On
Yemen, UN Envoy
IOCA Tweets of
Churros
Amid Airstrikes
on Taizz &
Sa'ada,
Censorship
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, August 11 – When the UN Security
Council belatedly met about Yemen on July
12, only three of the Council members
spoke in the open meeting: Uruguay, Bolivia
and Sweden. Uruguay cited an airstrike on a
market and noted that the rebels don't have
air support. Now on August 11 the UN's often
invisible envoy on Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh
Ahmed has gone public on Twitter with his love
of churros, tweeting an article in
Cosmopolitan magazine urging readers to book a
trip to California immediately. Inner City
Press preserved the ice cream shot in a
photograph, here,
in part because IOCA has a pattern of blocking
journalists on Twitter, which the Free UN Coalition
for Access has questioned along with
other UN censorship. On August 8, Inner City
Press asked about the bombings, and the UN's
envoy, to the UN Spokesman. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: You may have seen the
International Committee of the Red Cross has
issued deep concern about airstrikes on Sa’ada
and Taizz in great detail. They issued
this today. And so, inevitably people
wonder, given that the UN has a Special Envoy
on Yemen, is he equally as concerned, either
well documented…?
Spokesman: I think we have… The UN
system, through its Resident Coordinator,
expressed its concern at the airstrikes and
the death of children and civilians over the
weekend. Anyone who works for the UN is
obviously troubled and concerned about the
continuing suffering of the civilians, and
that's why the Special Envoy is continuing his
work and trying… and keep… and not giving up
on trying to get the parties around a
political settlement. And I think, if
you… as I'm sure you do pay attention to the
various Security Council briefings, I think
our outrage at the continuing deaths and
suffering of civilians is clear.
And then: Inner
City Press: this came up on a few other
officials, but I've been informed or… that the
UN envoy on Yemen, Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed,
blocks journalists, including a guy, Mr. Shwaib
al Musawa [sic], who's like a… the stringer for
The New York Times who covers Yemen. So,
I'm just wondering, is there some policy from
the top? I haven't seen Mr. Shwaib [sic]
really, you know, be as critical as some others
are of Mr. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, but is
there some guidance from the Secretary-General
that people that are envoys on a country
shouldn't block journalists that are covering
that country?
Spokesman: No, I'm not aware of any
particular guidance. I don't monitor
people's Twitter accounts, who they block, who
they don't block. So, no.August
7, 2017
After
Ng Bribery
Conviction, ICP
Asks UN of Carlos
Garcia, Helped
Bribes,
Still
In UN
UNITED
NATIONS, August 4 – After the UN bribery
verdict of six guilty counts against Ng Lap
Seng was delivered by the jury on July 27,
Inner City Press began asking the UN about the
people still at the UN who were shown to have
worked for or taking money from Ng, or both.
So far the UN has done nothing. For example,
the trial exposed the role of Carlos Garcia,
former Salvadoran Ambassador and since then a
bridge for NGOs, in helping "free" Lorenzo's
bribe money from Ng. On August 4, Inner City
Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN
transcript
here: Inner City Press: has to do with
the Ng Lap Seng case, believe it or not.
In the case, among the evidence that… that
came out leading to the guilty verdict was
evidence of former Permanent Representative of
El Salvador, Carlos Garcia, assisting Francis
Lorenzo in getting ill-gotten gains released
from the Dominican Republic. I've asked
you about him before because, since serving as
a permanent representative, he seems to be a
kind of bridge to NGOs [non-governmental
organizations]. He had an NGO called
Global Governance for the UNSDGs. I
still see him around 1B squiring people
around. So, my request to you is, given…
and, again I don't know if OIOS [Office of
Internal Oversight Services] tracked the case
or not. Given what was shown on the
screen and put into evidence regarding his
assistance in Mr. Francis Lorenzo getting
bribe money released, does he have some, he
has some kind of a pass. Is there some
kind of emeritus status for diplomats, or how
it does it work?
Spokesman: I'm not aware of any em…
emeritus, yeah, emeritus status except for
journalists, so I will look into it.
Thank you.
We'll see
- and we'll follow up. For further example,
during the trial an email was shown that current
UN official Meena Sur emailed back and forth
helping on the brochure for Ng's fraudulent UN
conference center. But even today, in the
Department of General Assembly and Conference
Management organogram,
Meena Sur is the chief of the "Documents
Management Section." Documents for Ng Lap Seng.
There is a history here: for the Dominican
Republic mission, that is Francis Lorenzo, Meena
Sur was also involved with a shadowy IGO "World
Sports Alliance," heavily involved in mining but
not sports. See for example this:
"The World Sports Alliance (WSA) team briefed
President Leonel Fernandez on his 19th September
visit to Baruch College of the City University
of New York during Hispanic Heritage Month. The
World Sports Alliance is a multi-stakeholder
partnership launched by XL Generation
Foundation, Give Them a Hand Foundation, and the
Informal Regional Network of the NGO
Section/DESA that uses sports to create local
economic development and achieve the Millennium
Development Goals. Ambassador Francis Lorenzo of
the Mission of the Dominican Republic to the UN
facilitated the meeting. Ms. Meena Sur,
Programme Officer of the NGO Section/DESA, Mr.
Gordon Tapper,
President of Give them a Hand Foundation, as
well as Mr. Alain Lemieux, President of
the WSA, attended the President’s speech at the
college as Special Guests of thePermanent
Mission of the Dominican Republic." More on this
soon - who in the UN Office of Internal
Oversight Services followed up on any of this?
The UN is corrupt - and incompetent. DGACM's UN
Journal for August 3 calls that day, a Thursday,
"Tuesday." Photo here.
We will continue on this. July
31, 2017
After Bribery
Conviction,
UN Told
Reuters It Wants
to Get Paid,
ICP Asks Why,
Video Here
UNITED
NATIONS, July 28 – After the UN bribery
verdict of six guilty counts against Ng Lap
Seng was delivered by the jury late on July
27, UN Spokesman
Farhan Haq who has
repeatedly dodged questions
about the case from Inner
City Press was quoted
by Reuters that the UN was
"a victim of these crimes"
and later
that "We are exploring the
possibility of requesting
restitution as a victim to
these crimes, including
recovering expenses incurred
to provide the requested
cooperation." Inner City Press
asked UN Spokesman Haq on
July 28 to
explain how the UN is
the victim, and how it
dares say it should be
get for corruption.
Video 8
from Minute 8:40. Haq
said, This is the
position of our Legal
Council. Now Inner
City Press
has asked above. Watch
this site. The
UN even refused to tell the
prosecution whom it spoke to
for its Task Force Report,
which said it has no ethical
standards. The UN will ask
for money, while paying
nothing to the 10,000 people
it killed in Haiti? Reuters
doesn't even raise that - it
has a conflict of
interest. UN official
Ion Butnaru put the name of
Ng's company Sun Kian Ip
Group into a General
Assembly resolution long
after it was voted on, took
a free trip to Macau and an
iPad there. Victim? Ng's
company South South News
bought full page ads in the
ball program of the UN
Correspondents Association,
then went to their ball at
Cipriani and got photos with
then Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon. (Reuters then as
now had a seat on UNCA's
board, something not
disclosed in its coverage of
Ng and the UN). A current UN
official Meena Sur was shown
in the trial to have held on
Ng's brochure for his
planned Macau conference
Center. The UN remains
UNreformed. Inner City
Press, which has covered the
scandal from the beginning
and remains restricted by
the UN for its coverage,
rushed down to the
courthouse and asked Ng Lap
Seng, as he left by the side
door to Worth Street, what
he thinks of the UN and
those there who took his
money and favors, a list
well beyond John Ashe and
Francis Lorenzo. Periscope
video here.
He did not answer,
understandable. He will be
back in court on August 7
for arguments on if his
house arrest can continue.
Before Ng left, Inner City
Press witnessed his lawyers
leaving. They told the judge
they will appeal. But now
that Ng is guilty, will the
UN act on those exposed as
corrupt, and reverse its
censorship?
Ng Lap
Seng's $3 billion UN convention center plan
had been assisted by Meena Sur, still working
for the UN Department of General Assembly and
Conference Management. Inner City Press asked
the UN spokesman Farhan Haq, who dodged by
saying the UN was waiting for the verdict. But
the UN is not on trial, because it has and
cited immunity.
Likewise, high
UN official Navid
Hanif attended Ng Lap Seng's murky
event in Macau in August 2015, and remains at
at the UN. Spokesman Haq refused to answer
about him, while telling Inner City Press that
lower UN staff member Frances Fuller
“separated from service” in September 2016,
just after Inner City Press asked about her.
Francis
Lorenzo, who took more money from Ng than the
now deceased John Ashe, was given
a UN.org email address by DGACM despite never
being pictured among Ashe's Special Advisers,
and never giving up his day job as the
Dominican Republic's Deputy Permanent
Representative.
Even on July
26, DGACM's Executive Officer told Inner City
Press that the UN still hands such UN
credential to anyone whom a President of the
General Assembly tells them too. So nothing
has been reformed.
The Department
of Public Information under Cristina
Gallach took Ng Lap Seng's money for its
slavery memorial, and allowed fraudulent
events in the UN lobby. But UN lead
spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who allowed the
content of Ng's South South News to be
included in UNTV archives under his watch,
said this was just an issue of “judgment,” not
malfeasance.
The UN
Correspondents Association, to whom Dujarric “lent” the UN
Press Briefing Room then evicted and still
restricts Inner City Press for seeking to
cover the event
to see if they discussed taking South South
News' money and providing a venue for Ng's
photo op with Ban Ki-moon, did not have a
single member correspondent covering the
month-long UN bribery case. Other dubious
events were being hosted.
And so, while
awaiting the jury's verdict on Ng Lap Seng -
which may be not guilty given how corrupt the
UN and the star witness against him Francis
Lorenzo have been shown to be - it is clear
that the UN has not reformed and remains
corruption and a censor, seven months into the
reign of “new” Secretary General Antonio
Guterres. It is the UN that should be
prosecuted, or invited to leave. Watch this
site.
Legal footnotes:
counsel to Ng Lap Seng, Park Jensen Bennett,
Partners Tai H Park and Douglas Jensen in New
York; and Alexandra Shapiro in New York;
Assistant US attorneys Douglas Zolkind, Janis
Echenberg and Daniel Richenthal of the US
Attorney’s Office, David Last, on detail with
the criminal division fraud section's FCPA unit.July
24, 2017
In
UN Bribery
Case of
Ng Lap Seng, South
South News Paid
Ashe Wife, UN
Staff &
Contractors
UNITED
NATIONS, July 21 –In the ongoing UN bribery
trial of Ng Lap Seng, on July 21 the bookkeeper
of Ng's South South News Ms Jianqing Zhu
testified that former President of the General
Assembly John Ashe's wife was paid $6,000 a
month; the memo on the check as "Antigua -
wife." The records shown in court showed South
South News payment to UN staff members and UN
contractors - the UN is covering this up, with
its usually collaborators. We'll have more on
this. On July 20 Ms. Zhu testified how she
transferred Ng's funds to pay for salary,
clothes, luggage and rent for Vivian Wang and
Francis Lorenzo, who had a UN.org email address.
When she testified that South South News got a
"good deal" by buying two Mercedes rather that
just one, jury members burst out laughing. The
day ended with the prosecution walking her
through spread sheets of payment for "UN
events," on which we'll have more. After the
jury was excused for the day, there was
discussion of a jury charge that it is not
uncommon for witnesses to be spoken with by the
parties, that they can be weight but doesn't
have to be by the jury. Inner City Press'
Periscope videos here
and here
and here;
Inner City Press had to run back to the UN to
get its computer before 7 pm under the
censorship order imposed by the UN Department of
Public Information after Inner City Press sought
to cover a meeting, in the UN Press Briefing
Room, of the UN Correspondents Association which
took Ng's South South News' money for full page
ads then provided the venue for Ng's photos with
Ban Ki-moon. On July 19 the FBI agent who
arrested Ng and his accountant Jeffrey Yin began
to testify. He brought into evidence before an
increasingly bemused jury long videos of Ng's
proposed development in Macau, which had a
larger residential component than the "Geneva of
Asia" conference center which served as its
rationale. It was described as a shopping center
on reclaimed land, with "gaming" - which should
have disqualified it under UN system rules, but
didn't. The UN is corrupt and for sale, this
trial is making clear. In Ng's black Samsonite
suitcase were the promotional materials, a
series of DVDs screened by "Ms. Rao" (phonetic)
as translations were handed out to the jury.
South South News payroll information came into
evidence, with John Ashe's wife (widow) now
listed, along with Juan Paulino and others. Also
on July 19 the prosecution showed the jury wire
transfers of $200,000 labeled "Lorenzo Wires"
for government witness Francis Lorenzo, via one
Luis Guerra of "Terra Trading in the Dominican
Republic, as well as one of Lorenzo's UN.org
business cards, found in the possession of Ng's
accountant Jeffrey Yin, who like Lorenzo has
pleaded guilty. On July 20 Inner City Press
asked UN Spokesman Farhan Haq about Francis
Lorenzo having a un.org email address while
serving as the Deputy Permanent Representative
of the Dominican Republic (and head of South
South News). Haq refused to answer, transcript here,
telling Inner City Press to ask the office of
the President of the General Assembly. So Inner
City Press has, cc-ing Haq: "First, please
confirm or deny that Lorenzo had a un.org email
address as a “Special Adviser to the PGA” as
reflected on the business card confiscated by
the FBI. Second, please state what the rules are
for getting a UN.org email address, where the
complete list is available so that the public is
not defrauded, and how the Office of the PGA
distributes un.org email addresses to non UN
staff. There may be more questions but these are
on deadline." Of course, Haq evading the
question by saying to ask it to the Office of
the current President of the General Assembly
was an evasion: that office's Daniel Thomas has
for now responded that "each Presidency is very
different in nature. We have no one on our team
who was present for OPGA 68." Watch this site.
The UN's repeated attempts to distance itself
from the corruption being documented in the
Federal courthouse in lower Manhattan are, it is
becoming clear, merely evasions. Also entered
into evidence were videos and photographs of
then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with
Lorenzo and others, similar to those arranged
at the Cipriani's ball of the UN Correspondents
Association, which accepted payment for full
page ads from Ng's and Lorenzo's South South
News. Here
is Inner City Press' Periscope video after
leaving the courthouse (which does not allow
cameras or phones to come in), here
the rushed re-entry into the UN, with UN
Security in view. We'll have more on this.
On July 17 the defense argued to get into
evidence videos including one of a visit to
South South News and a number of UN Ambassadors
by the Dominican Republic's then-President
Leonel Fernandez Reyna. Video here.
July
17, 2017
On UN
Bribery Case of
Ng Lap Seng, UN
Won't Answer on
DGACM, Says
DPI "Issue
of Judgment"
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July 14 –In the ongoing UN bribery
trial of Ng Lap Seng, on July 13 a UN witness,
for which the UN only partially waived its
claimed immunity, testified that Ng Lap Seng as
a gambling casino magnate should have been
excluded from any business with the UN
Development Program, or all review of dealing
with him "escalated" to then Administrator Helen
Clark. The witness, Simon Hannaford of UNDP, was
walked through UNDP documents about due
diligence and yes, the UN Global Compact. But Ng
Lap Seng gave money to UNDP's Office of South
South Cooperation, for the Macau event that had
UN Secretariat (and UN Correspondents
Association) attendance. So who has been held
accountable? Inner City Press rushed from the
courthouse and to the UN noon briefing, through
the tourist entrance since the UN Department of
Public Information and the Spokesman Stephane
Dujarric had it evicted and still restricted.
But when Inner City Press asked Dujarric simple
questions, such as about the scope of the waiver
the UN gave for Hannaford's testimony and who
has been held accountable for taking Ng's money,
Dujarric refused to answer a single question.
Dujarric claimed that OSSC, which has not held
any press conference, is accessible and
transparent. False. So on July 14, Inner City
Press asked again, specifically about
accountability at the Department of General
Assembly and Conference Management, where a GA
resolution was changed to include Ng Lap Seng's
company's name, and the Department of Public
Information. Video
here. This time Dujarric said that "the
audit" shows that there was an "issue of
judgment," not malfeasance at DPI. Well, here
is the audit. And, while at DPI Dujarric was in
charge of UNTV when, mysteriously, video of Ng'
South South News got incorporated into UNTV
archives. We'll have more on this. Watch this
site.July
10, 2017
On
Burundi, After
ICP Asked UN
Repatriated
Mayuyu, Now to
Somalia,
DSG to Act or
Not?
