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By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 7 – More than a month after Inner City Press' reporter was roughed up by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' Security officers as he covered the UN Budget Committee meeting on Guterres' $6.7 billion budget, a formal request for full reinstatement or recusal has been filed to Guterres, his also vacationing Chief of Staff and Deputy, see below. After Guterres' UN banned Inner City Press from entering the building while taking no action against the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) officers who engaged in brutality on July 3, and first on June 22 as ghoulishly predicted and presumably arranged by Guterres' lead Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric with an assist from Guterres' Global Communicator / propagandist Alison Smale, this was filed on August 7: "REPORT OF PROHIBITED CONDUCT (HARASSMENT, ABUSE OF AUTHORITY) AND ‘FORMAL COMPLAINT’ SUBMITTED TO THE SECRETARY GENERAL, MR ANTONIO GUTERRES, PURSUANT TO ST/SGB/2008/5

SUMMARY
Dear Secretary General,
I am a journalist who has been reporting on the UN and its specialized agencies since 2005. I became accredited to the UN in 2005 and was assigned office space and made a resident correspondent in 2006, to 2016 when as I covered the John Ashe / Ng Lap Seng UN bribery case I was evicted and downgraded to non-resident correspondent. My articles are widely read around the world, including as is relevant here in UN Headquarters in New York and other UN duty stations, by Member States, UN staff and by those with an interest in the workings of the organization. My articles are frequently critical of the UN establishment and its senior officials. I have broken the news on many of the most significant stories in the UN, including on sexual abuse, notably in relation to child sexual abuse in the Central African Republic, human rights violations in Cameroon and retaliation against whistleblowers across the UN system.  I have also reported on irregular UN appointments and promotions, fraud and corruption. Many of the allegations I reported have been substantiated by ‘duly authorized’ UN investigations. The fact that I bear witness to inconvenient truths, effectively as a whistleblower undertaking protected activity, is no justification for my illegal censure and ill-treatment.
I hereby submit to you, as the ‘responsible official’ (pursuant to ST/SGB/2008/5 and ST/SGB/2015/1), a report of prohibited conduct and ‘formal complaint’ of severe harassment and abuse of authority against me by the Under Secretary General (USG) for Public Information, Ms. Alison Smale and by your Spokesperson Mr. Stephane Dujarric. Under the Secretary General’s bulletin ‘Delegation of authority in the administration of the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules’ (ST/SGB/2015/1), you have maintained authority for initiating an investigation and any disciplinary proceedings against staff of the USG level. In relation to your Spokesperson, Mr Dujarric, I am assuming that he reports directly to you.
The decisions taken by DPI in 2016 to downgrade my status to non-resident journalist and withdraw my office, and then in 2018 to withdraw my access rights and to forcibly eject me and ban me from the UN premises are fundamentally flawed, retaliatory, unethical, tainted by conflict of interest and evidence of corruption. The Member States have not delegated authority to you or the Secretariat to adjudicate disputes with journalists over their rights or privileges at the UN – indeed the Member States have explicitly retained such authority over the accreditation and access for NGOs, which is managed by ECOSOC and its Committee on NGOs. The Secretariat’s (DPI’s) role is strictly limited to “providing accreditation services to journalists” (ST/SGB/1999/10 ‘Organisation of the Department of Public Information’) not to disciplining them or adjudicating disputes on their conduct.
While USG Smale was not in office at the time DPI took its tainted and fundamentally flawed decision in 2016 to rescind my resident status, she has perpetuated the wrongful decision, injustice and violation of my human rights: this must now be urgently corrected. The Secretariat clearly has a conflict of interest in deciding on the rights of journalists, especially in cases where the journalist has been critical of the Secretariat’s performance. DPI’s mandate is to “promoting public understanding and support for the United Nations” (ST/SGB/1999/10): the journalist’s role is to report, including on the UN’s failures. USG Smale’s unilateral and unlawful decisions against me clearly constitute harassment and abuse of authority under the provisions of ST/SGB/2008/5.
