Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 21 -- On Syria chemical weapons, the UN Security Council on Wednesday could not agree on a non-binding press statement or even "elements to the press." Instead at the end of the meeting August's Council president, Argentine Permanent Representative Perceval read a summary of the meeting. (And UK Deputy PR Parham spoke, video here.)

   Inner City Press asked her about the rejected draft press statement (on which Inner City Press first reported, here.) Perceval smiled, but did not answer.

  Nor did UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson answer any questions after he made a statement. After these two UN-televised, no-question press encounters, UK Deputy Permanent Representative Phillip Parham spoke to reporters, not on UNTV.

  He said some 35 countries have written to Ban Ki-moon. Inner City Press asked Parham about the rejected draft press statement: how many votes did it have, which countries blocked it. Parham said he would not "get into the internal discussions in the Council." Video here, and embedded below.

  Afterward a Security Council member, on a not for attribution basis -- see below -- told Inner City Press that "two Permanent members" said they needed to check with their capitals on the draft press statement, "which would have taken 24 hours, so we just did the summary."

Process: We say "not for attribution" because the UN Department of Public Information made it more difficult than ever to cover the Security Council meeting. Without explanation, earlier this week they said journalists now could not stand in an area between the so-called Turkish Lounge and the entrance stairs.

  The Free UN Coalition for Access repeatedly asked for clarification, on August 20 and at the August 21 UN noon briefing, then via @FUNCA_info.

@FUNCA_info Matthew: u asked to the q to a MALU staff and they answered. U may not have liked the answer but that's the answer. thx

— Stephane Dujarric (@StephDujarric) August 21, 2013

But by then another DPI staffer had said the press could stand in the space, to see, but only for short periods of time. How long?

So when did policy change? To whom was it explained? MT "@StephDujarric @FUNCA_info Matthew: u asked, they answered. thx"

— InnerCityPress (@innercitypress) August 21, 2013

  FUNCA wrote to the Under Secretary General of DPI, copying another FUNCA member who represents a wire service, but has yet to receive any explanation or response to this:

  A former UNCA president agreed, saying that space is for "off the record" communications, and commenting on the Free UN Coalition for Access. Well, it's not for DPI much less UNCA to tell journalists where to have on the record communications. We'll have more on this.