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July 7 -- The
UN's lack
of vetting of
peacekeepers, exposed
by Inner City Press
then as credited
by the Washington
Post as to Burundi,
has continued under
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres and,
at least until
now, his
deputy Amina J.
Mohammed. On
July 7
Mohammed told
the UN's
Chiefs of
Defense to
only "send us
personnel with
spotless
backgrounds."
Video here. But
will she accept the UN
allowing Burundi's
Colonel Mayuyu, which
the UN itself
repatriated for abuse,
to be sent out to act on
civilians in Somalia, in
the UN
supported AMISOM? It
will be a
test - one
failed
so far on
ongoing
censorship of
the Press. Ten
days after Inner City
Press asked Guterres'
holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric
about UN
"pre-deployment" training
for Major Gahomera, linked
to the 12/12
massacre in Burundi,
there has been
no answer. Now it
emerges that
one of the
Burundian
officers that after
Inner City Press
inquiries in
2016 was
repatriated
from the UN
mission in the
Central
African
Republic,
Colonel
Mayuyu, is being
sent back out
again by Burundi,
to the UN-supported
mission in
Somalia.
Photographs here;
September 16,
2016 Vine video
still here.
On July
6, Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric about
it, video here, UN transcript hereJuly
3, 2017
On
Haiti, ICP
Asks Guterres
Spox If New
Cholera Envoy
Against
Reparations,
No Answer
UNITED
NATIONS, June 30 – Days after UN cholera victims
told Inner
City Press in Haiti that the
"community projects"
UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres
described
to the
Press would be
useless to
them, Guterres'
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
dodged
questions
about what
the victims
said, from
Inner City Press. This
while Guterres
is recruiting
a "victims'
advocate" - on
every issue
except those
the UN killed?
Video here.
On June
30 Inner City
Press asked
Dujarric, UN
transcript here: Inner
City Press: in
the Council,
there was the
report
on the
Council's
visit to
Haiti. [Periscope here.]
And the issue
of cholera
came up.
The
re-investor
reported, I
guess, what
was heard
inside the
meeting.
Outside the
meeting was…
things were…
were spicier
still in terms
of the UN, you
know, not
living up to
what people
believe was
said.
I've seen a
picture of
Josette
Sheeran
briefing, I
guess, at the
Canadian
Mission.
Is it possible
in early July
to get her
here to
describe what
her work's
going to be
and…
Spokesman:
We can see
what we can
do.
Inner
City Press: to
your
knowledge, has
anything been
raised or does
she have a
position on
individual
reparations? [@InnerCityPress
also asked on
Twitter, here.]
Spokesman:
We'll see what
we can do.
Past 4 pm,
nothing, even as
approved
peacekeeping
mission
budgets were
still being
withheld. On
June 28 Inner
City Press
asked Dujarric
if Guterres'
supposedly
"new" approach to the
cholera the UN
brought to
Haiti meant he
will continue
to seek
impunity. From
the UN transcript:
at
least two
federal court
cases about
the UN having
introduced
cholera to
Haiti.
In this case
that's in
Brooklyn,
where they're
arguing that…
that the UN
essentially
waived the
immunities
that it's
claiming by
having a
mechanism to
deal with
negligence,
which I think
most people
would say this
was, as
opposed to
intentional,
is there
anything in
the new
Secretary-General's
new approach
to cholera
that will be
reflected in a
response, or
is it the UN's
continuing
response that
it bears no
legal
responsibility
at all?
Spokesman:
Our legal
position is
unchanged.
The UN's
effort as
outlined by
the
Secretary-General
is focusing on
preventing the
spread or
resurgence of
cholera in
Haiti and
helping
communities in
a first
instance.
Inner
City Press:
And what's the
status of his
discussions
with countries
about the $40
million that…?
Spokesman:
I've nothing
more to say
than what the
Secretary-General
himself
announced.
From
the UN's June 27
transcript:
Inner City
Press: in
Haiti, as the
Security
Council made
its trip,
various people
approached
the… the Press
that was part
of the trip
and said very
clearly that
they
interpreted
what Amina
Mohammed and
Mr. [António]
Guterres had
said as a
retrenchment,
as a stepping
back from the
idea of
possible
individual
reparations
that was in
the November
2016 report by
then Secretary General
Ban
Ki-moon.
And one
gentleman, 57
years old, who
has had
cholera and
his spouse
died, said:
"Community
projects are
useless to me,
do nothing for
me." And
I wanted to
understand
more
clearly,
Farhan [Haq]
ended up
saying that
there's still
some
consideration
of
individual
reparations.
That's not
really the way
that I read what
the Secretary
General said.
What is the
current
thinking of
the
Secretary-General
on attempting
to make at
least some
type of
reparatory
payment to
people whose
relatives got
cholera and
died and have
to educate
their
children?
Spokesman:
First of all,
our hearts go
out to all the
people who
suffered from
the cholera
epidemic,
either
personally or
through the
loss of loved
ones. I
think the
Secretary-General
and the Deputy
Secretary-General
were very
clear in
outlining the
way
forward.
The focus will
be initially
on
community-based
projects, and
we're taking
things one
step at a
time.
But, I can't
really go any
further than
what the
Secretary-General
himself said.
Inner
City Press:
But, he seemed
to say that
individual was
not being
considered.
Spokesman:
Things are
progressing.
We're taking
things one
step at a
time.
So
what has been the
United Nations' real impact
on Haiti? There will be
longer answers to that
questions - watch this site
- but for now a vignette.
After two days of speed
meetings with the President,
parliamentarians, police
trainers, proud peacekeepers
from India and Brazil, some
civil society reps followed
by businessmen with flash
drives, a UN bus raced over
ragged streets on June 24.
Inside, European
staffers of the UN's MINUSTAH
mission fretted about the
addition of a vague paragraph
about the cholera the UN
brought in a statement soon to
read out at the MINUSTAH
Logistics Base. Outside the
bus, Haitians pushing heavy
cartloads of fruit, riding in
in backs of pickup trucks
pushed ot the side by the UN
convoy, stared out, some in
anger. The Press, along for
the ride, heard
the day before from residents
of Cite Soleil who lost
relatives to the cholera the
UN brought, with criminally
negligent inattention to
sanitation for troops brought
in from a cholera hot-spot in
Nepal, who got cholera
themselves. “The UN has to pay
for this,” one said. “What
good would a community plaza
be fore me?” But it is
community projects that new UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres is offering, as he
told Inner City Press back in
UN headquarters. The Security
Council delegation that
visited Haiti June 22-24
repeated over and over they
support the Secretary
General's “new” approach. But
what is new about it? We'll
have more on this. When
the UN Security Council
visited Haiti's Presidential
Palace on Thursday, they heard
about the cholera the UN
brought, specifically that the
$40 million remaining in the
MINUSTAH mission's budget
should remain behind. On
Saturday morning, the Security
Council's president for June
Sasha Sergia Llorentty Soliz
held a press conference at the
MINUSTAH mission's "Log-Base."
Periscope video here.
Inner City Press asked him
about the UN cholera victims
it has spoken with the day
before, who said that the UN
must pay individual
reparations, not community
project that are of no use to
them. He said that messages
had been heard. We will follow
up on this in New York - and
in Haiti on the intimidation
and under-payment of judges. June
26, 2017
In
Haiti, UN
Sweats How To
Phrase Evasion
on Cholera It
Brought, Its
Victims
UNheard
NEW YORK, June
25 – What has been
the United Nations' impact
on Haiti? There will be
longer answers to that
questions - watch this site
- but for now a vignette.
After two days of speed
meetings with the President,
parliamentarians, police
trainers, proud peacekeepers
from India and Brazil, some
civil society reps followed
by businessmen with flash
drives, a UN bus raced over
ragged streets on June 24.
Inside, European
staffers of the UN's MINUSTAH
mission fretted about the
addition of a vague paragraph
about the cholera the UN
brought in a statement soon to
read out at the MINUSTAH
Logistics Base. Outside the
bus, Haitians pushing heavy
cartloads of fruit, riding in
in backs of pickup trucks
pushed ot the side by the UN
convoy, stared out, some in
anger. The Press, along for
the ride, heard
the day before from residents
of Cite Soleil who lost
relatives to the cholera the
UN brought, with criminally
negligent inattention to
sanitation for troops brought
in from a cholera hot-spot in
Nepal, who got cholera
themselves. “The UN has to pay
for this,” one said. “What
good would a community plaza
be fore me?” But it is
community projects that new UN
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres is offering, as he
told Inner City Press back in
UN headquarters. The Security
Council delegation that
visited Haiti June 22-24
repeated over and over they
support the Secretary
General's “new” approach. But
what is new about it? We'll
have more on this. When
the UN Security Council
visited Haiti's Presidential
Palace on Thursday, they heard
about the cholera the UN
brought, specifically that the
$40 million remaining in the
MINUSTAH mission's budget
should remain behind. On
Saturday morning, the Security
Council's president for June
Sasha Sergia Llorentty Soliz
held a press conference at the
MINUSTAH mission's "Log-Base."
Periscope video here.
Inner City Press asked him
about the UN cholera victims
it has spoken with the day
before, who said that the UN
must pay individual
reparations, not community
project that are of no use to
them. He said that messages
had been heard. We will follow
up on this in New York - and
in Haiti on the intimidation
and under-payment of judges.
The Security Council got a
briefing from India's Assam
Rifles, complete with a slide
about the unit's history in
Sri Lanka. (More on that to
follow). Outside, rifles and
riot suppression equipment was
displayed. A short bus ride
led to the Brazilian camp,
fruit juices and what felt
like the wrap up of the visit.
Should UN peacekeeping
contingents buy more of what
they use from the countries
they deploy to? More on this
to follow, too. Back on Friday
when the Security Council met
at the country's Cour de
Cassation, invitee Massillon
told them and then the Press
that some judges in Haiti
can't even afford any law
books, work surrounded by
garbage and are subject to
intimidation and corruption.
Another invitee told Inner
City Press that while
Massillon "said what had to be
said," he had offended UN
Envoy Sandra Honore with his
criticism of MINUSTAH's
performance. Who will head
MINUJUSTH? (In a bad joke,
some call it Mini-Jupe or
mini-skirt, as some in the
Congo have ajudge MONUSCO to
be MONUSELESS.) We are putting
Massillon's and a colleague's
later audio up on sound-cloud;
Inner City Press asked again
about Haitian judges' paltry
salaries. Earlier on Friday
there was a protest while the
Security Council met with the
"private sector." A bus full
of UN cholera victims was
pressured to leave - but then
returned, along with advocate
Mario Joseph, and spoke with
the Press. Long Periscope with
Mario Joseph near the end here;
second Periscope turned into
YouTube here.
Uniformly, the call was for
individual reparations. Of a
57 year old victim who can now
barely walk it was asked, what
good would a community plaza
do for him? But that is what
the UN, when Inner City Press
last asked, is offering. Done
with the private sector, the
Security Council drove a short
way to the Cour de Cassation.
The UN stands for justice?
Cholera was less pointedly
raised after the meeting with
President Moise by his acting
(for a day?) foreign minister,
and was the subject of the
sole questioner allowed.
Video here.
Friday when after
a closed door meeting with
Parliamentarians - the Army
came up, wit the US - the
Security Council had lunch
with invited civil society
members, there was a place set
for cholera advocate Mario
Joseph, next to Camille
Chalmers. At first he wasn't
there, and those who'd
specifically invited him
wondered why. Then he rolled
in. But the Press was already
told to wait outside, under a
beautiful red flowering tree,
and wait for the "private
sector" to arrive. Earlier on
Friday, the Security Council
drove uphill to the Parc de
Martissant and each placed a
white rose at the earthquake
memorial. FOKAL President Ms
Duvivier brought up the UN's
cholera and how little money
the UN has raised; the artist
Ms. Monnin explained her
hanging heads of concrete and
metal, with shattered mirrors
on top. It spoke for itself. A
small drone buzzed overhead.
At the Council's next meeting,
the Press was not even left in
for five minutes. Earlier the
delegation was escorted
(run-up Periscope here)
to the Haitian National Police
School, where just as a
meeting including the Prime
Minister began, the Press was
ushered out. For now, tweeted
photo
here. In the School
courtyard, roosters could be
heard crowing, and cadets
singing during training. "Vous
est journaliste?" a man asked,
hand on his sidearm. Oui, je
suis journaliste. Nothing yet
on cholera, except finally
some talk of new UN
(part-time) envoy Josette
Sheeran and her past. We'll
have more on this.
On this too: in the MINUSTAH mission the talk is
of re-applying for posts in the new, smaller MINUJUSTH
replacement set to start October 16, 2017. The
UN's presence become routinized. There is a
former star of the UN Budget Committee, now
working on political affairs; there's Security
from other Security Council trips - one in which
a UN Security officer fired a bullet inside the
UN plane, leaving Ambassadors and the press on a
bus ride from Goma to Kigali in Rwanda. There
are long-time UN communications people and
ex-pat journalists. There is a dismissive or
perhaps fatalistic view of those Haitians
protesting the UN's presence and impact. Then
there are Haitians striving, setting up small
businesses in nooks and crannies by the side of
the road, while French business people fly in
for contracts, assisted by their country's
ambassador Elisabeth Beton, who spoke June 22 on
TV Metropole about Bollore, Total and Suez. What
is the UN's role in this? After the June 22
meeting, Haiti's acting foreign minister spoke
on cholera, that the $40 million unspent by
MINUSTAH should remain in-country. But will it?
In the UN Budget Committee there's talk against
it, as a bad precedent. Wasn't bringing cholera,
and then denying it for six years, a worse
precedent? Sui generis. Earlier on Thursday
morning, the country's booming voiced Ambassador
to the UN was at the airport to greet the
Council members. Protests, too, awaited -
although MINUSTAH staff, and a Haiti-based
European journalist, mocked the protest as
small. In the minibus that took the
Council members up into the hills to the Royal
Oasis Hotel, the talk was of the wind-down of
the MINUSTAH mission, begun after the ouster of
President Aristide in 2004, of access for
interpreters but barely - five minutes at each
meeting? - for the press. a meeting was
held with the UN Country
Team. The Press was
ushered about amid generic
statistics from the Deputy
SRSG. Civil
society, however, has been chiming in with the
Press. When UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres held a press conference on June 20,
Inner City Press about the UN having brought
cholera to Haiti under his predecessor Ban
Ki-moon but now reneging even on what Ban
belatedly proposed for individual reparations.
Inner City Press mentioned upcoming protests in
Haiti that it will be covering from there, June
22 and 23, accompanying the UN Security Council
mission which took off from JFK airport early on
June 22. Photo here,
Periscope video here.
Guterres announced that he was just then -
minutes later the announcement went out - naming
as a new special envoy on Haiti Josette Sheeran,
formerly the director of the UN World Food
Program and now the head of the Asia Society.
Video here.
Transcript here.
He seemed to say the UN was never going to
compensate individuals or families impacted by
the cholera the UN brought. June
19, 2017
UN
Killed 10,000
in Haiti, Spox
Claims UN
Listens, ICP
Asks of UNSC
Visit
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June 16 – While in some places the UN
system may be doing good work, its killing of
more and 10,000 Haitians with cholera, and its
years of denial, have been a low point. On
June 14 the new (well, 162 day old) UN
presented what it called a new approach on
cholera - not long after Secretary General
Antonio Guterres' delayed approach to the UN's
lead poisoning victims in Kosovo was
criticized. Inner City Press asked the UN
about it on June 16, in the run-up to the UN
Security Council's visit to Haiti next week
(we will cover that). From the UN's June 16
noon briefing, video
here, transcript:
Inner City Press: on Haiti, I went back and
looked at what Amina Mohammed said, that
'there are no funds for Track 2, and we
propose to take a community approach. ' And
I'm sure you've seen a number of advocates —
Mario Joseph, other well-known, long-time
Haiti cholera activists — have said this is an
outrage, that basically what the
Secretary-General announced, Ban Ki-moon at
the end of his tenure, is being totally
rejected, and any consultation with the
affected communities will take place after
this speech by Amina Mohammed.
