Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Guterres Will Be Next UNSG, UNclear What Deputy Russia Gets, Inner City Press Asks US Power If Giving Up DPA



By Matthew Russell Lee, Follow Up on Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, October 5 -- Antonio Guterres will be the Next UN Secretary General, the Security Council's straw poll on Wednesday decided. But in order to get Russia's support, whom did he agree to name as his deputy? And, as Inner City Press asked US Ambassador Samantha Power without answer, will the US be giving up the UN Department of Political Affairs, current headed by US Jeffrey Feltman?

  The Security Council will seal the deal on Thursday, then to the General Assembly. Guterres got 13 encouraging votes, no discourages, and two “no opinions.” And so it is done.

  Inner City Press notes that OldSG Ban Ki-moon turned Guterres down on his request for an extension atop UNHCR. We are hopeful for improvements.

Amid the jockeying by dark horses and dreamers for the Next UN Secretary General spot, when there is a denial, even a partial one, we strive to report it as quickly as possible: see pick-ups of Inner City Press'reporting in Australia, here and below.

On October 3, new entrant Kristalina Georgieva took questions in Conference Room 1 then at the GA stakeout. (Inner City Press asked audibly about UN corruption and the Ng Lap Seng case, what she would do differently than Ban Ki-moon, Vine video here.)

  In Conference Room 1, Kenya's Ambassador Kamau memorably said, If you are the right person, you are not too late. Ukraine's Ambassador asked her about his country; she said her brother is married to a Ukrainian from Kharkiv, “it gets personal.”

   She analogized the situation in Syria to the proverbial frog in hot then boiling water. Inner City Press wanted to ask her about Yemen and Ban Ki-moon's sell out in dropping Saudi Arabia from the Children and Armed Conflict annex, but time or the spokesman did not permit.

  To her credit, Georgieva said forthrighly the cholera was brought to Haiti by insufficient scrutiny of peacekeepers. She seemed to say that Ban has already established a $181 million trust fund for victims, which is not the case. But the answer was good. France asked about peacekeeping when, as Inner City Press reported October 1 and before, it may lose the top post in DPKO in favor of China.

On October 1 Inner City Press exclusively reported among other things, below, that “Kevin Rudd doesn't hide it, and Inner City Press hears he's lined up a country other that Australia which could nominate him.”

        On October 2 a dozen Australia media via AAP's Peter Mitchell(here on SkyNews) quoted Inner City Press, and then this from a Rudd spokeswoman, via Fairfax Media's David Wroe: "Following the decision by the Australian government, another government approached Mr Rudd to nominate him as a candidate for UN Secretary General. Mr Rudd approached the Australian government more than six weeks ago asking if they would oppose such a nomination, were he to consider accepting it. He has received no reply, and as a result Mr Rudd has ruled out this proposed nomination."

   It was added, “Mr Rudd's spokeswoman on Sunday initially dismissed as 'false' a report by the New York-based website Inner City Press that Mr Rudd had lined up another country's backing, insisting that Mr Rudd had 'not approached any governments other than Australia.' She also said that 'not agreed to any such proposal from another country.' But when asked by Fairfax Media whether any country had approached Mr Rudd, she said in a statement via email that a country had indeed.”

   So, can it be claimed that this “other government” told Turnbull it might nominate Rudd without Rudd “lining it up”? At least Team Rudd responded, with a partial admission. Current or “Old SG” Ban Ki-moon's response to accurate Inner City Press stories has been to evict it from the UN and confine it to minders, New York Times herepetition here.

On October 3, SkyNews Australia's Chris Kenny did a two minute on camera send-up of RuddGate, including footage from the Terminator movie, and saying that Rudd had used the media to float the story of another country -- “perhaps North Korea” -- being ready to nominate him.

   For what it's worth, Inner City Press which first reported this did not get the exclusive from Rudd or the Rudd camp. We'll have more on this.

   For the record, no one is formally a candidate for Next SG until a country actually submits to the UN a letter of nomination - and the Presidents of the General Assembly and of the Security Council jointly circulate it, as happened albeit on a day's delay in the case of Kristalina Georgieva. Watch this site.

With female Eastern European group candidates low in the Next UN Secretary General straw poll conducted by Russia in the Security Council on September 26, two days later on September 28 as predicted Bulgaria nominated and switched its backing to Kristalina Georgieva from Irina Bokova.