I also allege that USG Smale authorized my unlawful physical ejection from the UN premises on 22 June 2018 and again on 3 July 2018 and that she has ordered the ongoing unlawful ban against me from entering the UN premises.  The harassment and abuse of authority against me occurred inside UN premises on 22 June 2018, when Lt. Dobbins and four members of DSS' Emergency Response Unit (ERU)—who refused to identify themselves—expelled me from the building and again on 3 July 2018 with a DSS officer who did not give his name but who tore my shirt and twisted my arm. A video record of this use of force against me is available on Innnercitypress.com. I have been banned from entering UN premises ever since.
Please note that a separate complaint has been filed (on 5 August 2018) with the USG for Safety and Security, Mr Peter Drennan, concerning prohibited conduct (harassment and abuse of authority) by staff in the Department of Safety and Security (DSS) – see attached ANNEX A and published on innercitypress.com. My physical ejection from the UN premises was also criminal, and I have filed a criminal complaint with the New York City Police (reference #2018-017-2848, see attached ANNEX B) on 4 July 2018, which complaint is still pending. 
In relation to your Spokesperson Mr Dujarric, I allege that he was consulted by Ms Smale and provided advice in relation to her decisions to maintain my downgraded status of ‘non-resident’ journalist, as well as on my unlawful expulsion and ban from the UN premises. Specifically, I allege that recommendations to Ms Smale were were tainted by conflict of interest and personal animus towards me. I have published many articles which have been critical of Mr Dujarric’s actions and conduct. Mr Dujarric has repeatedly made negative comments about me, including during work meetings. On 20 June 2018, the date after I published criticism of Dujarric selectively giving your comments on the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council to a three-person Al Jazeera crew, a witness reported to me that Mr Dujarric stated on that it was “too late’ and “things will get much worse for Matthew”. Further back in 2013 when Mr Dujarric was not the Spokesperson but rather in change of Media Accreditation, he in essence told me that my continued resident accreditation would be conditioned on stopping negative or uncivil coverage of then USG for Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous, for example that Ladsous said peacekeepers would engage in less sexual exploitation and abuse if they had more “R&R.”
Recently he told the Colombia Journalism Review (CJR), that “Just like the White House, access is not a right, it’s a privilege”.  I fundamentally disagree with this assertion, given the UN is a public institution, and not the executive branch of government.  Further, the Secretariat has no mandate to determine who gets the "privileges" and when and why they are taken away. Mr Dujarric has also wrongfully accused me of ‘incivility’, when his own conduct towards me has been far from civil, including his swearing about me in the working environment4.
Finally, I draw your attention to the 2017 General Assembly resolution on ‘The safety of journalists and the issue of impunity’ (A/C.3/72/L.35/Rev.1) which:
“1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment, including through attacks on, or the forced closure of, their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations
12. Condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online and offline, aiming to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies.”
USG Smale and Spokesperson Dujarric have also abused their authority in taking decisions which violate with impunity a resolution of the UN General Assembly on the protection of journalists.
Please confirm receipt of this report of prohibited conduct and ‘formal complaint’ of harassment and abuse of authority (pursuant to ST/SGB/2008/5) against USG Smale and your Spokesperson Dujarric.
COMPLAINANT
1. Matthew Russell Lee, US citizen, journalist, accredited by the UN, with Inner City Press: http://www.innercitypress.com/
RECEIVABILITY
2. This Complaint is submitted to you pursuant to the following regulations and guidelines:
Secretary General’s bulletin ‘Prohibition of discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, and abuse of authority’ (ST/SGB/2008/5)
UN Media Access Guidelines
ICSC Standards of Conduct for the International Service
UN Staff Regulations and Rules
Secretary General’s bulletin ‘Delegation of authority in the administration of the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules’ (ST/SGB/2015/1)
Secretary General’s bulletin ‘Organisation of the Department of Public Information’ (ST/SGB71999/10)
UN Charter
UN General Assembly resolution ‘The safety of journalists and question of impunity’ (A/C.3/72/L.35/Rev.1)