Spokesman: I don't think it's being
rejected. I think I was asked this
question yesterday. We, obviously, are
eagerly awaiting funds. But, I think… I
don't think there's been a change. The
challenge for us is the lack of funding.
Inner City
Press: But
the sentence "we propose to take a community
approach", that seems pretty definitive.
That seems like, this is the approach that
we're taking. Before there were
two. Now there's one.
Spokesman: This is the approach that is
being taken now. I think it's one step
at a time, as we had said in the beginning.
Inner City Press: There's an upcoming
visit by the Security Council to Haiti.
Do you expect… how is the Secretary-General
going to hear from the affected communities,
what they believe should happen?
Spokesman: Well, I think, first of all,
through our staff on the ground. And, as
we've said, we would be appointing an envoy
soon.
We'll
see.
June
12, 2017
On
Cameroon, Failing Fall's
UNOCA
Site Out of
Date and
Broken,
Inaccurate
Report Here
UNITED
NATIONS, June 10 – After Inner City Press
repeatedly asked UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres and his spokesman about Cameroon's
Internet cut-off and abuses, the UN's answer
after its Resident Coordinator Najat Rochdi was
shown to block the Press and then left for the
Central African Republic was that the UN Office
on Central Africa (UNOCA) envoy Francois Lonseny
Fall would be visiting in May. This turned out
to be misleading like so much with today's UN,
including the UN's celebration of World
Environment, see below. A review of UNOCA's
website finds its most recent magazine is from
2014, photo
here, and the link to its May 31, 2017
report (excerpted below) doesn't work. So Inner
City Press has put the full report online, here.
June
5, 2017
Cameroon
Visit of UN's
Fall Cites
Human Rights
Concerns, UN Tells
ICP, After 4
Days'
Questions
UNITED
NATIONS, June 2 – After Inner City Press
repeatedly asked UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres and his spokesman about Cameroon's
Internet cut-off and abuses, the UN's answer
was that its Central Africa envoy Francois
Lonseny Fall would be visiting in May. It
turns out it would be in (early) June, and it
would mostly be about Boko Haram.
On June 1,
Inner City Press asked again - still nothing -
and then on June 2, transcript here:
Inner City
Press: to ask again about this Cameroon thing,
but I wanted to ask because it was said that
[Francois] Loncény Fall would be there in late
May. Many people were kind of waiting to
hear what he had to say. Yesterday, his
whereabouts, I guess, according to Stéphane,
were not known. What is his comment now
that he's returned to the country?
Deputy Spokesman: Yes, we're checking
with our DPA colleagues what we can say about
Mr. Loncény Fall's travels. Once we have
an update, we'll share it.
And
hours later, this: "To Matthew Russell Lee,
Inner City Press Re Your Question on Cameroon:
As mentioned previously, the United Nations
Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and
the UN Country Team in Cameroon continue to
follow events in the country closely. The
Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Central Africa and Head
of UNOCA, François Louncény Fall, was in
Yaoundé, Cameroon, this week, for the 44th
Ministerial meeting of the United Nations
Standing Advisory Committee on Security
Questions in Central Africa (UNSAC), during
which Cameroon took over the chairmanship of
the Committee. This is SRSG Fall’s fifth
visit to the country since November 2016. He
took this opportunity to meet with a wide
range of Cameroonian interlocutors to address
the persisting tensions and human rights
concerns. SRSG Fall will continue
efforts to engage with all relevant parties
and to monitor the situation in close
cooperation with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR). "
We'll
see. Representative of the UN system as a
whole, the UN Committee on the Rights of the
Child when it met about Cameroon's report on
May 30 did not ask a single recorded question
about the Anglophone areas, the Internet
cut-off or the GCE scam. It seems it is
today's UN that is a scam. Marie-Therese Abena
Ondoa, Minister for the Promotion of the Woman
and the Family of Cameroon, sung the praises
of the 34-year Paul Biya government. The UN's
Rapporteur on Cameroon, the former Minister of
Health from Togo, Suzanne Aho Assouma, joined
in the praise, as if like France's Ambassador
to the UN told Inner City Press the Internet
cut off was never heard of. Call it
FrancAfrique, reaching all the way into
today's UN Headquarters. Also on May 30 Inner
City Press asked Guterres spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City
Press: I wanted to ask you, on Cameroon, you'd
said that in May Mr. Francois Loncény Fall
would be going to the country. I don't
know if that's true. I know that he's
going in early June. And I just wanted
to make sure that you were referring to this
meeting of regional security that seems to be
almost entirely about Boko Haram and [Central
African Republic]. Is there anything…
can you say what his agenda is there and if
he's going to raise the Anglophone issue?
Spokesman: I will check.
Eight
hours later, typically, nothing. Cameroon's UN
Ambassador Tommo Monthe, who told Inner City
Press that Paul Biya stands ready to cut the
Internet again, and partied with UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres' Deputy SG and chief
of staff while singing songs for Chantal Biya,
is already at the meeting Fall will attend.
Tommo Monthe is quoted, "We need to exchange
views on all these insecurity situations
before we bring it back to the UN during its
forthcoming general assembly session." On May
29 Fall issued this canned quote: "We will
continue to support efforts of the subregion
in its determination to prevent, to combat and
to bring an end to the uncontrolled flow of
arms in Central Africa. This would strengthen
confidence among states and reassure the
population, the main victims of this
phenomenon, which is also a hindrance to the
sustainable development of Central Africa."
This is the focus on Lonseny Fall's much-hyped
visit to Yaounde, while Guterres' Deputy SG
and chief of staff party with Paul Biya's
representative amid songs
for Chantal Biya and French champagne.
We'll have more on this. Well over a week ago,
Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres' holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric about Cameroon administering in areas
to which it cut off the Internet for 94 days a
General Certificate of Education test,
specifically citing UNESCO. Dujarric said he
would look into it. Having received no answer
even as Guterres' Deputy and Chief of Staff
appeared at Cameroon's (boycotted) national
day, on May 23 Inner City Press asked again
about this, and Amnesty International's press
conference on 10 year sentences to students
(whose jokes included the GCEs) being shut
down. After Dujarric on May 25 had no answer
on this, on May 26 Inner City Press asked his
deputy, Farhan Haq, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: Do you have anything on
Cameroon and Amnesty, the closing down of the
Amnesty press conference about 10-year jail
sentences for students that I asked Stéphane
about two days ago?
Deputy Spokesman: What we can say is
simply that we hope that the freedom of
expression and freedom of assembly will be
respected in Cameroon. Have a good
weekend, everyone.
That's
it? On May 24 Dujarric said he had an answer
from UNESCO - that he never provided to Inner
City Press, and apparently would never have,
if not asked again. From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: today in Yaoundé, Cameroon,
Amnesty International had scheduled a press
conference about three teenager students
sentenced to ten-year prison sentences for
joking in text messages about Boko
Haram. So, I wanted to know, they…
basically, this was closed down. The press
conference was disallowed. Many human
rights groups have said it's an outrage. And I
noticed yesterday evening, the Deputy
Secretary-General and the Chef de Cabinet were
both at the National Day of Cameroon on 73rd
Street in New York. So, I wanted to
know, what does the UN think of… of this
country that just recently celebrated its
National Day with these two officials shutting
out Amnesty International, sentencing students
to ten-year prison sentences…
Spokesman: I'll look into the
case. I have not…
Inner City Press: Did you ever look into
the testing thing? I'd asked you about
administering a test…
Spokesman: Yes, I think… we were given
some guidance by UNESCO...
Now here it
is: "Your question on the Cameroon tests:
Regarding a previous query on a test being
administered in the Anglophone regions of
Cameroon despite the regions being affected by
school closures and a internet blackout, while
this is not an issue covered by UNOCA, but
rather UNESCO, UNOCA has informed that there
have been reports of abstentions from the
examinations in the North West and South-West
regions of the country. We are not aware of
any reports of these tests being taken at
gunpoint. Nonetheless it is of concern
that these examinations [General Certificate
of Education] were held, despite school
closures and the internet blackout for over
three months, which disrupted normal
activities. However that is an issue for the
relevant national authorities to respond to.
UNOCA, in close cooperation with the Acting
Resident Coordinator, is monitoring the
situation in the North West and South West
regions of Cameroon and will continue to
liaise with the authorities to promote a
peaceful resolution to the grievances of the
Anglophone population."
While the UN
Security Council visited Cameroon during the 94
day Internet cut off and said nothing publicly
about it (but see below), Inner City Press has
obtained and has exclusively published
on Patreon and now Scribd,
here Cameroon's "Urgent and Confidential"
letter to the UN Security Council, about
weapons. On May 23, Inner City Press went to the
New York event for Cameroon's "National" Day,
which was boycotted in the Anglophone regions of
the country. In New York, however, UN Deputy
Secretary General Amina J. Mohammad and Antonio
Guterres' Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro
Viotti attended, along with French Permanent
Representative to the UN Francois Delattre,
Burundi's Albert Shingiro and others. Video here.May
29, 2017
ICP
Asked UNSG
Guterres for
Speech, Haiti
Read-out, None
Provided, Now
S Korea -
Japan, Money
Talks?
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, May 28 – Inner City Press asked UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres why he
hasn't released his budget speech, or reform
plans on May 25, the day after Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused to provide
the speech to Inner City Press when it asked.
Guterres paused then said it should be public,
seeming to believe that Dujarric had, in fact,
released it. Video
here. But he had not and has not, after
three days later. Instead, Dujarric's office
has selectively provided read-outs of some few
of Guterres' meeting, to some on the basis of
the money or power of the countries requesting
transparency. Previously, Inner City Press
asked Dujarric three times for any read-out of
Guterres' meeting with the Dominican Republic'
foreign minister, who afterward said the issue
of the UN's dubious impact on Haiti was
discussed. No read-out was provided, Now,
Dujarric issues the below, what's the
difference? "n response to questions received
on the meeting between the Secretary-General
and Prime Minister Abe of Japan, the Spokesman
had the following to say: During their meeting
in Sicily, the Secretary-General and Prime
Minister Abe did discuss the issue of
so-called “comfort women”. The
Secretary-General agreed that this is a matter
to be solved by an agreement between Japan and
the Republic of Korea. The Secretary-General
did not pronounce himself on the content of a
specific agreement but on the principle that
it is up to the two countries to define the
nature and the content of the solution for
this issue. Regarding the report of Special
Rapporteurs, the Secretary-General told the
Prime Minister that Special Rapporteurs are
experts that are independent and report
directly to the Human Rights Council." Again,
what's the difference? On May 26 Dujarric's
deputy Farhan Haq again refused,
video here,
saying that the UN responds to member states
(not We the Peoples). It was Dujarric who
evicted Inner City Press, and has kept it
restricted in its movements in the UN for the
144 days so far of Guterres' tenure. On May
25, Inner City Press asked Dujarric again, video
here
On May 26, Inner City Press asked Dujarric's
deputy Farhan Haq, video here,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: Jeffrey Feltman said that
the proposal for the new office has been, I
guess, approved by the Advisory Committee on
Administrative and Budgetary Questions.
And since yesterday in this room, the idea was
that's all confidential, I wanted to just
know, first, is it true, did Mr. Feltman say
that? Is it true that ACABQ has signed
off on it? And if it's true that the UN
can speak about ACABQ, can we get a copy of
the Secretary-General's speech to ACABQ given
earlier this week?
Deputy Spokesman: No. The, the
speech was basically about the budget
proposals which are available as a document,
as Stéphane pointed out earlier this week.
Inner City
Press:
I, I searched it, and it said document not
available on the UN document site. I’d
like the speech.
Deputy Spokesman: You know, you can deal
with my colleagues with the document, but
there's no remarks to share for the
public. Regarding the particular
proposal, there's a proposal that's going to
go before the General Assembly, and you'll be
able to see what happens once they consider
it.
Inner City
Press:
Right, but I guess it goes back to [inaudible]
question. In most Governments in the
world, an executive like the
Secretary-General, the executive branch, will
announce publicly what its proposals
are. Just the fact that to only announce
it after it's been approved by the Member
States doesn't seem to make sense if you're
pronouncing reforms and if there's public
interest in how the UN works. What's the
problem with releasing the speech?
Deputy Spokesman: This is not a
Government. This is an organization
bringing together Governments. And what
we try to do is engage in dialogue with
governments in order to flesh out these
proposals. Ultimately, it's not
finalized until the various governments agree
on this. You simply can't argue that
something's not transparent if it goes to 193
Governments. That's a lot of
people. It's not a secret process by any
means. All of them are involved in this
discussion.
Inner City Press: But, I've heard the
Secretary-General say he wants to open up the
UN to civil society and the public and we the
people, so I guess I'm just wondering, is
there something in that ACABQ speech that's so
confidential that it can't, as I took him to
understand on the steps, just be released and
made public?
Deputy Spokesman: No. It's not
confidential, but it's part of a dialogue with
Member States. And we try to engage the
Member States directly in that dialogue.
So, public
be damned? UN May 25 transcript here:
Inner City Press: I just now asked the
Secretary-General about what I had asked you
yesterday, about whether his speech at ACABQ can
be released and whether his reform proposals
will be released. He seemed to, maybe I
misunderstood and you can look at the video, but
he seemed to think that it had been released so
I wanted to ask you, can it be released?
Also… Go ahead.
Spokesman: The budget documents for the
proposed reform are public documents and those
are available and that is basically what he
presented, the outline of which he presented to
the ACABQ yesterday.
Inner City Press:
Two
questions: Is there a problem with releasing,
I'm sure there was a written and about it was
off-the-cuff what he said to ACABQ; and,
secondly, I've seen and published a document
called safety and security pillar model A
regarding three ASGs, a mixture of political
affairs and peacebuilding, a variety of
delegations, and maybe there wasn't time to
explain the whole thing, basically the idea is
if he is proposing reforms, why aren't these
proposals public as they are in most countries…?
Spokesman: Well, I think, first of all,
these reforms, especially ones that have to
involve, that involve budgetary issues, first
have to be approved by the Member States
May
22, 2017
After
ICP Asked of
WIPO's N
Korea Work, Nikki
Haley Calls
WIPO
UNtransparent
and Dangerous,
Cyanide
By Matthew
Russell Lee, follow up
UNITED
NATIONS, May 19 – While the UN's World
Intellectual Property Organization helps North
Korea with a patent application for social
cyanide (WIPO site here),
Inner City Press on May 16 began to ask US
Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley about it (video
here).
On May 17,
Nikki Haley replied to Inner City Press'
question: "All parts of the UN system need to
support the Security Council in its efforts to
respond to the grave threat of North Korea’s
weapons of mass destruction programs. Sodium
cyanide is banned for export to North Korea by
the Security Council. A common sense reaction
would be for WIPO to inform the Council of
such patent applications. Its failure to do so
may have dangerous consequences.”
The UN through
spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Inner City
Press it supports WIPO, video
here. On May 19, Inner City Press asked
North Korea's Ambassador Kim In Ryong about
it, without answer. Video
here. Now the US Mission to the UN has
issued a longer press release:
"The United
States continues to be concerned about the way
the World Intellectual Property Organization
has handled North Korea’s patent application
for the production of sodium cyanide. 'The
thought of placing cyanide in the hands of the
North Koreans, considering their record on
human rights, political prisoners, and
assassinations is not only dangerous but
defies common sense. We urge all UN agencies
to be transparent and apply the utmost
scrutiny when dealing with these types of
requests from North Korea and other rogue
nations,' said Ambassador Haley.
The United States has long encouraged UN
specialized agencies to be in close contact
with Security Council sanctions committees
regarding any activity related to the
implementation of Security Council
resolutions. All parts of the UN system need
to support the Security Council in its efforts
to respond to the grave threat of North
Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs."
