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By Matthew Russell Lee, Video here, Vine here

UN GATE, August 31 -- After its  reporting on the United Nations as a resident correspondent for a decade, exposing war crimes and UN scandals from Sri Lanka to Yemen to Cameroon, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had Inner City Press roughly ousted by his UN Security and banned from the UN by them since 3 July 2018.

  On 24 August 2019 Inner City Press applied to  Guterres and his new Communications and media accreditation chief Melissa Fleming to be admitted like hundreds of others to cover the upcoming UN General Assembly. This was denied on August 30 with a Kafka-esque one-liner about accreditation having been revoked. Later on August 30, NYC City Hall issued this: "The Mayor's Office (OOM) has closed your FOIL request FOIL-2018-002-00511 for the following reasons:  A diligent search for records responsive to your request did not locate any such records. Accordingly, your request is denied.   You may appeal the decision to deny access to material that was redacted in part or withheld in entirety by contacting the agency's FOIL Appeals Officer: foilappeal@cityhall.nyc.gov within 30 days.  Request Information: Request Title: All records about United Nations "banned" lists, exclusions of people, discipline of UNDSS  Request Description: On behalf of Inner City Press and in my personal capacity this is a request under FOIL for all records in the possession of the NYC Office of the Mayor including the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs (MOIA; collectively OOM) regarding the exclusion of persons in the last three years from premises of the United Nations, in and around First Avenue and 42-48th Streets in Manhattan, including of NYC residents including journalists. This is also a request for all records in the same time period of the review, suspension or revocation of pistol permits for any UN personnel including but not limited to UN Department of Safety and Security personnel and the grounds therefore. To assist you in identifying and producing the responsive records on an expedited basis, I personally was physically ousted from the UN by UN DSS Lieutenant Ronald Dobbins and another unnamed on 3 July 2018 as I staked out and covered, as a journalist, the UN Budget Committee meetings. On 4 July 2018 I filed a report at the NYPD's 17th Precinct, despite being told - erroneously I now believe, including based on how my First Amendment rights have been impacted - that all UN personnel have total immunity. The report number is #2018-017-2848. See also, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/matthew-lee-un-attacks-reporter-journalist-inner-city-press-a8445081.html On 5 July 2018 when I went to the UN to continue my work as a journalist I was told I am “banned.” I have since been told that the UN has a “current and active barred notice” against me, that there is a banned list that includes “demonstrators” and “political activists.” I am still banned today, after 104 days. See also, https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/independent-journalist-matt-lee-forcibly-removed-un-stripped-press-credentials/ and https://www.cjr.org/the_profile/reporter-expelled-un.php I find this deeply troubling and worth of urgent Press coverage. This request includes but is not limited to all records related to the above, related to any knowledge by OOM including MOIA of any UN “banned” list and how it is compiled, and what due process protections if any are in place, etc. Also any knowledge by OOM including MOIA of any disciplinary measures taken against UN Security officers or other personnel, at least for the past three years. I am also requesting any record in your possession referring to "Inner City Press" for the past ten years, with the past three years to be provided on an expedited basis."

  That denial has been appealed. Watch this site.

On August 28 Inner City Press received from Guterres' Security chief Gilles Michaud an ill-informed response passing the buck to the Department now run by Fleming, who has not responded to four separate letters to her after she defended and covered up for the urging of "harder repression" by Paul Biya in Cameroon. Michaud sent this to Inner City Press:

"From: Gilles Michaud <gilles.michaud@un.org>
Date: Wed, Aug 28, 2019 at 4:49 PM
Subject: RE: DSS treatment of Mr. Matthew Lee To: Inner City Press
Cc: Hua Jiang <jiang1@un.org>, Jay Pozenel <pozenel@un.org>  [also fleming@unhcr.org]

 Thank you for your message. I have taken the liberty of including counterparts from the Department of Global Communications and Office of Legal Affairs in my response.    

On 10 July 2018 UNDSS escorted Mr. Matthew Lee from the UNHQ complex after he attempted to gain unauthorized access to a locked area and subsequently refused to comply with repeated requests from UN Security to leave the premises, in breach of UN Media Guidelines and the UN Administrative Instruction on the authority of UN Security Officers in place at that time.     Following that incident – and on the basis of a review of a number of previous breaches of the Guidelines and Administrative Issuance – DPI/DGC considered Mr. Lee’s conduct to be inconsistent with the Guidelines for accredited UN correspondents and his accreditation was subsequently withdrawn.    

This decision stands and the DSS role is now limited to ensuring that unaccredited individuals do not enter the premises.    

