Ethics and Immunity

Ethics in media. In the real world, the phrase seems a contradiction in terms, but in an ideal world, they really should go together. Ethics are guiding principles that we can turn to when things cannot be simply judged as right or wrong, or even black and white.

Ethics in media was never a concern for me when I worked for an international organization before. But now that I am torn whether to go back to international organizations or to start a new career with NGOs doing corporate communication and/or PR work, it will probably become one.

Let's say I end up taking the United Nations route to do communication work. Their Department of Public Information (DPI), "the public voice of the United Nations" has three divisions to make sure that word gets around (in six languages no less!) to the global media on what the U.N. all about, what it's up to, and what the current advocacies are. I will not lack for things to write about. However, I will lack controversial things to write about, unless perhaps there's a crisis going on. If I decide to join their press corps, I might be wrong, but it seems to me that DPI basically tells you what you can write about. They'll provide you with all the information and materials you need, so you can go to your little cubicle and write up your own take on the matter. But what if you saw, heard or experienced something news-worthy and/or controversial? For example, cases of harassment, abuse of power or misappropriation of funds? Can you report it to mainstream media pronto?

From what I know, you have to consider that international organizations enjoy diplomatic immunity and their locations have extraterritoriality status; meaning, they are exempted from local law jurisdiction.

In the case of the U.N., the moment you step inside its walls, you are in "international territory", even if you're still in New York City. Does this mean everyone who works for international organizations are untouchables, even if they commit wrongdoings? Not necessarily.

"The site of the United Nations Headquarters has extraterritoriality status.[21] This affects some law enforcement where UN rules override the laws of New York City, but it does not give immunity to those who commit crimes there. In addition, the United Nations Headquarters remains under the jurisdiction and laws of the United States, although a few members of the UN staff have diplomatic immunity and so cannot be prosecuted by local courts unless the diplomatic immunity is waived by the Secretary-General." (From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Headquarters)

The Oil-for-Food scandal is a specific ethical case investigated and exposed by the Volcker Report. It is an example of the Secretary-General waiving diplomatic immunity.

"In 2005, Secretary-General Kofi Annan waived the immunity of Benon Sevan, Aleksandr Yakovlev, and Vladimir Kuznetsov in relation to the Oil-for-Food Programme.[22] All have been charged in the U.S. Federal Court of New York, except for Kofi Annan's own son, who was also implicated in the scandal. Benon Sevan later fled the U.S. to Cyprus, while Aleksandr Yakovlev and Vladimir Kuznetsov decided to stand trial." (From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_headquarters#cite_note-volker-21)

This chart pretty much summarizes what can and cannot be done to foreign diplomatic personnel in the United States. The untouchables aren't as untouchable as they may seem. Remember the New York v. Strauss-Kahn case?

Even better, there is an Ethics Office and an actual whistleblower protection policy in place at the U.N that affords protection against retaliation for those who report misconduct. Of course, the Office and the policy are for staff members, interns and UN volunteers only, NOT media people. With international organizations, you cannot merely go gung-ho with all guns a-blazing in your search for unethical behavior and conduct. Given how long these organizations have been around, they are and remain vigilant in monitoring these things, especially when it comes to media exposure.

I believe that qualities like conscience, empathy, and discernment, including the ability to apply the different ethical tools accordingly, the understanding that things are not always black and white, and the ability to choose the lesser evil come in handy when making ethical decisions. Patterson and Wilkins' "Media Ethics: Issues and Cases" (7th Edition) highlighted that there are many ways to make decisions ethically, and different models to subscribe to. One does not need to select one tool and use it exclusively. What is important is to actually come up and have a set of tools, and use them. I look forward to discussions on the ethics of racial stereotyping, product placements and public interest issues, together with real-life ethical issues in recent years, especially challenging ones that have no clear right or wrong answers.