Inner City
Press adds: this should (even) include the UN
Federal Credit Union, which is soliciting the
funds of the North Korean mission and its
employees, as well as UNA-USA members. May
15, 2017
ICP
Asks UN Of
WIPO Using
Criminal
Defamation
Law, Spox Says
“Not A
Responsive
Choice”
UNITED
NATIONS, May 10 – The UN of “new” Secretary
General Antonio Guterres, to put it as
diplomatically as possible, allows UN system
agencies to censor, and has allowed the
continuation of Ban Ki-moon's censorship of
the Press inside
UN headquarters to continue. On May 10
Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokesman
again about the World Intellectual Property
Organization using criminal defamation law
against a Swiss radio station which reported
on WIPO corruption, despite a statement
against such use by the UN Chief Executives
Board. Video
here. UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I’d asked you before about
Francis Gurry bringing criminal defamation
charges against a radio station in
Geneva. Now the Government
Accountability Project has put out a white
paper on it, basically pointing out that the
CEB (Chief Executives Board), of which he’s a
part and the Secretary-General’s a part, have
talked about… against this idea of using
criminal defamation or even high civil
penalties for journalistic work. Given
that it was the… the… the general counsel or
legal counsel of WIPO that made the criminal
complaint, it seems like basically you have a
member of the CEB operating totally against
what the CEB says the UN should do. So
what… at what point does the
Secretary-General… what’s the purpose of the
CEB, if they’re not complied with…?
[inaudible]
Spokesman: The purpose of the CEB is for
coordinating the programmes, the
implementations of programmes across the board
to ensure that funds and resources are used in
a coordinated manner. As you know,
[WIPO] is an independent, specialized agency
with its own governing board. The head
of the CEB [sic]… of WIPO reports to that
Governing Council. On the methods used,
I think I’ve answered it, and it’s not… it was
not something… it’s not a responsive choice.
But what
does that mean? What has Guterres, who recently
visited and praised WIPO, done? To say he
“allows censorship” may be too diplomatic. Watch
this site. May 8,
2017
From
Cameroon to
UNSC, "Urgent &
Confidential" Memo
About
Weapons,
Copter, Here
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED
NATIONS, May 5 – While the UN Security Council
visited Cameroon during the 94 day Internet
cut off and said nothing publicly about it,
Inner City Press has obtained and has
exclusively published
on Patreon and now Scribd,
here Cameroon's "Urgent and
Confidential" letter to the UN Security
Council, about weapons. It lists Chinese
weapons, helicopters and more, to be
repatriated to CAR.
This comes amid reports that armaments Cameroon
got ostensibly to fight Boko Haram have been
spotted in the Anglophone regions. On May 2 when
Inner City Press told the UN's spokesman
Stephane Dujarric that it had a question on
Cameroon, he walked off the podium, as he has
done before. He and the UN Department of Public
Information, whose Cameroon mis-information is
profiled below, worked together to evict and still
restrict Inner City Press. The spin of
the Francophone Cameroon government of Paul Biya
has now reached the UN Security Council, or at
least its media stakeout area. As Inner City
Press asked questions at the stakeout on April
28, and telling Morocco's hatchet-man Ambassador
that on decolonization Inner City Press errs on
the side of the underdogs, video here,
Cameroon's Ambassador Tommo Monthe approached.
He handed two documents to Inner City Press: a
chart of "actions taken by the Government
following concerns raised by Cameroon Anglophone
teaches and lawyers," and a press release
mis-spelled "Realease." Inner City Press has put
both online on Patreon, here.
But here's how out of touch or worse the UN
Department of Public Information, which evicted
and still restricts Inner City Press with
minders, is: its UNIC ("Information" Center) in
Cameroon held a training and wrote it up with a
single reference to "social upheaval in English
speaking regions," nothing on the Internet
cut-off. May 1,
2017
GoogleHinders Publication ofICP
Video of UN
Defending
Abuse by
Peacekeepers,
DPI Deal So
Patreon
UNITED
NATIONS, April 29 – With the large social
media platforms like Google and Facebook
vowing to use algorithms to prevent terrorist
recruitment and for other purposes, the
crudeness of results, intended or not, has
come to the fore. Now Google's YouTube is
engaged in systematic financial censoring of
independent videos about censorship.Like
many independent
media, Inner
City Press
publishes itscoverageandassociatedcommentarynot only on its website but
on a number of
third party
platforms likeYouTube,Twitter,Facebook,ScribdandSoundCloud. YouTube is
owned by Google,
and like its
parent allows
publishes to
monetize their
material with
advertisements.
But do YouTube
and Google
behind it engage
in censorship?As
Inner City Press
ramps up its
fight against
theeviction
of its shared
officein the United Nations while
asking questions
aboutUN
corruption,it has received a
series of
e-mails from
YouTube that its
videos on these
topics "cannot
be monetized"
with ads. On
April 29, Google
wentback
and denied
monetization
to Inner City
Press' video
showing Herve
Ladsous, the
fourth
Frenchman in a
row to control
UN Peacekeeping,
linking rapes
by (French) peacekeepers
to "R&R,"
saying that if
the peacekeepers got
more rest and
recreationthey
might not rape
so much. It
was astatement
forwhich,
in many real
militaries,
Ladsous would
have been
fired. Not
only did the
UN not fire
him: now the
video is
denied
monetization,
while UN
Department of
Public
Informationacting
Officer in
Charge Maher
Nasser brags
aboutDPI's"partnerships"
with Google.
Partnerships
indeed.This
comes the day
after
Morocco's
Ambassador to
the UN Omar
Hilale used
the UNTV
stakeout tocomplain
Inner City
Press has asked
"225
questions;"
DPI then
declined to
give Inner
City Press the
mp4 of the
stakeout,
telling it to
just filmit off a
computer
screen with
its cell
phone. (We put
theraw
camera video
on Twitter,here,
and now onPatreon,
here.)
Google's email
said: "Hi
Inner City
Press,After
reviewing your
video, we’ve
confirmed that
the content in
your video or
video details
aren’t
advertiser-friendly.
As a result,
your video
can’t be
monetized.
'After UN's
Ladsous Links
Peacekeepers
Rape To Lack
of “Comfort,"
UN Says Lack
of R&R
Leads to
Abuse.'
YouTube
reserves the
right to make
the final
decision about
video
monetization."
On April 23
YouTube
similarly went
back to deny
monetization
to Inner City
Press videos
about Yemen,
Sri Lanka,
Armenia,
Darfur, the
Golan Heights,
DRC, Gaza,
Ukraine,
Qatar, UN
censorship
April
24, 2017
On
Burundi and
ICP's Scoop of
Kafando as UN
Envoy,
Shingiro Tells
ICP Gov
Comfortable
With
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED
NATIONS, April 22 -- On Burundi, France which as UN
Security Council
penholder has accomplished
little on the
issue has a new
proposal, sources
exclusively told
Inner City Press,
which it
exclusively
published on April
20: to nominate
the former
transitional
president of
Burkina Faso
Michel Kafando
as a UN
envoy
specifically
on Burundi.
And now
Burundi's
Ambassador to
the UN Albert
Shingiro
has answered
Inner City
Press that
"Burundi is
very
comfortable
with the
intention of
the UNSG to
appoint H.E
Michel Kafando
as his special
Envoy." See
reply tweet, here.
After
publishing the
exclusive, on
April 21 Inner
City Press
asked
French
Ambassador to
the UN
Francois
Delattre about it.
He smiled
and said
"bonne
question."
Then Inner
City Press
asked the UN's
holdover
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who
refused
to comment.
From the UN transcript:
Inner
City
Press: I
wanted to ask
you on
Burundi.
Inner City
Press has
reported and I
believe has
some
confirmation
from the
French Mission
that there is
a proposal by
France and
possibly the
EU for an UN
envoy to
Burundi,
specifically
Burundi only,
not conflict
prevention:
Michel
Kafando, the
former
transitional
President of
Burkina Faso,
and I wanted
to know from
you whether
the
Secretary-General
has discussed
this proposal
with the
proponents and
if he thinks
given the
urgency of the
situation if
it’s a good
idea and what
the next steps
would be?
Spokesman:
I have no
comments on
that.
But later on
April 21 a UN
official told
Inner City
Press that
Burundi's
Pierre
Nkurunziza has
approved it.
Another
diplomat told
Inner City
Press that
Burundi's
Ambassador
Albert Shingiro
was summoned
to the UN
Department of
Political
Affairs. We'll
have more on
this. The
UN has sunk so low that the lead
spokesman for Secretary
General Antonio
Guterres Stephane
Dujarric on April 10 refused
to even take a Press question
about Burundi, where the UN
itself says there is a risk of
genocide. When Inner City
Press said "Can I ask a
question about Burundi," where
there increased hate
speech amid a warning
from other parts of the UN of
a threat of genocide,"
Dujarric replied, "No, we're
done." Video
here, contrasted.
Then consider UNICEF, whose
logo and shirt is portrayed here
on the governor of Makamba
province Gad Niyukuri who last
week reportedly called on
residents to "eliminate"
rebels so fuel "won't be
wasted by having them
transferred to the police." It's a
joint shirt
with Burundian flag and
UNICEF logo. Did
UNICEF give it to
the governor? Is it
an authorized use?
If not,
what will UNICEF -
recently outed
for abandoning the
victims of
peacekeepers'
abuse in the
Central
African
Republic, and
yet to respond
on that - do?
Watch this
site.April
17, 2017
UN
Praised
Cameroon Half-Net
Pledge as Clergy
Prosecuted, Says
ICP "Harassed"
RC
Rajat
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April 15 – While Cameroon has cut off
the Internet to the Anglophone regions for
over 80 days, the UN has characterized
criticism of its officials' cover ups to be "harassment"
and has repeatedly refused to answer Inner
City Press' questions about it, see below,
after the UN Department of Public Information
evicted
and continues
to restrict Inner City Press, petition
here, update here.
In early April the UN Office of the
Spokesperson run by holdover Stephane Dujarric
told Inner City Press, we've heard you
questions, if we have anything to add we'll
let you know. Video
here. Even that was a lie: UN envoy
Lonseny Fall went again to the country, with this
purporting to be his statement, and read-out here. But
what has it come to? Consider this court
prosecution of clergy, to try to put an
end to legitimate protest. The UN so far has
issued a weak, late statement then tried to
move on, calling any criticism harassment and
continuing to hinder coverage of the UN's
deeds and misdeeds. We'll have more on this.
On April
13, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman
Dujarric, video
here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: can you confirm that the
Secretary-General sought to speak with Paul
Biya while he was on an extended stay in
Geneva, as has been reported?
Spokesman: No, I have no confirmation of
a call having taken place.
Inner City
Press:
I mean, I'm not asking [inaudible]…
Spokesman: I have no information.
Inner City
Press:
Okay. And I wanted to know, people there
saying, even in the wake of the visit of
Louncény Fall, that, for example, a Supreme
Court Justice, Paul Ayah remains, was only
today, you know, remanded to remain in
prison. So they're not seeing much
changes. And I'm wondering, is this
something that… that Mr. Louncény Fall looked
into while he was there, the continued
detention of barristers and those who have
advocated for fair treatment of [inaudible]?
Spokesman: What I just said is, in fact,
that, in his contacts with the Government, Mr
Louncény Fall advocated for the release of a
number of Anglophone leaders and others.
So I think that's clear that's one of the
things he was advocating for.
Inner City
Press:
And, finally, I wanted to ask you about the
Resident Coordinator position. Given
that the previous Resident Coordinator didn't
raise any of the issues that you've just
mentioned while she was there, is there any
progress on naming a new one…
Spokesman: I don't know that, and I
don't know if you know that, but okay.
Anyway, next… what's your question?
Inner City
Press:
The people that are there say it, and she also
blocked the press…
Spokesman: I think she blocks you, but…
Question: Yeah, she does.
Spokesman: …that's her right.
Inner City
Press:
In what capacity does she block it?
Spokesman: Well, I think anyone who has
seen your tweets, I think, sometimes they do
cross the line, I think, into harassment, and
people block you from time to time.
Inner City Press: Interesting.
Spokesman: Indeed.
How
trustworthy is today's UN if they stonewall then
withhold information, while continuing to block
- a la Najat Rochdi - and restrict the Press
which asks about Cameroon and denial of the
right to information?
April
10, 2017
On
Syria, After
US Airstrikes
ICP Asks UN
What de
Mistura's "Operationally
Focused" Means
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April 7 – In the UN Security
Council's open meeting on April 7 after the US
airstrikes on Syria, when Syria spoke last,
French Ambassador Francois Delattre walked out
of the chamber and left. Before that, US
Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke, as fast
transcribed below by Inner City Press. At the
UN noon briefing on April 7, Inner City Press
asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric about UN
envoy Staffan de Mistura saying he is
"operational focused" - what does it mean?
From the UN
transcript:
Inner City
Press: Staffan de Mistura has this quote where
he says he's fully and operationally focused
on the situation. Can you unpack that a
little bit? Like, does it, was he
informed of this? Was he… has he had a
dialogue with either the United States or
anyone else…?
Spokesman: I'm not aware…
Inner City Press: What does it mean to
be operationally focused?
Spokesman: I'm not aware, I'm not aware
that he was, that he was informed. I
don't believe anybody in the UN was
informed. But I, as I said, I'm just not
aware that he was informed. Obviously, I think
the events of the last few days are likely to
have an impact on, on his efforts. And
so, I think, like all of us, with the
Secretary-General or his envoy, we are focused
and refocused on trying to get the, make sure
the political process and the Geneva talks
stay on, on track. And, you know, the
Secretary-General's belief that there is no
other option but a political option remains,
and he's asking everybody to recommit to the
Geneva talks.
Here's
Inner City Press' fast transcript of NIkki
Haley: "For six years the world has watched as
the Syrian government has terrorized its own
people…it has broken international law,
committed criminal acts that shocked the
conscience of all humanity. The JIM has found
beyond a doubt that the Syrian regime has used
chemical weapons against its own people multiple
times. On Tuesday the Syrian government launched
another attack.
Assad thought he could get away with this....
April 3, 2017
Amid Cameroon's
74-Day
Internet
Cut-Off, UN
Refers ICP to
UNICEF,
Website Out of
Date
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March 31 – While Cameroon has cut off
the Internet to the Anglophone regions for
more than 70 days, the UN throughout the week
of March 27-31 repeatedly refused to answer
Inner City Press' questions about it, see
below, even the simple question of who the UN
Resident Coordinator is. So on March 31, Inner
City Press asked UN Spokesman Farhan Haq, video
here, UN transcript here:
Inner City
Press: I’d sent you a number of questions
about Cameroon. Now I have those and
something else. First of all, I wanted
to know, what’s the… what is the status of
having a resident coordinator in the country,
given that the internet has been turned off to
two regions in the country for 76 days?
Deputy Spokesman: Right now, there is an
officer-in-charge. There’s no new
full-time resident coordinator, but there’s an
officer-in-charge there.
Question: Can you say who that is or
which agency it is?
Deputy Spokesman: I believe it’s the
officer for UNICEF (United Nations Children’s
Fund) right now.
But
when Inner City Press later on March 31
visited UNICEF's Cameroon website to follow
up, the most recent report was from 2012, and
the top two press releases were about Nigeria,
here.
We'll have more on this, and on the UN's
failing "Resident Coordinator system." On the
afternoon of Friday, March 31 the UN sent
Inner City Press this, stating that its UNOCA
envoy Francois Lonseny Fall intends to visit
Cameroon in early April, and other responses
which we immediately publish in full: "Your
questions on Cameroon: The United Nations
Secretariat continues to follow closely the
situation in the Republic of Cameroon through
the United Nations Regional Office for Central
Africa (UNOCA). The Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) has been monitoring the court
proceedings and allegations of human rights
violations. We are concerned about the trial
of civilians by a military court. The High
Commissioner for Human Rights has raised these
concerns with the Government of Cameroon in a
letter dated 24 February 2017. In our
various contacts, we have called on the
authorities to address the situation in a
measured and peaceful manner, while abiding by
their international human rights commitments.
SRSG Fall has visited Cameroon several times
to address these issues and plans to visit
Cameroon in early April, subject to
confirmation of meetings, to engage with the
Government and reiterate the availability of
the United Nations to support national efforts
to promote an inclusive dialogue in order to
address the root causes of the crisis, while
respecting the territorial integrity and unity
of the Republic of Cameroon. With regard
to the two specific cases cited, we have
confirmed that Robert Fon was indeed released
on bail on 27 March. We understand that Mr.