There was a four-member questioning of the switch, but within a day it was accepted and the letter went out. Georgieva's General Assembly interview was scheduled for October 3, with a press stakeout at 1 pm.

   The plot has thickened and Inner City Press can now go beyond its previous reporting on a possible deal NOT to veto Antonio Guterres if Russia gets the Deputy Secretary General spot, either for Vuk Jeremic who has indicted he would take it, or the now “personal” candidate Irina Bokova.

There may be another “dark horse” Deputy Secretary General candidate, from Kazakhstan - and female. We'll have more on this.

    Russia, Inner City Press is exclusively informed by well-placed but not Russian sources, also wants the UN Department of Political Affairs, held for the last two times by the United States. They say there is precedent, that the USSR held the precursor to DPA post. But how would giving DPA to Russia at this time be viewed?

  In other Under Secretary General musical chairs news and musing, China is “ready to move beyond DESA,” as one source put it to Inner City Press, and wants the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, which Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row, has run into the ground.

  But what would France get? UK Stephen O'Brien wants to stay on in Humanitarian Affairs, and the US in this scenario would take back Management from  Japan. What would France be left with? Some say the Department of Public Information, and point to a candidate in waiting at UNESCO. We'll have more on that, and on the UNESCO race, as well.

   At DPI, Cristina Gallach who has mis-run the Department and linked it to the Ng Lap Seng UN bribery scandal as well as then turning DPI into an eviction shop has to go.

Spain is said to be trying to parlay the last three months of its Security Council membership into a position like Disarmament, which Kim Won-soo will vacate, reportedly to again campaign with Ban Ki-moon, this time for South Korea president.

   Even at this late stage there are dark horses and dreamers. Kevin Rudd doesn't hide it, and Inner City Press hears he's lined up a country other that Australia which could nominate him. [See here, and above.] Just gone PGA Lykketoft is said to dream of the post, as is Ban's current deputy (who until now has referred all mis-Communication issues back to Ms Gallach). From Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag is said to have been trying to convince her Dutch government to nominate her, but upcoming elections have not helped. There are elections everywhere. Watch this site.

  Ukraine's Ambassador to the UN Volodymyr Yelchenko on September 29, on Georgieva, said it's too late, that she won't be able to go through the process the others have. Inner City Press Vine here. Inner City Press heard that Georgieva's General Assembly interview or informal is tentatively scheduled for Monday, October 3, two days before the sixth, differentiated straw poll. Timing is everything.

   In January of this year, Inner City Press asked Georgieva some UN reform questions from the UN Press Briefing Room, here, prior toeviction by Old SG Ban Ki-moon. Georgieva has some powerful backers, but her EU role may be a problem for Russia. Some wonder if Bokova will in fact drop out, or now count on backing to become Deputy Secretary General. Watch this site.

The fifth round of straw polling for the Next UN Secretary General dealt another blow to the lofty rhetoric on gender, with the four top finishers all men. Vuk Jeremic of Serbia edged ahead of Miroslav Lajcak for second place. Inner City Press has heard Russia might NOT veto Antonio Guterres if Jeremic or Irina Bokova got the deputy SG spot. Here are the results:

Antonio Guterres: 12-2-1
Vuk Jeremic: 8-6-1
Miroslav Lajcak: 8-7-0
Danilo Turk: 7-7-1
Susanna Malcorra: 7-7-1
Irina Bokova: 6-7-2
Srgjan Kerim: 6-9-0
Helen Clark: 6-9-0
Natalia Gherman: 3-11-1

 Will Bokova drop out and Georgieva run?

Russia is counting the Next Secretary General ballot in September, and President of the Security Council in October, so when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a press conference on September 23 it seemed clear he would be asked for Russia's view.

But despite claims about a desire for transparency in the sit was not to be. Ten of the eleven questions selected were about Syria; the other was about Palestine. As it ended Inner City Press asked, Do you have any thoughts about Next Secretary General?  A lot, Lavrov said. Then was gone.

  The previous evening at the Serbian mission “frontrunner” Antonio Guterrez whispered with rival Vuk Jeremic. Vine video here.

