| While
UN Lurches Toward No-Vax UNGA
Banning Press Q&A With IFRC's
Rocca
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Video
Q&A
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
-
SDNY/FOIA
UN GATE, Sept
16 – Each day, the
current United Nations less
accountable. And Inner City
Press, banned now for the
1272nd day by Secretary
General Antonio Guterres
continues to report on it, on
August 16 publishing a UN
internal memo about moving
international staff to
Kazakhstan. On August 16, 17
and 18 it in writing asking
Guterres and his UN
Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric
and Melissa Fleming about it -
no answer. And no one they let
in ask, or seeming had the
memo, below.
On
September 16, Inner City Press
asked Francesco Rocca of IFRC
about the UN not requiring
proof of vaccination for the
upcoming UNGA week it is still
banned from, about Cameroon,
COVID corruption (which has
occurred also in Afghanistan).
Video here
from Minute 34. (This after Q&A to the IMF, and this)
Along with
twice citing a moral
imperative and to his credit
acknowledging issues at IFRC,
Rocca said, "In Afghanistan,
the impacts of the extreme
drought are compounded by
conflict and COVID-19. The
drought has crippled
agricultural food production
and diminished livestock,
leaving millions of people
hungry and malnourished. The
Afghan Red Crescent Society
has ramped up relief,
including food and cash
assistance for people to buy
food supplies, plant
drought-resistant food crops
and protect their livestock."
Here is
from UNAMA's email:
"From: Marija
Sendekovic
<sendekovic@un.org> On
Behalf Of OSRSG-UNAMA Sent:
Sunday, August 15, 2021 5:07
PM To: UNAMA-All Staff
<unama-allstaff@un.org>
Subject: Message to all
staff
In order to further reduce
risks we are also looking at
options to consolidate
personnel reporting to the
office in to fewer compounds
within Afghanistan.
Another step we are taking is
to continue to lower the
footprint of international
personnel in Kabul. No
evacuation is currently being
considered but it is prudent
that only senior management
and essential international
staff stay in Afghanistan for
the time-being. In
parallel to lightening of our
international footprint in
Kabul, we are setting up a
satellite office for the UN in
a nearby state in order for
some international staff to
support our work in
Afghanistan. Almaty in
Kazakhstan -that is less than
two hours flight time from
Kabul- has been identified as
the location from where a
small group of international
personnel can work."
The UN has
neither
responded to
or offered any
explanation
when a
lawyer's
letter - to UN
official
Fleming, and
Tal Mekel, and
to each UNCA
Executive
Committee
member - urged
them to have a
dialogue about
ending the
UN's banning
and censorship
of Inner City
Press.
On
August 9, an
independent
(minded)
journalist
asked Dujarric
about the
letter, video
here,
transcript:
Question:
My second
question is
the law firm
‑‑ what is it
called? ‑‑
Quinn Emanuel
wrote a letter
to the UN
asking about
reinstatement
of our
colleague
Matthew Lee
into the UN
press corps.
Do you have
any comment on
that?
Spokesman:
No. All I can
tell you is
that we've
received the
letter, and
I'm not aware
of any change
to his
status.
Question:
You're not
aware? I mean,
aren't you
part of the
group that
decides the
fate of... or
even the
negotiations...
The letter
calls for
renegotiation
[Cross
talk]
Spokesman:
I decide the
fate of no
one.
[Laughter]
Trust me,
trust me, my
authority is
extremely
limited,
whether at
home or at
work.
What I can
tell you and,
joking aside,
is that the
letter has
indeed been
received, and
I'm not aware
of any... and
there has been
no change in
Mr. Lee's
status.
Question:
Has the letter
been answered?
Do you plan to
answer
it?
Spokesman:
It's been
received.
Whether or not
it's been
answered, I
don't know
yet.
The
letter was
received by
the UN's
Melissa
Fleming, Maria
Luiza Vioti
and Tal Mekel
and to each
UNCA Executive
Board member,
to them citing
UNCA's stated
goals that it
has a charter
to supposedly
uphold.
What's
next? Since
the letter,
Inner City
Press has
published
exclusive
stories not
only from the
U.S. court
systems but
about the
United
Nations,
including its
agencies UNOPS,
UNFPA,
UNITAR
and UNESCO.
(Also credited
in AP,
Daily
Mail, and
Nigeria's
Sahara
Reporters,
amid answers
from the IMF.)
But
none of its
written
questions have
been answered
by the UN
Spokespeople,
and it remains
banned from
entry to the
UN's
briefings.
This must
end.
Having
asked for a
colleagial
discussion,
and while
still offering
it, things
must turn to
the law. UNCA
is a New York
State
non-profit
which has not
only not
abided by its
stated goals -
it has
tortiously
interfered
with a
journalist's
right to cover
the United
Nations.
The United
Nations itself
propounds
Article 19 of
the Universal
Declaration of
Human Rights,
and has other
legal duties
that must be
addressed by
national
courts,
particularly
in the UN's
host
country...
Those
in receipt of
the first,
friendly
letter:
melissa.fleming@un.org,
marialuiza.viotti@un.org,
mekel@un.org,
malu@un.org,
and
UNCA
Valeria
Robecco, ANSA
News Agency,
Nabil Abi
Saab,
Al-Araby,
Jianguo Ma,
Xinhua News
Agency, Edith
Lederer,
Associated,
Giampaolo
Pioli,
Quotidiano,
Linda Fasulo,
Ibtisam Azem,
Al-Araby
Al-Jadeed
Newspaper, Ali
Barada, France
24, Asharq
Al-Awsat;
Oscar Bolanos,
OMB News,
Sherwin
Bryce-Pease,
SABC South
Africa -
Alexander
Hassanein, The
Tokyo Shimbun,
Maria
Khrenova,
TASS, Philippe
Rater, Agence
France-Presse,
Kaori Yoshida,
Nikkei, Betul
Yuruk, Anadolu
Agency at
president@unca.com,
valeria.robecco@gmail.com,
nabisaab@gmail.com,
mjg222888@gmail.com,
elederer@ap.org,
giampioli@aol.com,
lindafasulo@gmail.com,
ibtisam.azem@alaraby.co.uk,
abarada@hotmail.com,
ombyvozque@gmail.com,
s.brycepease@gmail.com,
alexander@tokyoshimbun.us,
khrenova_m@tass.ru,
philippe.rater@afp.com,
kaori.yoshida@nex.nikkei.com,
byuruk@aa.com.tr
We'll have
more on all
this. Watch
this site.
***
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