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By Matthew Russell Lee, Video here, Vine here

UN GATE, Oct 1 -- Just after Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke for 50 minutes in the UN General Assembly Hall, instead of the already-long 15 minute standard, he switched UN ambassadors.

  Coming back is Munir Akram, who was the country's UN Permanent Representative (and head of G77) when Inner City Press first came to cover the UN, before UNSG Antonio Guterres had it roughed up and banned for asking about his links to UN briber CEFC China Energy.

  While the media coverage of the switch and of the UN, such as it is, superficially lists Akram's multi-lateral expertise, and perhaps the Benazir Bhutto inquiry, Inner City Press had and has more. From its prior report:

"Pakistan's former Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, has recently been seen in UN Headquarters. Inner City Press asked him to confirm the little known story that Akram has taken a place on the board of directors of Houston-based oil fields services company Allis-Chalmers Energy Inc. In a press release few in diplomatic circles seem to have seen, and that is now gone from the Internet, echoed by a short October 5 article, Micki Hidayatallah, Allis-Chalmers' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated that "Ambassador Akram will be a valuable asset for our board of directors, specifically in the development of new international markets for Allis-Chalmers services."  

Also cashing in on previous UN system service is Srgjan Kerim, last year's General Assembly President. First he grabbed a spot as another UN climate change envoy; now he in the ring to be nominated to run for president of FYROM. Meanwhile last week UK Ambassador John Sawers confirmed to Inner City Press that while Kerim had sought and received $40,000 from the UK to fund his President of the General Assembly office, specifically for UK citizen Robert Pollock, when the UK found out that Pollock was getting paid as a UN employee it demanded the return of its money from Kerim. Fast and loose, it what it's being called. 

Update of October 28 -- Kerim's former spokesman has submitted the following this morning:  'These are spurious and unfounded allegations. There was no financial transaction between the UK Permanent Mission in this instance. Once Ambassador Sawer realized the administrative mistake the check was promptly returned. This incident typically underscores the problem caused by the ad hoc and piecemeal way the Office of the GA President as an institution has been funded. This is why President Kerim had from the  beginning asked for clarity on this and proposed that the staffing and functioning be funded entirely from the UN budget to make things transparent, accountable and equal for all incoming GA Presidents regardless of the size and wealth of each sending country or the ad hoc desires and wills of Member States.'

We'll have more on this topic, but for now we note that the irrregular nature of the office of the President of the General Assembly not being fully funded by the UN does not excuse Kerim's office having asked a member state for money to pay a staffer who was already getting paid by the UN."

  Beyond Akram's cashing out in Houston, little has been fixed in the corruption allowed in the PGAs office. The current PGA Tijjani Muhammad-Bande hasn't even answered Inner City Press' detailed level. We'll have more, much more, on this.

When UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson met Pakistan's Imran Khan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that SG Antonio Guterres has banned Inner City Press from, with nary a peep from the UK or Pakistan, this was the read-out: "A Downing Street spokesperson said:     “The Prime Minister met Prime Minister Khan of Pakistan today at the UN General Assembly in New York.      “They discussed the strong bilateral relations between the UK and Pakistan, and the upcoming visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.     “The leaders spoke about regional issues, including tensions with Iran and peace efforts in Afghanistan. They also discussed Kashmir and Prime Minister Khan underlined his concerns about the current situation." That's how this GA is: people just underline their concerns, with no impact.

  Back in Biarritz for the G7, UNSG Antonio Guterres in more than 24 hours has made no mark at all. The only mentioned, beyond a craven selfie with Macron, is the bragging of Pakistan's Foreign Minister: "The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has promised to take up the issue of occupied Kashmir with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday.  Addressing a news conference after a telephonic conversation with the UN chief who is in Paris for the G-7 summit [no read out from Guterres or his spokespeople Stephane Dujarric or Melissa Fleming, it goes without saying] “I invite him [UN chief] to visit Azad Kashmir. The citizens there will await his arrival and we will facilitate him in visiting any place and meeting anyone he wants,” he added.  “He [Guterres] should also demand that he be allowed to visit occupied Kashmir so he can see for himself what’s happening there, inform the world about it and play his role in putting to an end the humanitarian crisis there.”  Like in Cameroon? We'll have more on this.

  The Kashmir meeting of the UN Security Council has come and gone and accomplished nothing. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, typically, tried to avoid taking a position so that he has try to get a second term, keeping all of the five Permanent members of the UNSC equally enamored of his toothlessness.

Guterres' spokesmen Stephane Dujarric and Farhan Haq have refused for days to answer questions from banned Inner City Press, including not only where Guterres has been for two week but also on Kashmir this: "August 14-1: On Kashmir, as Inner City Press asked each of you back in March without any response at all, what is the SG's comment and action if any on that Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari has urged the removal as UN Goodwill Ambassador of actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas "in the wake of her support for Indian military" - previously, March 4-3: On India and Pakistan, what is the SG's comment and action on a UN system Goodwill Ambassador, Priyanka Chopra, tweeting "Jai Hind" after India's airstrikes on Pakistan, and on the petition that she be removed from any UN position?" No answer.

  China, whose support Guterres curries and vice versa via UN briber CEFC China Energy, actually spoke about human rights in Kashmir, while mass incarcerating the Uighurs, for example.

