UN's
Lack of Reform
Extends Down
to Ban's
Schedule,
Banning of
Press, DPI's
Lack of Rules
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
13 -- The UN
apparently
cannot reform
itself, in
matters either
large or
small.
For
three large
issues,
consider only
the UN's
claim of
impunity for
bringing
cholera to
Haiti, inaction
as 40,000
civilians were
killed
in Sri Lanka,
and inaction
on 126 rapes
in Minova by
its continuing
partners in
the Congolese
Army.
But
consider too a
small issue,
one that the
UN on January
17 told the
new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
it would
reform, but
hasn't.
FUNCA
was launched
in late 2012,
once it became
clear that the
old UN
Correspondents
Association
not only was
not pushing
for more
access
for
journalists
(other than
the few big
media which
control it)
but
was actively
seeking to get
the
investigative
Press thrown
out of the
UN. That
continues.
After
some advocacy,
FUNCA was
invited to
meet top
officials of
the
Department of
Public
Information on
January 17.
FUNCA,
represented at
the meeting by
a major
non-Western
wire service,
a
long time
photographer
and Inner City
Press, laid
down markers
for
further
reforms like due
process rules
for
journalists,
but came out
of the meeting
with some
already
committed.
It
was said for
example that
the events in
New York City
beyond the UN
of Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon would
henceforth be
listed in the
UN
Media Alert,
and that photo
opportunities
would be open
for all.
But
Ban's New York
City events
are not
appearing in
the Media
Alert. On
March 12, as
simply the
most recent
example, Ban
appeared at
the
Princeton Club
on 43rd
Street for the
launch of a
book by Tom
Plate,
“Conversations
with
Ban Ki-moon.”
The
event was not
listed in the
Media Alert,
nor in Ban's
schedule. An
attempt was
made, after
Inner City
Press' RSVP
had been
accepted, to
nevertheless ban it.
(After
complaint,
this was
reversed;
see Inner
City Press' March 12
piece on the
event, here.)
Since
the January 17
“commitment,”
what has been
done to make
Ban's NYC
events more
accessible?
Nothing, it
appears.
Rather,
the
focus of DPI's
Stephane
Dujarric, to
whom despite
his role
in
accepting
the June
20, 2012 Voice
of America
/ UNCA
request
to
review the
accreditation
of Inner City
Press and thanking VOA
for it
has been left
in charge of
reform, seems
to be to work
around and
undermine
FUNCA.
On
February 27,
after FUNCA
was invited to
a February 22
meeting by DPI
at which
UNCA president
Pamela Falk of
CBS screamed
that Inner
City Press is
“like a
mugger” and
shouted, “you
call yourself
a journalist,”
Dujarric sent
a letter not
to admonish
not Falk but
Inner City
Press,
for reporting
on the
meeting.
Inner
City Press and
another FUNCA
member
immediately
reminded
Dujarric
that Inner
City Press had
said
loudly, “you
are on the
record,” and
Falk said,
“He's going to
write this
up.” But
Dujarric has
not
explained or
retracted his
false
complaint.
Rather,
another
false
complaint has
been filed, by
UNCA
Executive
Committee
member Tim
Witcher of AFP
and the Reuters
correspondent,
about a
March 8
entirely
verbal
disagreement
significantly
less heated
that
was UNCA's
Falk screamed
on February
22.
Inner
City Press has
asked for a
copy of the
complaint, and
for the
applicable due
process rules,
which the NYCLU
asked Dujarric
for on
July 5, 2012.
Neither has
been provided.
(In fairness,
one requested
reform that
has been semi
implemented is
a new non-UNCA
bulletin
board, on
which FUNCA
for now has
four flyers.
Perhaps the
AFP / Reuters
complaint can
be posted
there?)
With
Dujarric now
relying on
complaint(s)
to justify not
addressing the
reforms
requested, and
in cases even
committed to,
FUNCA, when issues
about
photographs
being blocked
and deleted
were raised,
he called
the photograph
who co-founded
FUNCA and
asked him to
not publicize
his
complaints.
But
the only
action taken
has been to
talk to the
UN's cafeteria
and
“tent”
contractor
Aramark, not
to announce
anything to
the wider
private
security pool,
much less to
address the
forced
deletion of
photographs
that has been
raised.
The
UN cannot or
will not
reform itself.
But we will
continue to
Press.
Watch this
site.
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