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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NY Post

UNITED NATIONS, December 10 – How corrupt has the UN of Secretary General Antonio Guterres, now including his Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights under Michelle Bachelet become? Just as Guterres diverts public funds to fly at least 16 times to his home in Lisbon, and roughs up and bans the Press which asks, Bachelet as the Press predicted never really moved to Geneva, misleading the public and according to whistleblowers gaming the UN's payments system, see below. Amid this, both Bachelet, her Deputy Andrew Gilmour and Guterres bar the Press from covering their hypocritical human rights events. Something as basic as the datelines of Bachelet's statements is being gamed, obscuring when it is that she is in Chile. Today is an example: with Bachelet obviously not in Geneva, a statement by her has been issued with a Geneva dateline, here. How often does this happen? We'll have more on this. Before Guterres nominated Bachelet for the job, Inner City Press was multiply informed and reported that Bachelet said she would not really move to Geneva, staying in Chile for personal reasons. But Guterres, perhaps to make his own absentee administration look more acceptable, said fine, and allowed her to hide it as he as does his own travel. Whistleblowers tell Inner City Press they rarely see her in her Office, that when infrequently she appears she stays in the President Wilson Hotel, next door to OHCHR. This is a full-time Geneva-based job (paid very well indeed - USG's are paid up to CHF35,000 in Geneva) - plus additional scams that UN OIOS should investigate. But Guterres has approved this scam, unlike that of Erik Solheim for which Guterres hypocritically fired Solheim, while he won't fire harassment king Michel Sidibe at UNAIDS. Guterres should be impeached. Consider: With Guterres, Bachelet and her Deputy Andrew Gilmour set to speak in the UN on human rights day on December 10, Inner City Press responded to an invitation and was told, "Thank you for registering to attend the Human Rights Day event at the United Nations on Monday 10 December. On Monday, please come to the UN Visitors’ Gate on First Avenue opposite 45th street starting at 2pm, at which time entry passes will be distributed."

Then, past six p.m. on Friday, December 7 this from Bachelet's and Gilmour's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights: "Dear Matthew, We have received notification from UN Security that your name was flagged as "BARRED" on the list we submitted for passes for Monday's event (3pm, ECOSOC Chamber). We will therefore not have a pass for you and are unable to facilitate entry.
Thank you for your interest and best regards,
OHCHR New York Office."

   Inner City Press immediately wrote back, to the sender and Bachelet and her assistant Katayoun Vessali, not for the first time, to Andrew Gilmour and to the moderator of the event Sherine Tadros of Amnesty International, tweeting it at AI's still relatively new director, "Particularly since you are the UN Office of the High Commissioner for *Human Rights,* did you not ask why a journalist who asks the Secretary General and his spokesmen about the killings in Cameroon, Burundi, UN corruption, UN peacekeepers' sexual abuse of civilians, and Sri Lanka, is “BARRED” from attending your human rights event - without any hearing or appeal? I will appreciate your Office's answer to this."  48 hours later, no response at all: corruption.

 Bachelet gave a speech on October 15 in the UN's Third Committee, she emphasized a prioritization of social and economic rights and said one of the officials of her office is "on mission in Silicon Valley" in the US. There are questions about this - but Inner City Press which has covered human rights and the UN for more than a decade was for the first time banned from access a High Commissioner's speech. This has been raised repeated to Bachelet since she took office but she has so far done nothing, not even responded. Meanwhile on October 12 Cameroon, from whose Paul Biya Secretary General Antonio Guterres took a golden statue and favors in the Fifth (Budget) Committee and remains silent on the slaughter of Anglophones, was elected to a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. This system is failing - but if Bachelet cannot even answer on Guterres maintaining a secret banned list including not only Inner City Press but also "political activists," then the UN has hit a new low.

   Inner City Press was never given a hearing by Smale before her August 17 letter with withdrew Inner City Press media accreditation. Nothing in it said anything about a ban from entering the UN as a person, a tourist, or in another other way. But this is what happened, without any recourse. Pure Kafka-esque censorship, by a former New York Times Berlin bureau chief to hinder coverage of the corruption of the former Portuguese prime minster Antonio Guterres, see September 23 New York Post here. What next? Watch this site.

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