UNITED NATIONS
GATE, February 19
– 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; Dujarric said the same on
camera.
On February 19
before a Dujarric
briefing with his friends
in which
he bragged of
Guterres' supposed
commitment to press
freedom, Inner
City Press submitted 530 questions
"There are more than 300+
questions UNanswered.
While appreciating
and using what was sent on
January 29 after it was
read out in the briefing
room, no answers 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.
While
appreciating the
lone partial
response to Question
Feb 8-8, nothing on
Dec 24 or Dec 26 or
Dec 27 or Dec 28, or
January 2, 3 or 4 or
8 or 9 or 10 or 11
or 14 or 15 or 16 or
17 or 18 or 21 or 22
or 23 or 24 or 25 or
28 - that was
FIFTEEN week-days in
a row, apparently
under orders, then a
simple post-facto
answer. Now what? No
answers on January
30 nor 31 nor
February 1 nor 4 nor
5 nor 6 nor 7 nor 11
nor 12 nor 13 nor 14
or 15 or 18. 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.
February
19-1: On Sudan, what
is the SG's comment
and action on that
on the arbitrary
arrest and detention
of 116 political
activists between
December 2018 and
February 2019 for
their participation
or suspected
involvement in the
ongoing
anti-government
protests. At least
three detainees,
including 1 female
have been subjected
to six-month
detention under the
emergency law in
North Kordofan and
North Darfur states.
Authorities have
targeted opposition
party leaders and
members who are
actively involved in
the ongoing protest.
Many were arrested
during protests and
raids in private
residences and party
houses. Of the
116 political
activists detained,
31 are members of
the Sudanese
communist party, 49
are Baath Arabic
party members and 36
are members of the
Sudanese Congress
party. Again,
confirm or deny SG
meeting (not in
family photo but
hotel) with ICC
indicee
Bashir.
February
19-2: Again, on
sexual abuse and
exploitation,
Cameroon and the
UN's increasing lack
of transparency,
please immediately
provide all if-asked
and other
information about
the allegations
including attempted
rape allegation
against Cameroon
peacekeepers in CAR
and the South
African in DRC.
Again, what is the
SG's comment and
action on the report
today from Serbia
that "The United
Nations states that
it was a complaint
that was received in
January, that it was
an alleged victim
and that the
proceedings against
the suspected leader
were also within the
UN and Serbia. The
Ministry of Defense
did not answer the
question of the
Whistleblower
whether an
investigation and a
disciplinary
procedure is being
conducted against
that member of the
Serbian Armed
Forces.... the case
of sexual
exploitation for
which the suspected
Serbian soldier was
first reported by an
independent American
journalist Matthew
Lee, who has been
writing about abuses
in the United
Nations for years."
Explain why you have
refused to provide
the if-asked
information Inner
City Press
requested.
February
19-3: What is the
SG's response to US
Senator Marco
Rubio's criticism
that he is playing
right into Maduro
plans.. When it
comes to democracy
& human rights
UN increasingly
worthless"?
February
19-4: Also on CAR,
in light of what was
said at yesterday's
briefing, state what
the UN has DONE
about the
allegations since
October 2018 - what
is the SG's response
to MSF's complaints
that Batangafo in
October and
November, at least
15 people were
killed and 29 others
injured in the
attack on the town,
some 400km north of
the capital Bangui,
according to the
report published on
Monday. It
said the UN
Multidimensional
Integrated
Stabilization
Mission in CAR or
MINUSCA, failed in
its primary
responsibility in
the country?
February
19-5: Again, what is
the SG's and OIOS'
comment and action
on whistleblowers
complaints to the UN
itself, and to Inner
City Press that Moin
Karim uses UNOPS and
his authority as
regional director,
to ‘hire’
consultants in
Geneva on symbolic
lump-sum contracts
that pay
‘contractors’
symbolic fees (few
hundred to few
thousand US dollars)
who then use their
contracts to obtain
Swiss work permits
and stay in
Switzerland for
several years. It is
said that a number
of individuals, who
otherwise would not
be eligible to
reside in
Switzerland, have
entered the country
on those fake
contracts and are
now seeking
citizenship, or are
temporarily hiding
from their
respective
authorities? And
AGAIN, please
immediately explain
how it is legitimate
to ban from enter
into the UN the
media that has been
asking about these
and other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
February
18-3: On Mali and
Germany, please
immediately state
what the UN is doing
about that a Malian
soldier has been
seriously wounded in
an apparent friendly
fire incident with
German troops
serving as UN
peacekeepers. The
incident occurred in
the dark as German
troops were
returning from a
mission. A
Malian soldier was
seriously wounded
during an exchange
of fire with German
troops serving as UN
peacekeepers in the
West African
country, the German
military said
Sunday. The
incident occurred
the night of
February 16?
February
18-4: On Uganda and
peacekeeping, what
is the UN's
explanation of that
" United Nations
weapons and other
cargo stuck at the
Uganda border with
DR Congo has been
moved to Kampala in
an effort to end a
deadlock that has
lasted nearly two
months now.
