As UN
Bans Inner
City Press
E-Asks Spox Haq
of Somalia
DRC Cameroon
Saudi Suicide
300+
UNanswered
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR Letter
PFT Q&A, NY
Post
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, January 2 – Inner City
Press on July 5 was banned
from entering the UN, the
day after it filed a
criminal complaint against
UN Security for physically
removing it from covering
the meeting about the UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' $6.7 billion
peacekeeping budget, as
witnessed and essentially
cheered on by senior UN
official Christian Saunders,
tearing its reporter's
shirt, painfully and
intentionally twisting his
arm and slamming shut and
damaging his laptop. On
August 17, Guterres' Global
Communicator Alison Smale
issued a letter banning
Inner City Press from the UN
- for life. With no due
process. She and Guterres
have put the UN in the US
Press Freedom Tracker, here.
Smale said, again, that the
UN would answer Press
questions to the Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric and his
Office. On January 2, before
a wan briefing held not by
Dujarric but his deputy,
Inner City Press submitted
368 questions including
"There are more than [3]00+
questions UNanswered. No
answer on Dec 17 or 18 or 19
or 20 or 21 - another FIVE
days in a row, even as SG's
direct conflicts of interest
and failure to disclose
emerge, and a newest low.
Nothing on Dec 24 or Dec 26
or Dec 27 or Dec 28,
apparently under orders.
No answers at all during
those four days of the US v
Ho trial showing corruption
in the UN says it all. This
ban is just censorship - and
Inner City Press must be
allowed back into the noon
briefing to ask its
questions in person and
follow up on them.
January 2-1:
On Somalia (and Somaliland),
what is the SG's comment and
action on Nicholas Haysom
being declared persona
non-grata, and separately on
Somaliland's invitation that
he relocate there? Where is
Mr Haysom at present? Why
didn't the SG's statement on
Somalia address the
PNG-ing?
January 2-2: On
Cameroon, what is the SG's
comment and action on Paul
Biya in his New Year message
threatening to "neutralize"
opponents?
January 2-3: On DRC,
what is the SG's action and
comment on the reported
slowing and cutting of
Internet, FM radio and text
messaging services by the
government, as well as on
what should be done with the
votes from Beni and the
other excluded areas.
January 2-4: On
Saudi Arabia, what is the
SG's comment and action on
that Netflix has removed
from its streaming service
in Saudi Arabia an episode
of a comedy show critical of
the kingdom. The
second episode of Patriot
Act With Hasan Minhaj was
removed following a legal
demand, which reportedly
said it violated a Saudi
anti-cybercrime law.
It features Minhaj mocking
the actions of Saudi
officials following the
murder of the journalist
Jamal Khashoggi and
condemning the crown
prince's policies.
January 2-5: On DSS
and treatment of staff,
please confirm the death in
2018 of Officer Richard
Devera, separately state if
the UN understands it to
have been suicide and
confirm or deny that after
Mr. Devera's foot surgery
his request for a seating or
sitting position was
rejected, and that he was
terminated prior to his
demise as DSS personnel
complain.
December 31-1:
On Sudan, again - your
Office has refused Inner
City Press' questions on
this before - state the
times Antonio Guterres has
met Bashir and why.
December 31-3: What is the
SG's comment and action on
the upholding of jail
sentences to human rights
activists Nabeel Rajab in
Bahrain and Ahmed Mansoor in
the UAE?
December 31-5:
Beyond the 40 questions from
Inner City Press you refused
to answer last week, still
set forth below for promised
answer, this is a request,
given that Gulbenkian
Foundation was trying to
tell its Partex Oil and Gas
affiliate to CEFC China
Energy in 2018, that you
immediately disclose all
connections to Gulbenkian by
the SG, this lead spokesman
and their family members.
Given that Peter Thomson is
the SG's rep on Oceans that
you describe in detail
Thomson's 2017 meeting with
now disappeared Ye Jianming
of CEFC, name which UN DSS
officials were with him and
what reports they filed,
what their duties were; what
was seen by those
accompanying Thomson,
specifically Zhu Juwang
andAbdelghani Merabet, both
apparently still with the UN
(the latter still in PGA's
office) and Zhang Yi, now
back with the Chinese
government? There are many
more questions that should
have been addressed in the
audit of CEFC that the SG
should have begun, at
latest, in November 2017.
For now this is a reiterated
request past deadline that
you (1) state when SG
Guterres left his position
on the Gulbenkian
Foundation, (2) state why
Gulbenkian was not listed on
SG Guterres' public
financial disclosure which
covered 2016; (3) explain
how it is not a conflict of
interest for SG Guterres to
have refused to start an
audit of CEFC in the UN, as
requested by Inner City
Press in January 2018, given
CEFC's bid for the oil
business of Gulbenkian.
Also, again, state why under
SG Guterres there have been
no updates to the UN public
financial disclosures since
those filed for 2016. Also,
again, explain your refusal
to answer any of Inner City
Press' questions this week
despite USG Smale's
statements to GAP, me and
UNSR David Kaye.
December 31-6: On Egypt,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that an Egyptian
appeals court has imposed a
two-year prison sentence
against the women's rights
activist Amal Fathy, who
criticised the authorities
for failing to tackle sexual
harassment?
December 31-8: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the widely seen
dragging of at least two
people behind motor bikes in
Bangourain, condemned by
local human rights groups
but on which the UN has said
nothing? What is the SG's
action, if any, on the
continued detention of those
grabbed up in Abuja
contemporaneous with the
DSG's presence there and
illegal refouled to Yaounde?
December 31-9: On the UAE,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the grabbing up of
(and prior 36 minute video
by) Sheikha Latifa the
daughter of Dubai's ruler?
Who in the UN system did
Mary Robinson contact before
declaring Latifa to be OK,
just “troubled”?
December 31-10: On Kenya,
what is the SG and
separately UNRC's comment
and action on the killing of
23 year old student Maina
and the lack of credibility
in government responses?
December 31-11: On South
Sudan, please immediately
state the UN's knowledge of
Peter Gadet's role in
threatening to shoot down UN
helicopter and, separately,
in actually shooting down UN
helicopter, in light of his
election at the chairmanship
of the South Sudan
Opposition Alliance (SSOA) -
what is the SG's comment and
action on this? How will the
UN system engage with Gadet,
given the past and UN talk
of accountability and
protecting peacekeepers and
staff?
December 31-12: On Turkey,
what is the SG's comment and
action on reports that the
Erdogan government has fined
two of the last television
channels critical of the
government over on-air
comments which allegedly
insulted the country’s
president and encouraged
civil disobedience?
December 31-13: On Uganda,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the Boxing Day
crackdown on supporters of
MP Bobi Wine?
December 31-14: Since your
Office has refused to answer
Inner City Press' questions
about the SG's inaction on
UNAIDS Sidibe and ICSC's
Rhodes, what is the SG's
response to this, from The
Lancet? "UN Secretary
General António Guterres
appointed Sidibé. It is his
prerogative to intervene, to
demonstrate that
contravention of the
governance standards set by
the UN needs to be publicly
met with accountability.
Guterres has often affirmed
his personal commitment to
zero tolerance for sexual
harassment. But faced with
the reality of this
commitment, he failed to
provide much-needed
leadership. By being allowed
to control the narrative of
his departure from UNAIDS,
Sidibé was given the power
to protect his legacy—a
legacy that includes many
successes but that was built
partly at the expense of
those who were harassed or
bullied. In Guterres'
deafening silence, a
pervasive unspoken truth is
echoed to the global health
community: in the name of a
greater purpose, the culture
of impunity can prevail."
December 31-15: Please
immediately state whether
Williams Uchemba of Nigeria
has attended youth or other
conference as the UN, and
also state whether the SG's
Envoy on Youth still has in
place the Memorandum of
Understanding with the Saudi
Crown Prince's MiSK
Foundation, even after the
murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
December 31-16: What is the
SG's comment (and action if
any) on this “Palestinian
foreign minister Riyad
al-Malki declared on
Wednesday that Palestine
would apply for full state
membership at the United
Nations in January.Mr
Al-Malki told the official
radio station Voice of
Palestine that he would file
the application to upgrade
Palestine's status from an
observer state to a full
member state to the UN
Security Council.”
December 31-17: On Japan,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that Japan is
resuming commercial whaling
for the first time in more
than 30 years. The country’s
fleet will resume commercial
operations in July next
2019, the government’s chief
spokesman, Yoshihide Suga,
said of the decision to defy
the 1986 global ban on
commercial whaling.
