UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 11
– 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 11
two hours before the briefing Inner City
Press submitted 603 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 nor 8
nor 10. 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
11-1: On the
Ethiopia Airlines
crash, on which
yesterday's Inner
City Press questions
were not answered or
acknowledged despite
the attempt to
ascertain the fate
of the names raised
by concern by UN
staff in Somalia,
please now explain
the discrepancy
between yesterday's
UN News Centre
figure of 19 (or if
one counted, 20),
and this
https://twitter.com/MaimunahSharif/status/1104992756966010880
saying 22 - and
answer yesterday's
Inner City Press
question, not
repeated here given
the inclusion of
names raised with
concern to Inner
City Press by their
colleagues.
March
11-2: From the
Advance Copy of the
ACABQ report on the
SG's re-configured
GSDM proposal, which
Inner City Press has
published today,
please provide SG's
comment on inter
alia "Taking into
account the
significant number
of French-
speaking clients in
the African region,
the Advisory
Committee notes with
concern the
time zone gap
between the region
and Montréal, the
centre that would
provide French-
speaking services to
clients in Africa.
The Committee
expects that the
Secretary-General
will provide more
detailed
information."
And, on Uganda,"
Upon enquiry, the
Advisory Committee
was informed that
since the inception
of RSCE,
approximately $7.71
million has been
invested in RSCE
office space, in
addition to $9.77
million invested in
training and
technology
facilities which are
not related to the
scope of the global
service delivery
model. The Advisory
Committee expects
the
Secretary-General to
provide further
information to the
General Assembly, at
the time of its
consideration of
this report, on the
investments made in
RSCE. Considering
the significant
number of proposed
abolishments, the
investments made in
RSCE to date, the
request of the
General Assembly in
resolution 72/266 B,
and its key regional
role, the Advisory
Committee trusts
that the
Secretary-General
will ensure the
optimal use of
RSCE’s capacity and
the implementation
of mitigation
measures for its
affected
staff. The
Committee recommends
that the General
Assembly request the
Secretary-General to
provide more
information on this
matter."
March
11-3: Also on
Uganda, perhaps
relatedly, what is
the SG's comment and
action on President
Museveni's threat to
pull Ugandan troops
from AMISOM?
March
11-4: On UN
discrimination
alleged by staff, in
this case at UNCDF /
UNDP, what is the
SG's comment and
action of staff
complaints to Inner
City Press that "
Take Judith Karl -
existing Executive
Secretary- as an
example. Few months
after receiving her
official separation
letters from UNDP as
a result of UNDP's
reform process, to
which her post and
skills were deemed
unnecessary, and her
attempts of securing
three other D1/D2
posts were also
unsuccessful, Ms.
Karl, receives
favorable treatment
from the former UNDP
Administrator and
gets appointed as
UNCDF Executive.
Sources do confirm
that she was not in
the top shortlisted
candidates for the
Job but that is the
power of political
appointments in the
UN. Ms.
Karl's lack of
relevant experience
and wrong
appointment is not
the main focus of
this article, but
rather the elite
"North" team she
managed to form to
lead the agency
responsible for the
poorest of the poor.
Racism and widely
noticed corruption
are the normal norm
at UNCDF
headquarters, staff
here say. The
historic
absent interest of
all UNDP
Administrators in
supervising UNCDF
have allowed each
Executive Secretary
to do what they
want, when they
want, all under the
radar. Here
are the names and
countries of senior
management team of
UNCDF: Judith,
Executive Secretary
(USA), Xavier,
Deputy Executive
Secretary ( France),
Henri , Director
Financial Inclusion
(France), David,
Director Local
Governance ( UK),
Esther, head of
partnerships (USA),
Andrew, Head of
Evaluation (UK),
Anders, Head of
Investment Platform
(Sweden), Ruth,
Managing Director of
Better Than Cash
Alliance
(Australia),
Vincent, Asia
Regional Coordinator
(Dutch), Christel,
West Africa Regional
Coordinator
(France), Dmitry,
East Africa Regional
Coordinator
(Serbia)... Meaning,
if you ever aspire
for a management
position at UNCDF,
you must be from the
North."
March
11-5: On press
freedom and, today,
Turkey what is the
SG's comment and
action if any on
that Thomas Seibert,
a reporter for the
Berlin-based
Tagesspiegel daily,
and Jörg Brase, a
correspondent for
public broadcaster
ZDF, flew to Germany
on Sunday after
their accreditation
to work in Turkey
was not
renewed?
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
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
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
6-3: 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
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?
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