The move follows a
visit by a team of
officials at Vurra
on the Uganda-DR
Congo border. The
cargo brought to
Kampala has been
placed at a
warehouse pending
negotiations to pay
the drivers.
The arrival of the
UN officials saw the
consignment that
includes weapons and
other accessories,
containers of
medical equipment,
wheeled armoured
personnel carriers
(APCs) and Land
Rovers bearing UN
labels first moved
from the no-man's
land to the Uganda
side before five of
the now nine trucks
were escorted to
Kampala by the
military."?
February
18-5: On freedom of
expression, what is
the SG's comment and
actions on that
Egyptian authorities
have not released of
a human rights
lawyer who has been
detained since 10
December for
“inciting social
unrest” by posting a
picture of himself
on Facebook wearing
a yellow vest, of a
hearing to renew his
pre-trial detention
tomorrow.
Mohamed Ramadan
shared the image
after Egyptian
authorities
restricted sales of
the vests - similar
to those worn by
demonstrators in
France - in a bid to
prevent copycat
protests in Egypt.
And AGAIN, please
immediately explain
how it is legitimate
to ban from enter
into the UN the
media that has been
asking about these
and other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
February
15-1: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on that "More than
150 people have been
charged with
"hostility to the
homeland" and
"insurrection" for
their role in
anti-government
protests in
Cameroon, the
vice-president of
the country's main
opposition party
said. The
president of the
Movement for the
Rebirth of Cameroon
(MRC) opposition
party, Maurice
Kamto, was among
those charged on
Wednesday in a
crackdown criticized
by human rights
campaigners.
He and around 150
other people were
arrested in late
January and have
been held for nearly
three weeks by
police in the
capital
Yaounde. They
have gone before a
judge in groups,
starting with Kamto
overnight Tuesday to
Wednesday. He was
charged with
"rebellion,
insurrection" and
"hostility to the
country".
Around twenty of
those detained have
been released on
bail, MRC's
vice-president
Emmanuel Simh
said.
"Hostility to the
country" is
punishable by the
death penalty in
theory, but the
penalty has not been
carried out in
Cameroon for more
than 30
years"?
February
15-2: On South Sudan
and SG's UN's faux
feminism, please
immediately provide
the SG's comment and
action on UNMISS
whistleblowers'
statement to Inner
City Press about the
recent "
recruitment, a total
of 131 candidates
sat for the written
test. 31 passed to
the competency based
interview stage
which for all
intents and purposes
could not be
classified as a
competency based
interview given that
the whole exercise
was a farce. 15 out
of 31 passed the
oral interview. All
but one of the
internal candidates
were rostered. There
had to be a
sacrificial lamb to
show that the
exercise was not to
roster the internal
or former internal
candidates so some
one had to be failed
and that was none
other than the
nemesis of the Chief
of Staff. Four
candidates were
recommended. 2 males
and 2 females for a
position that had
been cancelled and
re-advertised on the
basis that they
wanted to get female
candidates. All the
four recommended
candidates
miraculously
rejected the offer
and so Mr. Guy
Bennett became the
automatic
beneficiary before
the Nigerian who had
hitherto been acting
for almost two years
before he was
ejected in order to
preposition Guy
Bennett. So for a
position that was
supposed to be
filled by a woman it
was now filled by
Mr. BENNETT leaving
other women on
roster."
February
15-3: On Haiti and
UN impunity, again,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on accountability
after the death toll
of UN driving into a
collective taxi has
hit four? "A traffic
accident involving a
United Nations
armored vehicle
killed four people
and injured nine in
Port-au-Prince on
Saturday...The
vehicle of the
United Nations
Mission for Justice
Support in Haiti
(MINUJUSTH) lost the
use of its brakes
while driving in the
capital and collided
with a collective
taxi — known as a
tap-tap — according
to witnesses"
February
15-4: On Burundi,
what is the comment
and action of the SG
and separately SRSG
Kafando to the
report that "
"President Pierre
Nkurunziza says he
has given wealth to
Burundians since
2002, he wants to be
thanked. Thus,
offerings in money,
livestock or food
products are
collected throughout
the provinces and
have been used for
some time. A crusade
of prayer and
collection of
offerings was
organized from 24 to
27 January 2019 in
Gitega province
where President
Pierre Nkurunziza
was in person. At
least 1.8 billion
Burundian francs
were collected
during this crusade.
In Gitega province,
the young
Imbonerakure have
traveled the town of
Gitega from 21
January 2019 to
raise money and
food. From boutiques
to boutiques, from
shops to stores,
from pharmacies in
pharmacies, kiosks
in kiosks, ... they
required between
2000 and 5000 FBU in
failing which they
closed the doors. In
Rumonge province,
the provincial
secretary of the
ruling party,
Diomede Niyonsaba
sent invitations to
all heads of public
and private
services,
organizations 21
non-governmental
organizations and
association leaders
working in the
province for their
ask to participate
in this presidential
crusade"? And AGAIN,
please immediately
explain how it is
legitimate to ban
from enter into the
UN the media that
has been asking
about these and
other questions,
with no hearing or
appeal.
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