December 31-18: What is the
SG's comment, now SIX days
after the fact, on the UNGA
and Budget Committee votes
and non-votes on Dec 22
including the non action on
Human Resources Management,
the call for more openness
in recruitment / succession
at the Pension Fund (your
Office has refused to answer
Inner City Press on this);
also confirm that DM staff
were told not to take any
leave days on Dec and Jan,
even today, when the SG is
away.
December 31-19: Again,
please state where the SG is
and how much it is costing
the UN and public, including
in Security costs.
December 31-20: The promised
“highlights” are not online
as of 12:07 pm. When are
they supposed to go up? How
is one supposed to ask any
follow up about them -
particularly given your
Office's total lack of
responses? What is the
staffing cost of the OSSG?
Today? When is the last time
the Office communicated with
the SG? Has the SG been
asked about his Gulbenkian
Foundation omission? If not,
why not? If so, what is his
explanation? Is he filing a
new Financial Disclosure?
What about the obvious
conflict of interest - and
censorship?
December 31-21: On China,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the “secret” trial
of human rights lawyer Wang
Quanzhang without even a
verdict announced? Tianjin
No. 2 Intermediate Court
cited "state secrets" for
the closed-door trial and
said "verdict will be
announced on a selected
date."
No answers -
the questions were emailed
by banned Inner City Press,
pursuant to USG Alison
Smale's
promise to UNSR David
Kaye they would be answered,
also to, among others, Amina
Mohammed, Marcia
Soares Pinto,
Keishamaza
Rukikaire, Hua
Jiang (who
refers to Hak-Fan
Lau, Mita Hosali, Joachim
Harris and Lydia Lobenthal)
and Maria Luiza Ribeiro
Viotti, who refers to Arnab
Roy and Eihab Omaish - as
well as the Guterres' own
email. No answers, including
on the UN Public Financial
Disclosure omissions, nor on
these:
December 21-1:
On Burundi, repeating and
amplifying a question you
refused to answer from
December 6 on, please
immediately confirm or deny
that Burundi has asked the
UN system to decrease its
human rights presence, on
which countries' missions in
Bujumbura have now commented
(The Burundi government has
ordered the United Nations
Human Rights Council to shut
its office in the country
within two months), and
state the SG's view and
response. Again, what is the
SG's comment and action if
any on the Nkurunziza
goverment's international
arrest warrant against
Pierre Buyoya and 16 others?
Also, what is the UN's
comment on the reporting
about the Nkurunziza
government's “torture
house”?
December 21-2: Again on
China and Canada, Inner City
Press' question on yesterday
you refused to answer, what
now is the SG's comment and
action not only on that a
Canadian military
surveillance aircraft
monitoring United Nations
sanctions was harassed in
international airspace off
North Korea by the Chinese
military, but also on the
detention of Canadians (and
others) in China, including
Michael Kovrig who
previously worked in the UN
as a diplomat? It is now
reported that Kovrig is
being denied legal
representation and is not
allowed to turn the lights
off at night. And on the
case(s) against the Huawei
executive in Canada?
December 21-3: On costs to
the UN and to the public,
please state where the SG is
going Dec 21 - Jan 1 and how
much it costs the UN and the
public, including in
security costs.
December 21-4: Please
explain (and change) that
there is no online public
archive of the SG's and
DSG's daily public
schedules, when for example
the PGA has had an archive
as to many public officials
at all levels.
December 21-5: Also on
transparency, please confirm
or deny that the SG spoke
with Imran Khan of Pakistan
and if you don't deny,
please provide a read out of
that and other calls with
heads of state, heads of
government or foreign
minister in the past week
(and prospectively Dec
21-Jan 1). [Dujarric
confirmed the Khan call to a
Pakistani journalist, no
answer to Inner City Press
on the rest.]
December 21-6: On Zambia,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that Zambia's
Supreme Court on Thursday
slapped an 18-month jail
sentence on a journalist for
contempt of court after he
accused the judiciary of
corruption. Derrick Sinjela,
editor of the Rainbow
Newspaper, had questioned
one of the court's rulings
earlier this year when it
overturned a lower court's
decision involving two large
corporations - Stanbic
commercial bank and Savenda
Management Services. In an
article he published between
April and May this year
entitled "Zambian supreme
court verdict in the Savenda
and Stabic case
questionable", Sinjela
accused the judges of
corruption.
December 21-7: On Cameroon,
on which you have been
refusing Inner City Press'
questions, what is the SG's
comment and action on calls
for the Paul Biya's
government to release
imprisoned journalist Thomas
Awah Junior, the Northwest
correspondent for privately
owned Afrik 2 Radio in
Yaoundé and publisher of the
monthly Aghem Messenger
magazine, on humanitarian
grounds. A military court on
May 25, 2018, sentenced Awah
to 11 years in prison, after
he was convicted on several
charges including terrorism
and the spreading of false
news use of the charge of
“fake news.” Again Francois
Fall describes “Gender
Desks” in police stations
but an Inner City Press
reader today called the
Kumba police station and
they'd never heard of it.
What was the basis of Mr.
Fall's statement?
December 21-8: On the DRC,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the reported
further delay of the
election scheduled for Dec
23 to Dec 30 and the reasons
given? Again, what FARDC
units does MONUSCO currently
work with? [Dujarric called
on a Reuters favorite on DRC
vaguely, nothing on due
diligence, no answer.]
December 21-9: Again on
Togo, on which you have
refused to answer, what is
the SG's comment and action
today as some in the country
vote in legislative
elections that are being
boycotted by the main
opposition after a year of
political upheaval which saw
demonstrators demanding
President Faure Gnassingbe
step down. A coalition of 14
opposition parties has said
it will not take part,
citing "irregularities" in
preparations for the vote
and calling for an overhaul
of the electoral
commission... Ahead today's
parliamentary elections, the
opposition called for 10
days of protests to halt the
ballot while urging
supporters to follow them in
a boycott. evangelical,
Presbyterian and Methodist
churches in Togo called for
the election to be delayed
for several months because
of concern about its
organization; on Friday
night, senior Muslim leaders
also called for a delay? Two
persons, including a child,
were shot and killed on
Saturday during clashes
between demonstrators and
police in some parts of
Lomé? On that Togo's
government has banned a
series of planned opposition
protests, saying the marches
posed a security risk. A
coalition of 14 opposition
parties announced earlier
this week that they would
boycott a parliamentary
election planned for 20
December and instead try to
stop the electoral process.
Coalition coordinator
Brigitte Adjamagbo Johnson
told local radio that there
are no grounds for the ban
and they intend carry on
with the protest? Again,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that the campaign
for the parliamentary
elections starts today in
Togo. The election is
scheduled for December 20,
but the opposition has
already announced that it
will not participate. The
opposition also boycotted
the National Assembly last
week, during debates about
the proposed constitutional
reform?
December 21-10: On Guinea
Conakry, including in light
of a protest held yesterday
just outside the UN against
killings by Alpha Conde,
what is the SG doing about
the killings and political
situation there?
December 21-11: On UN sexual
harassment, please
immediately state what the
SG ever did about the
detailed complaint against
UNFPA India's Diego Palacios
by Prashanti Tiwari, who
held an event on it today in
which Inner City Press
participated. This request
is on deadline.
December 21-12: On Western
Sahara, confirm SG receipt
of and state his response to
letter of Polisario urging
him to clear “mines that
threaten the lives of
Saharwis” and that on
Friday, December the 14th,
two mines caused the “death
of a Sahrawi man and serious
injuries to others”?
December 21-13: Yesterday
USG Smale told me that the
decision to “Bar” me from
any entry to the UN, even
when invited by member
states, is by UN Security.
But I have received no
notice much less due
process. Please confirm that
UN Security has a barred
list, state who is on it and
how people are put on it,
the role of the SG.
Additionally, state
yesterday evenings schedule
using UN resources on the SG
and state those accompanying
him.
December 21-14: On the
Rohingya, please immediately
answer why the message from
the overall UN of the SG
does not match the message
from the FFM on Myanmar who
confirm Rohingya face
genocide / war crimes at the
hands of the Myanmar
military and govt. Also, why
the Rohingya people are not
included in the MOU because
w/o them the needs are not
identified?
December 21-15: On Sri
Lanka, still, what is the
SG's comment and action now
that President Maithripala
Sirisena accused newly
reappointed Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe of
corrupt leadership in a
scathing speech in which he
voiced doubts about their
ability to work together and
signaled the two-month-long
political crisis is far from
resolved?
December 21-16: On the
(Office of the) High
Commissioner for Human
Rights, what is the SG's
comment and action on
complaints that the
Commissioner mused to staff
about slapping or calling a
fascist a Swiss diplomat in
Geneva?
