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By Matthew Russell Lee, Scoop Video, Petition

UN GATE, Sept 13  – The UN World Intellectual Property Organization, whose work on North Korea's cyanide patents and retaliation Inner City Press has reported on, is still at it. It is consistent with the Xi-ification of the UN system under UNSG Antonio Guterres, who to hide his links to UN briber CEFC China Energy had Inner City Press roughed up for asking, and banned from the UN now 591 days.

Inner City Press previously reported that "WIPO CIO and whistleblower Wei LEI has been summarily dismissed by WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. This has been years in the making, ever since Wei Lei testified against Gurry in an OIOS investigation," see below.

  Now, on September 13, amid evidence that the French Ambassador hearing up the WIPO Coordination Committee is covering up for Guterres' fellow retaliator Gurry before he leaves on September 30, this: "13 September 2020  Dear Ambassador Rivasseau, My name is Wei Lei. I am the former Chief Information Officer (D-2 level) at WIPO. You will recall that I blew the whistle on WIPO Director General Francis Gurry’s corruption in a procurement process. An investigation was commissioned by the Chairs of the WIPO General Assembly (GA) and Coordination Committee (CoCo) and conducted by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). I was a key witness in the investigation and provided material evidence. Despite OIOS’s conclusion that Mr Gurry’s conduct did not meet the standards required of the International Civil Service and recommendation to take action against Mr Gurry, the Member States took no disciplinary measures against him and he remained in office. This allowed Mr. Gurry to unleash a barrage of despicable retaliatory acts against me, culminating in my dismissal on bogus charges. I am writing to you today, in your capacity as the Chair of CoCo, to urge you to take prompt action to ensure that CoCo institutes disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Gurry before he leaves office on 30 September 2020. Interventions last week during WIPO’s Program and Budget Committee (PBC) meetings confirm that an independent investigation commissioned by the Chairs of the CoCo and GA has substantiated the retaliation by Mr. Gurry against me. During the PBC meeting on 7 September 2020, the delegation of the United States raised concerns about a substantiated case of retaliation (referenced in paragraph 54.(a) of WO/PBC/31/4, Annual Report by the Director of the Internal Oversight Division) and requested further information, including any action the organization had taken to address the retaliatory act. In response, Mr. Singh, Director of the Internal Oversight Division (IOD), noted that the investigation was initiated by the Chairs of GA and CoCo and confirmed that the retaliation was substantiated. He further stated that “the case is for the competent disciplinary authority for taking further action”. According to relevant WIPO regulations, you, the Chair of CoCo, are the competent authority in this case as it concerns Mr. Gurry’s misconduct as the Director General. The Chairs of the CoCo and GA were clearly informed about the findings of the investigation several months ago, as the PBC document was issued in July 2020. It is of a grave concern that CoCo has yet to take any action on the misconduct by the Director General. As the Chair of the Coordination Committee, you have an obligation to inform all the members of the Coordination Committee about the investigation conclusions and substantiated retaliation, so that they can take an informed decision on disciplinary measures against Mr. Gurry. I therefore urge you to immediately inform all members of the WIPO Coordination Committee about the substantiated retaliation and misconduct by the Director General and to take immediate action in response to the investigation, this may include: • Immediate suspension of Mr. Gurry as the WIPO Director General;  • Inclusion of a new agenda item into the upcoming Coordination Committee meeting later this month to discuss the finding of the investigation and the disciplinary measures against Mr. Gurry; • Issuing of Charge Letter against Mr. Gurry – a requirement under "Regulation 10.2 of WIPO’s Staff Regulations and Rules; • Directing the WIPO Administration to immediately protect me, as the whistleblower in the case, and to rectify the grave harm the Administration has inflicted on me; • Launching an independent investigation to examine the impact of Mr. Gurry’s abuse of power and the systemic deficiencies in the organization’s management, together with recommendations for rectifying the harm suffered by Mr. Gurry’s victims in recent years and for reforming WIPO’s internal justice system. I note that WIPO’s Staff Regulations are quite clear that CoCo is to institute disciplinary proceedings against the Director General where misconduct has been substantiated. Retaliation against a whistleblower constitutes misconduct under WIPO’s Policy on the Protection against Retaliation (paragraph 7) and must be addressed consistent with WIPO’s Staff Regulations and Rules, under 10.2 “Proceedings Against the Director General”. I applaud WIPO Member States’ continuing emphasis on improving WIPO’s accountability and whistleblower protection. However, allowing Mr. Gurry to leave office without instituting any disciplinary proceedings in accordance with existing regulations and rules would seriously compromise the effectiveness of and the confidence in these improvements. Simply put, failing to address such serious abuse of power by a Director General – who was proven to have committed misconduct, then was proven again to have retaliated against the whistleblower – not only sends chilling messages to future whistleblowers, it confirms impunity, lack of accountability, and erodes public trust in WIPO as an international organization. At the upcoming GA meetings later this month, the world will be watching if WIPO is serious about accountability and whistleblower protection. I look forward to seeing your leadership in action. Sincerely yours, Wei Lei." We'll have more on this.

The wider UN of  Guterres has banned Inner City Press from entering its campus since 3 July 2018, claiming that its Lieutenant Ronald Dobbins targeted ouster of Inner City Press from a speech by Secretary General Antonio Guterres on June 22 then from a meeting about his budget on July 3 (video via here) were "altercations." Next this ban was extended  beyond the UN campus to the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue, for a July 10 press conference by the UN affiliated but ostensibly independent WIPO which as Inner City Press has previously reported helped North Korea with its cyanide patents and retaliated against it staff and media. Inner City Press was e-mailed an invitation on July 2, 2018 and replied with an RSVP to cover it. Marshall Hoffman of WIPO's public relations firm Hoffman PR wrote back, "Thanks. We will see at the press conference."

After that, Guterres spokesman Farhan Haq was asked why Inner City Press is banned and said it is pending a review of two "altercations" - both of which were improper and unilateral ousters of Inner City Press by UN Security's Dobbins and officers, four of whom refused to give their names.

Soon, there was this follow up e-mail from WIPO's flak Marshall Hoffman: "Dear Matthew, It has come to my attention that your accreditation to the UN has been suspended pending an investigation into an incident. Given the suspension, I regret you will not be able to attend the WIPO press conference."

Now the UN has gone so far as to put Inner City Press on a "banned from UN" list it does not make public; Guterres' security nearly got Park East Synagogue security to oust Inner City Press from Guterres' October 31, 2018 speech... on tolerance. This is today's UN: the ban must be reversed.

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