3. ST/SGB/2008/5, paragraph 5.11, requires the ‘aggrieved individual’ to submit a complaint to the head of department, or office. ST/SGB/2015/1 stipulates that the Secretary General has retained authority to initiate investigations and disciplinary measures for staff of the USG level. Given that my allegations of prohibited conduct and harassment and abuse of authority concern a USG, Ms Alison Smale (DPI) and also your Spokesperson, I am submitting this report directly to you as the ‘responsible official’.  I have also sent a copy of this complaint to the Department of Human Resources, consistent with the requirements of ST/SGB/2008/5.

4. ST/SGB/2005/8 states:
2.3 In their interactions with others, all staff members are expected to act with tolerance, sensitivity and respect for differences. Any form of prohibited conduct in the workplace or in connection with work is a violation of these principles and may lead to disciplinary action, whether the prohibited conduct takes place in the workplace, in the course of official travel or an official mission, or in other settings in which it may have an impact on the workplace.

5. My complaint is clearly receivable under paragraph 2 of ST/SGB/2008/5, which states:
2.4 The present bulletin shall apply to all staff of the Secretariat. Complaints of prohibited conduct may be made by any staff member, consultant, contractor, gratis personnel, including interns, and any other person who may have been subject to prohibited conduct on the part of a staff member in a work-related situation.
6. The prohibited conduct, harassment and abuse authority was perpetrated by USG Smale and Spokesperson Dujarric in a work-related situation, in the UN premises, when both the staff members and I were working.

7. Further, ST/SGB/2008/5 states:
3.2 Managers and supervisors have the duty to take all appropriate measures to promote a harmonious work environment, free of intimidation, hostility, offence and any form of prohibited conduct. They must act as role models by upholding the highest standards of conduct. Managers and supervisors have the obligation to ensure that complaints of prohibited conduct are promptly addressed in a fair and impartial manner. Failure on the part of managers and supervisors to fulfil their obligations under the present bulletin may be considered a breach of duty, which, if established, shall be reflected in their annual performance appraisal, and they will be subject to administrative or disciplinary action, as appropriate.
3.3 Heads of department/office are responsible for the implementation of the present bulletin in their respective departments/offices and for holding all managers and other supervisory staff accountable for compliance with the terms of the present bulletin.
8. Under the policy, and consistent with the provisions of ST/SGB/2015/1) you are required to ensure that my complaint of prohibited conduct is promptly addressed in a “fair and impartial manner”. Failure to declare and address a conflict of interest constitutes misconduct under the Code of Conduct for International Civil Servants and UN Staff Regulations and Rules, to which you are bound. Should you decide that you have a conflict of interest in my case, given my public reporting of allegations of wrongdoing against you, I request that you refer my complaint [elsewhere]. 9. I also draw your attention to relevant parts of the UN General Assembly resolution on ‘The safety of journalists and question of impunity’ (A/C.3/72/L.35/Rev.1) which the Secretariat must surely abide by:

“Recognizing the importance of freedom of expression and of free media, online as well as offline, in building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies and in fostering intercultural dialogue, peace and good governance, as well as understanding and cooperation,“

“Recognizing also that the work of journalists often puts them at specific risk of intimidation, harassment and violence, the presence of which often deters journalists from continuing their work or encourages self-censorship, consequently depriving society of important information,”

“Deeply concerned by all human rights violations and abuses committed in relation to the safety of journalists and media workers, including killing, torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, expulsion, intimidation, harassment, threats and other forms of violence.”

“1. Condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers, such as torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and arbitrary detention, as well as intimidation, threats and harassment, including through attacks on, or the forced closure of, their offices and media outlets, in both conflict and non-conflict situations.”

“12. Condemns unequivocally measures in violation of international human rights law aiming to or that intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online and offline, aiming to undermine the work of journalists in informing the public, and calls upon all States to cease and refrain from these measures, which cause irreparable harm to efforts at building inclusive and peaceful knowledge societies and democracies.”

NATURE OF THE COMPLAINT
10. USG for DPI, Ms Alison Smale, and your Spokesperson, Mr Stephane Dujarric have engaged in prohibited conduct, including harassment and abuse authority towards me, as defined under paragraphs 1.2 (harassment) and 1.4 (abuse of authority) of ST/SGB/2008/5. Specifically, Ms Smale has perpetuated an unlawful decision taken in 2016 to rescind my status as a resident journalist and downgrade it to non-resident, and further to withdraw my office. Neither the Secretary General, nor the Secretariat, have been delegated the authority by the Member States take any action whatsoever against journalists or to rescind their rights and privileges. The Secretariat’s (DPI’s) role is limited to “providing accreditation services to journalists” (ST/SGB/1999/10, Section 8.3(c)). DPI has no lawful authority to rescind my ‘resident’ status, withdraw my office, or ban me from the UN premises. Further the UN Media Access Guidelines have not been approved by the Member States and do not have any legal standing.

11. In her letter to Ms Beatrice Edwards at the Government Accountability Project (GAP), dated 19 July 2018, see attached ANNEX D), claims in relation to the downgrading of my resident status, that “the matter is closed”. USG Smale has no lawful authority to impose or maintain disciplinary measures on a journalist working at the UN.

