UN
Blocks
Press From Rwanda Minister Photo Op, of DSG and UN Women, Bloggers
Blocked Too?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 19 -- The UN on Monday barred any media except its own
UN Photo unit from the beginning of a meeting between Deputy
Secretary General Asha Rose Migiro and Louise Mushikiwabo, the
Foreign Minister of Rwanda who is a finalist to head the UN Women
agency.
Inner
City Press
has exclusively
reported the candidacy of Ms. Mushikiwabo to take the
UN Women top post, about which Inner City Press asked DSG Migiro on
July 16. When DSG Migiro's official schedule
for July 19 included a
5:30 meeting with Ms. Mushikiwabo, Inner City Press went to cover
it
with UN Photo.
There
was without
question a photo op: UN Photo had been asked to come to memorialize
the meeting. But Inner City Press was told to place a separate call
to UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, to gain access. MALU
called and was told that the meeting was open -- it had to be, since
UN Photo would be there. MALU sent a staff member to the North Lawn
building, who summoned a UN Security officer to screen Inner City
Press.
Upstairs,
in the
DSG's conference room with its view of the East River, Ms.
Mushikiwabo and her staff arrived first. It was noted that DSG Migiro
does not like chairs in the photo op, so chairs were dragged to the
side. Inner City Press took a photograph, but was told by Ms.
Mushikiwabo's colleague “don't take photos yet.”
There
was a pause
-- Inner City Press followed the rules and did not even try to ask
about UN Women -- and then the MALU staffer was summoned into the
hall. What could the problem be?
When
the MALU
staffer returned, he told Inner City Press to leave. No explanation
was given.
Minister Mushikiwabo
pre photo-op, DSG and UN Women not shown
“We
don't mind if you stay and take pictures,”
Minister Mushikiwabo said.
“It's not up to
them,” Inner City Press was told. It was the UN's call, to restrict
even this photo op to the UN's own in-house media. There are
totalitarian states that operate this way. Ironically, Rwanda and Mushikiwabo favor
restrictions on the press. But the UN?
One
might
surmise that the UN's paranoia in this case means that Ms. Mushikiwabo
is actually
quite close to the job. But it could just be paranoia. Watch this
site.
Footnote:
in
other UN versus the press news, while Inner City Press earlier
reported that the UN Department of Public Information was near to
finally including bloggers in its accreditation guidelines, for now
that has been blocked by UN DPI. The UN Correspondents Association,
after an internal discussion including Inner City Press, submitted a
series of proposed changes to the accreditation guidelines to DPI,
with the word “blogger” included.
DPI
accepted all
of the changes EXCEPT bloggers. This version was nearly finalized on
July 16, until objection was raised. Now it appears that UNCA will
meet again, and DPI and its chief -- and “blogger” -- Kiyotaka
Akasaka will be asked to explain their aversion to including
bloggers. Watch this site.
* * *
To
UN
Women, $100
M
Offer by Qatar for
HQ, But UNFPA
Inks
15 Yr NYC Lease
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
14 -- Less than two weeks after the formation of
“UN Women,” to
consolidate the UN's agencies working on the issue, one of the
agencies has gone forward with a major lease of real estate in
Manhattan.
The
UN Population Fund, UNFPA, has just reportedly
signed
a
15 year lease for three floors (131,000 square feet) at 605 Third
Avenue in midtown Manhattan.
Meanwhile,
multiple
sources
tell Inner City Press that during the negotiations to form UN
Women, Qatar offered $100 million if it the headquarters would be put
in Qatar.
But
as Inner City
Press
reported earlier this month, Qatar is one of only three
countries which has never sent a female athlete to the Olympic Games,
along
with
Brunei and Saudi Arabia.
So now matter
how much money is
offered, some ask how could the headquarters of UN Women be in Qatar?
UN's Ban and Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned,
$100 M not shown
A
Group of 77
source complained, as to UN agency headquarters, that an effect of
the European Union's push to form a UN Environment agency would be to
undermine the status of Nairobi, where the current UN Environment
Program is headquartered.
But maybe if
UNEP stepped out and signed a
big long term lease for more Kenyan real estate...
Footnote: while
following a series of stories by Inner City Press on the hypocrisy of
the UN closing its after school program on two days notice as it
discussed UN Women and "work life balance" Deputy Secretary General
Asha Rose Migiro said alternatives are being explored, so far nothing
has been announced. Watch this site.
* * *
Candidates
for
Top
UN
Women Post From Rwanda, Tunisia, Malaysia, No Bachelet
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
July
2
-- As UN Women, the world body's so-called Gender
Entity, was birthed Friday in the General Assembly, Inner City
Press
learned for a well placed Mission about six of the eight candidates
for the Under-Secretary General position at the top of UN Women.
These
are
the
Rwandan
foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, UN gender advisor Rachel
Mayanja (nominated
by Gabon), a Malaysian official who heads up the gender work of the
Non Aligned Movement, officials from Tunisia and Norway and, Inner
City Press is told, Sri Lanka's Radhika Coomaraswamy.
The
biggest donor,
assured for that reason a seat on the Executive Board, is said to
agree that the USG should come from the Global South. So the
Norwegian, it seems, has little chance.
UN's Ban and Bachelet, UN Women not shown
Earlier
on
Friday,
Inner
City Press asked UN Deputy Secretary General Asha Rose Migiro
to name the candidates, since she had said the process would be open
and transparent. Eight countries, she said, have submitted names,
including one country naming another's national. She gave as an
example the United States nominating her. “Have they?” Inner City
Press asked. No, she said.
Not
on the list is
Michelle Bachelet of Chile. Some say she wanted UNICEF and is
miffed. Others say she will only take it if offered: i.e., if it is
not a competitive process. We'll see. Watch this space.
* * *
, 