Felix Agbor Nkongho, as his two co-accused
(Fontem Afoteka Neba and Mancho Bibixy), is
facing trial for various alleged offences in
connection with the situation in the
Anglophone regions. Their lawyers requested
they be freed on bail. The court is reportedly
set to examine the request when the case is
taken up again on 7 April. Concerning
reports of the closure by the Government of a
TV station in Western region of Cameroon, we
are continuing our efforts to verify the
allegation."
As
reported on March 30 by Inner City Press,
Cameroon says it is poised to ratify the UN's
Convention on the Use of Electronic
Communications in International Contracts,
adopted on November 23, 2005 in New York. How
could the UN accept and deposit such a
ratification? Cameroonian Minister of Trade,
Lucile Magloire Mbarga Atangana cited the United
Nations Commission on International Trade Law or
UNCITRAL, one of the entities routinely meeting
in UN conference rooms with little notice by the
UN-facilitated media. This must change. When
Cameroon forced refugees back into Nigeria, the
UN rightly complained. Why not, then, of
Cameroon's now more than 70-day Internet cut-off
in its Anglophone areas, leading to the creation
of an "Internet refugee camp" in Bonako? March
27, 2017
ICP
Asked UNSG
Guterres Of
"Power Grab"
on Resident
Coordinators,
His Spox
Stonewalls
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED
NATIONS, March 24 – The UN Secretariat of
Antonio Guterres and his Deputy Amina J.
Mohammed are moving to take over the UN
Development Program's "Resident Coordinator"
system and the funding that goes with it,
multiple sources have told Inner City Press.
But Guterres' spokespeople refuse to confirm,
deny or explain it, in continued lack of
transparency. Whereas for now outgoing UNDP
Administrator Helen Clark chairs the UN
Development Group, Amina Mohammed would take
it over before a new Administrator, perhaps
outgoing Dutch foreign minister Burt Koenders,
is installed. He met Guterres on March 24.
Earlier on March 24, Inner City Press again
asked Guterres' holdover deputy spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN
transcript here:
Inner City
Press: two things about UNDP [United Nations
Development Programme]. One is Ségolène
Royal, the French Minister of Environment, has
now said publicly that she is a candidate to
head UNDP. So I wanted to know, is there
going to be any kind of, like, short list
announced? I know, under some previous
Administrations, there were for such top
jobs. Do you anticipate announcing… given
that one candidate has said publicly… there are
other names I would like you to confirm.
Mr. [Bert] Koenders is running, Mr. [David]
Miliband, Ms. [Sigrid] Kaag. Do you
anticipate there being a public process so that
people know who the candidates are?
Deputy Spokesman: I don't anticipate us
providing a short list.
March
20, 2017
On
Cameroon
Internet
Cut-Off, ICP
Asked UN Which
Says "Important
That People
Have Access"
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March 17 – On Cameroon,
where the Internet has been cut off by the
government in the Northwest and Southwest
(Anglophone) regions for 60 days and counting,
Inner City Press has asked UN spokespeople for
the UN position and what the UN has done for
two weeks now. On March 17, UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric returned with an answer: "in
response to the situation in the Anglophone
regions of Cameroon, the UN Special
Representative of the Secretary-General and
Head of the UN Regional Office for Central
Africa (UNOCA), Mr. François Louncény Fall,
carried out a number of visits to the country
to discuss with the concerned parties the
situation on the ground. His office has
also carried out a number of working-level
visits. Mr. Fall will continue efforts
to engage with all relevant parties and to
monitor the situation in close cooperation
with the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).We
firmly believe that the grievances expressed
by the Anglophone regions can only be
addressed through an inclusive dialogue.
In that regard, we note that, on 15 March, the
President of Cameroon appointed the president
and 13 representatives to the National
Commission for the promotion of Bilingualism
and Multiculturalism, the body tasked to
engage in dialogue with the Anglophone
community of Cameroon."
But
"all relevant parties" does not appear to
include France, whose UN Ambassador Francois
Delattre told Inner City Press earlier on
March 17 he was unaware of the issue. Inner
City Press asked Dujarric, straight up, if the
UN thinks the Internet should be brought back.
Video
here. UN
transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: thanks for the statement.
Inevitably, there's at least one
follow-up. You said that Mr. Loncény
Fall had spoken to all relevant parties.
And I wanted to know if this included
France. And I say it… I ask it just
because the Permanent Representative just now
on camera said that he'd never heard of the
issue of the internet being cut off for 60
days.
Spokesman: Well, I can’t answer that…
Inner City
Press:
Because I don't get answers from DPA or Mr.
Loncény Fall's office can you ask whether they
spoke to [inaudible]…? [that was FRANCE]
Spokesman: Yeah, I don’t… the way I read
it is that he spoke to people in
Cameroon. So, if I can find out more, I…
Inner City Press: Did he call for the
internet to be, in fact, turned back on?
Spokesman: I think it's obviously
important that people have access to the
internet.
In
front of the UN Security Council on March 17
Inner City Press asked France's Ambassador to
the UN Francois Delattre about his counterpart
in Yaounde, Gilles Thibault, earlier this
month congratulating
32-year President Paul Biya for how he's
dealing with the areas. Delattre replied that
he was unaware but would look into it. Video
here.
Back on
March 14 Inner City Press asked the US State
Department: "Back on November 28, 2016, the
Department issued a statement of 'concern[]
over recent Cameroonian government actions to
restrict free expression.' Since then, the
government has cut off the Internet in the two
regions, also known as the Anglophone areas,
has arrested journalists and most schools
remain closed. Is the US State Department
concerned about these developments and if so,
what if anything has it done about them?"
On
March 15, a US State Department official
answered Inner City Press: "We have discussed
this issue with the Government of Cameroon
both before and after our statement of
concern. We don’t go into the details of
our diplomatic conversations, but we engage
regularly with the government on this and
other issues as part of our normal bilateral
relations." We hope to have more on this.
On
March 9, Inner City Press asked both the
International Monetary Fund and the UN
Security Council's president about the crisis
in Cameroon's Anglophone areas and heard that
while the IMF acknowledges the financial risk,
the Security Council does not see it as a
threat to international peace and security.
But the UN's Resident Coordinator Najat Rochdi
has said nothing about the crisis, and blocks
on Twitter the Press which asks about
it. Is the UN system failing, in its new
Secretary General's promise of increased
preventative diplomacy?
When the
IMF's spokesperson Gerry Rice took questions on
March 9, Inner City Press asked about Cameroon,
specifically the crackdown in the northwest and
southwest of the country. Inner City Press
asked, "On Cameroon, after the mission led by
Corinne Delechat, what is the status of talks
for a program, and since the IMF cited “civil
unrest in the neighboring Central African
Republic,” please state the IMF's awareness of
civil unrest and arrests in Northwest and
Southwest Cameroon, also known as the Anglophone
areas, and their impact." Rice read out the
question and then said, among other things, that
the risk factors for 2017 include a continuation
of the "social and political events" in the
"so-called Anglophone" areas of Cameroon. Interim
video here. On IMF site, here,
from 34:56. IMF
transcript
March
13, 2017
UN's
Cameroon
Troops in CAR
Accused of
Abuse, ICP
Asks UN's Haq,
No Answers,
Failing
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March 10 – Not only has the UN
been silent on the crackdown in Cameroon's
Anglophone areas - UN Peacekeeping has failed
to vet the Cameroon security forces it sends
into other countries and has failed to follow
up on allegations against them for example in
the Central African Republic. In CAR last
year, "a Member of Parliament representing the
Nana-Bakassa District in the Ouham Prefecture,
Roland Achille Bangué-Betangaye, accused
Cameroonian forces serving in his country
under the banner of the United Nations
Multidimensional Stabilization Mission
(MINUSCA) of trafficking in minerals,
including gold and diamond. Speaking over CAR
national radio, the MP said Cameroonian
soldiers serving in the country have
transformed themselves into business men
through the smuggle of food items, gasoil and
beer. In turn, he said, they make away with
minerals especially gold and diamond.
The Cameroonian military serving in the
Nana-Bakassa District, the law maker said,
have even opened a drinking spot where people
come and refresh themselves." So what has the
UN done about it?
On
March 10 at noon, after publishing the above,
Inner City Press asked the UN's holdover
Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq about it - and by
day's end he had provided no answer at all. UN transcript:
Inner City
Press: a follow-up on peacekeeping
accountability. In the… in the Central
African Republic, there were allegations by an
elected member of parliament there, of the
Ouham prefecture, Roland
Bangué-Betangaye. This goes back to June
2016. He publicly said that the
Cameroonian contingent in the area that he
represents were engaged in business, including
gold… gold, conflict diamonds, opening of
businesses. This was widely… you know,
you can find a number of articles about it
from that time. And what I’m wondering,
is, what was ever done… there was a statement
that there’s an investigation being
opened. That was by, I guess, Mr.
Montero at the time. But there’s been
nothing publicly said since. What… were
all of these allegations made by an elected
official and on national radio in Central
African Republic false? Or was there
actually something done by MINUSCA
(United Nations Stabilization Mission in the
Central African Republic) and UN peacekeeping
about these allegations?
Deputy Spokesman: Oh, I’ll check with
MINUSCA to see what happened with that.
Have a good weekend, everyone.
There
are also sexual abuse allegations, at a time
the UN
is saying it is getting tough, on which
we'll have more. On March 10, Inner City Press
asked
the UN's holdover spokesman Farhan Haq about
this:
Inner City
Press: There was an Amnesty International
report about… about sexual abuse in the
Central African Republic in which they said a
Cameroonian peacekeeper was killed, and the
next day the contingent returned to the
area. And many people thereafter
testified about sexual abuse, including of
minors. So, in the report, it says that
there is, one, a sole allegation of sexual
abuse against the Cameroonian contingent in
[the Central African Republic]. This was
some time ago as you remember in the… and
there’s also another one in MINUSTAH (United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti).
Is it possible, in the spirit of the
transparency you’re discussing, to say, what’s
the status of this? Why has it taken so
long? Why was there only one charge
written in this report when, according to the
Amnesty International one, they’re the
contingent that went back and… and at the time
frame? And, of course, they’re not all
criminals, but I’m asking you, can you get an
update later today about this case reported on
by Amnesty International?
Deputy Spokesman: Ultimately, for us to
get an update, we need to have progress in the
investigation. Once we have the results
to deliver, we can provide that, but until
that point, we’re allowing that process to
continue.
Inner City Press: Right, but it was said
yesterday that things were going to move
faster. In the time frame given, given
when these incidents took place, how is it
still… what is… I guess, even a statement of
what’s the status within the Cameroonian
justice system?
Deputy Spokesman: At this stage, there’s
no update to provide. Once we have an
update, we’ll certainly provide it, but every
process has its own momentum, has its own
rate.
The UN says
it's fine that its Resident Coordinator from
her official Twitter account blocks the Press
which asks about it. Amid the ongoing abuse of
Anglophones in Cameroon, the Internet being
turned off for 51 day in their regions, Inner
City Press on March 8 discovered that the UN's
Resident Coordinator in Cameroon, Najat Rochdi of
Morocco, blocks it on
Twitter, see
here. So Inner City
Press asked Secretary
General Antonio Guterres'
holdover Deputy Spokesman
Farhan Haq about it on March
9, UN
transcript here:
Inner City
Press: the answer you sent
about Mr. [Francois]
Louncény Fall saying that he
would raise issues to the
authorities. Can you
say whether the issue of the
internet being off in two
provinces for 52 days has
been raised? And,
secondarily, I wanted to ask
you this. You
announced from this podium
that Najat Rochdi is going
to Central African Republic
as Resident
Coordinator. What's
the process to appoint a new
Resident Coordinator for the
UN system in Cameroon?
And is it… is it… is it… can
it be public in any
way? It seems many
people have complained that,
while she was there, she
never raised the Anglophone
issue. And, in fact, I
found that she blocks Inner
City Press on Twitter, so
I'm unable to ask her why
this issue has not been
raised. But what's the
process to replace… and you
can smirk, but should a UN
official in their official
account…?
Spokesman: That's an
unrelated thing. I
mean, obviously, all people…
all individuals, not even
just all UN officials, are
free to block whoever they
want on Twitter.
That's within their rights.
Inner City Press:
Including missions? So
you think a peacekeeping
mission should pick and
choose which media can
follow it?
Spokesman:
Organizations will respond…
are supposed to respond to
press requests.
Individuals can do whatever
they like with their Twitter
accounts.
Inner City Press:
What's the process of
replacing the Resident
Coordinator in Cameroon?
Spokesman: It's the
same as in any other
place. There's a
process that goes… that you
go through, and the Resident
Coordinator's selection
process is supervised by the
UN Development Programme
(UNDP).
This is at
odds with the UN's claims to
be transparent in its use of
public money, and to be open
to the press and impacted
public, and will be pursued at
Rochdi's next assignment at
the UN in Central African
Republic. But it raises the
question: how are UN Resident
Coordinators selected? Inner
City Press reported
on Ban Ki-moon's son in law
Siddharth Chatterjee getting
multiple promotion under Ban,
including being named UN
Resident Coordinator in Kenya
by Ban himself. (Inner City
Press was evicted
by Ban's UN, and remains
restricted under Ban's
successor). But shouldn't
Anglophone Cameroonians have
some input into the UN's next
Resident Coordinator in their
country? This is a project for
the Free
UN Coalition for Access,
@FUNCA_info.
Watch these sites and feeds. March
6, 2017
As UNSC
in Cameroon,
Nothing on
Anglophones
from UN When
ICP Asks, Ebute's
Letter
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March 3 – As UN Security Council
members portrayed themselves meeting with
Cameroon's Paul Biya, apparently without a
word about the protests by and incarceration
of Anglophones in the country, Inner
City Press asked the UN about the problem, video
here, UN Transcript
here:
Inner City
Press: yesterday, I'd asked you about this
letter from the former Senate President of
Nigeria. The press in Nigeria picked up
on your answer and said that no letter has
been received at all. So, you said you
hadn't seen it. Does that just mean that
you personally hadn't seen it, or have you
checked to see whether the letter…?
Spokesman: We have not… I have the not
received any confirmation that a letter has
been received. I can't speak to whether
or not a letter was sent since we were,
apparently, if this letter exists, the
recipients. As far as the recipients, as
of today, nothing has been received.
Inner City Press: Since the Security Council
is in Cameroon, I wanted to know whether DPA
[the Department of Political Affairs] has
taken any notice of this protest in the
Anglophone areas of Cameroon? Many
people have been arrested. Eight
journalists have been detained in
Cameroon. It seems like the Security
Council's focus is entirely on the Boko Haram
aspect, but is anyone in the UN system
concerned and trying to get some answers?
Spokesman: We're obviously following it,
and I'll see if I can get you something
further.
Eight
hours later, nothing. Nothing at all. The UN's
reflexive evasion of Press question
reverberated on the Council's next stop.
Nigeria's former Senate President Ameh Ebute
wrote to the UN to urge sanctions against
Cameroon and Chad. Inner City Press at the
March 2 UN noon briefing asked the UN's
holdover spokeman Stephane Dujarric to comment
on Ebute's letter. Dujarric said he hadn't
seen it.
Now The
Guardian in Nigeria picks
up on Dujarric's knee-jerk denial to
Inner City Press: "Mr Stephane Dujarric, the
Spokesman for the Secretary-General, denied
knowledge of the letter... 'I have not seen
the letter.'"
For
eight billion U.S. dollars a year, you'd think
they could at least read their mail. Watch
this site.
During
the Paris stopover, Council members met with
France's replacement for Herve Ladsous atop UN
Peacekeeping, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. Will
Lacroix addressed the disparities in
protection for European and African
peacekeepers serving ostensibly together in
the UN's Mali mission?
And in
Cameroon, will the dispute between the French
and English speaking communities, and harsh
prison conditions for the latter, be noted by
the Council? Watch this site.February
27, 2017
After
Guterres' Press
Freedom
Meeting, Spox
Tells
Press "It's
Not Your Living
Room," Runs
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, February 24 – After the Committee to
Project Journalists came to the UN for a
meeting on the 38th floor, Inner City Press
asked CPJ's Joel Simon for a summary of what
had been raised. "Not yet," Simon said, as one
of his escorts told Inner City Press to back
away. Tweeted
video here.