December 21-17: On
Mozambique and press
freedom, what is the SG's
comment and action on that
three journalists, one local
and two foreign, have been
detained by Mozambique's
army in Palma district in
the restive northern
province of Cabo Delgado.
They were detained on Monday
morning while on their way
to Palma from Chitolo, in
the neighboring district of
Mocimboa da Praia, where
they had been working. They
said they had been detained
despite authorisation from
the local and provincial
military commanders to work
there.
December 21-18: Please
immediately confirm the SG's
receipt of, and state the
SG's action on, the Dec 14
letter from staff unions for
more transparency in
choosing the next CEO of the
UNJSPF Pension Fund. I
reiterate Inner City Press'
unanswered question on
transparency in the
replacement of Deputy High
Commissioner for Human
Rights Kate Gilmore.
December 21-19: On Nigeria,
what is the comment and
action of the SG, and
separately DSG Amina J
Mohammed, on the revelations
and analysis about when
Nigerian soldiers opened
fire on rock-throwing
protesters in late October.
“A close review of video
from the largest and most
deadly of the protests, as
well as interviews with more
than a dozen witnesses,
clearly shows the military
opening fire on unarmed
demonstrators, sometimes
shooting indiscriminately
into the crowd at close
range as people turned and
tried to flee.” What is the
UN, SG and DSG, doing?
December 21-20: On Chile,
what is the comment and
action of the SG and
separate of the officials he
nominated on the case of
Camilo Catrillanca who was
murdered by police of the
Jungle Command?
December 21-21: On Somalia,
please now state the role of
the UN system in the
elections, and the UN
Secretariat's position on
AMISON monitoring the
elections and where it comes
from. Again (unanswered),
what is the SG's comment and
action now that Somali
authorities say Mukhtar
Robow has been disqualified
from contesting in this
week's regional elections?
Also, what is the UN's
knowledge of any role by UN
supported AMISOM and/or
Ethiopian troops in the
arrest of Mukhtar Robow?
December 21-22: On Uganda,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the renewed
attempt by President
Museveni's forces to arrest
/ harass MP Bobi Wine, on
which many others have
expressed concern?
December 21-23: On South
Sudan, please immediately
state the status of the
$100,000 “independent”
review of civilian staffing
in UNMISS commissioned by
SRSG David Shearer, the
Terms of Reference of which
were provided to Inner City
Press by whistleblowers
asking why the report has
been buried. When will it be
made public? Where is
Wolfgang Weisbrod Weber?
Elizabeth Lercara Chester?
Anees Ahmed? How much did it
cost?
December 21-24: Please
confirm that UN staff /
personnel Mutaz Hyssat was
assaulted or beaten last
week by the husband of an
Argentina diplomat,
Martiniano Sosa, and whether
the SG believes and is
requested that immunity be
waived for prosecution of
the assault / harassment.
Also, why has the SG not
waived the immunity of UN
DSS Lt Ronald E. Dobbins and
his unnamed colleagues on 3
July 2018 and 22 June 2018?
What is the status of DSS
USG responding to the
written complaint, which USG
Smale told UNSR Kaye is
being processed?
December 21-25: While the SG
was in Doha an agreement
with Qatar and UN
Counter-Terrorism was
signed, according to Qatar
state media. Where is it
public online? Or provide
it. How did the SG travel to
and from Qatar and who paid,
given the PGAs now disclose
such information. When will
the public financial
disclosures, in past years
already online by this time,
be made available?
December 21-26: On CEFC in
the wake of the US v Ho /
CEFC of Ye Jianming
verdicts, and the SG's
refusal to date to even do
an audit of CEFC and its
affiliates in the UN, this
is a request that you
confirm that Ye Jianming's
China Academy of Culture
a/k/a China Cultural
Institute remains in special
consultative status to
ECOSOC and for a description
of what the Secretariat
knows of this bribery
affiliates activities in the
UN. Again, this is a request
that the SG confirm and act
on the other UN officials
depicted as advisers to CEFC
and its UN program -
including Jeffrey Sachs, who
has over the weekend online
denied any such role,
stating he may have attended
a lunch “catered” by CEFC.
Since this denial shows the
absolute need for an audit
at least like the previous
SG did of Ng Lap Seng's
groups, please state why the
SG has not even begun such
an audit. On December 6 you
were asked about SG Guterres
refusing to answer Inner
City Press' question about
the US v. Ho verdict, you
said only that the UN
“cooperated.” But CEFC is
still in ECOSOC, without
even the audit the previous
SG did of Ng Lap Seng's
groups (on which, South
South News' Francis Lorenzo
is reportedly back at UN
event - I repeat my request
for information about the
ability of those who pleaded
guilty to enter the UN, not
on any BARRED list, while
the Press is on. This is
also a request for any SG
comment on indictment for
charity fraud of Robin
DiMaggio, who appeared in UN
Press Briefing Room with
Lorenzo). The question is,
explain why SG Guterres who
was asked (by Inner City
Press) in January 2018 has
STILL not even started an
audit of a NGO still in the
UN which not only paid cash
bribes but also offered
weapons for oil to a long
time ruler. Please answer
and explain this. Inner City
Press published a text
message in which
UN-accredited NGO China
Energy Fund Committee's
Patrick Ho texted the offer
he'd make to Chad's Deby:
“$200 million up front plus
some arms & renminbi
discount loans.” This is the
UN NGO that SG Guterres has
refused to audit: offering
arms. Again, another exhibit
made part of the record
shows the head of UN
accredited NGO China Energy
Fund Committee planning to
help violate Iran sanctions.
Inner City Press has
published the CEFC email.
What now is the SG's comment
and action on a still UN
accredited NGO not only
offering weapons to Chad's
Deby and others, but moving
to violate Iran sanctions?
Also, a wiretapped audio was
played in which Patrick Ho
of still accredited CEFC
plotted with Sheri Yan who
pleaded guilty about bribing
PGA John Ashe (RIP). Given
that there WAS an audit of
some of the bribing of Ashe,
why has SG Guterres done no
audit of Patrick Ho, and
payments to PGAs Jeremic and
Kutesa? Also, it was
described how PGA Kutesa
went to Hong Kong and made
CEFC's Ye Jianming a special
consultant or adviser to the
office of the UN PGA. Given
what else has come out at
the trial - offers of
weapons by CEFC as well as
bribery evidence - what did
UN DSS observe on that trip
and do afterward? What are
the duties of UN DSS
officers? Also an exhibit
was shown of Patrick Ho's
entries into the UN, showing
that the UN keeps such
information. This is a
request for that information
with regard not only to Ho
but also Kutesa after he was
PGA, Francis Lorenzo, Carlos
Garcia and Cary Yan. On Nov
29 Cheikh Gadio admitted to
filing false joint tax
returns with this spouse,
the UN's Resident
Representative in Equatorial
Guinea. Please immediately
state whether she informed
the UN of false tax returns,
what rules apply to such
legal violations, and her
current status. Again, on
Nov 28 there was more
testimony about how UN
accredited NGO China Energy
Fund Committee offered
Chad's Deby not only $2
million in cash in gift
boxes, but also tanks and
surveillance equipment.
Beyond the other questions
from Inner City Press about
this UN scandal you have
refused to answer, please
explain what actions have
been taken on the pitching
of weapons and bribes inside
the UN building, where
Patrick Ho routinely met UN
Secretariat officials, where
Gadio made this pitch to
Deby - at a “high level”
meeting about CAR, no less
and where UN Security
witness much of this and
apparently did nothing (but
now bans Inner City Press
from entering to report).
Again, what is the duty of
UN Secretary and Secretariat
staff when they witness such
wrongdoing?
December 21-27: Again and
more specifically, given the
UN NGO CEFC offered weapons
to Chad (and Libya and South
Sudan), what is the SG's
comment and action on that
and on that Uganda defied a
European Union arms embargo
and purchased arms and
ammunition from at least
three EU members — Bulgaria,
Romania and Slovakia — that
were then transferred to
South Sudan’s military and
armed allies in Sudan before
the United Nations Security
Council imposed an arms
embargo on Juba in July this
year?
December 21-28: On OHCHR,
please confirm or deny that
Deputy Kate Gilmore is
leaving and if so, state if
the recruitment will involve
a public posting of vacancy,
interviews and a short list.
December 21-29: On Kenya,
what is the SG's and
separately RC Chatterjee's
comment on Miguna Miguna
having been illegally
deported to Canada and
“tortured,” and the court
awarded of $70,000 damages
because of it?
December 21-30: On
harassment and UNAIDS, does
the SG believe that Mr
Sidibe offering to resign in
June 2019 is accountability
enough? Relatedly, is ICSC
head Kingston Rhodes ending
today at 5, after a 2 pm
farewell party,
accountability enough?