Sources tell Inner City Press of the possibility that Russian might NOT veto Guterres (from EU and NATO member Portugal), if he selected Jeremic or perhaps Irina Bokova as  Deputy. We'll see.

At the first Q&A stakeout of this year's UN General Assembly debate, Inner City Press asked  the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades if he has any view of the Next Secretary General process, whether or not an agreement on Cyprus is reached by the end of the year when Ban Ki-moon leaves.

  After some whispering from staff, Anastasiades told Inner City Press, “No.” Vine video here. There was laughter, and Anastasiades flashed Inner City Press a thumbs-up as he went out to his limousine. He'll be in New York a full week. And Inner City Press, even under Ban Ki-moon's and his Cristina Gallach's eviction and restriction orders, will be here too, asking about Next SG. Watch this site.

Nearly all of the current candidates to replace Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General, and those who have dropped out, are active or at least have accounts on Twitter. Now Antonio Guterres, ahead in the straw polls but with “Discourages” which may well include a Russian veto, has joined Twitter. Is it really him? How will he use the account?

   Vuk Jeremic has tweeted a photo with his grandmother, and of the plane that will fly him to UNGA 71. Irina Bokova tweeted a photo of herself with Forest Whitaker.

Helen Clark, ever active, has been tweeting from the NAM meeting in Venezuela; she has also tweeted, or really been re-tweeted by, Ban Ki-moon's son in law Siddharth Chatterjee, to whom Ban gave the top UNDP job in Kenya without recusing himself.

(Inner City Press first expose here; picks up so far in Sri Lanka andSouth Koreatranslated here)

Clark's UNDP has yet to answer who was on the selection panel, despite multiple Press questions to Clark's former (and Ban's current) spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

   Ban Ki-moon, tellingly, has no twitter account. In fact, under him this year the UN ousted and evict the most active social media journalist in the UN, now confined to minders. But we digress!

Amid the jockeying to replace Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General, there has been revisionism and outright mis-reporting of what happened ten years ago when Ban was chosen as a suitably weak Secretary General.

Then, in 2006, there were only four candidate in the first straw poll. Even bland Ban drew a “discourage,” which he insisted was from Ghana. (Ban's theory was that Ghana's Kofi Annan preferred Shashi Tharoor to continue his legacy, as some surmise Ban would prefer a cover-up artist this time.)

Last week Inner City Press asked current Council member Venezuela about Kristalina Georgieva jumping in; Ambassador Rafael Ramirez told Inner City Press, “It's too late.” Vine here.

   In 2006 Prince Zeid of Jordan jumped in late in the process, as did Latvia's president, drawing a not-embarrassing seven “Encourages.” Many say Sri Lanka convinced its candidate to withdraw to help Ban, who repaid the favor by covering up 40,000 deaths in 2009 and since.

   The US, according to its them Ambassador John Bolton, cut the deal on Ban with China, and chided the UK to not demand the Department of Political Affairs job (the UK lost it.) Bolton writes that he told Ban to demand the resignations of all high UN officials. That is even more needed this time, particularly in the Department of Public Information (become Censorship), Peacekeeping and others.

  In 2006 there was only one round of polling with colored or differentiated ballots, in early October, and it was sent to the General Assembly the next week. And this time, after October 3? Watch this site.

In the fourth straw poll for Next UN Secretary General,Antonio Guterres and Miroslav Lajcak stayed in first and second place (with 12 and ten encourages, respectively) despite statements commitments to a female SG.

In fact, the top four finishers were all men -- Vuk Jeremic came in third with nine encourages and Srgjan Kerim fourth, with eight. Then Susana Malcorra and Irina Bokova tied with Danilo Turk, all with seven encourages. Helen Clark had six, Christiana Figueres five, and Natalia Gherman but three. So much for commitment to women.

UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the "absolute minimum" is nine encourages and no vetoes, so some should drop out, he implied. Inner City Press Vine here.