  Tellingly, Pakistan's Daily Dawn's story is not by its ostensible UN correspondent, one of Dujarric's partners in ousting Inner City Press, but another in DC, Anwar Iqbal, and says, under the headline "'How long should Kashmiris wait for peace?' US media asks UN" that "A UN news service report referred to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ Aug 8 statement, saying that “the position of the United Nations on this region is governed by the Charter...and applicable Security Council resolutions”. Deep thoughts, always, from the UN News Center, increasingly like KCNA for the Dear Leader Tony G.

  It also says, "One Western diplomat told Bloomberg that even though no decision was reached, “holding the meeting helped calm tensions because it showed Pakistan that the international community is engaged on the issue”. 

  We disagree. As with the Tamils of Sri Lanka and the Anglophones of Cameroon, at first there is the understandable longing for the situation to be "recognized" by a UNSC meeting. But then when nothing happens, or gets worse, there is the recognition that the UN as constituted today is useless - and under Guterres, a corrupt censor. We'll have more on this.

Stephane Dujarric, the lead spokesman of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, has joined his boss in personally covering up child rapes and sexual abuse by UN personnel, including recently a Tanzanian peacekeeper's alleged sexual exploitation in DR Congo. On August 9 Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, Dujarric and others: "This is a Press request that you immediately provide all if-asked and additional information about the new allegation of SEA announced at 12:01 pm today, apparently of SE by a Tanzanian "peacekeeper" in DR Congo - and also why previously published charges are no longer in the data to which UN Peacekeeping Conduct and Discipline points, including what if being done for these victims and any steps taken to avoid this constant repetition of abuse despite the SG's ostensible commitments. Again, are new allegations being buried elsewhere on the data page? Inner City Press is asking in writing because banned from the noon briefings and any follow up questions, now for more than a year. Today as before none of Inner City Press' written questions, including on Cameroon, have been answered. This is a request that you immediately confirm receipt of these questions." But there was no response.

 At the August 9 UN noon briefing from which Guterres and Dujarric banned Inner City Press for the more than 400th day, Dujarric said, "from Tuesday to Friday next week, my office will not hold daily noon briefings, but I understand Monica will be here.  The office will be staffed, and we will be able to answer your questions."

  So on the morning of Tuesday, August 13 Inner City Press asked again, in writing, including to Guterres' incoming Communicator Melissa Fleming: "August 13-3: On UN sex exploitation and cover up(s), as Inner City Press asked on August 9 without any response to day, This is a Press request that you immediately provide all if-asked and additional information about the new allegation of SEA announced at 12:01 pm today, apparently of SE by a Tanzanian "peacekeeper" in DR Congo - and also why previously published charges are no longer in the data to which UN Peacekeeping Conduct and Discipline points, including what if being done for these victims and any steps taken to avoid this constant repetition of abuse despite the SG's ostensible commitments. Again, are new allegations being buried elsewhere on the data page? Inner City Press is asking in writing because banned from the noon briefings and any follow up questions, now for more than a year. Today as before none of Inner City Press' written questions, including on Cameroon, have been answered. This is a request that you immediately confirm receipt of these questions." Again, as Dujarric's office closed on August 13, no answers, no response. This is the UN's cover up of UN sexual abuse, and it's now on Melissa Fleming as well. Inner City Press also asked, ".  August 13-6: Given that the SG's public schedules for August 2, August 5, August 6, August 7, August 8, August 9 and now August 13 are entirely blank, not even "all appointments internal" as before but just blank, given that Poland's Foreign Minister was not able to meet with the SG on August 3, nor Pakistan PR Maleeha Lodhi on August 7 (tweeting "As the SG is away"), please immediately state where the UNSG is, now and for the next three weeks, and at what cost to the public. Additionally, since public officials from Trump to de Blasio to Corey Johnson all disclose where they are, and given the UN system travel scandals at UNRWA, UN Women and previously UNEP, explain why Mr. Guterres' lack of transparency is not part of the problem. Given the Secretariat's communication failures, state when exactly Ms. Fleming takes over from Alison Smale, whether Ms. Fleming is still has stated on her profile at UNHCR (Chief Communications  @Refugees as of August 7) and if she is answering some/any of her e-mail there." Nothing. We will stay on this.

  While refusing to answer banned Inner City Press written questions about UN rapes, Guterres and Dujarric have issued propaganda about how well the UN pays its victims though a Trust Fund both grotesque and murky, with no opportunity to question much less cross examine.

 On May 30 during a UN noon briefing Inner City Press was banned from attending and asking questions at for the 330th day in a row, Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq read out statistics of UN sexual exploitation and abuse from the first quarter for 2019. Inner City Press could not ask questions, and none of the correspondents allowed in asked any questions about it. Afterward Inner City Press wrote to Dujarric, Guterres, Haq, USG Alison Smale and DSG Amina J. Mohammed: "This is a Press request that you immediately e-mail Inner City Press the UN Sexual Abuse and Exploitation data read out at today short noon briefing - no one allowed asked any questions about it - and also the five personnel announcements and c.v.'s, immediately. It is outrageous that Inner City Press which reports about the UN daily is banned from entering to ask questions. Please send this information immediately, and explain."

   From all of those addressed, the lone response was from Haq, a copy of the transcript of the briefing (which goes online here). In the three weeks since, not a single answer from Haq or Dujarric or Guterres and Amina J. Mohammed or Alison Smale. Just cover up and propaganda...

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