Please confirm receipt of
the request to lift his
immunity - and state the
reason for not granting it.
December 21-31: Please state
if Sarah Clarke, insulted by
Malta diplomat at the
Marrakesh meetings, is a UN
consultant, if she has made
a complaint to Andrew
Gilmour, and again why Inner
City Press was barred from
the Human Rights Day event
with no due process.
December 21-32: On Gabon,
during the disappearance of
and now controversy around
Ali Bongo, what has the SG
and separately envoy Chambas
said or done? What is the
SG's comment and action on
that a nationwide strike is
under way in Gabon where
workers are calling for
recent changes to the
constitution to be reversed.
"We don't know exactly who
is in charge of Gabon today.
Let the president speak out
and reassure the Gabonese
people," said Louis Patrick
Mombo, of trade union
alliance Gabon Dynamique
Unitaire. President Ali
Bongo, 59, has been out of
the country since October
seeking medical treatment -
first in Saudi Arabia,
followed by Morocco. In his
absence, Gabon's
Constitutional Court has
amended part of the
constitution to allow the
vice-president,
Pierre-Claver Maganga
Moussavou, to hold
ministerial meetings and to
unblock pending cases. But
the trade union alliance
wants the president of the
Senate to act as interim
president, which is what the
constitution specified
before it was amended.
December 20-29: Why has the
SG not acting on the UNAIDS
report? What is his response
to the widespread harassment
and retaliation systemwide
shown in the CCISUA survey?
December 21-33: Please
immediately explain -- as
you did not yesterday or the
day before - and justify the
message from OHCHR about
DSS, including in light of
your Office's statement that
no one there has used the
term lifetime ban, and I
have never been given a
hearing or right to appeal -
and in light of NYPD's
statement to Inner City
Press under FOIL that “Upon
conferral with the NYPD
Intelligence Division, it
was confirmed by UN security
that the list of “banned”
individuals to which you
refer in your request is an
internal UN record.” How can
the UN have a secret BARRED
list on which anyone the SG
or USG wants to put on, is
put on, without any notice,
hearing or appeal? This must
be answered.
From: New York OHCHR
<newyork@ohchr.org>
Date: Fri, Dec 7, 2018 at
6:39 PM
Subject: Human Rights Day
event on Monday, 10
December, 3pm - your access
To: innercitypress
<innercitypress@gmail.com>
Dear Matthew,
We have received
notification from UN
Security that your name was
flagged as "BARRED" on the
list we submitted for passes
for Monday's event (3pm,
ECOSOC Chamber).
We will therefore not have a
pass for you and are unable
to facilitate entry.
Thank you for your interest
and best regards,
OHCHR New York Office
December 21-34: As asked
since November 8 and now
further specified: I am
informed that the SG's
spokesman has selectively
contacted some of those
(from Europe) raising
questions about the UN 3
July 2018 Press ouster and
ban since and urged watching
my Periscope broadcasts
“outside of the SG’s
residence” - as if those
stand-ups, across Sutton
Place from this $15 million
mansion, are not covered by
free press principles and
claimed among other things
that Inner City Press
improperly filmed on the 4th
floor. Since MALU told me I
could film on the 4th floor
without an escort or minder,
this is a request that you
immediately provide the
information requested
yesterday and the specifics
of the incidents the
Spokesman has referred to,
and that you state in what
capacity Antonio Guterres'
spokesman undertook these
communications.
I specifically ask you to
explain the statement that “
I have responsibility to
make sure that my staff is
safe” - which is precisely
what the US Administration
is saying regarding the CNN
reporter who's six day ban
they are now being sued for.
NEW: Please provide the
SG's, and separately that of
his spokesman (formerly
Helen Clark's spokesman) to
Helen Clark's statement
yesterday across 1st Ave
from the UN about
journalists being excluded
“across the road.”
The precise quote - there is
video - is “shrinking space
for journalism” including
“exclusion of journalists
from some forums, including
across the road”
What is the basis of the
SG's ongoing ban of Inner
City Press, without due
process, possibility of
appeal or timeline?
Now that the Trump
Administration has given CNN
time (44 hours) to response
to their re-suspension, and
has lifted the suspension,
please explain why the UN
did not and has not provided
even that amount of time or
due process - and
immediately provide it,
readmitting Inner City Press
in the interim to the noon
briefing and SG and GA
proceedings.
More specifically, please
immediately explain how Mr.
Dujarric's statement that
“press credentials to work
at the UN, just like any
other institution, is a
'privilege'” is different in
any way that the position
taken by the Trump
Administration in response
to the CNN lawsuit. Now that
the Federal judiciary has
ruled that access to the
White House is not, as OSSG
Dujarric has claimed, a
privilege but a right, this
is a FORMAL REQUEST THAT THE
SG LIFT MIS-USED LEGAL
IMMUNITY IN THIS CASE.
This is a request that
immunity lifted- and that
you explain and document, or
withdraw, Mr. Dujarric's
statement that “Over the
last couple of years, he
continuously harassed my
staff.”
Given his vague allusions to
hostile environment, please
explain why he and the UN
have done nothing whether
some correspondents were
shouted down by Dujarric's
favorites, were elbowed at
the UNSC stakeout, etc -
clearly the concern about
environment is selective and
a pretext, to be address by
communication not roughing
and and banning including no
due process inclusion on a
withheld “banned from the
UN” list and even targeting
for attempted ouster as from
the Park East Synagogue on
Oct 31.
Since even the Spokesman's
false claims do not justify
banning me from the noon
briefing now for 128 days
this is a formal request
that beginning Nov 13 I be
allowed - escorted if you
see fit - to enter to attend
and ask questions at the
noon briefing on, for
example, Sri Lanka, Burundi
and the UN Budget, which the
Spokesman purports to
respect my right to do.
There is no allegation that
at any noon briefing I
caused any of the
Spokesman's unnamed sources
to feel “unsafe.”
Ironically, I was covering
the Budget Committee when I
was roughed up by UN
Security on July 3. For
re-entry to noon briefing
and to the General Assembly
and other events in the UN
to which the SG has no right
at all to ban me -- even the
US administration is not
blocking the CNN reporter
from entering Congress -- my
application to MALU in early
September was never acted on
- MALU is being cc-ed here -
and should now be approved
and access restored in light
of the contents of the
Spokesman's communications.
Immediately.
December 21-35: While you
refused to answer on Nov 15
and since, given new
developments at WIPO, again:
three UN Staff Union have
cc-ed Antonio Guterres on
their letter to WIPO's
Francis Gurry opposing his
retaliation against
whistleblower Wei Lei.
Please immediately confirm
the SG's receipt of the
letter and what is his
comment and action - and
what is the SG's comment and
action on Wei Lei's request
that Gurry be suspended.
December 7-1: Given the SG's
claims of zero tolerance,
what is his response to the
belatedly made public UNAIDS
Independent Expert Panel
report which says, for
example, “1. GOVERNANCE: The
UNAIDS Secretariat is
governed in a way that has
produced a vacuum of
accountability. 2.
LEADERSHIP: The Executive
Director of the UNAIDS
Secretariat has created a
patriarchal culture
tolerating harassment and
abuse of authority and in
his interviews with the
Panel he accepted no
responsibility for actions
and effects of decisions and
practices creating the
conditions that led to this
review”? [By 2 pm, no answer
- but in the briefing
Dujarric backed Sidibe,
pointing to Sidibe's press
release about what he "WILL
continue to do, see here.]
December 7-2: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the continued
incarceration, now through
at least January 10, of
those illegally refouled
from Abuja, Nigeria in the
same time frame the DSG was
there? Is the UN monitoring
the (military) “trial”?
Beyond the many unanswered
questions, please state the
last date on which envoy
Francois Fall visited the
country, and separately
spoke with its officials
about the situation in the
NW and SW, and what was
accomplished. Also, the SG's
comment on and view of
Cameroon being stripped of
the 2018 African Cup of
Nations football tournament
as related not only to
mismanagement but also the
government's violence
against Anglophones.
December 7-3: On DRC, please
confirm the receipt of this
letter critical of the
credibility of the UN's
data, and provide UN's
response: Aid agencies
working in the Democratic
Republic of Congo have
accused the United Nations
of manipulating data ahead
of elections to give an
overly positive impression
of the situation in a
country beset by conflict
and disease. They say new
figures from the U.N.
humanitarian agency that
show a large drop in the
number of displaced people
are misleading, accusing it
of bowing to government
pressure before a
presidential election
scheduled for December 23.
