In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon IMF
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - CJR - PFT

UN GATE, Dec 13 – Inner City Press has asked the UN repeatedly about the abuses it is supposed to care about, for example on Benin. From Antonio Guterres and his spokespeople, nothing.    Guterres has put the UN in the US Press Freedom Tracker, here. Guterres' Spokesman Stephane Dujarric falsely promised on camera that he would be answering banned Inner City Press' questions - but see below.

     On December 13 after Guterres again refused to answer but the IMF did answer, May 6 here, Feb 25 here, Feb 4 here, here (3 Dec 2020), like here, before not Stephane "French Whine" Dujarric, previously the face of UN lies on cholera in Haiti (and on July 9 saying he will continue hybrid briefings, exclusion of Inner City Press more and more absurd), not Associate "Spokesperson" Florencia Soto Nino who blocks Press on WhatsApp, not now equally censoring Associate Eri Kaneko, not new UN Spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay - but rape-denying Deputy Farhan Haq, held a briefing before which Inner City Press submitted yet more questions :

These written question are posed and responses requested pursuant to the until-now broken commitment the the UN will "continue to answer e-mailed questions from Mr Lee" Inner City Press, here

 Immediately explain the basis for banning me and Inner City Press from the UN and its briefings when not only the IMF on May 20, 2021 on Sudan and El Salvador, here, 

and IMF on June 10, 2021: on Tanzania and Cameroon  and on El Salvador

and Wilson Center on May 20, 2021 on North Korea, here, and also on March 26, 2021 the US State Department takes Inner City Press' questions, transcript here 

and May 27, 2021 "Briefing with Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung On the Secretary’s Upcoming Travel to San Jose, Costa Rica," "Let’s go the line Matthew Russell Lee.  QUESTION: Sure. Thanks a lot and thanks for taking the question. I had wanted to ask specifically about Honduras. There have been a series of cases in the Southern District of New York where the brother of the president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, his brother Tony was convicted of drug trafficking," see here.

What is the response of SG Guterres' / USG Fleming to the letter sent to her and others by the Quinn Emanuel law firm regarding ending Press censorship?  See "answer" August 9, here: letter received, no change in status - no reply.

What is the UN's response to Inner City Press' Sept 13 application to MALU incluing for WebEx access to hybrid press briefings during UNGA 76, as it has at the IMF? Beyond last night's interim response projecting a decision in one or day days?  From: malu  Date: Wed, Sep 15, 2021 at 8:02 PM Subject: Your U.N. eAccreditation Request has been RECEIVED     Greetings Matthew Lee,  This is to confirm the United Nations Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit (M.A.L.U.) at New York Headquarters has received your request for accreditation...  Upon processing, a    notification email (to the email address registered with the request)will provide the status update, to confirm an approval or rejection, and any additional information which may be required. 

What reason could there be to deny this?

  Inner City Press has asked the UN, repeatedly:

 On Benin what are the comments and action if any of Guterres on that the opposition leader in Benin, Reckya Madougou, has appeared at the country's Economic Crime and Terrorism Court on charges of financing terrorism.  The former justice minister has been detained for more than eight months. 

  The corrupt UN has not answered any of these questions, including on Benin. On December 13 from the US State Department, this: "The recent trial and sentencing of political opponents Reckya Madougou and Joel Aivo raise grave concerns about political interference in Benin’s criminal justice system.     We are alarmed by the further erosion of space for dissent, overall increased restrictions on participatory self-governance and freedom of expression, and systematic targeting of political opposition figures. Demonstrating to Benin’s citizens and international partners that the judicial system will not be used for political purposes is essential to restoring Benin’s former reputation as a regional leader in democratic governance and rule of law."

But what about this, UNanswered? AND YES YET ONCE AGAIN: On Ghislaine Maxwell, whose child sex trafficking trial started on Nov 29 in SDNY court and on whose Terramar Foundation board SG Guterres' Partnership rep Amir Dossal was 1 of only 5 people, what is SG Guterres' response to and comments on "Ghislaine Maxwell’s family appeals to UN for her release from jail"?  Now on Dossal - state immediately whether or not he was representing the UN at Ghislaine Maxwell's 116 East 65th Street residence, along with his son Zecki?  And also: SG Guterres' comments and actions on the Jeffrey Epstein "fellowship" with IPI and Epstein's other UN-world connections - including UN engagement with IPI Bahrain, and Geir Pederson's meeting with Epstein. 