Here are the September 9 results:

Antonio Guterres 12-2-1
Miroslav Lajcak 10-4-1
Vuk Jeremic 9-4-2
Srgjan Kerim 8-7-0
Irina Bokova 7-5-3
Danilo Turk 7-6-2
Susanna Malcorra 7-7-1
Helen Clark 6-7-2
Christiana Figueres 5-10-0
Natalia Gherman 3-11-1

Compare to the August 29 third straw poll results:

Antonio Guterres: 11-3-1
Miroslav Lajcak: 9-5-1
Vuk Jeremic: 7-5-3
Irina Bokova: 7-5-3
Susanna Malcorra: 7-7-1
Srgjan Kerim: 6-7-2
Helen Clark: 6-8-1
Danilo Turk: 5-6-4
Christiana Figueres: 2-12-1
Natalia Gherman: 2-12-1


In the run-up to the third straw poll for Next UN Secretary General to be held later today, New Zealand which will be president of the Council in September announced it will cede Next SG powers to Russia, which will also hold the Council presidency in October.

As we await clarification, candidate Helen Clark is now in Cameroon, after a stop at TICADIV in Kenya, where Ban Ki-moon has named his own son in law head of the UN system without even recusing himself. New Zealand's Key is quoted that “Obama has a lot of respect for Helen Clark 'but we'll see how it goes.'”

In related conference news, Susana Malcorra is promoting the “IV Reunión Extraordinaria de la Red Iberoamericana de Organismos y Organizaciones contra la Discriminación.”

  Vuk Jeremic by contrast comes to New York for the voting - perhaps smart, given the specific targeting of his candidacy from Kosovo last week.

Irina Bokova is fighting back against a piece in the Times of London by Andrew Mitchell promoting Kristalina Georgieva, including saying she is “appalled by the 'undignified' campaign against her." 

On August 23 Inner City Press asked August's Council President, Ramlan Bin Ibrahim of Malaysia, to explain this; he said to wait for “the breakfast,” on September 1, for it to be formally presented.

   Meanwhile another candidate has dropped out: Igor Luksic of Montenegro. His letter is here. Along with Vuk Jeremic of neighboring Serbia, he was once of the younger and more articulate of the candidates -- including answering the Press on his budget back on April 12.

Now since Luksic followed through -- too rare in the today's UN -- we'll follow up as well: Luksic has disclosed that his “travel expenses during the campaign were 34,626.44 euros and costs related to the preparation and presentation of his vision statement and the platform at different events were 24,204.89 euros,” for a total of 58,831.33 euros. Will the other candidates disclose?

  At the other end of the spectrum, on August 25 Inner City Press asked outgoing SG Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric if Ban had even bothered to recuse himself when his own son in law Siddarth Chatterjee was made the UN system's (and UNDP's) Resident Representative in Kenya. No. Is this acceptable? Would the candidates to succeed Ban do this? Watch this site.

  As noted, Susana Malcorra met with the European Union in New York And more recently met with Angola); Christalina Figueres was in Mali. As we've asked all candidates, who is paying for that trip? Last week the Lancet inquired how the race may impact global health; watch this site.

The third straw poll for Next UN Secretary General is now set for Monday, August 29, UN Security Council president Malaysia told the press on August 12. It will still not involved color ballots which would allow one ot know if a candidate's discourages involve permanent, veto-holding members. Periscope video here.

The second poll happened on August 5, leaving frontrunner Antonio Guterres now with two discourages. Inner City Press' Periscope video here.  Second round, compared to previous:

Antonio Guterres: 11-2-2 (prev 12-0-3: one encourager left, P5 discourager(s) came out)

Vuk Jeremic: 8-4-3  (prev 9-5-1: one less encourage, one less discourage, no opinion grows)

Susana Malcorra: 8-6-1 (prev 7-4-4: one more encourage, but two more discourage)

Danilo Turk: 7-5-3 (prev 11-2-2: four encouragers leave, three more discourage: ouch)

Irina Bokova: 7-7-1 (prev 9-4-2: two less encourage, three more discourage)

Srgjan Kerim 6-7-2 (prev 9-5-1: three less encourage, two more discourage)

Helen Clark: 6-8-1 (prev 8-5-2: two less encourage, three more discourage)

Then with no comparison for discretion and feelings, Christiana Figueres 5-8-2), Natalia Gherman (3-10-2), Luksic, Lajcak - could there be a replacement?

The Security Council's decision sources tell Inner City Press may well not come until October, when Russia holds the monthly presidency of the Council.

