As
Inner City
Press Is
Barred From UN
Human Rights
Event USG
Smale Blames
Security But
Takes Under
Advisement
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Video
CJR PFT
UNITED NATIONS,
December 18 – When the Office
of UN High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights
Michelle
Bachelet
scheduled an event in the UN
on December 18 Inner City
Press got an invitation,
RSVP-ed and was told, "You
have registered for our event
on Tuesday, 18 December 2018
at 1:15 in the ECOSOC Chamber,
UNHQ with the 2018 UN Human
Rights Prize awardees. As you
indicated that you need a pass
for UNHQ, please come to the
main visitor's gate on 1st
avenue at 46th street at
12:30pm. Colleagues will
be there at the foot of the
steps with your passes." Inner
City Press went, but the OHCHR
staffers did not have the
referenced pass; one of them
told Inner City Press that
OHCHR had been told, and had
not questioned, that Inner
City Press is "barred" from
the UN. Coming out of
the UN just then was Under
Secretary General for Global
Communications Alison Smale,
for a photo op holding a
Proclamation
by NYC Mayor
de Blasio with
his
Commissioner
for
International
Affairs, Penny
Abeywardena. Since it was
Smale who in a 17 August 2018
ruling
without any hearing or
appeal withdrew Inner City
Press' media accreditation,
Inner City Press waited to ask
her about this total ban. When
Smale finished speaking with Abeywardena,
with whose
Office Inner
City Press has
a pending and
delayed NYS
Freedom of
Information
Law request
regarding
NYC's role in
the UN barring
political
activists and
journalist,
Inner City
Press asked.
Video here.
Smale said the
total bar was
the decision
of UN Security
- but when
Inner City
Press politely
pointed out
part of her
role, said she
will take it
under
advisement.
For now it
must be noted
that Smale's
letter to
UN Special
Rapporteur
David Kaye said
that Inner
City Press
complaint to
UN Security
about being
roughed up by
UN Lieutenant
Ronald E.
Dobbins and
five others
unnamed is
being
processed.
That was three
month ago and
the only
outcome is
retaliation by
UN Security,
the barred
list, with the
acquiescence
or order of SG
Antonio
Guterres and
Smale. We'll
have more on
this.
The December 18 UN
Human Rights
office
event Inner City
Press was
barred from
featured
Ms. Rebeca
Gyumi –
activist for
the rights of
women and
girls
(Tanzania)
Ms. Asma
Jahangir
(posthumously,
represented by
Ms. Munizae
Jahangir) –
human rights
lawyer
(Pakistan)
Ms. Joênia
Wapichana
(Joênia
Batista de
Carvalho) –
activist for
the rights of
indigenous
peoples
(Brazil)
Front Line
Defenders
(represented
by Mr. Andrew
Anderson) – an
organization
advocating and
working for
the protection
of human
rights
defenders
(Ireland).
Inner
City Press has
asked Bachelet
and her assistant, and
Andrew Gilmour,
"Particularly
since you are the UN
Office of the High
Commissioner for
*Human Rights,* did
you not ask why a
journalist who asks
the Secretary
General and his
spokesmen about the
killings in Cameroon,
Burundi, UN
corruption, UN
peacekeepers' sexual
abuse of civilians,
and Sri
Lanka, is
“BARRED” from
attending your human
rights event -
without any hearing
or appeal? I will
appreciate your
Office's answer to
this."
We'll have more on
this.
***
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