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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFTracker

UNITED NATIONS GATE, February 6 -- How low has Antonio Guterres brought the UN as Secretary General, in terms of attacks on the critical press? While Guterres maintains a ban on Inner City Press even entering the UN, 217 days and counting, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome is proceeding with two separate libel cases against the Italian Insider publication. Amazingly, FAO thinks it can sue for its chief information officer being referred to as "piss-poor." Even if as FAO argues it could be mistranslated into Italian as piscione, incontinent rather than incompetent, h/t, this is another UN attack on freedom of expression, an mis-use of public funds to protect or censor for one individual's self-image, like Guterres does. There is another hearing on February 7, then a continuance until May. Incontinent, indeed. Guterres says he has a "zero tolerance" policy for sexual harassment, and for retaliation. But after Guterres imposed on Inner City Press on ongoing ban against entering the UN, made permanent by his Alison Smale in an August 17 unappealable letter, his two spokesman on  are refusing to answer written questions from Inner City Press about Guterres ignoring victims of abuse and harassment, and about his own son Pedro Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira Guterres, doing business to Angola and Timor Leste as exclusively reported by Inner City Press. This is an exclusive, too: in an October 31 meeting in Conference 6 in the UN from which Guterres has in retaliation banned Inner City Press for 119 days and counting, staff were initially told that "off color jokes" could not be sexual harassment. This from a UN official who admitted that if it were his family member who was the victim, he would go to the 17th Precinct of the New York Police Department. What hypocrisy, when this same part of the UN refuses to investigate and act on Guterres' Lieutenant Ronald E. Dobbins' July 3 (and June 22) assaults on Inner City Press with other UN DSS officers unnamed, and UN Security lobbies NYPD not to respond to Inner City Press' Freedom of Information Law requests. Another UN official said that harassed staff members are pressured not to go to the press. And in Rome, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization mimics Guterres by attacking - there legally, not like Guterres physically with Security and lawlessly with a secret list - the media that reports on it. The Italian Insider has reported in detail on sexual harassment charges against FAO's human resources official Fernando Servan. On November 6, still banned from the UN noon briefing for the 125th day and with no one who is allowed in asking about this, Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokesmen and Deputy and USG Smale questions including: "November 6-4: On UN system sexual harassment, what is the SG's comment and action on the involuntary kissing of an FAO staffer by Peruvian human resources official reported in The Italian Insider, and on FAO / official suing Italian Insider?" There was no answer to this, despite the promise Guterres' USG Alison Smale made not only to the Government Accountability Project then to Inner City Press, but also to the UN's own Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Information David Kaye, in her evasive answer two months after to his (some of) his questions about her ouster of Inner City Press -- no answer on appeal. Inner City Press asked the question again, sharpened, on November 7:

Hours later, rather than response by Guterres who claims he takes sexual harassment seriously, another buckpassing and bout of impunity as with Michel Sidibe at UNAIDS: "Regarding your questions on FAO, FAO has the following to say: 'The allegation was made in an article by the Italian Insider on a rumour concerning activities outside the workplace and, pending any formal complaint, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.
FAO has a policy of zero tolerance towards any form of sexual harassment, sexual exploitation or abuse. The Organization is committed to ensuring a work environment that is free of harassment, in particular sexual harassment, as well as the highest standards of conduct for its employees with regard to sexual exploitation and abuse.'" So when UNSG Guterres is asked about FAO allowing rank sexual harassment, Guterres' spokesmen provide only the self-serving response of FAO which is suing the press that reported on the harassment, with Guterres silent or cheering, as he bans Inner City Press... Guterres after his junket in Lisbon is meeting with the UN Chief Executives Board, who have put up with his censorship and debasement of the UN, including the Director of FAO. We'll have more on this.
This Guterres cover up extends to what the UN views as separate, sexual exploitation and abuse. Inner City Press asked, without answer by close of business: "November 6-5: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse, yesterday you said “Vannina in my office has more information.” But all I was sent was the script / note that was read out, nothing additional. So what was the additional information you said on camera was in your office? Please immediately provide it - including figures for civilian personnel, partners, and personnel of UNSC authorized operation (not, it seems, on the Conduct and Discipline website)."  In the October 31 meeting - we have the names but out of respect for now for some current UN staff don't use them - an intern complained about the prevalence of sexual harassment for delegates or diplomats. It was claimed that Guterres is working on this - while he most recently had a female foreign minister change from a meeting in his office on the 38th floor to his residence on Sutton Place and even then summoned her upstairs, not from the flags and meeting room on the mansion's first floor but up into his personal quarters. A fish rots from the head. This meeting and the claims made about Guterres' responses were a matter of derision and disgust among many staff members - we'll have more on this.

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