It was a
typical UN scene: a group promoting a
principle outside of the UN not pursuing it
inside the UN, in order to maintain access and
perceived influence. So was the UN's lack of
due process for the Press, noted for example
by Special Rapporteurs Kaye and Forst, here,
raised or addressed?
At the
February 24 UN noon briefing after UN holdover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric made claims about
the UN's commitment to freedom of the press,
Inner City Press asked him for a read-out of
Guterres' meeting with CPJ et al. Dujarric did
not provide one; he refused to answer the
question about due process, telling Inner City
Press "This is not your living room." Video
here, Vine
Camera here.
Moments
later, as Inner City Press asked Dujarric about
a leaked UN Peacekeeping letter it exclusively
published earlier in the day and which
contradicts what Dujarric had said on the record
on February 23, Dujarric simply ran off the
podium and out of the briefing room. And the
UNTV clip, as "produced" by Cristina
Gallach's DPI, cuts the audio mid
question, here
at end. This is the UN's commitment to
responsiveness, due process and freedom of the
press.
February 20,
2017
Ban
Ki-moon Uses UN
in Kenya, Kim
Won-soo in NY,
Spox Calls
Press Obsessive
A*hole
UNITED
NATIONS, February 14 – Ban Ki-moon, exposed as
corrupt in three short weeks in South Korea,
now wants to return to the United States after
stopping in Kenya to visit the son in law he
promoted to the job UN job there. When Inner
City Press asked the UN about it on February,
Ban's long-time deputy spokesman Farhan Haq called
Inner City Press an obsessive a*hole. This is
the UN Ban's made.
On
February 13, Inner City Press asked UN Deputy
Spokesman Farhan Haq about Ban's UN-Kenya
stop, and any public costs. Haq, who dodged
for years on irregularities from Ban promoting
his son in law in the UN without recusal to
Ban's nephew working at the UN's landlord
Colliers, said "get over it." Video
here.
So
after learning more - including about the role
in promoting Ban of his Kim Won-soo, still
paid by the UN, that is the public, Inner City
Press asked Haq again, video
here, UN transcript here:
Inner City
Press: Yesterday, I asked you… and I
understand that, when you hear the word "Ban
Ki-moon," you're tempted to say "get over it."
Deputy Spokesman: Indeed I am.
Inner City
Press:
But I wanted to ask you, the question was and
remains… it remains, number one, is any UN
system funds being used for his visit to
headquarters? And, number two, since
yesterday your "get over it" comment, I
learned that Mr. Kim Won-soo, who I understand
is still a UN official, has been speaking to
the media about Mr. Ban's possible job offer
from a university in Massachusetts. And
so I wanted to ask you, in what capacity is
Mr. Kim Won-soo speaking for Ban
Ki-moon? And how is it consistent with
your position here of "get over it" while
there are, in fact, cases in the Southern
District and other issues that remain
unresolved?
Deputy Spokesman: Matthew, your
inability to get over it speaks for itself.
Inner City
Press:
There are cases… I'm going to ask you…
Deputy Spokesman: Matthew.
Inner City
Press:
So the nephew case. I'm just saying,
it's un… because it's a question about UN
money.
Deputy Spokesman: I understand… I
understand…
Inner City
Press:
You defended him for ten years to say "get
over it"…
Deputy Spokesman: Matthew, I've known
you for a decade, so I know your fundamentally
obsessive nature, but here's the point.
Ban Ki-moon is not the Secretary-General of
the United Nations. I do not speak for
him. I do not represent him. When
he travels, he travels as a private
individual. He has to do so on his own
budget as a private individual. He is
not a UN official.
Inner City
Press: That
wasn't my question. My question was, he
said as he left South Korea that he was going
to the UN to speak to UN staff. That's
why I think you said "get over it" a little
too quickly, because my question is not who
paid for his flight. My question is, in
what capacity did he enter UNON [United
Nations Office in] Nairobi? Did he speak
to UN staff as he said that he would?
Does Mr. Kim Won-soo still speak for him on
the UN dime?
Deputy Spokesman: He can speak to the UN
office in Nairobi as much as he wants as a
former Secretary-General of the United
Nations. That is within his rights.
Inner City
Press:
It's not… I'm not saying it's not within his
rights. I'm saying, don't you answer for
UN… the use of UN funds rather than say "get
over it"? Aren't you speaking for the
UN? So Kim Won-soo, when does his
contract expire?
Deputy Spokesman: His contract… we'll
let you know once his time is done. He
is the head of the Office for Disarmament
Affairs. He is also capable of speaking
about the topics that he wants to talk
about. The job that he does here is
about Disarmament Affairs and is not about Ban
Ki-moon.
Inner City
Press:
So he's off the clock when he speaks for Ban
Ki-moon? I'm asking you.
Deputy Spokesman: Matthew. Matthew,
words fail me, your inability to get around
things.
Inner City
Press: You
know there are two corruption cases.
Right? So it's going to be an ongoing… I
just want to put you on notice; there are
going to be questions that are going to arise,
and saying "get over it" is not cutting it.
Deputy Spokesman: If there are things
about cases that are ongoing, that's
fine. If you want a daily update about
what Ban Ki-moon is doing, ask someone
else. It's not my job. Have a good
afternoon, everyone.
And as
Haq walked about, he said "A*hole." This is the
UN Ban's made. It must be cleaned up.
February 13,
2017
After
PA's Fayyad
Blocked, UN Selectively
Spins US
Green Light,
UK Not
Mentioned
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, February 11 – The US blocked UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres' nomination
of the Palestinian Authority's Salam Fayyad to
be UN envoy to Libya.
Now Guterres' holdover UN spokesman Stephane
Dujarric selectively spins that Guterres
had somehow received a "green light" from the US
- like when Ban Ki-moon invited Iran to the
Syria talks in Montreux, then disinvited them on
Monday.
This time, Dujarric "told" at least three
favored media the exact same thing: "Based on
the information available to him at the time,
the secretary-general had the perception, now
proven wrong, that the proposal would be
acceptable to Security Council members." Why not
send this out more widely? To Inner City Press,
Dujarric answered a mere two and a half of
twenty-two questions.
These holdovers have no credibility.
One of the two to which Dujarric dole out his
quote went on to quote French Ambassador
Francois Delattre as having "full confidence" in
the UN chief's personnel appointments. But of
course: France stands poised to get the top UN
Peacekeeping job for the fifth time in a row.
The stories did not mention that the UK had -
and now maybe still has - its own candidate for
the UN Libya envoy post, Nicholas Kay. Clearly
the UK didn't think Fayyad was best for the
post. We'll have more on this.
Inner City Press on-camera
asked the UN about the nomination earlier
on February 10, noting that its sources told it
the nomination was really by Jeffrey Feltman,
the Obama administration's appointee to head the
UN Department of Political Affairs. Can Feltman
stay on, given the new Administration in
Washington?
While Antonio Guterres' deputy spokesman dodged
Inner City Press' question at noon on February
10, and his lead holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric waited more than 10 hours to respond to
Inner City Press' question tweeted at him that
evening, an arch and in context laughable
response was mass-emailed 11 hours later.
Dujarric wrote, in pertinent part:
"The
proposal for Salam Fayyad to serve as the
Secretary-General’s Special Representative in
Libya was solely based on Mr. Fayyad’s
recognized personal qualities and his competence
for that position.
The
Secretary-General... notes that, among others no
Israeli and no Palestinian have served in a post
of high responsibility at the United Nations.
This is a situation that the Secretary-General
feels should be corrected, always based on
personal merit and competencies of potential
candidates for specific posts."
It sounds reasonable - but why then for example
is Guterres restricting his "search" for a head
of UN Peacekeeping to a single country, France?
As Inner City Press has exclusively reported,
the three candidates are all French: Jean
Maurice Ripert (who previously stood up the UN
in Pakistan), Jean Pierre Lacroix and probably
winner Sylvie Bermann. There are other examples
- watch this site.
Some cynics wonder if this
wasn't done as theater, just before Guterres' 12-day
trip to Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the
UAE, where the UN's previous Libya sell-out
Bernardino Leon is getting paid. Meritocracy,
indeed.February
6, 2017
UN
Waste In Dump
Caused Malaria
in Central
African
Republic Under
Ladsous,
Bermann Next?
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED
NATIONS, February 3 – Despite having killed
more than 10,000 people in Haiti with lax
sanitation practices, the United Nations
Department of Peacekeeping Operations in
Central African Republic, under its fourth
consecutive French director in a row Herve
Ladsous, is dumping waste negligently, a UN
memo leaked to Inner City Press shows.
The
memo states that "following complaints by the
local population living in the vicinity of the
dumpsite" a UN investigation found that the
dumpsite sludge dams breed insects which
result in sickness. Eighty-one percent of the
UN's victims are children, the memo says.
The
report, under "Community Discontent," cites
malaria. It notes that when concerns were
raised, "police force was used to quell the
dissent."
Inner
City Press has long questioned Ladsous, for
example about his linking of sexual
exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers to
"R&R" or rest and recreation, here.
Ladsous replies,
"I don't answer your questions, Mister."
Now
under new UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres, many are interested who will replace
Ladsous. While other Under Secretary General
posts like Cristina Gallach's atop the
Department of Public Information are now
subject to public
vacancy notices, DPKO has not. Why not?
Inner City Press asked, but UN holdeover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric didn't answer.
Sources
will Inner City Press France is trying to hold
onto DPKO for the fifth time in a row, albeit
with a women, on information and belief Sylvie
Bermann, since 2014 France's ambassador in
London. Five times in a row? Given this kind
of mismanagement, in a former French colony?
UN
Wastes Funds
Keeping
Clinton-Aligned Feltman
So His Pension
Vests, Draft
EO Here
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, January 27 – The United States has
controlled the UN Department of Political
Affairs under former Clinton State Department
official Jeffrey Feltman, and Inner City Press
is informed by whistleblowers that Feltman is
trying to stay on at the UN until July 4,
2017.
The
reasons, the whistleblowers tell Inner City
Press, is so that Feltman's UN pension can
"vest."
This
takes place after reporting on, but not
publication of, a draft Executive Order to cut
UN funding. Now Inner City Press publishes the
draft, here.
Even as it's said it won't be signed
imminently, there are scams at the UN,
including Feltman, Cristina Gallach and Herve
Ladsous, which can and should be stopped
immediately.
Inner
City Press put the questions directly to
Feltman:
"Dear Mr.
Feltman - These are Press questions very much
on deadline, very straight forward:
1) When does your contract with the UN end?
2) Separately, please confirm or deny that
your contract got extended.
3) Separately, that your contract was extended
through June.
4) Separately, that this was related to your
UN pension vesting.
5) Entirely separately, whether Katrin Hett is
taking up a position in the Secretary
General's office.
6) Separately, does this involves a jump from
P4 to P5?
As noted, very much on deadline. Thanks in
advance for your answers, asap."
Current
UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, also a
holdover, does not answer Inner City Press'
management and reform questions, most recently
about a UN "Hospitality Log" of wining and
dining, click
here for that. In fact, Dujarric and the
UN threw Inner City Press out of the UN
without a hearing, and restrict it still.
After
publication of the above, and this, Inner City
Press at the January 27 noon briefing asked
spokesman Dujarric, who called the questioning
"despicable." Video
here,UN
transcript here:
Inner City
Press: I’ve asked Mr. [Jeffrey] Feltman and
now I’m asking you, that his contract was
extended from March through June so that his
UN pension can vest. And I wanted to
know, just… you said something like it’s early
days, but just, did that occur? And was
Katrin Hett from his office, placed in the
Executive Office of the Secretary-General,
moved from P4 to P5? I’m told by people
in DPA (Department of Political Affairs),
essentially, to kind of keep an eye on
things. But the most important thing I
want to know is… and I’m asking not to be
personal, but because it is public
money. That’s why I expected a yes-or-no
answer… a yes-or-no answer.
Spokesman: I think two things. As
I said, we’re in a period of transition.
The Secretary-General is looking at his senior
leadership. He’s taking decisions that
will need… that will ensure the continuing
smooth transition that is already
ongoing. That’s for Mr. Feltman. I
have… I don’t have the exact dates of his
contract. We’re in a period of
transition. As for… as for the other
person you mentioned, you know, I… you’re free
to ask. I find it somewhat despicable
that people use you or others to drag people’s
names through the mud and insinuate
things. The… we’re in a transition
period. The Secretary-General’s Office
is in the midst of changes. New staff’s
coming in. All rules are being observed
and… all rules and regulations are being
observed. And I’ll leave it at that.
Inner City Press: I guess my… my… you
can use the word “despicable” if you
want. What I wanted to know about the
Mr. Feltman thing is, if… and you can easily
ask… I guess he contacted you when I e-mailed
him, but if, in fact, his contract was
extended and if you know that he was appointed
by the previous administration and you know
that the new administration came in and said…
I guess they believe they deserve a USG
(Under-Secretary-General) post, what was the
thinking behind extending and is it related…
[inaudible]
Spokesman: The only thing that matters
is to have as smooth of a transition continue,
as we’ve had. Yeah, go ahead.
Inner City Press: But you understand,
other organizations actually transition. [end]
As the
UN remains unreformed after Ban Ki-moon's ten
years ended with corruption, long asked about
by the Press, exposed, budget cuts are coming.
In
Washington executive orders are being prepared
to cut up to 40% of the US' contributions to
the UN, and to fully cut funding to entities
blamed for violation of human rights.
One
obvious question is whether the total denial
of due process for whistleblowers - already
part of US law - and investigative press which
covers
UN corruption constitutes such a
violation.
For
example, the UN Department of Public
Information under Cristina Gallach in early
2016 threw
Inner City Press out of the UN, dumping
its investigative files onto First Avenue,
without a single hearing or opportunity to be
heard, and no
appeal since.
All this for
seeking to cover an event in the UN Press
Briefing Room which was nowhere listed as
closed, and leaving as soon as a single UN
Security officer said the Spokesman, Stephane
Dujarric, wanted Inner City Press out.
Gallach had a
conflict of interest, having been asked
by Inner City Press about her
own links with Macau-based businessman
Ng Lap Seng, facing trial (like Ban
Ki-moon's nephew and brother) on bribery
charges.
There are no
rules, only the one-person fiat rule of an
official dumped on Ban's UN by Spain, where she
had previously managed, at most, seven people as
spokesperson to Javier Solana. Nothing has been
done; eleven months later Gallach still requires
Inner City Press to have "minders"
to cover the UN Security Council.
January
23, 2017
US
Has
Asked For Ban
Ki-moon
Brother To Be
Extradited,
Hearing
Reveals As
Obama, Power
Leave
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 20 – Ban Ki-moon left the UN
on January 1 and tellingly his first move was
to take legal action against the press. Before
he left, he named his own son in law Siddharth
Chatterjee to the top UN top in Kenya.
Now the
US Attorney for the Southern District of New
York has asked South Korea to arrest and
extradite Ban Ki-moon's brother Ban Ki Sang.
The
statement came from prosecutor Daniel Noble in
the previously scheduled hearing on the
afternoon January 20, inauguration day.
The indictment
makes clear the scheme used the "family"
-- Ban Ki-moon -- connections to the Qatar
royal family to try to sell Landmark 72 in
Vietnam. Now-gone
US Ambassador Power's claim
to Inner City Press that the indictments have
nothing to do with the UN was false.
The cover up
by censorship is crumbling.
Just as Ban left his brother Ban Ki Sang and
his nephew Dennis Bahn, of whom Inner City
Press has asked Ban's UN spokespeople since at
latest May 2015, were indicted for bribery.
Bahn was described using his family
connections - Ban Ki-moon - to try to sell
real estate in Vietnam.
Inner
City Press' questions to Ban's longtime
spokesman Stephane Dujarric were referred to a
Ban supporter in Seoul, Lee Do-woon, at a
number which was never answered. On January
17, after Inner City Press appeared
on TBS radio in South Korea about Ban's
corruption and censorship, Dujarric
provided a number for a second spokesman: Yoon
Won-joong.