“Overall humanitarian needs
have risen during 2018
rather than decreased,” a
group representing about 45
humanitarian agencies said
in a letter to the U.N
December 6-1: On Burundi, on
which you have been refusing
to respond to Inner City
Press' written questions,
please immediately confirm
or deny that Burundi has
asked the UN system to
decrease its human rights
presence (The Burundi
government has ordered the
United Nations Human Rights
Council to shut its office
in the country within two
months), and state the SG's
view and response.
Also, what is the UN's
comment on the reporting
about the Nkurunziza
government's “torture
house”?
December 6-2: In light of
the SG's stated concern
about and even “zero
tolerance” for sexual
harassment in the UN system,
please immediately confirm
that the SG has refused to
lift the immunity of the
head of the ICSC and explain
how this is consistent with
the SG's claims.
December 6-3: On Togo on
which you have been refusing
to respond to Inner City
Press' written questions,
now what is the SG's comment
and action on that Togo's
government has banned a
series of planned opposition
protests, saying the marches
posed a security risk. A
coalition of 14 opposition
parties announced earlier
this week that they would
boycott a parliamentary
election planned for 20
December and instead try to
stop the electoral process.
Coalition coordinator
Brigitte Adjamagbo Johnson
told local radio that there
are no grounds for the ban
and they intend carry on
with the protest? Again,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that the campaign
for the parliamentary
elections starts today in
Togo. The election is
scheduled for December 20,
but the opposition has
already announced that it
will not participate. The
opposition also boycotted
the National Assembly last
week, during debates about
the proposed constitutional
reform?
December 6-4: On Morocco,
does the SG believe or not
believe that the Casablanca
Court of Appeals should
consider evidence that the
police tortured the
defendants when it reviews
the convictions of
protesters and activists
from the Rif region?
December 4-2:
On the Philippines, as Inner
City Press asked you Nov 12
without answer, what is the
SG's comment and action on
the tax charged and now
arrest warrant against Maria
Ressa of The Rappler?
December 4-4:
Again and more specifically,
given the UN NGO CEFC
offered weapons to Chad (and
Libya and South Sudan), what
is the SG's comment and
action on that and on that
Uganda defied a
European Union arms embargo
and purchased arms and
ammunition from at least
three EU members — Bulgaria,
Romania and Slovakia — that
were then transferred to
South Sudan’s military and
armed allies in Sudan before
the United Nations Security
Council imposed an arms
embargo on Juba in July this
year?
December 3-1:
On Sri Lanka, Inner City
Press has asked you
repeatedly for updates on
what the UN is doing. Now,
please confirm that DPA's
Mari Yamashita visited Sri
Lanka, with whom she met and
what was accomplished.
December 3-2:
On Cameroon, beyond the many
unanswered questions, please
state the last date on which
envoy Francois Fall visited
the country, and separately
spoke with its officials
about the situation in the
NW and SW, and what was
accomplished. Also, the SG's
comment on and view of
Cameroon being stripped of
the 2018 African Cup of
Nations football tournament
as related not only to
mismanagement but also the
government's violence
against Anglophones.
December 3-3:
Please immediately provide
read out of SG's talks with
Saudi MBS, Jamaica PM,
Poland President, and list
and read-out other meetings.
November 30-2:
Given the UN NGO CEFC
offered weapons to Chad (and
Libya and South Sudan), what
is the SG's comment and
action on that and on that
Uganda helped funnel
European arms and ammunition
to South Sudan at the height
of its civil war,
circumventing a European
Union arms embargo on the
East African country?
November 30-3: On Cameroon,
beyond the many unanswered
questions, what is the SG's
comment and action on that
ten leaders who were
[illegally refouled] from
Nigeria earlier this year
will face trial next month
on terrorism charges that
could lead to the death
penalty, one of their
lawyers said after a court
hearing on Tuesday. Among
them is Sisuku Julius Ayuk
Tabe. Mr Tabe and his
co-defendants have been
charges with 10 offences,
including terrorism,
advocating terrorism,
secession, civil war and
revolution.
November 29-2:
On Haiti (and Brazil) please
today state what the UN ever
did to investigate and hold
any of its peacekeepers
accountable for its “Iron
Fist” massacre in Haiti in
which Brazilian general
named Augusto Heleno led
hundreds of United Nations
troops into a Haitian slum
to bring a powerful gangster
to heel. Over the course of
a seven-hour gun battle, the
peacekeepers sprayed more
than 22,000 bullets into the
impoverished Port-au-Prince
neighborhood of Cite Soleil.
The operation, dubbed “Iron
Fist,” was call a
“massacre,” alleging dozens
of bystanders were killed in
the crossfire, many of them
women and children. What did
the UN do?
November 29-3:
On Nigeria, again, what are
the SG's and separately
DSG's comments and action on
that one hundred and thirty
nine policemen who recently
returned from the United
Nations peace-keeping
mission in Mali, have
accused the Nigeria Police
Force of unjustly
withholding their
allowances. The Nigerian
Police personnel were part
of the UN Police Unit which
served in Timbuktu from
October 2017 to September,
2018. They also took part in
police duties during the
Malian presidential
elections in July?
November 29-6: On the UN
system retaliation case
Inner City Press has asked
you in writing about without
answer, what is the SG's
comment and action now that
The World Intellectual
Property Organisation has
temporarily suspended CIO
and whistleblower Wei Lei as
it probes allegations of
misconduct made against him?
November 29-7: On DRC,
beyond the FARDC vetting and
other questions you have
refused to answer, please
immediately disclose and
describe any and all
dealings by the UN with Jean
de Dieu Mambweni or any
military units he has been
affiliated with.
November 29-8: On the UN
Women corruption questions
you are refusing to answer,
this is a formal request for
the SG's comment and action
on this too, from
whistleblowers of the type
the UN has retaliated
against in Somalia as
elsewhere: “Ms. Izeduwa flew
two participants, one of
them from New York to Maputo
in Mozambique to make a
fifteen minutes presentation
to the shock of UN Women
staff who had accompanied
her.”
November 28-1:
In US v Ho yesterday (Nov
27) in the SDNY there was
more testimony about the
money the UN took from CEFC
for its “sustainable
development” award. Please
state what happened with the
money the UN took in 2017
which Inner City Press asked
about in November 2017,
before being roughed up and
banned apparently for life.
Also Vuk Jeremic testified
about his meeting with CEFC
while PGA, including in
Trump World Tower. Please
state what UN DSS does, did
or is expected to do if they
witness illegality by an
official they protect. Also,
Gadio testified that UN
funder CEFC offered
“military equipment” to
Chad. What is the SG's
comment and action on a UN
accredited NGO brokering
wepons? Still UN answered:
it was said that still UN
accredited NGO CEFC was used
to bribe PGA Kutesa and
other UN officials including
John Ashe. Given that even
Ban Ki-moon audited the
bribery of Ashe by Ng Lap
Seng well before his
conviction, explain why
Antonio Guterres has not
audited Ho's / CEFC's
alleged bribery of Ashe and
Kutesa (among others). In
terms of yesterday's canned
response, please confirm you
are claiming the UN has made
available thousands of
documents in US v Ho, or
whether you were referring
to US v Ng Lap Seng. And
again, given that access was
provided to Ng at Cipriani
42nd Street, what safeguards
are in place this is not
repeated with SG Guterres on
5 December 2018.
November 28-4:
On Uganda, what has the SG
said or done about the
army's attack on Rwenzururu
that killed over 100
civilians including 15
children? No arrests
of military actors have been
announced, and the
operation's commander was
promoted. The country's
leadership was described in
detail in US v Ho as
soliciting and accepting
bribes through the UN. What
is the SG doing?
November 28-5:
On CAR, what is the SG's
comment and action on that
“Central African bishop
condemns inaction by UN
peacekeepers While burnings,
killings and thefts were
committed, the U.N.
peacekeepers did nothing,
said Bishop Nestor-Désiré
Nongo-Aziagbia of
Bossangoa”?
November 28-9:
On Liberia, given the UN's
long time role there (and
DSG's recent speech without
questions in The Bronx),
what are the SG's and
separately DSG's comments
and action on that Liberia's
House of Representatives has
ordered the arrest of the
journalist who broke the
news about the alleged
disappearance of more than
$100m-worth (£76m) of newly
printed bank notes intended
for the central bank?
November 28-10:
On Nigeria what are the SG's
and separately DSG's
comments and action on that
some Nigerian UN
peacekeepers who served in
Mali have cried out over
ill-treatment they allegedly
experience from the hands of
the police force - The
policemen claimed that they
were short changed and that
their allowances were
withheld by the force - They
also alleged that their
military counterparts who
served alongside with them
in Mali were paid their
allowances in full The
Nigerian Police Force (NPF)
has been accused of holding
on to the allowances of
about 139 officers who
recently returned from the
United Nations (UN)
peacekeeping mission in
Mali.