12. While USG Smale was not in office at the time DPI took its tainted and fundamentally flawed decision in 2016 to rescind my resident status, she has perpetuated the wrongful decision, injustice and violation of my human rights: this must now be urgently corrected. The Secretariat clearly has a conflict of interest in deciding on the rights of journalists, especially in cases where the journalist has been critical of the Secretariat’s performance. DPI’s mandate is to “promoting public understanding and support for the United Nations” (ST/SGB/1999/10): the journalist’s role is to report, including on the UN’s failures.

13. In relation to your Spokesperson Mr Dujarric, I allege that he was consulted by Ms Smale and provided advice in relation to her decisions to maintain my downgraded status of ‘non-resident’ journalist, the withdrawal of my office, as well as on my unlawful expulsion and ban from the UN premises. Specifically, I allege that Mr Dujarric’s recommendations to Ms Smale were were tainted by conflict of interest and personal animus towards me. I have published many articles which have been critical of Mr Dujarric’s actions and conduct. Mr Dujarric has repeatedly made negative comments about me, including during work meetings, which have been recorded, like his use of the “F-bomb” he accuses me of.
 
14. Spokesperson Dujarric has been overheard making threatening statements about me to a witness, further evidence of which would be produced in a duly authorized fact-finding investigation.  On 20 June 2018, the date after I published criticism of Dujarric selectively giving your comments on the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council to a three-person Al Jazeera crew, a witness reported to me that Mr Dujarric stated on that it was “too late’ and “things will get much worse for Matthew”. Further back in 2013 when Mr Dujarric was not the Spokesperson but rather in change of Media Accreditation, he in essence told me that my continued resident accreditation would be conditioned on stopping negative or uncivil coverage of then USG for Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous, for example that Ladsous said peacekeepers would engage in less sexual exploitation and abuse if they had more “R&R.”


15. Recently he told the Colombia Journalism Review (CJR)1, that “Just like the White House, access is not a right, it’s a privilege”.  I fundamentally disagree with this assertion, given the UN is a public institution, and not the executive branch of government.  Further, the Secretariat has no mandate to determine who gets the "privileges" and when and why they are taken away. Mr Dujarric has also wrongfully accused me of ‘incivility’2, when his own conduct towards me has been far from civil, including his swearing about me in the working environment3.

16. I also alleged that USG Smale and Mr Dujarric have also colluded with DSS staff, including Lieutenant Ronald E. Dobbins and five unnamed staff of the Emergency Response Unit, in engaging in this prohibited conduct. Please note that a separate complaint has been filed (on 6 August 2018) with the USG for Safety and Security, Mr Peter Drennan, concerning prohibited conduct (harassment and abuse of authority) by the five DSS staff. My physical ejection was also criminal, and I have filed a criminal complaint with the New York City Police (reference #2018-017-2848, see attached, ANNEX B) on 4 July 2018, which complaint is still pending. 

17. On 22 June 2018 I was working at the UN as an accredited journalist, in compliance with the UN Media Access Guidelines (which have no legal standing), covering an event in the General Assembly that was listed in the UN Media Alert as beginning at 6 pm, but for which you only arrived at 6:45 pm to give your speech.

18. At 7:15 pm I was going back up to the media bullpen on the fourth floor of the Secretariat Building to write my article about the Secretary General's speech when Lt. Dobbins stopped me at the turnstile and wrongfully ordered me leave the building. In response, I requested that Lt. Dobbins call the Media Accreditation Unit, so that they could inform him of the rule that states that I can stay in the UN building for an advised event after 7 pm and for one hour after.

19. But Lt. Dobbins refused to call the Media Accreditation Unit and instead called four ERU officers, who proceeded to physically push me out through the lobby, even as I pointed out to them other non-resident correspondents remaining behind. (Some were to attend the DSS barbecue that night just outside the GA lobby). I asked for the ERU officers' names and Lt. Dobbins told them not to provide it and instead sated “you've got my name.” But even that he refused to spell, telling me “Spell it how you want.”

20. Lt. Dobbins displayed considerable personal animus towards me. Significantly, I had previously publicly disclosed on InnerCityPress.com an article with a DSS email showing irregularities with Lt. Dobbins and other DSS staff’s promotions. 

21. On 3 July 2018 I was covering the advised Fifth (Budget) Committee meetings in the 1B basement, interviewing the Committee chair Tommo Monthe in the Vienna Cafe area and preparing to upload the interview when I was physically grabbed by Lt. Dobbins and an unnamed partner (DSS staff member). I was forced out of the building while the Budget meeting continued until 4 pm. I had a right to cover this meeting (as I have for ten years, including the last two as a non-resident correspondent). My arm was hurt, shirt torn, and my laptop damaged.  A video record of this use of force against me is available on Innnercitypress.com. I filed a criminal report with the 17th Precinct of the New York Police Department (NYPD) on 4 July 2018.

