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By Matthew Russell Lee, CJR PFT NY Post

UN GATE, April 7 – The UN Security Council in the second half of March 2020 did not hold a single publicly-viewable briefing or issuance of Press Elements, on Mali or any other site of a UN Peacekeeping mission.

  This as Inner City Press, which reports on Mali and South Sudan for example is excluded by the UN Secretariat from getting promised answers - for example to this question it posed: "what is the UN's response to the massacre of over 35 on Feb 14, 2020 an hour after a UN convoy had passed through?" -- a censorship it passes on to UNSC Presidents including on April 1 the Dominican Republic's Jose Singer.

  Nevertheless for now we publish these UNSC Press Elements via Carolina Peguero Fernández, the DR Mission's Minister Counselor, in full - our approach always begins open, then modifies based on how the UN acts: "The members of the Security Council held a video conference on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), with the participation of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Mr. Mahamat Saleh Annadif and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali, Mr Tiébilé Dramé. They expressed their solidarity with Mali in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. They called on the Government of Mali and the UN to continue working together to prevent the spread of the virus, and for MINUSMA to continue delivering on its mandate despite the pandemic, while ensuring the safety and security of its staff and peacekeepers. They welcomed the progress made so far in the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, while underlining that more progress was needed, and encouraged the Government of Mali and the signatory armed groups to continue to accelerate this implementation. They welcomed the conclusions of the national inclusive dialogue, which helped achieving these results. They condemned the terrorist attack perpetrated on 6 April 2020 against the Malian Defense and Security Forces in Bamba, and expressed their condolences to Mali and to the victims’ families. They called for the swift liberation of Soumaïla Cissé, leader of the opposition. They welcomed recent operations by the G5 Sahel Joint Force, the national armies of the G5 Sahel and the French forces. They called on the Government of Mali to enhance its efforts to stem violence in the Centre and to ensure that those responsible for violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international law are brought to justice. They were updated on MINUSMA’s adaptation plan, and reiterated their call on UN Member states to provide the capabilities needed for this plan’s success, as well as the need for its financial implications to be examined by the relevant General Assembly bodies."

  On December 2 the IMF which Inner City Press is accredited to cover, which the UN denies it, on Mali said this: "A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Boriana Yontcheva, visited Bamako during November 19-29, 2019, to hold discussions on the first review of the economic and financial program supported by the IMF under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).     At the end of the discussions, Ms. Yontcheva issued the following statement:     “The Malian authorities and IMF staff have reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of the economic and financial program supported by the IMF under the ECF, subject to approval by IMF management and Executive Board. Consideration by the IMF’s Executive Board is tentatively scheduled for early January 2020.     “Economic growth is expected to reach 5 percent in 2019 and over the medium term, despite the challenging security situation, reflecting some resilience in the economy. The general level of prices entered a deflationary trend in 2019, owing to good harvests following the abundant rainfall.     “The IMF mission and the Malian authorities reviewed the 2019 budget execution and the measures underpinning the draft 2020 budget. The fiscal deficit is expected to meet the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU)’s convergence criteria of 3 percent of GDP in 2019. Almost all performance criteria and indicative targets for end-September 2019, along with structural benchmarks, were met. Staff welcomed the significant improvement in tax collection. The authorities are committed to continuing their domestic revenue mobilization efforts to create the fiscal space needed to accommodate social, development and security spending while preserving macroeconomic stability and public debt sustainability. In addition to modernizing tax and customs departments, there is a need to accelerate the implementation of reforms geared toward digitalizing tax payments, further streamlining tax exemptions, including those granted to the mining sector, and improving petroleum products and property taxation.     “The IMF staff welcomed the ongoing efforts to reform the energy sector, including the state-owned electricity company’s (EDM.SA) plans to reach cost-recovery over the medium term, while ensuring better supply of electricity to the population.     “To achieve the program objectives for strong and inclusive growth and poverty reduction, the mission encourages the authorities to improve efficiency in public services delivery, including through pursuing reforms to improve governance. The mission also urges the authorities to redouble efforts in repaying domestic spending arrears in a timely fashion and further improving the business climate to foster private sector development and job creation.     “The team would like to thank the authorities, various stakeholders, and technical staff for their support and constructive discussions.”     The team met with the Prime Minister, Head of Government, Minister of Economy and Finance, Dr. Boubou Cissé, the Deputy Minister in Charge of Budget, Mrs. Aoua Sylla Barry; the National Director of the Central Bank of West African States, Mr. Konzo Traoré, senior officials, and development partners."  We'll have more on this.

On November 7 Inner City Press asked: "On Equatorial Guinea, what is the status (and dollar volume) of the IMF's consideration of a program, and the weighing if at all on the length of time Obiang has been in power? "The loan, the amount of which has not been revealed, is scheduled to be considered by the IMF executive board in December."

 From the IMF's November 7 transcript, with video on page: "There's another question from Matthew, which I'll take on Equatorial Guinea, asking what's the status and the volume of the IMF's consideration of a program for Equatorial Guinea and the weighing, if at all, length of time that President Obiang has been in power. On that, I can say that just recently on October 21st, the Equatorial Guinea authorities and an IMF team reached staff level agreement on a three-year arrangement. Again, under the extended Fund facility, which is the more concessional arm of the IMF's lending. The authorities are working on an agreed set of measures that could allow the new program to be considered by the IMF's Executive Board in December. And Matthew had asked about the volume. We're looking at the program that could be supported by approximately $280 million. So, that's for Equatorial Guinea."

More here.

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