UN's
Delayed Move,
Favoritism in
Responses
& Space
Raised by
FUNCA, Some
Reforms Won
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 17 --
Why has the UN
delayed by two
months the
move-back of
the press
corps to its
headquarters
skyscraper?
Inner
City Press and
other members
of the Free UN
Coalition for
Access
pursued the
question
Thursday
afternoon with
three
officials of
the
UN Department
of Public
Information.
Despite
an
initial
diversion that
construction
workers at the
UN are now
focused on the
Hurricane
Sandy damage
to the third
sub-basement,
it
is confirmed
that the UN
can't or won't
pay the now
prevailing
wage
in New York
for the
workers need
to meet the
February
deadline.
And
so it will be
April, they
say. Does the
UN not have
the money? Or
does it have
other
priorities?
This will be
pursued.
Many
other
questions were
asked, and
some answered.
While some
wire
services are
slated to
return to
large private
offices,
others are
not.
The issue was
raised, and
double
standards
identified
including
separate
office spaces
for three
ostensibly
independent
outlets run
by the same
government's
foreign
service.
In
response,
FUNCA was told
that it is
still a live
issue. Here's
hoping
for the
appropriate
resolution.
In
terms of the
lack of space
for
journalists,
FUNCA pointed
to the
absurdity of
the censoring
and decaying
UN
Correspondents
Association
being slated
to get an
"UNCA Club" --
which should
be
renamed and be
open to all --
an "UNCA
Office" and
even an
"UNCA Pantry."
This
last is
apparently
only the
designation in
the
blueprints. It
was said the
"Club"
will be open
to all. But it
must be
re-named; it
cannot be a
way for
the UN to prop up the
legitimacy of
UNCA,
which it was
confirmed does
not pay any
rent to the UN
for the space.
Likewise,
after
complaints
last fall and
Thursday, the
formal on the
record
response was
that in the
future, passes
for resident
correspondents
to cover the
General
Assembly will
no longer be
distributed
through
UNCA, but
through the
Documents
Center.
Access
to photo
opportunities,
argued for by
a long time
photographer
who
since being
told only
"wire
services"
could attend
took to
boycotting
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
events, was on
Thursday
guaranteed,
even if it
means two
separate
entries of
photographers.
Likewise,
Ban's New York
events will be
disclosed in
advance by the
UN.
Disclosure
was
the theme:
FUNCA asked to
be informed of
all denials or
revocations of
accreditation.
Cases of a
television
cameraman
disaccredited
for a single
mistake were
raised, as
well as a
critical
journalist who
was told the
UN does not
accredit
freelancers.
This will be
tested, we
predict by the
National
Writers
Union.
A
complaint
filed with the
UN by the New
York Civil
Liberties
Union, in
response to a
disaccreditation
request filed
by Voice of
America
which said
that
Reuters
and Agence
France-Presse
supported it,
was reportedly
responded to,
informally,
the very day
Inner City
Press'
accreditation
was
extended.
(There may be
a discrepancy
on dates.)
The actual
response has
not been
provided but
will be
requested
again by
FUNCA. But
such censorship,
or non content
neutral,
dis-accrediation
bids will
be even more
actively
opposed by
FUNCA in the
future.
More
was said, but
on other
topics in an
abundance of
caution we
will
await DPI's
promised
written on the
record
answers.
What
FUNCA told the
UN, on the
record, is
that UNCA went
too far in not
only not
defending but
actively
seeking to
expel and
dis-accredit
investigative
press, and
there is no
going back.
At this week's
Kofi
Annan
book event,
the new
president of
UNCA -- who ran
without any
competition,
with the
endorsement of
the former
four-year
president,
and issued no
campaign
statements --
told a newsy
country's
Permanent
Representative,
who in turn
and amazed
told Inner
City Press
about it, "I
am the
president of
UNCA, not
FUNCA."
That's
right - let's
keep that
straight.
Going
forward, the
UN was told
that FUNCA
intends to be
an ongoing
mechanism to
defend the
rights of
journalists to
report from,
and get
answers from,
the UN.
FUNCA
commended the
new leadership
of DPI for
organizing
"brown bag"
presentations
for UN
officials like
today's
on Syria,
and earlier
by the Under
Secretaries
General for
Security
and for the Prevention
of Genocide.
The
refusal
of the USG for
Legal Affairs
Patricia
O'Brien to
ever answer
questions
was bemoaned.
But will her
replacement do
better?
And what
will happen to
the USG for
Peacekeeping
Operations
Herve Ladsous,
who
had his
spokesman
physically seize the UN TV microphone to avoid a
Press question
about rapes in
Minova by the
Congolese
Army, Ladsous
partners?
Ladsous'
spokesman
-- but
apparently not
Ladsous -- has
it emerged
been told
that was
inappropriate.
But what of
Ladsous and
his refusal to
answer?
What of a
sense among
many at the UN
that there are
double
standards,
favoritism in
question
granting and
answering?
FUNCA is
on the case -
watch this
site.
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