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By Matthew Russell Lee, Video here, Vine here

UN GATE, July 28 -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he has a "zero tolerance" policy for sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment, and for retaliation. But he engages in all of these.

  Now he has released, to deafening silence even among his propagandists, a wasteful report on COVID 19 and Cities - while his own UN Security violated New York City's prohibition on leaving gyms open. Inner City Press exclusively reported that, but in the run up to the release of this fraudulent report was "removed" from the UN briefing about it.

 On July 27 when Inner City Press signed in to a UN briefing on COVID-19 and cities, including HABITAT's Maimunah Mohd Sharif, another Guterres self promotion, in order to ask about Guterres' personal guards violating New York City prohibitions on gyms being open, it was "removed by the host." Photo here; video here.  This is on Haq - and Achim Steiner and Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

  Now past 8 am on July 28 - that is, eight hour past the ostenisible "embargo" end, the only coverage other than Inner City Press of this report is by the UN itself, "Reliefweb," repeating a UNDP press release that "Secretary-General António Guterres said in his recorded message launching the latest UN policy brief, “COVID-19 in an urban world." Guterres is a fraud, using public money to try to hide his corruption. His spokesman Farhan Haq, just on COVID and cities, refused Inner City Press' July 27 question about Morocco locking down cities.

 Here is what was forwarded to Inner City Press by several of Guterres' disgusted in-house scribes: "Invitation to journalists to attend briefing:   A media briefing will be held on Monday, 27 July at 8:30 am NY time, ahead of the release of the Secretary-General’s brief on COVID-19 and Cities which will be published on Tuesday, 28 July.  If you know journalists who would wish to attend this briefing and respect the embargo, please RSVP with their names to Florencia Soto (sotonino at un at org).  Currently, no materials are available to send to journalists – we hope to receive English key messages tomorrow (24 July).   You are also invited to attend and listen in – questions being reserved for journalists.  The briefer will be the Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif. Please note the briefing is embargoed until the policy brief is out on 28 July at 00:01 a.m.   The report will give an overview of the stark impact of COVID-19 on cities so far and will demonstrate how the crisis has exacerbated existing inequalities and development deficits and has thrown the UN’s sustainable urbanization policies into question.    Instructions to connect:  Direct link for interactive participants only, here

   You may be asked to enter the following info to join the meeting:  Event number: 129 555 4460 Event password: noon_briefing  All participants should keep their mics muted when not speaking.   Who to contact if participants have a problem with the connection?  Participants should send an email to unvc at un dot org with reference to the Webex# along with their phone number and a BCSS technician will contact the participant ASAP.  Background information on communications planning for the policy brief:   Key points in the policy brief:  UN-Habitat is the penholder with contributions from UNDP, UNEP, DESA, ECLAC, ESCWA and ESCAP. The target audience is policymakers."

Haq is refusing to provide basic, historically disclosed information about UN sexual exploitation and abuse cases - this despite Haq's road to his gatekeeper position running either through the defunct newspaper the City Sun, or being the son of UNDP economist Mahbub ul Haq. In either case, this is a new low, withholding information about a UN "international" engaging in sexual exploitation in so often mistreated South Sudan - all the more so give Haq's online connections to women's studies in the Garden State. We'll have more on this.

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