After
speaking with him, Inner City Press on January
18 asked UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, video
here,UN
transcript here:
Inner City
Press: I guess it was Stéphane Dujarric that
sent the phone number of a second Ban Ki-moon
Spokesman. I did speak to him, but in
fact, the coverage there is giving rise to a
question I have to ask you as the UN.
There’s a story in today’s Korea Times, the
title of which is “Prosecutors say Ban Ki-moon
was ‘indeed on bribery list.’” And it
describes a list that was provided by Mr Park
of Taekwang Industry, saying he had given
money to Ban Ki-moon during the time frame
that he was Secretary-General. So the
question becomes… there are… obviously, there
are questions to Ban Ki-moon there. The
question becomes, when did South Korean
prosecutors -- because this article says that
what would have held them up was… was
immunity, that, as Secretary-General, they
would be unclear whether they could even
question him or go… or look into this
matter. Was the UN contacted by the
prosecutors about this Park list? And,
if so, what did they do?
Deputy Spokesman: No, I don’t have any
comment on that.
Inner City Press: It’s a UN
question. I mean, do you acknowledge…
because I talked to the guy for about five
minutes yesterday, but he said those are UN
questions.
Deputy Spokesman: I don’t actually have
any comment on this.
Well, the
UN will have to. We'll have more on this.January
16, 2017
UN
Referred
ICP's
Corruption Qs
to Ban
Ki-moon Seoul Spox,
Whom
They Have
Never Called
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 13 – January 10 saw the
belated bribery indictment in New York of Ban
Ki-moon's nephew Dennis Bahn, about whom Inner
City Press has been asking the UN since at
least May 2015, video
here.
It shows Ban's nephew using the influence and
access of his family - that is, Ban Ki-moon --
to Qatar as part of his Vietnam building
selling fraud. But on January 11, Ban's
spokesman Stephane Dujarric, still at the UN
for at least six months, referred all of Inner
City Press' questions to Ban's Seoul spokesman
Lee Do-woon.
After Dujarric's office gave Inner City Press
not an email address but what they said was
Lee Do-woon's cell phone number, Inner City
Press waited and called it. But during working
hours in Seoul, it had only a telephone menu
tree, only in Korea. Vine
here. This is a run-around.
On
January 13, Inner City Press asked UN
Associate Spokesperson Eri Kaneko, as politely
as possible, how to get answers. From
the UN transcript:
Inner City
Press: Yesterday, I was told to call Mr.
Lee Do-woon in Seoul, and I was told it was a
mobile number. I've called it five
times. It's nothing but a telephone tree
that's entirely in Korean. I sent it a
text message, which wasn't received. So,
I'm going to ask you again, if the idea is all
of the questions raised by the indictment
should be given to the new Associate
Spokesperson, can I have an e-mail address or
some way that actually I can reach somebody?
Associate Spokesperson: We'll
check. I mean, that's the only number we
have, as well, so, you know, you know as much
as we do.
Inner City Press: Did you get a
telephone tree?
Associate Spokesperson: We haven't tried
calling it.
They just gave this number to Inner City Press
saying to ask it all UN corruption questions.
On January 12,
Inner City Press asked Ban's holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, Video
here, UN
Transcript hereJanuary
9, 2017
As
Budget
Scrutiny
Looms, UN Must
Do Better on
Press Freedom,
Due Process &
FOIA
New UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres should be
expected to address these issues, and to hold
at least monthly sit-down press conferences.
On January 6 holdover spokesman Stephane
Dujarric indicated he would wait for something
to announce. But Q&A should not be tied to
a particular UN announcement.
Downgrading to non-resident correspondent
status, and eviction from UN work-space, is
not a legitimate way to respond to coverage of
UN irregularities and corruption such as that
alleged in the ongoing Ng Lap Seng / John Ashe
UN bribery case. It must be reversed, but also
non-resident correspondents should not be restricted
to minders or escorts to cover events on
the Conference Building's second floor.
On January 6,
Dujarric and DPI's Cristina Gallach led
Guterres on a tour that implied that only
those who pay money to a group which last
month gave an award to anti-press Ban Ki-moon,
and who are granted (and not evicted in
retaliation from) UN office space are part of
the UN press corps. Click
here for Inner City Press' story,
and YouTube
video. This will ill-serve Guterres, and
the UN.
New SG Guterres is toured
around by Gallach & Dujarric, Jan 6, 2017, photo by M.R.
Lee
Beyond
headquarters, the UN in the field must become
more responsive to local journalists. A Free UN
Coalition for Access member in Hargeisa,
Somaliland complains that the UN in Mogadishu
refuses to answer simple journalistic
questions. The same has occurred in Colombia,
while the UN's leadership in Kenya has
informed staff not to speak to particular
media. This is UNacceptable.
That
former Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, among
his very first acts upon leaving the UN, took
legal action against reports of possible
corruption during his tenure reflects badly on
the UN.
FUNCA hopes
for a better 2017, but hope is not enough. The
UN needs a FOIA, a reversal of recent
anti-press decisions and due process and
content neutral standards, and at least
monthly Secretary General press conferences,
going forward. We will have more on this;
watch this site.
January
2, 2017
New
UNSG Guterres
Calls for
Peace, Yemen,
Myanmar &
Burundi Early
Tests
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Follow up on
Exclusives
UNITED
NATIONS, January 1 -- When new
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres came to take questions
outside the General Assembly hall on
October 13, he was first asked about
Syria and cited his past as head of
the UN refugee agency.
Inner
City Press asked, “And Yemeni
people?” - referring most recently
to the double-tap airstrike on the
funeral in Sana'a.
Guterres took the question, adding
in South Sudan as well, and said he
will try to be an honest broker.
That would be a welcome change, and
one that we will closely cover as
censorship restrictions are lifted.
Recent Swiss
Radio & TV here, translated.
Now
just after midnight on January 1,
Guterres has made this statement:
"On my first day as
Secretary-General of the United
Nations, one question weighs heavily
on my heart.
How can
we help the millions of people
caught up in conflict, suffering
massively in wars with no end in
sight?
Civilians are pounded with deadly
force. Women, children and men are
killed and injured, forced from
their homes, dispossessed and
destitute. Even hospitals and aid
convoys are targeted.
No one
wins these wars; everyone loses.
Trillions of dollars are spent
destroying societies and economies,
fueling cycles of mistrust and fear
that can last for generations. Whole
regions are destabilized and the new
threat of global terrorism affects
us all.
On this New Year’s Day, I ask all of
you to join me in making one shared
New Year’s resolution:
Let us
resolve to put peace first.
Let us
make 2017 a year in which we all –
citizens, governments, leaders –
strive to overcome our differences.
From
solidarity and compassion in our
daily lives, to dialogue and respect
across political divides… From
ceasefires on the battlefield, to
compromise at the negotiating table
to reach political solutions…
Peace
must be our goal and our guide.
All that
we strive for as a human family –
dignity and hope, progress and
prosperity – depends on peace.
But peace depends on us.
I appeal
to you all to join me in committing
to peace, today and every day.
Let us
make 2017 a year for peace.
Thank
you."
It's a good statement. One simple
step that comes to mind is to put
Saudi Arabia, which has used cluster
bombs to kill kids in Yemen, back on
the UN's Children and Armed Conflict
annex.
To
pay more attention to Burundi, to
whose Pierre Nkurunziza Guterres has
already written.
To
take some immediate action on the
killing - and closing of the border
on -- the Rohingya in Myanmar.
There's more, but we'll begin
pursuing this, including January 3
when Guterres speaks to UN staff on
9:10 am. Watch this site.
December
26, 2016
US
Power Abstains
on UNSC
Settlements
Resolution, As
UN Talk Turns
To Trump
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 23 --
In a final
showdown
before Barack
Obama leaves
office, the UN
Security
Council voted
on December 22
at 2 pm on an
anti-settlements
resolution,
below. The US
abstained. Explanatory video here.
Amid applause
in the
chamber,
Israel's
Ambassador Danny
Danon
issued a
statement that
"It was to be
expected that
Israel's
greatest ally
would act in
accordance
with the
values that we
share and that
they would
have vetoed
this
disgraceful
resolution. I
have no doubt
that the new
US
administration
and the
incoming UN
Secretary
General will
usher in a new
era in terms
of the UN's
relationship
with Israel."
Donald Trump,
much mentioned
at the
Security
Council
stakeout,
tweeted: “As
to the U.N.,
things will be
different
after Jan.
20th.” Voice
of America at
the UN quickly
re-tweeted it,
without
commentary.
As obtained by
Inner City
Press,
submitted to
the UN
Security
Council
president for
December,
Spain:
"I wish to
inform that
the
co-sponsors
who seconded
the draft
namely
Malaysia,
New Zealand,
Senegal and
Venezuela have
agreed that
given the
interest,
urgency and
importance of
the issue, it
is imperative
for Council to
act on this
draft.
2.
Consequently
and in
accordance
with
applicable
Council rules
of procedure,
our
delegations
request the
Secretariat to
recirculate
the same draft
in blue
(S/2016/1095)
with Malaysia,
New Zealand,
Senegal and
Venezuela as
co-sponsors.
3.
Our
delegations
further
request the
Presidency
schedule the
vote for the
text ASAP
today,
please."
US Ambassador
Samantha Power
refused
question on
how the US
would or will
vote (and
refused Inner
City Press'
question on
the UN arming
a South Sudan
warlord);
Russia's
Vitaly Churkin
said Russia
would prefer
an “orderly
process.”
Call it the
ultimate lame
duck session,
along with
Obama.
Watch this
site.
A
diplomat who
spoke with US
Ambassador to
the UN
Samantha Power
on the
afternoon of
December 22
told Inner
City Press
Power said she
for now had no
instructions
on how to
vote. Whether
the decision
had not been
made by Barack
Obama, or
there was a
concern about
the leaks, is
not known. But
there were no
instructions.
A diplomat
said, We could
vote tonight.
Or never.
This came a
day after
Israel
pointedly did
not
participate in
the UN General
Assembly vote
on a Syria
investigative
mechanism, and
a month before
Donald Trump
takes over
from Obama.
December 19,
2016
On
South Sudan,
Watered Down
Draft Passes
15-0, ICP
Asked US Power
of UNMISS
Arming Warlord
By Matthew
Russell Lee,
Follow Up to
Exclusives
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 16 --
When the UN
Security
Council
members met
about South
Sudan on
December 15,
the best they
could do was
extend the
mandate of the
UNMISS mission
for a single
day. Even
then, there
was already
news of UNMISS
having given
arms to
warlord, or
“rebel
general,”
James Koang.
This was in a
Small
Arms Survey
report,
picked up in
the Washington
Post.
Inner City
Press tweeted
it at UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric,
requesting a
comment.
Nothing.
On the
morning of
December 16,
Inner City
Press asked
the
Ambassadors of
the UK and New
Zealand about
it, and both
had heard of
it and said it
needed to be
investigated.
The Ambassador
of France, the
country that
has run UN
Peacekeeping
for 20 years,
did not
comment. Video
here.
The US
holds the pen,
and more, on
South Sudan.
In the early
afternoon of
December 16,
when US
Ambassador
Samantha Power
held a
stakeout about
Syria, Inner
City Press
asked about
the US South
Sudan draft,
and the
Washington
Post report.
Power said she
hadn't seen
the Washington
Post report,
but that she
thought the
draft will
pass. Video
here.
At 4 pm the
resolution,
changed, was
adopted 15-0.
Afterward
Egypt, for
example,
criticized the
US for not
consulting
enough, and
showing its
draft(s) too
late. Final
adopted draft
here.
Speaking for
the US was
deputy Isobel
Coleman, who
did not in her
speech mention
UNMISS arming
Koang. (In
full
disclosure,
she is also
the USUN
ambassador to
whom the Government
Accountability
Project
directed its
request
that the
Mission
opposed the
UN's eviction
and
restriction of
Inner City
Press - and
apparently did
nothing.)
There
were already
over 9,000
viewers of
Inner City
Press'
Periscope of
this South
Sudan Q&A,
but even after
Inner City
Press tweeted
the Washington
Post story to
Power, her
spokesman and
the US Mission
generally,
there was no
response.
UN's
Gallach Pays
Public Funds
To Call
Detroit a 3d
Rate Flyover
City, Evicted
&
Restricts
Inner City
Press
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 9 --
This sample
spectacle: UN
Under
Secretary
General for
Communication
Cristina
Gallach
pontificating
to a Gulf
media to which
she gives a
large office
in the UN
about how
“difficult” it
will be under
Trump, and
blaming not
only “fake
news” but also
“social media”
for the
“difficult”
and “very
controversial”
roles they
played in the
US election. Video
here, from
Minute 10.
This is an
attempt by
Gallach --
surrounded by
corruption and
mismanagement
scandals -- to
keep her UN
position under
incoming
Secretary
General
Guterres. She
should be
fired.
Exhibit 2: on
December 6,
Inner City
Press asked
Gallach about
the
superseding
indictment in
the UN bribery
case against
Macau-based Ng
Lap Seng, on
whom Gallach
did no due
diligence -
and she had no
update, then
on since.
Third strike:
on December 8,
Gallach used
public money
to pay a
speaker to
tell
DPI-affiliated
NGOs, in UN
Conference
Room 4, that
Detroit,
Michigan is a
“third-rate”
city, a
“fly-over”
city, baffled
by how Trump
won the
election. Tweeted
video here.
This with
public money -
questions on
her use of
which Ban
Ki-moon's
spokespeople
have refused
to answer for
two weeks, on
December 8
using a
questions
about
Gallach's
lawless
eviction of
Inner City
Press as the
justification
for not answer
the Gallach
funding
questions. See
here. It
is time to
drain all of
this from
Turtle Bay.
Tellingly,
while outgoing
Ban Ki-moon's
spokespeople
have told
Inner City
Press it is
the practice
for USGs like
Gallach to
tender their
resignations
at the end of
their
appointer's
term, Gallach
says only that
she has given
a “report” to
Guterres and
taken
instruction on
how he'd like
the job down.
Pro-tip to
Guterres: end
UN censorship,
and Gallach's
tenure. Busca
una otra.December
5, 2016
Ban
Ki-moon To Fly
For
Anti-Corruption
Award from
Qatar After
Promoting Son
in Law to Top
UN Post
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
Series
UNITED
NATIONS, December 2 -- Two weeks
after Inner City Press formally gave
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman Stephane Dujarric a link
to an Internet page about Ban's
brother Ki-ho engaged in mining in
Myanmar's Shan state through South
Korean firm KD Power -- as well as Bosung
-- the response has been to have
the page removed from the
Internet.
This
comes after Ban's son in law
Siddharth Chatterjee, promoted by
Ban without recusal to the highest
UN position in Kenya, ordered an
article about nepotism
removed from the website.
On
December 2, Ban's spokesman Stephane
Dujarric blythely announced that Ban
will travel from December 7 to 9 to
receive an anti-corruption award
presented by the Emir of Qatar.
Anti-corruption?
Meanwhile Ban's spokespeople have
refused to disclose the carbon
off-sets Ban bragged about in a
speech to Colombia's SIPA, and
refused for a week to answer if
Ban's chief of communications
(actually, censorship) Cristina
Gallach used
UN funds to go get her own award
in Barcelona. Nor has a
requested list of Gallach trips on
public funds been provided.
Is that
anti-corruption? Or pro-corruption?
On
November 28 Ban's spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said, without any proof,
that he understands Ban Ki-ho no
longer works for KD Power. But when
Inner City Press asked when was the
last time Ban Ki-moon spoke with his
brother Ki-ho, Spokesman Dujarric
said glibly that he has no clue, and
hasn't returned with any answer.
While Team Ban, including the South
Korean Mission to the UN which on
November 10 asked Inner City Press
for the since-disappeared KD Power
link, and the Bosung links, think
they have ended this particular
inquiry into nepotism by asserting
Ban Ki-ho is no longer with KD
Power, they have not answered even
once on Bosung.
Inner City
Press has submitted questions to Ban
Ki-ho at Bosung but they have not been
responded to.
