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At UN, Sudan and
Burundi Oppose World Without
Genocide's Accreditation, SG
Echo
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Video;
Video
II, Vine
UNITED NATIONS,
February 3 – Sudan and Burundi
opposed UN accreditation for a
group called "World Without
Genocide" on February 2, with
Burundi demanding to know what
its links are with the
International Criminal Court.
(WWOG is based at a law school
in the US state of Minnesota,
and works among other mass
killings on those in Sri
Lanka). This took place in a
meeting of ECOSOC's NGO
Committee, with despite moves
to open the Committee, no
other media seen in attendance
(and bribery vehicle China
Energy Fund Committee still
with "special consultative
status" with ECOSOC). Burundi
quit the ICC once it was under
investigation. Sudan's
president Omar al Bashir is
under ICC indictment for, yes,
genocide in Darfur - which
didn't stop UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres from
meeting with him last weekend,
without telling the ICC first.
After Guterres took three
pre-picked media questions on
February 2, Inner City Press
audibly asked him if before he
meet over the weekend with
Darfur genocide indictee Omar
al Bashir, he informed the
International Criminal Court's
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda - in
advance, as required. Guterres
did not answer; his spokesmen
have been dodging the question
all week from Inner City
Press. Here's from the UN
Guidelines: "A procedure has
been established whereby OLA
[the Secretariat's Office of
Legal Affairs] informs the
Prosecutor of the Court and
the President of the Assembly
of States Parties to the Rome
Statute in advance of such
meetings. The
letter informs the Court of
the meeting and explains why
it is considered necessary."
While Guterres refused to
answer, Inner City Press is
reliably informed that the ICC
Prosecutor was NOT informed in
advance. Tellingly, when in
2017 it was thought possible
that Guterres' Deputy SG Amina
J. Mohammed might run into
Bashir at a summit, the ICC
was told in advance of that
possibility. On this and other
matters such as the continuing
lack of any content neutral
rules for media accreditation
and access, Guterres is more
and more lawless. But the
three question(er)s picked by
his spokesman Dujarric didn't
inquiry into Guterres or even
the UN's performance at all.
This is today's UN. On January
30 as Inner City Press sought
to complete its reporting for
the day on Guterres' Bashir
meeting and Mohammed's
Cameroon no-answer, it had a
problem. It was invited to the
month's UN Security Council
president's end of presidency
reception, 6:30 to 8:30 - but
with its accreditation reduced
by censorship, it could not
get back into the UN after 7
pm, to the already delayed UN
video. It ran to at least
enter the reception - but the
elevator led to a jammed
packed third floor, diplomats
lined up to shake the outgoing
UNSC president's hand. Inner
City Press turn to turn tail
back to the UN, passing on its
way favored, pro-UN
correspondents under no such
restriction. Periscope here.
Inner City Press has written
about this to the head of the
UN Department of Public
Information Alison
Smale, in Sepember
2017 - no answer but a new threat - and this
month, when Smale's DPI
it handing out full access
passes to no-show state media.
No answer at all: pure
censorship, for corruption.
Smale's DPI diverted funds
allocated for Kiswahili,
her staff say, now saying they
are targeted for retaliation.
This is today's UN. Amid UN
bribery scandals, failures in
countries from Cameroon to
Yemen and declining
transparency, today's UN does
not even pretend to have
content neutral rules about
which media get full access
and which are confined to
minders or escorts to cover
the General Assembly.
Inner City Press,
which while it pursue the
story of Macau-based
businessman Ng Lap Seng's
bribery of President of the
General Assembly John Ashe was
evicted by the UN Department
of Public Information from its
office, is STILL confined to
minders as it pursues the new
UN bribery scandal, of Patrick
Ho and Cheikh Gadio
allegedly bribing President of
the General Assembly Sam
Kutesa, and Chad's Idriss
Deby, for CEFC China Energy.
Last week Inner
City Press asked UN DPI where
it is on the list to be
restored to (its) office, and
regain full office - and was
told it is not even on the
list, there is no public list,
the UN can exclude,
permanently, whomever it
wants. This is censorship, and
has been accepted and even
encouraged by what has become
the UN Censorship Alliance,
which accepted funds from Ng
Lap Seng's South South News
and had Inner City Press
ejected from the UN Press
Briefing Room as it inquired
into the story.
When this UNCA
held its annual meeting on
January 29, it could barely
reach quorom (Periscope here);
it covered over the glass
doors of the clubhouse the UN
gives it with a sign board.
Disgruntled members forwarded the
"agenda" -- "1) Introduction of the new
2018 UNCA Executive Committee. 2)
Presentation of UNCA sub-committees and
their upcoming agendas. 3) Presentation
of 2017 UNCA & UNCA Awards
financials. 4) UNCA 70th anniversary. 5)
Other matters." We'll have more on this.
***
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