I hope this clarifies.     Gilles Michaud  USG Safety and Security  United Nations        Gilles Michaud  USG Safety and Security  United Nations  Tel: 1-917-367-4652"

  Inner City Press sent a reply to Michaud and others including  SGCentral <sgcentral@un.org>, Amina Mohammed <amina.mohammed@un.org>, aminaj.mohammed@un.org, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti <marialuiza.viotti@un.org>, David Kaye <dkaye@law.uci.edu> and others:

"Dear Mr. Michaud -    Thank you for you response, which follows the message I sent you this morning intending to ensure that I am able to enter and cover the upcoming UNGA High Level week like hundreds or thousands of other correspondents.      This should take place, and here with all due respect is why:     While you say "I hope this clarifies," frankly what it clarifies is the lawless cover-up of UN censorship which has occurred for the past 421 days.     Essentially you state, and apparently believe, that DSS has only been enforcing USG Smale's decision to remove my 10 year media accreditation without a single hearing or right to appeal.     Be aware that DPI, now DGC, has for its part attempted to tell me that it is DSS's decision.     But you should most certainly be aware that in fact DSS officials, including  not limited to Matthew Sullivan and "Tiny," has said on camera that I am on DSS' "barred" list, and have blocked me from entering the UN with tickets in my name to event I was invited to, not as a journalist. I will be happy to provide with the photos of the tickets, including to a human rights event and also to a film to which I was invited by UNODC.    

So contrary to your clarification, DSS has not been ensuring that a person - me - not accredited by DPI/DGC as a journalist not enter the UN as a journalist, but that a person be entirely barred from any entry of the UN, even as a tourist...

You say that on July 10, 2018 I "attempted to gain access to a locked area." This is false. First, it was July 3, 2018.    

Second, the "locked area" was the Vienna Cafe outside Conference Room Five where the Fifth (Budget) Committee was meeting. I have covered such meetings for a decade without incident; when Lt Dobbins and his colleague grabbed me, I has just conducted an interview with Cameroon PR Tommo Monthe.    

They laid hands on my before I had any opportunity to leave - grabbing my laptop where I was typing up my interview. The Vienna Cafe area was not locked, and MALU guidelines say even non resident correspondents can stay until meeting are over, and thirty minutes after. So this is false.     In my email to you this morning I offered to answer any questions you had, since I was never given any opportunity to be heard after in June and July 2018 DSS was directed to throw me out of the UN even when I was authorized to be there - a speech by the SG in the GA lobby at 7 pm in June, the Budget Committee meeting in July.     I am still willing to show you the documentation of any and all of this. But if DSS has no block on me, and DPI now DGC never gave me a hearing and claims to respect freedom of the press, my August 24 application for accreditation like 100s of other correspondent who don't even write much about the UN should be granted immediately, now four days after I applied.  Given the timing, I ask for confirmation of my ability to enter, forthwith. Please confirm receipt of this message, and the above.   Thank you for your time,  Matthew Russell Lee, Esq., Inner City Press Past (and future?) Office at UN: Room S-303, UN HQ, NY NY 10017."

 Then after further messages with the UN which are subject to publication, past 4 pm on Friday, August 30 the UN issued a denial of accreditation with no reasoning other than that accreditation had previously been revoked:

"From: malu <malu@un.org>
Date: Fri, Aug 30, 2019 at 4:23 PM
Subject: U.N. eAccreditation request for Matthew Lee Ref # M5413398 has been declined
To: Inner City Press:

Greetings Matthew Lee from Inner City Press,  Your media accreditation request, with reference no: M5413398, has been declined for the following reason: Media accreditation was withdrawn on 17 August 2018."

  This is Kafka-esque, and corrupt. We will have more, much more, on this. For this, here was from the August 24, 2019 application:

"I am writing to you a month before the UN General Assembly high level week as a journalist who after covering the United Nations for Inner City Press for ten years was roughed up and thrown out of the UN as I covered its Fifth (Budget) Committee on 3 July 2018 and have been denied all access since. There was no due process, no right to appeal, nothing. The Department's and MALU's lack of any content neutral accreditation rules, rule process including appeal rights for jouranlists, must also be addressed.  I should now be granted accreditation like hundreds of correspondents who publish far fewer stories about the UN and international affairs than I do. I ask for your immediate response.     I have a right to cover the UN, the Security Council, ECOSOC and General Assembly including next month's High Level week. For your information despite now ending USG Smale having assured the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression that during my exclusion my written questions would be answered, the questions have not been."

 Receipt was confirmed from many, including "From: malu Date: Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 7:28 PM Subject: Your U.N. eAccreditation Request has been RECEIVED To: Inner City Press 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. Please be assured every effort will be made to review the request as soon as possible. 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." Watch this site - we will report in detail going forward.

   UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he has a "zero tolerance" policy for sexual abuse, exploitation and harassment, and for retaliation.
But it has become clear what Guterres has a zero tolerance for is criticism, or even questions. Guterres had Inner City Press roughed up twice a year ago and banned since; now he and his spokespeople refuse to answer written questions about UN peacekeepers' child rapes, see below.

  A senior UN official who, like many lower down in the UN appreciates Inner City Press' accountability reporting about an Organization killing itself with corruption and arrogance, tried to raise the issue but wrote back: " I am sorry to hear that you are still banned from the UN. I was with the SG for a short meeting , we barely managed to cover some of the most important topics and he rushed to another meeting. But I enquired around and I was told that even my continuous efforts would not help. There are apparently also some others that are unhappy with your reporting."

  Who might those "some others" be? Watch this site.

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