November
28, 2016
Ban
Ki-moon's
Brother Ki-ho
Thrown Out of
UN Global
Compact, Mines
in Myanmar
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, November 25 -- Two weeks
after Inner City Press formally gave
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman Stephane Dujarric a link
to an Internet page about Ban's
brother Ki-ho engaged in mining in
Myanmar's Shan state through South
Korean firm KD Power (as well as
Bosung), the response has been to
have the page removed from the
Internet.
Now Inner
City Press has discovered that Ban
Ki-moon's brother Ki-Ho's firm KD
Power was thrown out of the UN
Global Compact, the UN's
easy-to-stay-in blue-washing
mechanism for corporations. See
here.
What does it say about Ban Ki-moon's
actual commitment to human rights if
he can't even get his own brother to
meet the minimal requirements of the
UN Global Compact?
KP
Power's since-violated “Letter of
Commitment” to Ban Ki-moon was
signed by his brother Ban Ki-Ho, put
on Scribd here by Inner City
Press, without any disclosure
of the direct family relationship,
just as Ban's son in law Siddharth
Chatterjee, whom Ban promoted to the
top UN job in Kenya, never discloses
this relationship in his
self-serving, human rights up
front-free pieces which are run by
Thomson Reuters and some others as a
way to curry favor with Ban Ki-moon.
Ban
Ki-moon can't or won't even get his
son in law Siddhart Chatterjee, whom
he promoted to the UN Resident
Coordinator position in Kenya, to
comply with his post-Sri Lanka
failure "Rights Up Front" scheme.
Sidd stayed silent amid targeting of
South Sudanese in Kenya, and
killings by police. In fact, the UN
and Sidd have refused to divulge his
role in killings in Sri Lanka.
Back
on November 9 Inner City Press sent
Dujarric and others this, of which
Dujarric in the hallway confirmed
receipt - note that the first link
was then disabled, so that it leads
nowhere:
"I am sending three links regarding
Ban Ki-moon's brother Ki-ho (through
Bosung and KD Power) doing mining in
Myanmar and touring with a UN
delegation.
"Memorandum of Understanding with KD
Power of South Korea, which is
managed by Mr. Ban Ki-Ho, brother of
UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban
Ki-Moon, for the exploration of
Magnesium as well as cooperation in
power sector in the eastern Shan
State of Myanmar. "
This is Ban
Ki-moon censorship, this time to try
to conceal nepotism and exploitation
of resources in a war zone, using the
UN's name.
November
21, 2016
On
Myanmar, Where
Ban's Brother
Mines, US
Accepts
Outcome-Less
Briefing By
Nambiar, Who
Says Give Them
Time
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS, November 17 -- Myanmar was
the quiet topic of the UN Security
Council on the evening of November
17, between meetings on South Sudan
and Syria chemical weapons.
Inner
City Press is informed that while
the US requested the closed door
briefing, the US agreed as a
condition that there would be no
outcome to the meeting.
The
briefer was Vijay Nambiar, Ban
Ki-moon's envoy on Myanmar as he
was, disasterously, on Sri Lanka.
And sources tell Inner City Press
that amid the burning of Rohingyas'
homes and rapes and killings in
Rakhine State, Nambiar advised the
Council to go easy on Myanmar and
give them time. This is is
disgusting, all around. As is
this:
On
September 27, Inner City Press
directly asked Chatterjee about it,
on Periscope.
here.Vine
here.Chatterjee
hardly answered the long-standing questions; nor did Ban's
spokesman. Neither set up the requested interview.
Now on
November 11,
the UN
says Ban
spoke with
Trump and
"expressed
confidence
that the
United States
and the United
Nations would
maintain their
traditional
strong ties of
cooperation."
In censorship?
On
election night
itself, Inner
City Press
reported what
it heard
regard former
US Ambassador
to the UN John
Bolton, his
spokesman
Richard
Grenell, and
SFRC chairman
Bob Corker.
Some in
UN-World are
circling the
wagons; Ban is
doling out
interviews,
just as he did
for his
now waning
hopes to be
South Korea's
next
president.
How did
the current US
Mission taken
not action on
censorship by
Ban and his
Under
Secretary
General Cristina
Gallach,
even when asked
to do so by
the Government
Accountability
Project?
Why has the
current US
Ambassador
wasted
resources with
no fewer than
three
bodyguards
even when
inside the
UN?
We'll have
more on this -
watch this
site.
when Inner
City Press got
to the United
Nations later
in the
morning, it
asked Yemen's
Ambassador
Khaled Hussein
Mohamed
Alyemany if he
thinks under
Trump the US
will continue
to fuel up
Saudi
warplanes for
their bombing
runs. Video
here.
Inner City
Press asked
Iraq's
Ambassador to
the UN M A
Alhakim about
the idea
outgoing
President
Obama will try
to speed up
action on
Mosul and
Raqqa before
Trump takes
over. He said
a sped-up
process would
be good. Vine
video here.
Outgoing UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon came
to read a
statement; his
outgoing
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric said
Ban would not
take
questions. But
one was yelled
out on climate
change; Inner
City Press
then asked
about the criticism
of Ban by
Senator Bob
Corker, a
possible
Secretary of
State, over
Ban's weak
response to UN
peacekeepers'
engaged in
sexual abuse.
Video
here;Vine here.
When Inner
City Press had
asked Dujarric
for Ban's
reaction,
Dujarric said
dismissively
that was just
the opinion of
one person.
Impunity is
impunity.
Dujarric
himself helped
get Inner City
Press thrown
out of the UN
Press briefing
room, its
UN office and
the UN as a
whole, see
Paragraphs 9
and 10 of this
UN memo to the
US Senate
Foreign
Relations
Committee.
We'll have
more on this.November
7, 2016
Ban
Ki-moon's
Brother Ki-ho
Involved in
Myanmar
Greenwashing,
Like At COP 22
in Morocco
On
September 27, Inner City Press
directly asked Chatterjee about it,
on Periscope.
here.Vine
here.Chatterjee
hardly answered the long-standing questions; nor did Ban's
spokesman. Neither set up the requested interview.
Ban's brother Ki-ho is vice
president of electric equipment firm Bosung (a/k/a Bo Sung),
which has been on Myanmar tours with (unnamed) UN officials.
See (and translate) this government
web page, here:
"Industry, Republic of Korea
Minister U Maung Myint Bo Sung Powertec Co., Ltd, BUYANG
INDUSTRIAL Co., Ltd, Germany Recycle Engineering Co., Ltd and
visiting delegations from the United Nations"
Ban's former chief of staff and
vanity press book editor Vijay Nambiar is Ban's envoy on
Myanmar. Did he go on this trip?
In terms of mining, see
this: "Bright Time has signed an Memorandum of
Understanding with KD Power of South Korea, which is managed
by Mr. Ban Ki-Ho, brother of UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban
Ki-Moon, for the exploration of Magnesium as well as
cooperation in power sector in the eastern Shan State of
Myanmar."
Is the UN's Special
Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee aware of
this mining project in east Shan State, with the brother of UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon? Is the UN Ethics Office?
Doosan is providing the nuclear
reactor. Ban's friend and mentor Han Seung-soo, whom Ban
appointed to a senior UN position (which conveys diplomatic
immunity) is on the board of directors of Doosan and has
engaged closely with UAE on issues of Korean trade promotion
and business. Han has most recently served
on the jury of the UAE Energy Prize. Meanwhile,
Ban's other brother Ban ki-sang served as an advisor to Keangnam,
which developed properties in UAE for South
Korean expatriates and businesses.
We'll have more on this.October
31, 2016
Under
New SG
Guterres, Who
Will Head UN
Peacekeeping,
Public
Information?
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 28 -- When new
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres came to take questions
outside the General Assembly hall on
October 13, he was first asked about
Syria and cited his past as head of
the UN refugee agency.
Inner
City Press asked, “And Yemeni
people?” - referring most recently
to the double-tap airstrike on the
funeral in Sana'a.
Guterres took the question, adding
in South Sudan as well, and said he
will try to be an honest broker.
That would be a welcome change, and
one that we will closely cover as
censorship restrictions are lifted.
Beyond
the UN Peacekeeping issues explored
below, as to ending UN censorship
who becomes Spokesperson, and who
heads the Department of Public
Information, will have an impact. On
October 28 the UN told
correspondents that Melissa Fleming,
spokesperson for Guterres, should
now be contacted through a UN.org
and not UNHCR.org email address.
Does this mean she'll be UN
Spokesperson? Head of DPI?
UN
Peacekeeping has been controlled by
France for 20 years, and many
believe that it is and will be time
to relinquish it. But when Inner
City Press asked, if for example
France will shift to DESA or even
across First Avenue to UNDP, it was
told “don't believe everything you
hear.”
Now the person who gave that answer
or quip is reported as a possible
replacement for Herve Ladsous, who
has run DPKO into the ground.
Other names
floated are Sylvie Bermann -- if
France keeps it, a woman USG might be
designed to address the sexual abuse
issues that expanded and were
justified under Ladous - or
Jean-Maurice Ripert, without any
mention of his issue when he was
assigned to Pakistan humanitarian
issues and remained
on vacation. (In full
disclosure, Ripert also confronted
Inner City Press on a UN Security
Council trip involving Chad and, by
accident, Rwanda - but that's another
story.) October
24, 2016
As Ban
Ki-moon
Conceals DC
Speech &
Is Protested
at UN, Tells
Reuters Of His
South Korea
Ambitions
By Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
October
21 --
What has Ban
Ki-moon turned
the UN into,
as he seeks to
run for
President of
South Korea?
For a week,
Ban Ki-moon
has refused to
make public
the speech he
gave on
October 14
before the
Council of
Korean
Americans,
which sought
$100,000
sponsorships
to hear Ban
speak. On
October 21,
even as UN
staff
protested
Ban's lack of
judgment in
naming a
cartoon
character,
Wonder Woman,
a UN
ambassador,
Ban made
public to
Reuters not
this speech
but his
ambition to be
president of
South Korea.
Reuters did
not ask about
the day's
protest, much
less the
“private”
speech.
At the
October 21
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric again
for a copy of
the speech -
next question,
Dujarric said
- and about
the Wonder
Woman fiasco.
What will
Ban's platform
be? At the UN,
he he give the
top job in
Kenya to his
own son in
law, without
recusing
himself. He
has allowed
his mentor Han
Seung-soo to
be a UN
official while
on the boards
of directors
of Doosan and
of Standard
Chartered
bank, which
has UN
contracts. He
has evicted
the Press
which has
asked about
his nepotism
throughout his
tenure. See
here. So:
corruption,
nepotism and
censorship?
We'll have
more on this.
On October 17,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's outgoing
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric why
his office had
not made
available
Ban's speech
in Washington
DC on October
14 to the
Council of
Korean-Americans
but had widely
emailed out
Ban's speech
the same day
while getting
another
honorary
degree in
Maryland.
Dujarric
replied, with
characteristic
defensiveness,
that Ban's
Friday evening
speech at the
Ronald Reagan
International
Trade Center
in DC was
private. Vine
video here. On
October 18
when Inner
City Press
followed up
and asked how
much was
charged or
sought to hear
Ban, Dujarric
said to ask
the
organizers.
Well,
the Council of
Korean
Americans
began
promoting
Ban's
attendance, as
UN Secretary
General, as
early as
August - and
sought
$100,000
“platinum”
sponsorships.
Here's
a tweet from
September.
ICP
Asked New SG
Guterres About
Yemen, His
Transition
Team Here
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, October 14 -- When new
UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres came to take questions
outside the General Assembly hall on
October 13, he was first asked about
Syria and cited his past as head of
the UN refugee agency.
Inner
City Press asked, “And Yemeni
people?” - referring most recently
to the double-tap airstrike on the
funeral in Sana'a.
Guterres took the question, adding
in South Sudan as well, and said he
will try to be an honest broker.
That would be a welcome change, and
one that we will closely cover as
censorship restrictions are lifted.
Now on October 14, Guterres
announces this team:
"Following
his appointment yesterday by the
General Assembly of the United
Nations as
Secretary-General-designate, António
Guterres announced the composition
of a transition team that will help
him prepare for the assumption of
his duties on 1 January 2017. Here's
some of the absurdities they
should fix, on Haiti cholera
and media restrictions.
The members of the team are:
Transition Team Chief: Ms. Kyung-wha
Kang (Republic of Korea). She
previously served as Deputy High
Commissioner for Human Rights and
Director General of International
Relations at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade of the Republic of
Korea. She is currently Deputy
Emergency Relief Coordinator and
Assistant Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs.
Senior Advisor/ Spokesperson: Ms.
Melissa Fleming (USA). She has held
leading international communications
positions at the OSCE, with a focus
on human rights, conflict prevention
and reconciliation and at the IAEA
on nuclear non-proliferation, safety
and security. She is currently Head
of Communications and Spokesperson
for the High Commissioner at UNHCR.
Senior Adviser: Ms. Michelle
Gyles-McDonnough (Jamaica). She has
practiced privately as a lawyer,
served as advisor to the Secretary
General of the Organization of
American States and has deep
development experience within UNDP,
including as UN Resident Coordinator
for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei
Darussalam. She’s currently Deputy
Assistant Administrator and Deputy
Regional Director Designate for Asia
and the Pacific.
Senior Adviser: Mr. João Madureira
(Portugal). He has a distinguished
career in his country’s Diplomatic
Service. He is currently Minister
Counsellor in the Permanent Mission
of Portugal to the UN.
Senior Adviser: Mr. Radhouane
Nouicer (Tunisia). He served at
UNHCR for over 18 years in the field
and as Director of the Middle East
and North Africa Bureau. He was
Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs in the Tunisian Transitional
Government in 2011. He is currently
Regional Advisor for the Yemen
Humanitarian Crisis.
The Transition Team will interact
with UN officials, Member States and
civil society to ensure an informed
and smooth transition. "
On
October 14 inside the GA hall,
speakers included Chile's Ambassador
Christian Barros and the UK's
Matthew Rycroft, who spoke of the
process by which Guterres was
selected (but not, perhaps
understandably, about Yemen). US
Ambassador Samantha Power joked that
she had set aside time around
Christmas in case more straw polls
were needed.
In the days and weeks ahead, Inner
City Press will be running its “New
UN” series, which today covered the
Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs. The need for
change at UN Peacekeeping and the
Department of Public Information is
clear. But how will the UN become
anything near to an honest broker?
We are hoping for it. Watch this
site.
October
10, 2016
On
Yemen, ICP
Asks UK,
France, NZ
& Saudi
After
Airstrike on
Funeral, No
Draft Yet
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 8 --
The Saudi led coalition bombed a
funeral in Sana'a, Yemen, on the
same day the UN Security Council met
about airstrikes in Syria.
Inner
City Press asked Saudi Arabia's
ambassador to the UN Abdallah Yahya
A. Al-Mouallimi to confirm it was an
Saudi strike and explain it. He
said, "I am not aware of it." Vine
video here.
After the
French resolution failed in the
Security Council, its foreign
minister Jean Marc Ayrault came to
the stakeout. Inner City Press asked
him, loudly, if he thinks the Saudi
bombardment of Yemen should also be
taken up by the Security Council,
after an airstrike on a funeral most
recently. He did not answer, despite
the question being repeated. Vine
here. He left.
While Ambassador
Matthew Rycroft of the UK, which
holds the Council's “pen” on Yemen,
also did not answer, Vine
here, New Zealand's
ambassador when Inner City Press
asked if his country also thinks the
Saudi-led coalition should stop
bombing Yemen said, “I do.” Vine
here.
But by
the end of the meting, following a
walk-out by the UK, US and others,
the UK as "penholder" on Yemen in
the Security Council had not,
according to the president,
circulated any draft Press
Statement. Watch this site.
UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has
let the Saudi led coalition off the
Children and Armed Conflict annex on
Yemen, while Saudi Arabia runs for a
Human Rights Council seat. How much
lower can the UN get?
After a
UAE warship was hit - and sunk - off
the Yemeni coast near Mocha, Inner
City Press on October 3 asked Ban
Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Farhan
Haq for a comment, and if the UN
knows if it was a warship or as
claimed an aid ship. See
October 6 US travel warning, below.
On October
4 Haq returned with, "it doesn't sound
as if it was on a humanitarian
mission." Vine
video here.October
3, 2016
In Other
Media e.g. Somalia,
Ghana,
Azerbaijan,
The
Gambia
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