UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 22
– 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 22 more
than an hour
before a
UN noon briefing where
Dujarric's
Deputy Farhan
Haq who did not
answer a single
question from
Inner City Press
but promoted
Guterres on
96th Street -
where UN
Security asked
NYPD to stand
around Inner
City Press, in a
misuse of public
funds - three
days after Haq
referred to
the "Dominican
Republic of the
Congo," Inner
City Press submitted 649 questions: "There
are more than 400+
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 1-21 (!)
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
22-1: On Burkina
Faso, what is
the SG's comment
and action on
the execution by
Burkinabe
security forces
of over 115 men
accused of
supporting or
harbouring the
armed Islamists?
March
22-2: On Sri
Lanka, what is
the SG's comment
and action on
that the final
text of the HRC
resolution
failed to
address Sri
Lanka’s failure
to meet its
commitments to
date. Despite
the pledges made
in Resolution
30/1, there
continues to be
impunity for
violations of
international
human rights and
humanitarian
law. The absence
of
accountability
and the slow
progress on
other fronts has
disillusioned
many victims’
groups and
eroded hopes for
the transitional
justice process.
What does this
say about the UN
system and
accountability -
and credibility?
March
22-3: On
"reform," on
March 15 it was
said that 27 new
Resident
Coordinators are
being recruited.
Since these are
not on the SG's
webpage, not
this specific
question:
Niloy Banerjee
listed for past
one month as Res
Rep in Malaysia,
Singapore and
Brunei - is/was
this one of the
27 posts the SG
and DSG are
recruiting for?
Where are these
recruitment
notices? Again,
please
immediately
state which 27
RC positions are
being recruited
for, and how
much it will
cost the UN and
the public.
March
22-4: On bribery
in the UN,
again, in the
run up to March
25's sentencing
for the UN
bribery the SG
has not even
audited, what is
the SG's comment
and response to
this
22 minute
documentary
about Patrick Ho
and CEFC's
bribes through
the UN including
Mr. Guterres'
refusal to
answer Inner
City Press'
question on it
on 5 December
2018 at Min 17.
Again, a just
filed sentencing
memorandum
seeking a five
year jail term
for Patrick Ho
of CEFC China
Energy includes
quotes from his
e-mails
regarding aiming
to violate
sanctions and
deal in arms not
only to Chad but
also South
Sudan, Libya
& Qatar.
What is the SG's
comment and
action? Again,
why has no audit
even been begun
of CEFC, at
least like the
one Mr.
Guterres'
predecessor did
of Ng Lap Seng's
Sun Kian Ip
Foundation? Why
did Mr Guterres
omit payments
from Gulbenkian
Foundation,
which sought to
sell its oil
company Partex
to CEFC China
Energy, from his
public financial
disclosure
covering 2016?
Where are the
more recent
public financial
disclosures -
has Mr. Guterres
ended that
program? Why?
March
22-5: On press
freedom in
Argentina from
which the SG has
just returned
with questions
refused about
the cost and
specifics of his
travel compared
to UN
interpreters,
what is the SG's
comment and
action,
including while
there, on Daniel
Santoro and
three other
Argentine
journalists
after a judge
named them in an
investigation
into alleged
extortion and
illegal
espionage he
says was carried
out by the fake
lawyer Marcelo
D'Alessio.
In addition to
Santoro, Rolando
Graña of program
GPS, Eduardo
Feinmann of A24,
and Rodrigo
Alegre of
Channel 13, were
mentioned in a
judicial
resolution
issued by the
federal
magistrate of
Dolores
province, Alejo
Ramos Padilla,
earlier this
month. 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
20-1: On
Uganda, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any
on reports
that more than
250 people
have fallen
ill in Uganda
linked to a
fortified
blended food
distributed by
the United
Nations World
Food Programme
(WFP) for
prevention of
malnutrition.
Officials urge
people to stop
eating the
food until
further
notice.
A total of 262
people have
been affected
since March
12, with
symptoms of
mental
confusion,
vomiting,
headache, high
fever and
abdominal
pain. There
are reports
three people
have died, one
of them at
Matany
Hospital,
Napak
District, and
two others.
One male died
in
Lorengechora,
Lookit
village, Napak
district, and
a female died
in Amuna
village in
Karita Sub
County, Amudat
district. All
the deaths
occurred on
March
16?
March
20-3: On
Haiti, what is
the SG's
comment and
action, and
separately the
UN mission's,
on that
Haiti’s Lower
Chamber of
Deputies fired
Prime Minister
Jean Henry
Céant and his
government on
Monday,
deepening
uncertainty
amid a
political and
economic
crisis that
led to violent
protests last
month and the
U.S. and
Canada warning
citizens not
to travel to
the country.
The swift
no-confidence
vote came with
hardly any
debate and
after Lower
Chamber
President Gary
Bodeau noted
that neither
Céant nor any
of his cabinet
ministers were
present?
March
18-1: On the SEA
report which was
not sent to
Inner City Press
by the UN but by
others, and
which Inner City
Press
voluntarily
refrained from
reporting on
until the 10 am
deadline, please
before 10 am
explain (a) six
allegations were
considered
conduct in
violation of
non-fraternization
policies and not
to contain
indications of
sexual
exploitation or
abuse -
question: did
these cases not
involve sex?
March
18-2: On Kenya,
what is the SG's
comment and the
UN's action on
the starvation
in
Turkana?
March
18-6: What is
the SG's comment
and action on
this, copied to
Inner City
Press, on a
"possible FCPA
violation may
have occurred
between
Microsoft
Corporation and
the United
Nations [now
see here.]
March
15-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
action if any on
that 26 people
who were
arrested in
Cameroon in
January during
protests called
by opposition
leader Maurice
Kamto have been
given one-year
jail terms for
“illegal
gathering and
demonstration”
or just planning
to take part in
a non-political
demonstration?
What does the UN
say about the
reported murder
of civilians by
Biya's forces
yesterday in Sop
and Melim?
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.
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