 On Cameroun and Ambazonia, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately DSG Amina J. Mohammed on that people in the city of Bamenda in north-west Cameroon have accused the military of setting fire to homes and businesses. Footage has been shared online

 As asked to each of you on Dec 8, 2021 with no answer: "On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request on the new cases of UN sexual abuse by UN "peacekeepers" from Gabon in CAR in 2021  - including a CHILD RAPE -  data dumped at 12:01 pm on Dec 8, 2021 and not addressed at the noon briefing Inner City Press is banned from, along with another case in CAR by a "peacekeeper" from Burundi, and the previous UN child rape in CAR by UN "peacekeeping" troop Burkina Faso (Oct 19) and from Burundi - child rape! - and SEA by Tanzania troops in DRC data dumped at 12:02 pm on Oct 7, and earlier (unanswered) from Peru (Sept 29), Gabon and "the Congo" - and Nepal peacekeeper child rape in DRC - data-dumped at 10:07 am on July 21, 2021 that you immediately provide the "if asked" information" 

On Dec 1 MINUSMA itself sent Inner City Press a partial answer to a question about UN sex abuse that I asked each of your two weeks ago, without answer. 1) why is UNHQ engaged in a bigger cover up of sexual exploitation and abuse than its Missions? 2) where is the report and follow up referred to in MINUSMA's answer, which MINUSMA also emailed to all/most of you? 

On Portugal and Mozambique, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Portugal’s foreign minister has apologised for the inconvenience caused by the suspension, as of Monday, of flights to and from Mozambique.  Augusto Santos Silva has promised repatriation flights as soon as possible

Since new PGA spokesperson Kubiak has written to Inner City Press that she did not receive Inner City Press numerous written questions, please explain how the UN blocks addresses or confines Press questions to spam folders?

On UN sex abuse and cover up, immediately respond to this question each of your has refused to answer, posed on the morning of November 24 by Inner City Press: "On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request on the new case of UN sexual abuse by a UN "peacekeeper" from Cameroon in CAR in Oct 2021  - data dumped at 9:04 am on Nov 24, 2021 along with another case in CAR by a "peacekeeper" from Burundi, and the previous UN child rape in CAR by UN "peacekeeping" troop Burkina Faso (Oct 19) and from Burundi - child rape! - and SEA by Tanzania troops in DRC data dumped at 12:02 pm on Oct 7, and earlier (unanswered) from Peru (Sept 29), Gabon and "the Congo" - and Nepal peacekeeper child rape in DRC - data-dumped at 10:07 am on July 21, 2021 that you immediately provide the "if asked" info"

On Ethiopia what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Ethiopia’s President Sahle-Work Zewde has denied a report by a Paris-based magazine, alleging she had disagreements with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over the year-long war that began in the northern Tigray region but has since spread to other parts of the country. The Africa Report claimed the seasoned diplomat "neither approves nor supports Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s warmongering policy". Ms Sahle-Work said in her statement on Tuesday night that she had never met the story's author

  On Nigeria what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately DSG Amina J. Mohammed on that thousands of Nigerian railway workers have begun a three-day strike to push the government to improve their welfare.  The strike is likely to disrupt services in some of the busy stations, including the railway line that links the northern Kaduna state to the capital, Abuja. 

Again, why did SG Guterres omit from his personal financial disclosure covering 2016 funds he received from Gulbenkian Foundation which sought to sell its oil company to convicted UN briber CEFC China Energy? 

On Cameroon, on which SG Guterres has refused to answer all of Inner City Press' detailed questions on the mass killings there, what now are his comments and actions if any on that A seven-year-old girl died in the Cameroonian city of Bamenda after a police officer shot at a pick-up vehicle.

On Cameroon, Biya and COVID, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that Only 3% of Cameroonians have received a first dose and 1.1% are fully vaccinated, according to Dr Malachie 

On UNCDF as Inner City Press asked each of you in August 2021 without any response, AGAIN, "what is the UN system's response to this, from a whistleblower? Ms Preeti Sinha the newly appointed UNCDF secretary was the business development officer in a Swiss based organization IHDLIFE SARL until October 2020, before that she handled the Secretariat of the same organization’s another vertical. She ran a small company FFD ventures  SARL but in the appointment news of Preeti Sinha she is projected as the CEO and president of FFD Ventures SARL which has raised millions of dollars to support Covid 19 response and other development work.  But the truth is far less 

On UN sex abuse - child rape! - on which each of you on Oct 25 refused written questions from Inner City Press, again: On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request on the new case of UN attempted child rape by a UN "peacekeeper" from Morocco, location not even disclosed - why?  - data dumped at 12:03 pm during the noon briefing by Dujarric and Volker Perthes on Oct 25, 2021, and the previous UN child rape in CAR by UN "peacekeeping" troop Burkina Faso (Oct 19) and from Burundi - child rape! - and SEA by Tanzania troops in DRC data dumped at 12:02 pm on Oct 7, and earlier (unanswered) from Peru (Sept 29), Gabon and "the Congo" - and Nepal peacekeeper child rape in DRC - data-dumped at 10:07 am on July 21, 2021 that you immediately

On corruption and Azerbaijan (and more, since each of you already did not answer on UNSC president Kenya on Oct 4, and Jordan and Gabon on Oct 5, and Republic of Congo - Brazzaville on Oct 6, and Qatar on Oct 7 and Sri Lanka on Oct 8 and Czech Republic Babis on Oct 12 and Lebanon on Oct 13, Tony Blair on October 14, Ukraine on Oct 15, Honduras on Oct 18, Dominican Republic on Oct 19 Ecuador on Oct 20, Montenegro on Oct 21, Chad on Oct 22, Chile on Oct 25) what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that the Aliyev children’s luxury property investments. They were shareholders of 44 companies registered in the British Virgin Islands between 2006 and 2018. The records show the children owned five companies used to buy more than $120 million worth of high-end London properties

On Nigeria what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately DSG Amina J. Mohammed on that The trial of Nigerian separatist leader, Nnamdi Kanu, resumed on Thursday in the capital, Abuja.  He was charged with terrorism, treason, running an illegal company and publishing defamatory materials.  The government has amended the charges, but the details have not been made public.  Mr Kanu, who is the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) group, has not yet been asked to plead.  

