By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 22 -- Since July of 2012 and more pointedly this month, the UN has been asked a simple question about the rights of journalists. How are complaints against them and what they write processed, and when are they informed of the complaints?
The question has still not been answered, while the UN has yet to break its inappropriate ties with the pseudo press freedom organization which filed stealth complaints in 2012, the UN Correspondents Association. Click here, hereand here, obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act by Inner City Press.
Reading from a prepared speech Monday night in the UN Delegates' Entrance at an event about Pakistan's peacekeepers, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon introduced "new" UNCA President Pamela Falk as if UNCA represented all journalists accredited at the UN. It does not.
Falk then gushed about covering the UN, when few of her UNCA Executive Committee members even came to the stakeout for the day-long Peacekeeping debate, or ask or write about Africa, sixty percent of the UN's work.
Upstairs in the floor of cubicles occupied by correspondents, fliers summarizing the issues raised by the new Free UN Correspondents Association to the Department of Public Information, including the due process rights of journalists, the rights to ask questions and have them answered and for equitable treatment of non-corporate media had been torn down.
They were replaced, right next to the new UNCA President's CBS office, with counterfeit fliers. Previously, the FUNCA fliers were defaced with the phrases "Looney Club" and "Dirty Shirt Club." Downstairs, this was celebrated.
The new president of UNCA often points out that she is a lawyer. If so, did she do no due diligence before accepting the outgoing president's endorsement to take over? What are her views of the organization's 2012 descent into censorship, and the due process rights of reporters?
Actually, be assuming without even any electoral opponent or campaign statement the top position in the group which filed the stealth complaints in 2012, it hardly matters what she now says about due process rights. UNCA cannot with any legitimacy raise this issue - or many other issues. Watch this site.
