UNITED NATIONS
GATE, March 28
– 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 28 more
than three
hours
before a
UN noon briefing canceled by
Dujarric
for a
one issue,
three speaker
appearance by
Guterres,
Inner
City Press submitted 673 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 1-27 (!)
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
28-1: On
Cameroon, what
is the SG's
comment and
belated action,
if any, on
Biya's Army's
attack on Abuh,
North-West
region, which
burned an entire
neighborhood to
the
ground. A
woman in her 40s
said she spent
three days
hiding in the
surrounding
countryside with
her five
children after
the attack:
“When I came
back to the
village, my
house was gone,
with everything
inside. I am
left with
nothing but my
clothes.” How
does this square
with UNFPA's
current
propaganda trip
to
Yaounde?
March
28-2: On Sri
Lanka, what is
the SG's and
separate USG
Lacroix's
response to the
Army's statement
that "In that
effort, Sri
Lanka Army and
HRCSL maintain
strong cordial
and professional
relations with
mutual
understanding
and respect for
difficulty of
carrying out
their respective
roles which are
open to the
public
domain. It
is the opinion
of the Sri Lanka
Army that we as
Sri Lankans,
should be proud
that UN selected
HRCSL, our own
organization, to
carry out the
domestic
mechanism in HR
screening
process.
However, the
task is not that
easy as
thousands of
applications
have to be
scrutinized as
all three
services and the
Police are
engaged in UN
peacekeeping,
apart from the
duties that
HRCSL has to
perform
according to its
prime
mandate.
Sri Lanka Army
has the highest
confidence in
HRCSL that it
does its utmost
to expedite this
HR screening
process. It is
requested that
any queries in
this regard or
any matter with
regard to UN
peacekeeping by
Sri Lanka Army
be referred to
the Commander of
the Army or the
Directorate of
Media for
accurate and
current
information
without
resorting to
unauthorized
persons/entity
who would not
allow the
efforts of the
Sri Lanka Army
in UN
peacekeeping
further the
image of the
country"?
March
28-3: On Canada
and
peacekeeping,
please
immeidately
provide SG and
USG Lacroix
confirmation and
explanation of
that "One UN
official, who
spoke on
condition of
anonymity
because of
diplomatic
sensitivities,
says Canada
recently
provided a list
of conditions
about where and
when the plane
can be
used.
Those included a
stipulation the
plane only fly
in daylight and
only between
Entebbe and five
locations that,
according to the
UN official,
either don’t
have any
peacekeeping
units or are
easily
accessible by
road. As a
result, the UN
told Canada the
arrangement did
not meet its
needs"?
March
28-4: On
Pakistan and
press freedom,
what is the SG's
comment and
action on that
Pakistani
authorities are
investigating
five prominent
journalists and
a blogger for
displaying the
photo of slain
Saudi journalist
Jamal
Khashoggi’s on
social media
during Saudi
Crown Prince
Mohammed bin
Salman’s visit
to Pakistan last
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
27-4: On Brunei,
what is the SG's
comment and
action on
pending
provisions in
Brunei’s Penal
Code would allow
stoning and
amputation as
punishments –
including for
children. These
punishments are
provided for in
newly-implemented
sections of the
Brunei
Darussalam
Syariah Penal
Code that are
due to come into
force on 3 April
2019, according
to a discreet
notice on the
Attorney
General’s website.
March
27-6: On freedom
of thought and
expression and
China, what is
the SG's comment
and action on
the law
professor at
Tsinghua
University who
openly
criticised
Chinese
President Xi
Jinping has been
suspended and
placed under
investigation by
the university,
according to one
of his
colleagues and
several
academics
familiar with
the situation.
Xu Zhangrun, 56,
was suspended
this month after
he wrote several
articles
criticising
Beijing over
political and
social
issues?
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
26-2: 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:
Renaud Meyer has
announced
himself as the
new
Thailand RR
-- -
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
26-3: On UN
sexual abuse and
exploitation,
please
immediately
provide until
now withheld
specifics on
this: " A Fijian
UN peacekeeper
was dismissed
from duty last
year after
engaging in
sexual
exploitation
while stationed
in Lebanon,
official records
show. The
incident...
has not
previously been
reported."
Again, 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? (b)
four allegations
involved sexual
harassment,
physical assault
and paternity
claims, which
were considered
not to contain
indications of
sexual
exploitation and
abuse -
question: isn't
fathering a
child with a
beneficiary of
UN "assistance"
per se
exploitation?
(c) three
allegations
involved sexual
assaults between
United Nations
personnel, but
not with
beneficiaries of
assistance -
question:
confirm this was
"blue on blue,"
on which the UN
has previously
refused to
answer Inner
City Press; (d)
one allegation
involved a
member of United
Nations
personnel not
associated with
a peacekeeping
mission; one
allegation did
not involve
sexual
exploitation and
abuse - question
- what are the
bases of these
statement?; and
one allegation
was received by
OIOS in 2018 but
will be recorded
in 2019, once it
is referred to
the Member State
concerned -
question: what
is the member
state concerned
and what have
they done, as of
18 March
2019?
March
25-4: On Sri
Lanka, what is
the SG's comment
and action if
any on this
footage of a non
violent protest
by Puttalam
villagers
protesting
against a
proposed garbage
landfill in
Aruwakkalu being
cracked down on
by police?
March
25-5: On your /
Spokesperson
Dujarric's
recent podcast
interview,
please
immediately
explain what was
meant by a
relationship
with journalists
of "mutually
assured
destruction" -
and why the
podcast links
are mostly
404/no longer
online.
March
25-8: On the
SG's March 22
appearance on
96th Street,
please
immediately
provide the name
of the UN DSS
officer who
spoke to NYPD on
96th Street to
get them to
restraint in
advance Inner
City Press while
UN Photo and
others like AP
walked freely,
the basis for
this censorship
and any and all
records
regarding
it.
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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