   While Antonio Gutteres led in the first round, sources tell Inner City Press not only of P5 in his “no opinions” but also of the idea floated of Guterres as a Deputy Secretary General, along the lines of today's Jan Eliasson. There's been outreach to Bulgaria. Inner City Press again hearkens back to Ban Ki-moon rejecting Guterres' request for a mere one year extension at UNHCR. Is it pay-back time?

   On that front, while FYROM's Srgjan Kerim did better than expected in the first round, now there are detractors pointing back to a scandal while he was President of the General Assembly, in which his driver was found with big time (but not Iran-sized) cash, 750,000 euro, on the Hungarian border. Inner City Press reported it at the time, and has been multiply contacted since.

   On the issue of dual nationality, first reported by Inner City Press, outgoing Council member Spain is said to have two stealth nationals in the race (and, as reported, a desire to keep an Under Secretary General spot despite what its Cristina Gallach has mis-done with the Department of Public Information: perhaps Disarmament this time).  Which other Council members are asking for high posts from candidates? Watch this site.

And then there were eleven, running for Next Secretary General of the UN. Former Croatian foreign minister Vesna Pusic on August 4 dropped out, saying the results of the first straw poll show that the Security Council members want an insider.

   This comes after the anticipated expansion of the field to 13 with Kevin Rudd did NOT happen; Rudd was Turnbulled. But there are still others out there. And the issue of dual citizenship, involving Spain, is still in the mix. The second straw poll is set for August 5 and Inner City Press, barring further censorship by Ban Ki-moon and Spain's highest UN official Cristina Gallach, will be there.

As the UN Security Council on July 21 held its first closed-door straw poll on the 12 current candidates to replace Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General, Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft if it was too late for Australia's Kevin Rudd or others to get into the race. Video here. Rycroft replied that it is not too late, candidates can enter after the first straw poll pursuant to the Council's earlier letter.

Inner City Press understands that some Security Council members are reaching out to still unannounced candidates beyond the current 12 and Rudd. Meanwhile, Council sources indicate that among ostensible frontrunner Gutteres' three “no opinions,” a Permanent Five member's veto waits. Inner City Press is told France supports Irina Bokova, but there is opposition within the other P3.

So the real politik frontrunners: Danilo Turk and Helen Clark, in this view. But others may loom.

   On the dual nationality front, we immediately report that Vuk Jeremic approached Inner City Press on July 28 to deny what some Council sources floated about his dual nationality. Jeremic states he is Serbian, only Serbian. Noted duly, and immediately.

  Inner City Press asked Ukraine's Ambassador if the issue of Crimea arose in the Council's interviews. He responded that a candidate's position on it will determine Ukraine's support. And obverse, of course, is also true. We'll have more on this. The second straw poll is set for August 5.

Below from multiple sources are the results of the first straw poll; Inner City Press can also exclusively report that questions have arisen about dual nationality of some candidates, including Christiana Figueres and Susana Malcorra (Italy / Spain),  beyond their listed countries which nominated them. It should be noted that the UN's “PHP” forms require such disclosures.

On July 25, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the UN emerged from a closed door consultation of the Security Council and told the press that the second straw poll, which had been scheduled for July 29, would not be held then, but instead in the first week of August. Asked if he wouldn't be on vacation, he said no. And the others? Or, les autres?

After Ukraine said no second straw poll this week, Malaysia's Ambassador when asked said, No final decision. So does the Eastern Europe Group want a delay, to regroup?

Kevin Rudd continues to push to get into the race, and Susana Malcorra has complained of the results being leaked. There's talk of “strategic voting” -- which Permanent Five members were among the three “no opinions” on Gutteres? How could a country have no opinion of the long time UNHCR chief?

From multiple sources, results of the first straw poll, in the format of Encourage - Discourage - No Opinion:

Antonio Guterres: 12-0-3
Danilo Turk: 11-2-2
Irina Bokova: 9-4-2
Srgjan Kerim 9-5-1
Vuk Jeremic: 9-5-1;
Helen Clark: 8-5-2
Miroslav Lajcak: 7-3-5
Susanna Malcorra: 7-4-4
Christiana Figueres: 5-5-5
Natalia Gherman: 4-4-7
Igor Luksic: 3-7-5
Vesna Pusic: 2-11-2

After the straw polling, Ambassadors said no comment and it went well; Council President Koro Bessho said much the same on UNTV. Inner City Press asked him if the actual results had been given to the President of the General Assembly. Bessho began to say yes, then clarified, no.