22. On 5 July 2018, the day after I filed the criminal report with the NYPD, I was informed by DSS officers that I was “banned” from the UN and have remained so as of that date. I am told there is a letter banning me and that my photo is in array of such banned people, putting me at risk. My repeated requests to DSS staff for the reasons for my ban and for a copy of the letter banning me remain unanswered. I have also asked which UN official took the decision to ban me but have not been told. The failure to provide me with this information is in violation of my rights as an accredited journalist and constitutes further abuse of authority.
HARASSMENT
23. Harassment is defined under ST/SGB/2005/8 as: 1.2. Harassment is any improper and unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another person. Harassment may take the form of words, gestures or actions which tend to annoy, alarm, abuse, demean, intimidate, belittle, humiliate or embarrass another or which create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Harassment normally implies a series of incidents. Disagreement on work performance or on other work-related issues is normally not considered harassment and is not dealt with under the provisions of this policy but in the context of performance management.
Clearly the actions of USG Smale and Mr Dujarric constitute actions which “alarm”, “abuse”, “demean”, “intimidate”, “belittle”, “humiliate” and “embarrassed” me.  USG Smale’s decision to maintain the downgrading of my ‘resident’ status and withdrawal of my office, as well as my ban from the UN premises are abusive, demeaning, intimidating, humiliating and embarrassing. There are clearly ‘a series of incidents’, dating from 2016 when DPI unlawfully and without authority downgraded my resident status to non-resident. The actions taken against me by ASG Smale are punitive and retaliatory and have caused offence and public humiliation. I am currently forced to report from the street outside the UN premises.
USG Smale’s authorization of my removal from the premises, through the use of force, including the tearing of my shirt, physical ejection from the building and removal of my laptop, were “hostile” acts taken against me as an accredited journalist, in “a work environment”.
24. Spokesperson Dujarric has been overheard making threatening statements about me to a witness, further evidence of which would be produced in a duly authorized fact-finding investigation.  On 20 June 2018, the date after I published criticism of Dujarric selectively giving your comments on the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council to a three-person Al Jazeera crew, a witness reported to me that Mr Dujarric stated on that it was “too late’ and “things will get much worse for Matthew”. Further back in 2013 when Mr Dujarric was not the Spokesperson but rather in change of Media Accreditation, he in essence told me that my continued resident accreditation would be conditioned on stopping negative or uncivil coverage of then USG for Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous, for example that Ladsous said peacekeepers would engage in less sexual exploitation and abuse if they had more “R&R.” Mr Dujarric’s conduct was “hostile” and “offensive”.

ABUSE OF AUTHORITY
25. Abuse of authority is defined under ST/SGB/2008/5 as 1.4 Abuse of authority is the improper use of a position of influence, power or authority against another person. This is particularly serious when a person uses his or her influence, power or authority to improperly influence the career or employment conditions of another, including, but not limited to, appointment, assignment, contract renewal, performance evaluation or promotion. Abuse of authority may also include conduct that creates a hostile or offensive work environment which includes, but is not limited to, the use of intimidation, threats, blackmail or coercion. Discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment, are particularly serious when accompanied by abuse of authority.

26. ASG Smale and Spokesperson Dujarric have clearly abused their authority. They have used their position of influence, power, and authority against me to unlawfully maintain my non-resident status and withdrawal of my office, eject me from the UN premises, with force, and exclude me from re-entering the building.

27. The failure to report and address a conflict of interest is an abuse of authority. In my case, there is both ‘organizational’ and ‘personal’ conflict of interest4, which stems from my reporting of the UN and Secretariat’s failures and wrongdoing over many years.

28. I have reported on an ongoing basis, allegations of corruption, fraud, serious misconduct and unethical behaviour at the top echelons of the UN, as well as on the continuing retaliation against UN whistleblowers. I have broken the news on many stories at innercitypress.com which sadly reflect negatively on the performance of senior UN officials, including your own as Secretary General.

