UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 8
– 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 March 8
two hours before the briefing Inner City
Press submitted 599 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 28-3,
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 nor 18 nor 19
nor 20 nor 21 nor 22
nor 25 nor 26 nor 27
nor March 1
nor 4 nor 5 nor 6
nor 7. 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.
March
8-1: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's
comment and action
if any on the
holding over of
barrister Michele
Ndoki, whom the
government
previously shot, on
charges like Maurice
Kamto of
"rebellion"?
March
8-2: On UN
corruption and
bribery, yesterday
evening Inner City
Press saw in front
of the UN and
questioned Francis
Lorenzo, who pleaded
guilty to UN
bribery. Please
immediately state
the last time
convicted UN bribery
felon Francis
Lorenzo entered the
UN (same for former
El Salvador
Ambassador Carlos
Garcia, who it was
shown facilitied
Lorenzo's illegal
acts, and for
Patrick Ho), and
state whether
Lorenzo is
affiliated in any
way to the Dominican
Republic mission to
the UN.
March
8-3: Again -
immediately explain
the arrangements
between UN Office in
Geneva and the
Shenzhen World
Health Foundation,
including explaining
why as staff
complain
interpreters at UNOG
were also asked to
allow interpreters
from SWHF to play
with their equipment
- how is this
acceptable? What
other outside
parties have this
right? How much does
a government NGO
have to pay for this
right? Again, why
was Gulbenkian
Foundation not
listed on the SG's
most recent online
financial disclosure
form which says it
covers 2016? When
will these be
updated? Where is
USG Smale's form,
after all this
time?
March
8-4: On Turkey and
press freedom, where
is the SG's read-out
of the call of which
his interlocutor
said " Erdogan held
phone talks with
Guterres and
discussed the crisis
in the
Indian-Pakistani
relations and the
situation in Syria."
Did the SG raise the
state of press (un)
freedom in Turkey,
particularly for
women journalists?
AGAIN, immediately
explain how it is
legitimate to ban
(confirm this
lawless ban is still
in place) from
entering into the UN
the media that has
been asking about
these and other
questions, with no
hearing or appeal.
March
7-1: On Cameroon
(and Nigeria),
what are the
comments and
actions of the SG
and separately DSG
on whether the
Nigerian court
decision that Ayuk
Tabe and 46 others
were illegal sent
to Cameroon and
should be
returned? This as
Ayuk Tabe Jet al
are expected at
the Military Court
in Yaounde today
while Professor
Maurice Kamto and
his MRC supporters
are making a
Habeas Corpus plea
at the Mfoundi
High Court.
March
7-3: On Tanzania
what is the SG's
comment and action
on that government
authorities
notified editors
of Tanzania’s
major English
language
newspaper, The
Citizen, that the
paper would be
suspended for
seven days. The
newspaper had
published two
articles, one
about US lawmaker,
Bob Menendez,
raising concerns
about “the gradual
spiral of respect
for civil
liberties in
Tanzania” and
another reporting
that the Tanzania
shilling was
falling against
the US dollar.
Authorities say
the articles were
one sided?
March
7-4: AGAIN -
immediately state
who, with public
funds, the SG
invited to eat
halibut with him
on March 4, and
why it was not on
his public
schedule. Please
state whether the
UN considers "The
Century Fund" to
be a media and if
so, why - and,
AGAIN, 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.
March
6-1: Please
immediately provide
the SG's comment and
action on the travel
waste of the head of
UN Women leaked to
Inner City Press by
whistleblowers
there: "UN women
spent $240,567 in
expenses for travel
of our executive
director in
2018. This
does not include the
journey of anyone
who is traveling
with her and
security costs or
other costs paid by
the local
offices.
During the last 2
years UN women spent
more than $467,000
in travel of ED
which is almost
identical to Mr.
Erik Solheim of UNEP
but UN women is a
much smaller
agency. UN
women has spent more
than $1,255,550 on
travel for the
director since Mrs
Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka was
hired in September
2013. Some of
her flights have
cost as much as
$37,057! Also
the UN Women ED
traveled for 170
days in 2018.