November 28-12:
On Togo, what is the comment
and action of the SG and
Chambas (yesterday's DPI
question unanswered) on that
The main opposition
coalition in Togo said on
Monday it will boycott
December 20 general
elections and call for
further protests over what
it alleged was a
"fraudulent" poll. "We're
not going to give our
blessing to this masquerade
being prepared," a
co-ordinator in the
coalition, Brigitte
Adjamagbo-Johnson, told
local radio?
November 27-1: In US v Ho
yesterday in the SDNY it was
said that still UN
accredited NGO CEFC was used
to bribe PGA Kutesa and
other UN officials including
John Ashe. Given that even
Ban Ki-moon audited the
bribery of Ashe by Ng Lap
Seng well before his
conviction, explain why
Antonio Guterres has not
audited Ho's / CEFC's
alleged bribery of Ashe and
Kutesa (among others). In
terms of yesterday's canned
response, please confirm you
are claiming the UN has made
available thousands of
documents in US v Ho, or
whether you were referring
to US v Ng Lap Seng. And
again, given that access was
provided to Ng at Cipriani
42nd Street, what safeguards
are in place this is not
repeated with SG Guterres on
5 December 2018.
November 27-2: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's comment and
action on the killing by
government forces, of Kenyan
priest Cosmas Omboto Ondari,
Vicar of the St Martin of
Tours Parish in Kembong,
Mamfe, now what Kenya's FM
Principal Secretary Macharia
Kamau has demanded answers
from the Biya government?
What is the UN's knowledge
of and action on the alleged
use of chemical weapons (!)
in Bali in Cameroon?
November 27-3: On Burundi,
beyond the question entirely
unanswered from yesterday
(“what is the SG's comment
and action on the arrest and
imprisonment of retired
military figures on trumped
up charges regarding
assassination 25 years
ago?”) what is the SG saying
or doing about human rights
defender Germain Rukuki who
was arrested on 13 July 2017
in the capital Bujumbura and
charged on 1 August 2017 -
and sentenced to 32 YEARS.
The charges were based on
his former affiliation with
the anti-torture
organization, ACAT-Burundi,
which was suspended in the
latter part of 2015 and
permanently closed in
October 2016?
November 27-4: On Egypt,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that “Egypt has
created a new high-powered
human rights watchdog
agency, but its primary
mission isn't to protect
Egyptians from violations.
Instead, the body is
foremost aimed at protecting
the government from
allegations of rights abuses
and defending it on the
international stage”?
November 27-5: Please
immediately confirm or deny
that UN Women's Ms. Izeduwa
Derex-Briggs kept a publicly
funded vehicle in Nairobi
that she allowed her
daughter to drive around,
that the ED of UN Women
called her “my warrior” to
those complaining of abuse
from her and when she (the
ED) visited Somalia she did
not pay for her
accommodation and left a
national staffer, the
operations manager, to do
so, and that Ms. Izeduwa
Derex-Briggs of UN Women, on
a retreat in Zanzibar,
requested (and separately
took) DSA while seeking to
stay for free in a less
expensive hotel other
staffers were in, and took
DSA for her daughter while
she stayed at her house in
Nairobi. Immediately explain
why Izeduwa Derex-Briggs is
reportedly forcing staff to
write/sign a letter of
support for her.
November 27-7: In contrast
to the roughing up and
banning - for life? - from
the UN of independent Press,
please today provide an
explanation of the below,
including all costs and
whether these “partnership”
are only for state
governments, which other
ones have been signed and
where this mandate comes
from: “
The United Nations (UN) has
engaged Anambra State
Government in a media
partnership aimed to further
strengthen the cordial
relationship between the
state and the United Nations
(UN) system in Nigeria.
Naija News understands that
Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the
special representative of
António Guterres, the UN
Secretary-General, made this
known while speaking at the
official handover ceremony
which held at Awka.
He said he was delighted to
add his voice to the
on-going efforts of the
United Nations to reach the
world’s farthest through
media partnership.
“The UN Media Partners
initiative of the UN News
and Media Division (NMD),
Department of Public
Information, New York, tells
the UN’s story through
television, radio and the
Internet, working together
with partners in the media
worldwide to raise awareness
of the UN’s goals and
highlight its successes,” he
said.
He emphasised that the
United Nations (UN) goals
are people’s goals, adding
that its successes are
people’s successes, and no
doubt, peoples’ goals,
aspirations and successes
are also United Nations’.
“If Anambra State, Nigeria,
for instance, records a
significant success in any
of the SDGs, that is a
success story that will
interest the UN News and
Media Division. With this
partnership, we can jointly
document how partnership
between the UN and the
Anambra State government is
impacting lives and changing
the narratives of poverty,
health delivery, quality
education, innovation as
well as safe and sustainable
environment, among others.”
He added, “today, I have
with me the Media
Partnership Agreement
between the United Nations
headquarters, New York and
the Anambra State
Government, represented by
the Anambra State
Broadcasting Services
(ABS).”
November 26-1:
On Cameroon, what is the
SG's comment and action on
the killing by government
forces, of Kenyan priest
Cosmas Omboto Ondari, Vicar
of the St Martin of Tours
Parish in Kembong, Mamfe,
now what Kenya's FM
Principal Secretary Macharia
Kamau has demanded answers
from the Biya government?
What is the UN's knowledge
of and action on the alleged
use of chemical weapons (!)
in Bali in Cameroon?
November 26-3:
As asked November 23 without
any answer at all, please
immediately state where SG
Guterres has been since
November 21, how much it has
so far cost the UN budget /
public, including in light
of the Spokesman's response
on Nov 21 that the SG would
be “scrolling his email” and
in the context of officials
such as previous host city
Mayor and now UN official
Bloomberg disclosing when he
was out of town and where -
and of SG Guterres now
reported role in demanding
Erik Solheim “pull himself,
now” for just such
undisclosed personal travel?
November 26-4:
Relatedly, what is the SG's
comment on / justification
of, and action on, the
travel of Jorge Chediek,
Director of the UN Office
for South-South Cooperation
who spent over $81,300 in
public funds on travel in
2017. Now in 2018 he has
spent in excess of $82,500
on travel by November:
JORGE CHEDIEK,
UN Office for South-South
Cooperation
Benin $ 5,390.00 $ 509.04
Switzerland $ 2,450.00 $
1,272.00
Thailand $ 3,140.00 $ 975.53
Turkey - Kazakhstan $
4,500.00 $ 1,091.24
Kenya $ 4,740.00 $ 1,210.72
China $ 5,270.00 $ 673.40
Brazil $ 5,950.00 $ 505.76
Argentina $ 3,520.00 $
1,230.00
China - India $ 9,045.10 $
1,420.90
Argentina $ 4,053.00 $
1,168.32
France $ 2,424.50 $ 1,313.68
Germany $ 2,315.00 $
1,030.00
Brazil $ 2,672.10 $ 815.50
Turkey $ 2,722.00 $ 363.00
Bangladesh - Hong Kong $
7,800.00 $ 1,771.48
Hawaii $ 2,848.00 $ 337.80
Egypt - France $ 3,976.90 $
2,283.00
Brazil $ 2,747.60 $ 822.17
Argentina $ 5,053.70 $
909.52
Portugal - Spain $ 3,832.01
$ 1,698.16
Cuba $ 342.70 $ 848.94
South Africa $ 7,424.50 $
710.39
China $ 5,429.00 $ 1,307.21
France - Norway $ 1,912.71 $
1,603.60
Thailand $ 6,326.00 $
1,262.83
Egypt $ 5,650.00 $ 983.92
India $ 3,882.21 $ 763.68
Iran - UAE $ 4,815.13 $
1,146.72
Switzerland - Italy $
4,914.83 $ 1,311.96
Brazil $ 2,481.31
Poland 4,671.63
November 26-5: Please
immediately confirm or deny
that when the ED of UN Women
visited Somalia she did not
pay for her accommodation
and left a national staffer,
the operations manager, to
do so, and that Ms. Izeduwa
Derex-Briggs of UN Women, on
a retreat in Zanzibar,
requested (and separately
took) DSA while seeking to
stay for free in a less
expensive hotel other
staffers were in, and took
DSA for her daughter while
she stayed at her house in
Nairobi. Immediately explain
why Izeduwa
Derex-Briggs is reportedly
forcing staff to write/sign
a letter of support for her.
