UNITED NATIONS
GATE, November 12 – When the
UN's Peacebuilding Commission
held is annual meeting on
November 12, Inner City Press
which covers the countries on
its agenda was unable to
attend, banned from entering
the UN for the 131st day in a
row by UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres amid its
questions about Guterres'
failure to build or even allow
peace in Cameroon. So Inner
City Press endeavored to cover
the PBC meeting from outside
the UN, at the UN Delegates
Entrance Gate from which it
has been asking what questions
it can. Inside, Guterres'
Deputy Amina J. Mohammed
walked out of the opening
session amid "It's so quiet" -
yes, that's what happens when
you rough up and ban the Press
that actually covers these
issues. Later Sweden's deputy
Carl Skau spoke about the G5
Sahel. Last week lead
ambassador Olof Skoog said he
agreed Inner City Press should
be back in the UN noon
briefings, which it has requested.
But what is being done on
this? No response from the UN.
The morning session ended with
the US, India and UK being
given one minute each to ask
questions which were not
answered. Civil society NGOs
were given no time in this
session are all. In the
afternoon, Guterres' Youth
Envoy bragged that she had
taken "important notes" -
which do not include,
apparently, any note to stop
partnering with Saudi
Crown Prince MBS' Misk
Foundation, given the killing
of Jamal Khashoggi and of
thousands of Yemenis including
youths. This is today's UN,
under Guterres (and, for now,
his deuty, Youth Envoy and
others) - a place of
censorship and corruption, not
of peacebuilding. Back in
October when the chair of the
UN's fact-finding mission on
Myanmar Marzuki
Darusman
spoke in the UN's Third
Committee on October 23, Inner
City Press which has
previously asked Darusman
questions about his similar
roles on Sri Lanka and also
Bhutto was banned from
entering by a no due process
order of UNSG Antonio
Guterres' Alison Smale,
Myanmar style. Hours later it
was barred from entry to a
session about women
peacebuilders including from
Cameroon, which Inner City
Press more than any other
media in the UN has been
covering, leading to its
roughing up and ouster by
Guterres. This was the ad for
that, sent to Inner City Press
by several disgusted or
conflicts correspondents:
"invitation below to a mixer
for UN Journalists and NGOs
who are in New York for the
Security Council debate on
Women, Peace and Security,
taking place TODAY, Tuesday,
October 23rd from 5:00 pm to
7:00 pm... Sherwin
Bryce-Pease, President, United
Nations Correspondents
Association, Dear journalists,
Please join us on Tuesday
afternoon for an informal
mixer between journalists and
NGOs covering the Security
Council and Human Rights at
the UN in NYC. Attendees will
include NGO staff and women
peacemakers from Yemen, Syria,
Palestine, South Sudan,
Western Sahara, Cameroon,
Philippines, and more who are
in NYC for the Security
Council debate on Women, Peace
and Security. When: Tuesday 23
October, 5pm to 7pm, UN
Secretariat, Drinks and
nibbles provided." That was
Tuesday afternoon, in the UN
Censorship Alliance. But do
they and their Smale and
Guterres control even member
state events? Watch tis site.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon,
Darusman said that the
military's posts on Facebook
showed genocidal intent and
are being saved for
prosecutorial purposes. That
implies due process, something
that at least for the press
today's UN does not have. So
is the UN failing on human
rights? Yes - and under
Guterres, for example in
Cameroon, the UN is outright
ignoring and undermining human
rights. Michelle Bachelet,
picked by Guterres, has yet to
do anything. Will Yanghee Lee,
Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in
Myanmar, set for an October 24
press conference from which
Inner City Press is also set
to be banned, be similarly
silent? Here
is her report, which states
among other things, "in
Paletwa Township, Chin State,
clashes in May between the
Tatmadaw and
Arakan Army resulted in the
deaths of five civilians.
Further clashes in May and
June led to the internal
displacement of approximately
1,000 people, in addition to
the approximately 1,300 people
who had been displaced to
India in late 2017 and who
reportedly have not returned
home." 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.
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.
***
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