That's over 65% of
the time not
including annual
holidays or public
holidays of the
United
Nations! She
also had strangely
four visits to her
home country of
South Africa paid by
UN Women."
March
6-3: Please
immediately provide
the SG's comment and
response to the
Staff Unions'
complain that DSS
funds are being
diverted to for
profit events of
CulinArt and USG
Smale's DGC: " "the
Department of Safety
and Security is
currently ceding
some of its funding
to serve
profit-making
ventures, both a
contractor,
CulinArt, and
another Secretariat
department, the
Department of Global
Communications, by
providing security
services for their
ventures, that is,
Friday nights
activities at the
Delegates Lounge and
United Nations
Tours, respectively.
The funds to provide
those services from
the UNDSS’s annual
budget are
substantial and are
not reimbursed. Why
should UNDSS
continue to provide
those services out
of its budget free
of charge when cuts
are being made
elsewhere?"
March
5-1: On Cameroon,
what is the SG's
comment and action
if any on the
continued detention
of Michèle Ndoki has
been been held by
the Special
Operations Unit in
Yaounde since she
was arrested by
security forces
under unclear
circumstances?
Again, as not
answered, on
Cameroon and
Nigeria, what are
the comments and
actions of the SG
and separately of
the DSG on the
Nigeria court
decision that the
refoulement of Mr.
Ayuk Tabe and 46
others was illegal
and they should be
returned to Nigeria
from Cameroon? What
is the SG's comment
and action on the
reported burning
down of Bamunkumbit
in NW Cameroon by
government
soldiers?
March
5-2: On Saudi
Arabia, what is the
SG's comment and
action if any on
that Saudi Arabia is
moving to prosecute
a group of women’s
rights activists who
have been detained
for several months,
its state news
agency has
announced?
March
5-3: On CAR in light
of the UN
Secretariat's
bragging about the
Khartoum deal, and
your Office's
refusal to answer
questions about what
the outgoing SRSG
told Inner City
Press about UN
sexual abuse and
exploitation in CAR,
what is the SG's
comment and action
on that the peace
agreement in CAR,
signed in early
February, has been
in turmoil since the
establishment of a
new government on
Sunday: five out of
the fourteen armed
groups that signed
it have expressed
their disagreement
with the new
government
team?
March
5-4: On SEA, UN
harrassment and
impunity, what is
the SG's comment and
action on that on
Prashanti Tiwari, on
whose case Inner
City Press has
previously
repeatedly asked
your office about
without answer,
Bihar Police's CID
has ordered the
investigating
officer to file a
charge sheet against
him. In the
FIR filed in
February last year,
Prashanti had also
accused the UNFPA
country head for
India and Ena Singh
of assault. What did
the SG every do
about this
abuse?
March
5-5: On China, what
is the SG's comment
and action if any on
reports that
Chinese hackers have
targeted more than
two dozen
universities in the
U.S. and around the
globe as part of an
elaborate scheme to
steal research about
maritime technology
being developed for
military use?
March
5-6: On Japan and
due process, what is
the SG's comment and
action if any on
Carlos Ghosn now
having been detained
for more than 100
days without
charges?
March
4-3: On India and
Pakistan, what is
the SG's comment and
action on a UN
system Goodwill
Ambassador, Priyanka
Chopra, tweeting
"Jai Hind" after
India's airstrikes
on Pakistan, and on
the petition that
she be removed from
any UN
position?
March
4-5: On Sudan and
Qatar, what is the
SG's comment and
action on
whistleblowers
telling Inner City
Press that UNAMID
staff improperly
share information
with Qatar's
intelligence
service?
March
4-6: On Sudan, what
is the SG's comment
and action on that
ICC-indicted Omar
al-Bashir on Friday
delegated his powers
and authority as
head of the ruling
National Congress
Party to its deputy
head, Ahmed Mohamed
Haroun - who is also
indicted by the ICC?
Again, how many
times has Mr.
Guterres met Bashir,
and why? Has he met
Ahmed Haroun?
,