November 26-7: On this the
day the UN bribery trial of
Ho / China Energy Fund
Committee / PGA Kutesa
begins, please immediately
provide the UN's read out of
the DSG's meeting Nov 22
with China's FM, and
separately state where the
increasingly reported issue
of Chinese (government
aligned) NGO bribery in the
UN was discussed. Relatedly,
again, what safeguards are
in place for the SG's
appearance, for which money
is being charged, to ensure
that the (Ng Lap Seng)
pattern does not repeat
itself on the evening of
December 5, 2018.
November 26-8: What is the
comment and action of the
SG, and separate USG
Lacroix, to the report over
the weekend from Austria
that "the scandal could be
much larger - officers
unpack the fact that in
2013, infidelity and abuse
of office were in the room.
"I was shocked by the abuses
in the camp," says an
officer of the "Krone". He
was at Camp Naqoura,
headquarters of the UN
peacekeeping mission in
Lebanon. There would have
been no original bills, a
canteen was operated against
all the rules privately, a
lady with dubious profession
on taxpayers' costs was
employed. He had sounded the
alarm with his superiors,
but was labeled as a
troublemaker and sent back
to his homeland.
A colleague also reported
similar: "That the damage to
the taxpayer is so high,
could have been safely
prevented." He had also
pointed to security
problems: So were Austrian
UN soldiers in the crisis
area for wine tasting and
drove in intelligence
service cars to football
matches, which is actually
forbidden."
November 23-1: On DRC,
please immediately confirm
or deny that the UN has
suspended any of its
peacekeeping operations in
Semliki, and separate state
who in the UN vetted the
3302 Regiment of the FARDC
and if any safeguards were
put in place regarding human
rights violations.
November 23-2: On Cameroon
what is the SG's comment and
action on the murder, by
government forces, of Kenyan
priest Cosmas Omboto Ondari,
Vicar of the St Martin of
Tours Parish in Kembong,
Manyu, and what follow up
the SG / UN even did on the
murder of missionary Charles
Wesco.
November 23-3: Please
immediately state where SG
Guterres is, how much it is
costing the UN budget /
public, including in light
of the Spokesman's response
on Nov 21 that the SG would
be “scrolling his email” and
in the context of officials
such as previous host city
Mayor and now UN official
Bloomberg disclosing when he
was out of town and where.
November 23-5: Again, what
is the SG's response to
India's Permanent
Representative Syed
Akbaruddin saying yesterday
that forcing troops in UN
operations to function
without sufficient resources
"is setting us all up for a
tragedy.... it is obvious
that the size and scale of
UN deployment are
insufficient for the tasks
entrusted” and that He also
criticized the practice of
some troop contributing
countries placing
restrictions on how their
peacekeepers can be
deployed, saying the
practice should end, and
adding: "This results in
unfair work distribution
among various troops on the
ground and thereby affect
the missions' performance”?
November 21-1: On Cameroon
please explain why your
Office announced / tweet it
would address human rights
in Cameroon yesterday - and
then didn't, and didn't
answer Inner City Press'
questions on Cameroon. In
terms of the OHCHR statement
issued this morning in
Geneva, please state what
the UN's estimate of killing
by security forces in NW and
SW Cameroon in September and
October (and month to date
November) is, and why only
six are listed in the Geneva
statement. Also, what is the
SG's statement? And action?
November 21-2: What is the
comment and action of the
SG, and separately of USG
Lacroix, to this state
statement: “The attention of
Defence Headquarters of the
Gambia Armed Forces, has
been drawn to a circulation
on social media, of a
purported siphoning of
peacekeeping funds by the
leadership of the Gambia
Armed Forces (GAF). The same
medium also further alleged
that personnel of GAF
currently serving in Darfur,
are engaged in sexual
misconduct. These
allegations are completely
false and clearly a mischief
intended to misinform, cause
disaffection and blackmail
the Armed Forces”?
November 21-3: On Haiti,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that “at least
eight deaths have been
reported in clashes between
protesters and police since
the protests began on
Sunday. Demonstrators have
demanded that the president
resign for not investigating
allegations of corruption.”
November 21-4: Following on
Mr Solheim's resignation
yesterday, how was his
travel different in kind
than that of the SG, with 16
trips to Lisbon in less that
two years? How much has that
cost the public? How is it
different that Mr Steiner
and others in UNDP Inner
City Press has repeatedly
asked you about without
response? Also, what is the
SG's view of the UNEP “Green
Belt Road Initiative”? Is it
going forward? Will the more
than one page of questions
asked by one delegation be
answered?
November 21-5: What is the
SG's comment and action on
that “Police in Zambia have
questioned main opposition
leader Hakainde Hichilema
for alleging that President
Edgar Lungu's administration
had sold a state-run timber
company to a Chinese
company, sparking protests.
"He has been cautioned for
sedition," Ms Katanga said.”
November 20-4: AGAIN - On
sexual exploitation and
abuse and the new charges
against Cameroonian
peacekeepers in CAR put
online yesterday, please now
provide all further if-asked
information about these
abuses, as for example you
did when asked in person by
those not banned from the
previous briefing about the
Nigerian peacekeeper(s).
November 20-6: On Nigeria,
what is the comment and
action of the SG, and
separately of the DSG, on
that Nigerian Acting
Director of Defence
Information, Brigadier
General John Agim, who
stated this in Kaduna on
Monday, said AI deliberately
spread falsehood against the
Nigerian armed forces in
order to dampen the morale
of troops engaged in
counter-insurgency
operations (Agim briefed
journalists at Headquarters,
1 Division Nigerian Army in
Kaduna on Operation Whirl
Punch)?
November 19-1: On DRC,
please immediately state how
many UN system personnel
have been withdrawn from
Beni and explain the
discrepancy between what WHO
(and a former MONUSCO
spokesman) say ("#RDC
According to the #Beni
press, 45 UN staff,
including 17 #PAM, 19 WHO
and 9 UNICEF executives have
left Beni for temporary
re-deployment in Goma. This
comes 24 hours after the
attack of the Battalion base
of Malawi #MONUSCO Beni.")
and Mr Lacroix's “"The whole
of UN, WHO-led operations
against Ebola continue in
and around Béni, with strong
support of MONUSCO which is
reinforcing protection in
Béni & carrying out
operations against armed
groups."
November 19-2: Further on Mr
Lacroix and DRC, since I was
banned from attending his
Nov 16 press conference,
please immediately state
which FARDC units the Malawi
and Tanzania FIB forces were
working with and how they
were vetted.
November 19-6: Given your
Nov 16 answer at 5 pm about
Canada, please immediatley
respond to this: “Defence
Minister Harjit Sajjan said
he has not been asked by the
United Nations to extend
Canada’s peacekeeping
mission in Mali, which is
set to end in July.Despite
reports that Canada is
resisting a
behind-the-scenes UN request
to extend the Mali
deployment, Sajjan told CTV
Question Period host Evan
Solomon that while he keeps
in regular contact with the
UN Secretary General, he has
yet to be asked to extend
the mission in the war-torn
West African country. “I
have not been asked by the
United Nations,” Sajjan
said.
November 16- 1: In DRC, what
is the SG's comment and
action on that police in the
Democratic Republic of Congo
have shot dead two students
during protests in the
capital, Kinshasa. On Monday
students at Kinshasa
University held a
demonstration calling for
classes to resume as
lecturers were on strike
over pay?
November 16- 2: On Mali,
please confirm or deny that
(1) Canada's deployment on
medevac and otherwise ends
in July; separately (2) that
Canada has indicated it will
leave in July; (3) that
Romania might replace, but
not until October, and (4)
what the UN intends to do
for wounded peacekeepers
between those dates.
November 16- 3: It is
reported that on the day the
SG was at UNESCO in Paris,
Nov 12, UN Security
physically removed people
from a speech by Colombia's
president Duque, apparently
using a list that was not
made public. What is the
SG's comment and action on
this, and this is again a
request that the UN
immediately disclose its
list of banned or barred
individuals from the UN and
how a journalist can be put
on it without due process,
any hearing or appeal.
November 15-2: Yesterday in
Federal SDNY court it was
again formally stated that
still UN accredited NGO CEFC
operated in brokering
weapons with respect not
only to Chad but also Libya,
Qatar and South Sudan. While
there are many other
questions, please state how
given the level of civilian
death in/by these SG Antonio
Guterres has not even
commissioned an audit into
CEFC's activities in the UN,
which included bribing PGA
John Ashe as well as the PGA
Kutesa charges.
November 15-4: On Gabon,
what is the SG's (and
separately Mr Fall's /
UNOCA's) comment and action
on the move that many
consider unconstitutional to
continue to leave unresolved
the health and governing
status of Ali Bongo? What is
the UN's understanding of if
or when he would return?
