By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Series
UNITED NATIONS, March 13 – Facing budget cuts, even on a delay, how does today's UN react? By stealth and stonewalling. And with a limited and carefully picked media, describing lobbying for funds as "UN advocacy." When new - well, 70 day - Secretary General Antonio Guterres went on a trip to Kenya, in New York the Press was not informed of any chance to go. But there Guterres appeared with Al Jazeera, and now in a profile in the Washington Post from a usually hard-hitting reporter, this time quoting the UN's Herve Ladsous, who has mismanaged UN Peacekeeping and the Press for five years. The article describes the UN Foundation as "advocating for UN causes." But shouldn't issues like accountability for victims of UN cholera in Haiti, and opposing censorship in the UN and for example in Western Cameroon, with no Internet for 53 days, be "UN causes"? In fact, UN Foundation lobbies against US budget cuts to the UN, even if targeted and designed to bring about reform. The UN's cause, it seems, is to perpetuate itself.
Worse, after UN holdover spokesman Stephane Dujarric on March 13 told Inner City Press a UN basement meeting with a misleading sign was by the Better World Campaign and not stealth, this BWC has been described as a "UN advocacy group." What does that even mean? Advocating for the UN? These advocates missed or intentionally withheld UN lobbying, including by a holdover Under Secretary General, in Washington. The echo chamber, willfully airbrushing out much UN corruption and outright physical censorship, continues. Recently in the UN basement as Inner City Press came in late through a long line of tourists and students at the metal detectors Inner City Press must now use everyday since the UN evicted it for covering corruption, a meeting in a windowless side conference room was ending. Outside in the hall it was labeled, Congressional Group. But inside on a TV screen it said, “UN Foundation: Congressional Learning Trip.” UN Foundation was set up, with Ted Turner's money, to help and now defend the UN. The UN's point person on sexual abuse, long a topic of interest for such Republicans as Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), is Jane Holl Lute, who before that was a high official of the UN Foundation and of the Obama Administration. She was notably absent last week when a “new” sexual abuse strategy, immediately critiqued by the group Code Blue and others, was announced. On March 13, Inner City Press asked UN Spokeman Stephane Dujarric, UN Transcript here:
Inner City Press: last week, I saw a meeting in the basement 1B held by the UN Foundation. It was called Congressional Learning Trip. And so, I guess I wanted to know, number one, what is the relationship between the UN and UN Foundation? Can it hold a meeting of its own accord with congresspeople? Are you aware whether it was only… you know, was it a bipartisan meeting?
Spokesman: It was a bipartisan… I mean, it wasn't… it was far from a stealth meeting as you described it, because, obviously…
Inner City Press: On the outside, it was congressional group, and then, when you opened the door, it said UN Foundation, so it was stealth.
Spokesman: Right. It was a programme run by the Better World Campaign, and they often bring up staffers. And it was very much a bipartisan group of staff members who work with senators and House members, both Democratic and Republican, an information tour of the UN.
Inner City Press: Can groups that are more critical of the UN or do… or are seeking UN reform, such as Code Blue, such as Government Accountability Project, can they schedule their meetings in 1B?
Spokesman: I think we've… I think… I've been here for about 16 years. I think often groups that are very critical of the UN are able to speak at the UN.
Question: No, but in… can they sponsor congresspeople in 1B?
Spokesman: That's… it's up to them to see who they're willing to invite.
Spokesman: It was a bipartisan… I mean, it wasn't… it was far from a stealth meeting as you described it, because, obviously…
Inner City Press: On the outside, it was congressional group, and then, when you opened the door, it said UN Foundation, so it was stealth.
Spokesman: Right. It was a programme run by the Better World Campaign, and they often bring up staffers. And it was very much a bipartisan group of staff members who work with senators and House members, both Democratic and Republican, an information tour of the UN.
Inner City Press: Can groups that are more critical of the UN or do… or are seeking UN reform, such as Code Blue, such as Government Accountability Project, can they schedule their meetings in 1B?
Spokesman: I think we've… I think… I've been here for about 16 years. I think often groups that are very critical of the UN are able to speak at the UN.
Question: No, but in… can they sponsor congresspeople in 1B?
Spokesman: That's… it's up to them to see who they're willing to invite.
This is a bogus answer: could GAP and Code Blue book UN Conference Rooms to instruct US Congresspeople about what needs to be reformed at the UN? We'll have more on this.
(One of Guterres' team is quoted that Guterres' goal is to say out of Trump's Twitter feed. Is telling a newspaper that the best way to make it come about? And if Trump or Rex Tillerson eschewed a traveling press corps for hand-picked coverage, there would be and is outcry. The Free UN Coalition for Access asks, Is it acceptable by the UN?)
Recently in the UN basement as Inner City Press came in late through a long line of tourists and students at the metal detectors Inner City Press must now use everyday since the UN evicted it for covering corruption, a meeting in a windowless side conference room was ending. Outside in the hall it was labeled, Congressional Group. But inside on a TV screen it said, “UN Foundation: Congressional Learning Trip.” UN Foundation was set up, with Ted Turner's money, to help and now defend the UN. The UN's point person on sexual abuse, long a topic of interest for such Republicans as Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), is Jane Holl Lute, who before that was a high official of the UN Foundation and of the Obama Administration. She was notably absent this week when a “new” sexual abuse strategy, immediately critiqued by Code Blue and others, was announced. We'll have more on that.
Down in Washington, Democratic sources on the Hill tell Inner City Press of a visit by the Obama administration's appointee to the UN, Jeffrey Feltman. Strangely, perhaps, they list the topic not as involving only Feltman's specific UN job, the Department of Political Affairs he has been held over to head until April Fools Day in 2018, but “budget cuts to peacekeeping.” The head of that Department, held by France for more than 20 years, should be the one lobbying. But Herve Ladsous is unappealing in the best of times; now he is a lame duck leaving on March 31, to be replaced by his fellow Frenchman Jean-Pierre Lacroix. Will Lacroix be able to stave off cuts? Will he continue to use public funds, more than a quarter of it from US taxpayers, to pay peacekeepers accused of rape such as in the contingents from Burundi and Cameroon?
Inner City Press exclusively reported and followed up on the extension of Jeffrey Feltman's UN contract with regard to his UN (largely US taxpayer) pension vesting after the five years which Feltman recently pointed out has not yet been reached, but not until now how those close to Feltman say it was accomplished. They exclusively tell Inner City Press that among the lobbyists to keep Feltman on was none other than Bill Clinton, whom they say said it on behalf of his spouse, behind whom Feltman was famously photographedwhile she worked her Blackberry.
Speaking of photographs, Inner City Press on March 10, still under censorship restrictions imposed without any hearing or appeal after it sought to cover the fallout from the UN bribery indictment of Macau-based businessman and former Clinton funder Ng Lap Seng, was Banned from a simple photo opportunity on the UN's 38th floor. The Ban's by the Department of Public Information under ostensibly outgoing Cristina Gallach, who did no due diligence on Ng Lap Seng. When asked the basis, the UN's holdover Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq gave no reason or definition being used; he barely looked up from his computer, from which he never did answer Inner City Press' questions on Cameroon abuses and the UN's Cameroon Resident Coordinator Najat Rochdi blocking it on Twitter, nor how much "extra-budgetary" funds the UN proposes to use on Louise Arbour's D1 head of office.
The moves are stealth, like much in the UN these days - and have the potential of backfiring. Watch this site.