29. Many of the allegations of misconduct I have reported publicly at innercitypress.com have been substantiated through ‘duly authorised’ UN investigations, including the UN’s gross institutional failure in responding to the child sexual abuse and pedophilia by peacekeepers in the Central African Republic (CAR) and the abuse of authority by senior UN officials against Anders Kompass (see CAR Review Panel Report A/71/99). The material I have published on innercitypress.com has been used by UN investigators as evidence in their ‘duly authorised’ investigations. My articles continue to break the news on sexual abuse, perpetrated by UN peacekeepers and staff, against vulnerable people whom the UN is supposed to protect.

30. I drew the international community’s attention to the human rights violations in the English-speaking parts of Cameroon and your apparent silence in responding to these abuses, which was noted by many anglophone Cameroonians. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein belatedly issued a statement on 25 July 2018 condemning the abuses. I also reported your apparent failure to initiate an audit of the China Energy Fund Committee / Patrick Ho / Sam Kutesa UN bribery case, which has resulted in a US criminal prosecution for bribery and international money laundering.

31. My reporting of the UN’s failings, and that of any other journalist critical of the UN, creates an inherent organizational conflict of interest with DPI’s mandate which is: “promoting public understanding and support for the United Nations” (ST/SGB/1999/10, Section 6.2(a)). As such, and not withstanding DPI’s lack of legal authority to take any actions whatsoever in relation to journalists’ rights and privileges, the Secretariat (DPI) should have recused itself from taking any adverse decisions against me as a journalist reporting on the Secretariat’s performance, on account of its organisational conflict of interest.

32. USG Smale and Spokesperson Dujarric also have a personal conflict of interest in my case, as I have publicly reported unfavorably on their performance in their official work capacities. Mr Dujarric’s refusals to answer my questions, on topics ranging from the UN’s inaction on the human rights abuses in Cameroon to why you have not initiative an audit of the China Energy Fund Committee / Sam Kutesa / Patick Ho UN bribery scandal, often make their way into my articles on InnerCityPress.com. I have covered USG Smale’s staff Town Hall where she said her mission to to get good publicity for you (which presents a conflict of interest in fairly allocation accreditation, office space and access to independent press). I have coverage, with multiple sources, the relocation in DPI of funds intended for Swahili and other African services to social media largely promoting you. Under the UN Staff Regulations and Rules, to which all UN staff are bound, these conflicts of interest should have been reported.  Instead, USG Smale and Mr Dujarric ignored their conflicts of interest and proceeded to take adverse, punitive, retaliatory and unlawful disciplinary measures against me – this clearly constitutes an abuse of authority under Section 1.4 of ST/SGB/2008/5.

33. USG Smale’s authorization of my removal from the premises, through the use of force, including the tearing of my shirt, physical ejection from the building and removal of my laptop, is also an abuse of authority. Her decisions are improper give that she has no legal authority to determine a journalist’s rights and privileges of journalists, or to rescind them. USG Smale’s improper actions have restricted my access to sources and meetings, limited my reporting and this has negatively impacted on my employment.

34. Spokesperson Dujarric has been overheard making threatening statements about me to a witness, further evidence of which would be produced in a duly authorized fact-finding investigation.  On 20 June 2018, the date after I published criticism of Dujarric selectively giving your comments on the US withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council to a three-person Al Jazeera crew, a witness reported to me that Mr Dujarric stated on that it was “too late’ and “things will get much worse for Matthew”. Further back in 2013 when Mr Dujarric was not the Spokesperson but rather in change of Media Accreditation, he in essence told me that my continued resident accreditation would be conditioned on stopping negative or uncivil coverage of then USG for Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous, for example that Ladsous said peacekeepers would engage in less sexual exploitation and abuse if they had more “R&R.”
I allege that USG Smale and Spokesperson Dujarric have engaged in both harassment and abuse of authority against me, which is “particularly serious” (Article 1.4 of ST/SGB/2005/8 states).

35. Under Article 5.9 ST/SGB/2008/5, you are required “to provide continuing support to the aggrieved party at every stage of the process”, regardless of the outcome of investigation. Accordingly, I request a meeting to discuss the support that will be provided to me in the interim.
 
36. Please treat this submission as a ‘formal complaint’ and a demand for a fact-finding investigation into the prohibited conduct of USG Smale and Spokesperson Dujarric (including their conflicts of interest), consistent with sections 5 and 6 of ST/SGB/2008/5 and the UN Staff Regulations and Rules.

37. ST/SGB/2008/5 also provides for the informal resolution of complaints. An informal resolution may be in the best interests of all those concerned.

38. This complaint is submitted without prejudice and under reservation of all rights.

Yours,
Matthew Russell Lee

***

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