What is the SG's awareness
and engagement, if any, in
this?
November 15-5: Three UN
Staff Union have cc-ed
Antonio Guterres on their
letter to WIPO's Francis
Gurry opposing his
retaliation against
whistleblower Wei Lei.
Please immediately confirm
the SG's receipt of the
letter and what is his
comment and action
(including but not limited
to in the context that I
understand the UNCG meeting
in Tokyo included the issued
of leakers /
whistleblowers).
November 15- 7: Please
provide a video, transcript
or prepared remarks for
these presentations,
prepared with public funds:
“On 13 November 2018, UNU
will host “A Matter of
Facts: Communicating the
Work of the UN in a
Post-truth Era”, a
conversation with with
Alison Smale, UN
Under-Secretary-General for
Global Communications, and
Stéphane Dujarric,
Spokesperson for UN
Secretary-General António
Guterres. This event will
start at 6:30 p.m. at UNU
Headquarters in Tokyo.The
general public has
unprecedented access to
endless streams of global
news, videos, and images.
Yet despite this
democratisation of
information, it has never
been more difficult to
discern the accuracy and
veracity of the news
deluge.”
November 15- 8: On Morocco,
what is the SG's comment and
action, as he prepared to
head to Morocco in December,
on the 12-year jail sentence
that a Casablanca criminal
court has passed on Taoufiq
Bouachrine, the publisher of
the daily Akhbar al-Youm, on
sexual assault charges that
he has always denied. Many
doubts surround the
verdict...It was expedited
at the prosecution’s
request. Plaintiffs were
pressured by the authorities
and some denied making
complaints against
Bouachrine. One was close to
a government official he had
criticized. And the court
rejected defence requests
for alternative expert
evidence.”
November 14-1: On Sri Lanka,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that “Sri Lanka’s
parliament passed a
no-confidence motion against
newly appointed Prime
Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
on Wednesday, presenting a
standoff with the opposition
and throwing the country
deeper into turmoil.
Deputies from Rajapaksa’s
party rejected the voice
vote as illegal”?
November 14- 2:
Now in Ghana, even the 14
suspended are back on the
job. What is the SG's (and
separately USG Lacroix's)
comment and action on that
“14 Police officers who were
accused of sexual misconduct
in a peacekeeping mission in
South Sudan have been
recalled back into the
service after they were
interdicted. According to a
police internal memo sighted
by Primenewsghana, the
personnel have been recalled
to resume work while
investigations continue.
“This headquarters signal
directs the immediate
lifting of interdiction of
the underlisted personnel,”
the memo said”?
November 14-3:
On Cameroon, what is the
SG's comment and action on
that “teachers’ trade union
of the Anglophone sub system
of education in Cameroon
have frown at the recent
decree of the Head of State
reorganising the Cameroon
General Certificate of
Education Board. In a
memorandum addressed to the
Head of State and signed by
the various leaders of the
five teachers’ trade union,
Paul Biya has been asked to
review his decision which
could be seen as a
dissolution of the
Anglophone sub system of
education. The teachers say
the new text reorganising
the GCE Board does not take
into consideration the April
1998 Law in Cameroon which
lays down guidelines
for education in Cameroon
and took into consideration
the historical reality of
the country which provided
for two-sub systems of
education. Ignoring that law
in the recent text is
grossly abusive to the
Anglophone system of
education, the teachers
said. The teachers also say
the fact that the board has
been charged with organising
not only GCE Examinations
but the Advance Professional
Certificate, a change of
name of the structure would
have been suitbale. They
went further to proposed the
board be called The Cameroon
Anglophone Examination Board
or simply the Cameroon
Examination Board.” Again,
when was Francois Fall last
in Cameroon?
November 14-4: Now that it
is clear that Foreign
Intelligence Surveilance Act
wiretaps show Sheri Yan,
jailed for UN bribery in the
PGA John Ashe case,
communicating and planned
with Patrick Ho of CEFC,
please explain why SG
Antonio Guterres has not
even started an audit into
the range CEFC's bribery and
interactions in the UN, why
it still has access to UN
while Inner City Press which
which pursued Ng Lap Seng's
and Yan's bribery even into
the UN Press Briefing Room
(29 Jan 2016) and the
Patrick Ho / CEFC case, has
been denied access to
anything in the UN for 133
days with no due process.
November 13-1:
On Uganda, what is the SG's
comment and action on that
Police in Uganda have
arrested more than 80
suspects from Bobi Wine's
Kyarenga concert - and on
the government's treatment
of opposition MP Bobi Wine
more generally?
November 13-2: Please state
whether UNMAS was the target
in Gao in Mali and the
results of and response to
the attack.
November 13-3: What is the
SG's comment and action on
the most recent weekend
killings in Beni in DRC and
what is the UN doing to
protect civilians, in light
of MONUSCO's budget?
November 13-4: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's comment and
action on that “teachers’
trade union of the
Anglophone sub system of
education in Cameroon have
frown at the recent decree
of the Head of State
reorganising the Cameroon
General Certificate of
Education Board. In a
memorandum addressed to the
Head of State and signed by
the various leaders of the
five teachers’ trade union,
Paul Biya has been asked to
review his decision which
could be seen as a
dissolution of the
Anglophone sub system of
education. The teachers say
the new text reorganising
the GCE Board does not take
into consideration the April
1998 Law in Cameroon which
lays down guidelines for
education in Cameroon and
took into considderation the
historical reality of the
country which provided for
two-sub systems of
education. Ignoring that law
in the recent text is
grossly abusive to the
Anglophone system of
education, the teachers
said. The teachers also say
the fact that the board has
been charged with organising
not only GCE Examinations
but the Advance Professional
Certificate, a change of
name of the structure would
have been suitbale. They
went further to proposed the
board be called The Cameroon
Anglophone Examination Board
or simply the Cameroon
Examination Board.” Again,
when was Francois Fall last
in Cameroon?
November 13-5: Now that it
is clear that Foreign
Intelligence Surveilance Act
wiretaps show Sheri Yan,
jailed for UN bribery in the
PGA John Ashe case,
communicating and planned
with Patrick Ho of CEFC,
please explain why SG
Antonio Guterres has not
even started an audit into
the range CEFC's bribery and
interactions in the UN, why
it still has access to UN
while Inner City Press which
which pursued Ng Lap Seng's
and Yan's bribery even into
the UN Press Briefing Room
(29 Jan 2016) and the
Patrick Ho / CEFC case, has
been denied access to
anything in the UN for 132
days with no due process.
November 13- 6: As asked
since November 8 and now
further specified: I am
informed that the SG's
spokesman has selectively
contacted some of those
(from Europe) raising
questions about the UN 3
July 2018 Press ouster and
ban since and urged watching
my Periscope broadcasts
“outside of the SG’s
residence” - as if those
stand-ups, across Sutton
Place from this $15 million
mansion, are not covered by
free press principles and
claimed among other things
that Inner City Press
improperly filmed on the 4th
floor. Since MALU told me I
could film on the 4th floor
without an escort or minder,
this is a request that you
immediately provide the
information requested
yesterday and the specifics
of the incidents the
Spokesman has referred to,
and that you state in what
capacity Antonio Guterres'
spokesman undertook these
communications.
I specifically ask you to
explain the statement that “
I have responsibility to
make sure that my staff is
safe” - which is precisely
what the US Administration
is saying regarding the CNN
reporter who's six day ban
they are not being sued for.
This is a request that
immunity lifted.
Given his vague allusions to
hostile environment, please
explain why he and the UN
have done nothing whether
some correspondents were
shouted down by Dujarric's
favorites, were elbowed at
the UNSC stakeout, etc -
clearly the concern about
environment is selective and
a pretext, to be address by
communication not roughing
and and banning including no
due process inclusion on a
withheld “banned from the
UN” list and even targeting
for attempted ouster as from
the Park East Synagogue on
Oct 31.
Since even the Spokesman's
false claims do not justify
banning me from the noon
briefing now for 128 days
this is a formal request
that beginning Nov 13 I be
allowed - escorted if you
see fit - to enter to attend
and ask question at the noon
briefing on, for example,
Sri Lanka, Burundi and the
UN Budget, which the
Spokesman purports to
respect my right to do.
There is no allegation that
at any noon briefing I
caused any of the
Spokesman's unnamed sources
to feel “unsafe.”
Ironically, I was covering
the Budget Committee when I
was roughed up by UN
Security on July 3. For
re-entry to noon briefing,
my application to MALU in
early September was never
acted on - MALU is being
cc-ed here - and should now
be approved and access
restored in light of the
contents of the Spokesman's
communications. Immediately.
***
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