UNITED NATIONS,
October 22 – The UN maintains
a secret list of people banned
from entering its premises.
Even the Security officers who
enforce the ban are not told
the reason why a person is on
the list: whether it was for
actual violence, or writing
articles questioning the
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' misuse
of public funds, for example.
One told Inner City Press the
secret list includes
"demonstrators" and "political
activists," audio here.
Now on October 22, being
without appeal on Guterres'
and Alison Smale's banned from
the UN list will bar Inner
City Press from attending this
meritorious MSF event - why
does MSF / Doctors without
Borders put up with this? They
should be asked: "Panel Event:
“Saving Lives is Not a Crime”
WHEN: Tuesday, October 23,
3-4:30 pm
WHERE: UN Headquarters,
Conference Room 6, 405 East
42nd Street, New York, NY,
10017
The international medical
humanitarian organization
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
and UN Special Rapporteur
Agnès Callamard invite you to
“Saving Lives is Not a Crime,”
a panel discussion and Q&A
on the criminalization of
medical and humanitarian
assistance.
Introductory Remarks:
Ursula Mueller,
Assistant-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA
Speakers:
Dr. Agnès Callamard, UN
Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions
Dr. Dainius Puras, UN Special
Rapporteur on the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of
the highest attainable
standard of physical and
mental health
Dr. Joanne Liu, International
President, Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF)
Moderator: Mr. Fabien Dubuet,
Representative to the UN,
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Providing medical and
humanitarian assistance has
never been guaranteed and
humanitarian space has always
been characterized by denials
of access, bureaucratic
obstacles, or security
incidents. Recently though, as
underlined by the latest
report of the
Secretary-General on the
Protection of Civilians,
humanitarian organizations
have been dealing with a new
kind of threat: the risk of
criminalization of their
activities and personnel.
Against the backdrop of three
recent reports raising the
alarm on the increasing
criminalization of medical and
humanitarian assistance within
the contexts of
counter-terrorism, the
response to migration, and
sexual and reproductive
health, this panel will
discuss the negative impact of
such criminalization on
populations in need and the
legal and operational
implications for humanitarian
agencies. Speakers will also
suggest recommendations to put
a halt to this worrying
trend."
Guterres
or apparently his head of
Global Communications Alison
Smale, if only as a proxy, can
put a journalist on the list
without any review, any
notice, any appeal. It is a
dictator's dream come true.
Inner City Press was
physically ousted twice by
Guterres' UN Security this
summer as it reported on his
now-15 flights to his home in
Lisbon with public funds, his
trading away of Cameroon human
rights abuses for favors in
the Budget Committee, and now
his son Pedro's undisclosed
business links in Africa.
Smale on August 17, without
once speaking to me covering
the UN for Inner City Press
for 11 years, withdrew my
media accreditation.
But it's
gone further than that. For
example, on October 11 I
showed up for a film screening
about sex trafficking, “Love
Sonia,” to which I had been
invited by the UN Office of
Drugs and Crimes. UNODC's New
York director personally put
me on the list for a post
screening reception and came
and met me and took me to the
UN gate to sign me in, since
my ticket - which she said
she'd seen - mysteriously
disappeared.
UN
Security refused to allow the
NY director of UNODC to sign
me in. “Even if he had a
ticket we'd have to check,”
one officer said. I was told
that a supervisor would come
out, and that UNODC would
speak to them. But after one
hour it never happened.
Guterres' chief of staff Maria
Luiza Viotti left the building
and I audibly told her, I'm
invited but I'm being blocked.
She did not even break stride.
The UN has
given me nothing in writing
that I am banned. Guterres'
spokesman has stated it as a
fact, without explanation or
rationale, on October
9 and 11, while refusing
to answer my e-mailed
questions despite Smale's
promise they would be answered
to supposedly respect my
"journalistic endeavours."
Another UN Security officer
told me, No one is going to
help you. You are on the list.
I asked him, who else is on
the list? He mentioned
“demonstrators” and "political
activists" and others. Audio here.
Tellingly,
NOT on Guterres' banned list
are those who pleaded guilty
to UN bribery for example
in the Ng Lap Seng - John Ashe
case. They are not banned by
Guterres, UNlike the
journalist who most closely
covered those convictions, and
the current
UN bribery case of Patrick Ho
and the China Energy Fund
Committee. Guterres is fine
with bribery, but bans those
who investigate and expose it.
UNSG Guterres
thinks he can ban people
without no notice, no due
process, no review? And that
it won't be noticed or
reviewed? Watch this site.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office, past & futuree?: S-303, UN, NY 10017 USA
For now UNder
Guterres: UN Delegates
Entrance Gate
and mail: Dag H.
Center
Box 20047, NY NY 10017 USA
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in
the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-2018 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
for
,