At least he took Press questions. The candiates most recently appeared in an event for which the UN did not even provide a UNTV camera at the stakeout so these qustions culd be asked. Inner City Press wasBanned from streaming Periscope from the exit of the General Assembly hall after the event.

The "frontrunner" Antonio Gutteres is the one without a Twitter account; the runner-up Danilo Turk to his credit wants whistleblower Kompass back in the UN.

It's worth remembering that Gutteres was dissed by Ban Ki-moon when he asked for one more year atop UNHCR. Sources say Malcorra and Andrew Gilmour, recently promoted without proper process, were involved in the decision on Gutteres.  Revenge? Or just more of Ban's bad judgment, like he and his head of "Public Information" Cristina Gallach evicting Inner City Press as it covers the UN?

   US Ambassador Samantha Power, who took no questions, named issues for the Next SG, from counter-terrorism to the sustainable development goals.

One wondered if the Obama administration has conferred with Hillary Clinton on its position - and what would happen if the Security Council hasn't decided later in the Fall and the US presidential race is still open.

  French Ambassador Francois Delattre said counter-terrorism is a separate issue; one wanted to ask him if France is as before linking Next SG to an Under Secretary General position, different this time than the UN Peacekeeping that Herve Ladsous has nearly destroyed.

Venezuela's Rafael Ramirez spoke at nearly the same time and was asked if he supports one of the two (for now) Latin American candidates. End of video here; we've noted that Alicia Barcena has been in New York.


Candidates to replace Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General worked it on July 13, with Vuk Jeremic, Christiana Figueres and Danilo Turk debating at CUNY, Miroslav Lajcak meeting with the Secrurity Council then opening a photo exhibit on the floor below it, and Helen Clark in DC.

Now on July 17, Kevin Rudd has made his move. Julie Bishop went public with Rudd's request for Australia's nomination to be Next SG; Rudd on Facebook said “I respect the internal processes of the Australian Government. I respect the fact that the Government has many other priorities at this time, having just been returned to office. This is a matter for the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and their colleagues at a time of their choosing.”

   Existing candidate Bokova put off UNESCO's decision on Jerusalem until October, citing the failed coup in Turkey.

   Meanwhile, as Inner City Press first reported, Security Council members are reaching out to candidates beyong the 12 announced - and beyond Rudd - to for a Next SG. We'll have more on this.

   On July 13, weaknesses in Ban Ki-moon's final years were apparent in much of what was said. Jeremic said peacekeeping is failing and that an SG need a backbone - to Inner City Press this connoted Ban's back-down to Saudi Arabia, removing them from the Yemen Children and Armed Conflict list.

  Danilo Turk recalled chiding diplomats for being unresponsible on vacation during an August of scorched earth in Kosovo, and said an SG needs to do that. Figueres returned to the topic of Haiti; even Helen Clark speaking in DC chided the UN's performance in Syria, at least during the first three and a half years. Video of Clark's presentation here.

(Whether UNDP has done better since then, and why UNDP and Clark have yet to hold a press conference on UNDP's role in the Ng Lap Seng UN bribery scandal remained unaddressed.)

   Security Council president for July Koro Bessho of Japan said the Council met earlier in the day with Lajcak, after meeting Kerim on July 8th, Pusic, Gherman and Gutteres on the 11th and Malcorra on the 12th.

Later, Lajcak spoke at a photo exhibition opening one floor below the Council chamber, introduced by UN official Cristina Gallach, video hereand see explanatory petition here:  Gallach evicted Inner City Press for seeking to pursue the UN bribery scandal in covering an event in the UN Press Briefing Room that was nowhere in writing listed as closed. Whenasked by the Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression and Human Rights Defenders, Gallach claimed Inner City Press had an altercation: False.

 Gallach without once speaking to Inner City Press - but having beenquestioned by it on her role in the Ng Lap Seng scandal, a role noted inOIOS' audit at Paragraphs 37-40 and 20(b) - ousted and then evicted Inner City Press this year, purporting to give its long-time workspace to an Egyptian state media which rarely comes to the UN and never asks questions. This must be reversed.