By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 6 -- The UN Bookstore, which has yet to put on the shelves the Ban Ki-moonvanity press book Ban handed out to heads of state last month, was the venue for a book discussion on October 6:
“Death Penalty and the Victims: Discussion with the publication’s editor, ASG Ivan Simonovic; ASG for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour; criminal defence attorney Walter Long and photographer Lucinda Delvin, moderated by Ms. Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information”
It was not on USG Gallach's UN Television; Inner City Press went and live-streamed it on Periscope. Ms Delvin showed a photograph of an electric chair she said is called “Yellow Mama;” Mr. Long said the US should not have killed Osama Bin Laden but rather should have taken him to the World Court.
Inner City Press asked ASG Simonovic about UN Peacekeeping's policies on turning people over to government's that have the death penalty; he referred back to the stand off about the sheikhs in Darfur, and more recent cases in South Sudan. (Inner City Press previously asked him a question on March 11, 2016, here at Minute 22:20, to which it still awaits an answer.)
To Andrew Gilmour, recently and without competition named as Simonovic's successor, Inner City Press asked about his new mandate on people facing reprisal for cooperating with the UN. He confirmed it - call it a soft launch -- and said yes, it would apply to those in South Sudan who spoke with the visiting UN Security Council. He did not answer on Burundi.
To USG Gallach, who without once speaking to Inner City Press ordered it ousted from the UN in February (UN human rights inquiry here, testimony to Human Rights Council here) and its files evicted in April, Inner City Press asked about the delayed release of Ban's vanity press book, which was published by her DPI. She referred the question to the head of the UN bookstore, who said the released was delayed -- from August -- to October 25 to coincide with UN Day. But why they was it put online, only to be taken off? And how much did it cost to produce.
We recommend the photographs; the Periscope (for now) is here, and a photo of a photo, here.
