun as being an intern is, I am so looking forward to having a real position somewhere, with some ‘rights’. Ahhh someday…

3. Dear ;//,

   That is not the impression I wanted to give of the UN internship. I had a fantastic time there, and I felt that those working for or at the United Nations Secretariat, be it staff members or delegates, respected the interns and considered their presence an invaluable asset to the organization.

4. Delegates are delegates. Interns are puppies. Lay low.

5. Hi Mel,

   How are you? You are back in Nottingham?

   I agree that the damage to the Fubar is a big loss for the internship community. (Are you sure it is completely destroyed? On their website, everything seems to be as it always was: http://www.fubar-nyc.com/). As the crane fell, I thought there was nothing linking this incident to my life, but then it turned out a very popular bar was damaged by it.

   And yes, I agree it is about the principle, about being considered “equals”. But the argument about the Lounge being overcrowded does make some sense, I have to admit. And if there are too many people, it even makes sense to refuse access to the interns, rather than to delegates and their entourage, or staff members. I hate to say it, but it does make a little bit of sense. Don’t you think?

   Otto

6. There are indeed many nice bars- except now, of course, the beloved Fubar, which we all mourn the passing off under the collapsed crane! But I am disappointed to hear that interns will no longer be permitted in the Delegates’ Lounge- to me, it seemed that interns were finally being accepted as equals, given they do full-time work and aren’t even paid for it. One night a week in the Delegates’ Lounge isn’t too much to ask, is it? I certainly don’t think that the arguments are convincing. I’m not sure how drinking alcohol poses a security risk, nor why dirty glasses & moved furniture is so terrible (if such a thing has occurred). More convincing arguments needed by the internship office, indeed!