On UN sexual abuse, on which each of your refused to answer this written Press questions yesterday, is AGAIN is a request on the new cases of sexual exploitation by a UN "peacekeeper" from Burkina Faso in DRC data dumped at 12:06 pm during the noon briefing by Farhan Haq on Oct 19, 2021

  On Cameroon what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately USG Lacroix on that this week 3-year-old Minex Kimora was on her way to school with her mother in the city of Buea when a Cameroonian gendarme opened fire on their car, shattering her skull, killing the girl instantly.    

AGAIN, why didn't SG Guterres' public financial disclosure covering 2016 disclose the money he received from Gulbenkian Foundation, which would subsequently try to sell its oil company to UN briber CEFC China Energy, convicted in the SDNY Federal Court?  

As Inner City Press asked each of you in writing on October 7 without any answer at all - cover up --  On UN sexual exploitation and abuse - alleged - this is a request on the new cases of UN child rape in CAR by UN "peacekeeping" troop from Burundi - child rape! - and SEA by Tanzania troops in DRC data dumped at 12:02 pm on Oct 7, and earlier (unanswered) from Peru (Sept 29), Gabon and "the Congo" - and Nepal peacekeeper child rape in DRC - data-dumped at 10:07 am on July 21, 2021 that you immediately provide the "if asked" information 

On Nigeria what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres and separately his DSG Amina J. Mohammed on that the Nigerian army has confirmed that it arrested actor Chiwetalu Agu for wearing an outfit bearing the flag of the proscribed group Ipob and inciting people to join it.  The Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) is a group that wants a breakaway state in south-east Nigeria. 

On corruption and Kenya (and more), what are the comments and actions of SG Guterres on that the Kenyattas' offshore investments include a company with stocks and bonds worth $30m (£22m), a foundation where his mother and the president are listed as beneficiaries, and an offshore company that could not be traced back to the Kenyatta family, which was used to buy an apartment in central London now valued at $1.3m (£1m)

On UN system sexual abuse and exploitation what are SG Guterres comments on WHO staffer put on leave for covering up SEA in DRC - and AGAIN why did Guterres' UN not inform authorities of sexual crimes by Karim Elkorany while working for the UN in Iraq, drugging and raping women, before he was allowed to fly back to NJ, USA, now prosecuted here in SDNY court?

On Honduras, what are SG Guterres' responses to Honduras President JOH mocking the narco trafficking evidence against him by inviting Netflix Narcos to read the SDNY transcripts?

Why is the new PGA Abdulla Shaheed not even disclosing how his campaign was and office is funded, including each staff member, as committed do after the PGA John Ashe scandal in SDNY? cc-ing Ms Grayley too

And, on ongoing censorship of Press by SG Guterres, USG Fleming and Spox Dujarric, to this petition with 9000+ signatures here

On Inner City Press' exclusive reporting into UNTSO's scandal of public sex in the UN van, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on this, from whistleblower: "the men in the UNTSO car have been charged with transporting a passenger who was not authorized and also for not co-operating with the investigation."  Inner City Press asked, "Thanks - I'd heard they were restored to full pay."  Answer: "Still suspended, but have been getting salary for a year.  Now they have been accused of conduct unbecoming."    Confirm or deny - and explain the long cover up, for/of Michael Antoine.

On Cameroon, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on the "Cameroon military opening fire at Christians in Bail/Ambazonia worshipping yesterday Sunday?    

On UNDT opacity, on which you have refused to answer, explain why on August 26, a supposedly "public" case was held - but the access link was dead, not only to Inner City Press but to the public at large: "UNDT/NBI/2020/022 (Mancinelli) The Applicant contests the Administration’s finding of misconduct and imposition of a disciplinary sanction against her." 

Given the Aug 24 UNDT case about UNDP Country Director Samuel Bwalya colluding / forging with Ethiopia's government, immediately state how many other cases of UN staff or officials colluding with Ethiopia's government the UN is aware of, and describe each.

On SG son Pedro Guimarães e Melo De Oliveira Guterres, explain how the business of Explorer Investments has been reviewed for conflicts of interest. Explain immediately how Pedro Guterres doing business with Rwanda while Antonio Guterres was UNSG was and is not a conflict, and what was disclosed and to whom.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA

Mail: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2021 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for