By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 14 – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is in Vienna, where he told UN staff that sexual exploitation and abuse is not relevant, only sexual harassment is. This statement was made amid allegations of physicl sexual abuse by UNAIDS' Luiz Loures, and the purchase of sex by a D1 UNofficial in Somalia. Are those cases of harassment? Guterres' statement was made at a staff Town Hall meeting for which he was 45 minutes late. After he said it, a staff member complained that her application to set up a #MeToo club had been denied and would Guterres help? He did not say yes. He said his attempted reform of the UN development system had "passed silence," with but without assessed contributions. In New York at the UN noon briefing Inner City Press asked Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, video here, UN Transcript here: Inner City Press: in his town-hall meeting in… in Vienna, seems that the Secretary-General said sexual exploitation and abuse is not relevant in Geneva, in the context of, I guess, saying that anything that happens in the UN system is sexual harassment. What I’m wondering, is, if in the case, for example, of Luiz Loures, where the allegation is actual physical action and abuse and in a case… a separate case in the UN Support Office on Somalia where the allegation is paying for sex, how is it… can you explain such a comment? I’d just like to understand how the Secretary-General believes that sexual exploitation and abuse is not an issue in the UN system.
Spokesman: These categories differ between the treatment of people who are beneficiaries of the UN, people, in other words, who are dependent upon us and whether they are being exploited in any way, and, on the other hand, any sort of infractions that occur within the United Nations system, in other words, within and among UN personnel.
Inner City Press: But can you understand why, like, say, physical sexual abuse within the UN system, why would this be characterised as harassment if, in fact, it’s a physical crime?
Spokesman: Well, the difference in nomenclature should not create any false impression that one category is lesser than the other. It’s not. These are all serious categories, and they comprise a variety of different offences.
Inner City Press: In re-opening the investigation of Luiz Loures, does the Secretary-General understand that the allegation is not just… not to say just, but involves physical actions --
Spokesman: We’re aware of the nature of the allegations that are being investigated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services." #MeTooUN? Days after first banning the Press from his photo ops with Al Sharpton and new Political Affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo then prohibiting Inner City Press' livestreaming of a photo op with Finland's foreign minister even though UN Television shot video and audio there, the UN in Vienna is promoting this, with no mention if Periscope is allowed or not:
Spokesman: These categories differ between the treatment of people who are beneficiaries of the UN, people, in other words, who are dependent upon us and whether they are being exploited in any way, and, on the other hand, any sort of infractions that occur within the United Nations system, in other words, within and among UN personnel.
Inner City Press: But can you understand why, like, say, physical sexual abuse within the UN system, why would this be characterised as harassment if, in fact, it’s a physical crime?
Spokesman: Well, the difference in nomenclature should not create any false impression that one category is lesser than the other. It’s not. These are all serious categories, and they comprise a variety of different offences.
Inner City Press: In re-opening the investigation of Luiz Loures, does the Secretary-General understand that the allegation is not just… not to say just, but involves physical actions --
Spokesman: We’re aware of the nature of the allegations that are being investigated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services." #MeTooUN? Days after first banning the Press from his photo ops with Al Sharpton and new Political Affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo then prohibiting Inner City Press' livestreaming of a photo op with Finland's foreign minister even though UN Television shot video and audio there, the UN in Vienna is promoting this, with no mention if Periscope is allowed or not:
1. Photo opportunity with the Secretary-General and the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 12.55 p.m. please arrive by 12:30 p.m.
Venue: Austrian Chancellery, Marmoreksalon, Chancellery
2. Joint press stakeout with the Secretary-General and the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 2.15 p.m.
Venue: Austrian Chancellery, Grauer Ecksalon, Chancellery
3. Photo opportunity with the Secretary-General and the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 2.35 p.m.
Venue: Hofburg, Ballhausplatz, 1010, Vienna
4. Joint press stakeout with the Secretary-General and the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 3.10 p.m.
Venue: Hofburg, Ballhausplatz, 1010, Vienna
5. Photo opportunity with the Secretary-General and the Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 3.30 p.m., please arrive by 3 p.m.
Venue: Austrian Foreign Ministry, Minoritenplatz 8, 1010 Vienna
6. Photo opportunity for the arrival of the Secretary-General at the Vienna International Centre
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 4.10 p.m., please arrive by 3.45 p.m.
Venue: Plaza, Vienna International Centre
Guterres' lead spokesman (speechwriter?) Stephane Dujarric appeared to be with him, kissing cheeks in Vienna. And what of the growing #MeTooUN issues while he is in Vienna? Is Guterres going to take his absurd restrictions on and censorship of the Press on the road? Or create a double standard where the restrictions apply only inside UN headquarters? How long will he continue his rote expressions of support for UNAIDS' Michel Sidibe, who threatened staff with retaliation for speaking about against Luiz Loures? And given the statements, when will Guterres have to start recusing himself? Watch this site. Last month Guterres slightly delayed his trip to Saudi Arabia, but not by much. After accepting a $930 million check from the Saudi Crown Prince and in remarks not mentioning the civilians deaths caused by Saudi bombing of Yemen, now Guterres has delivered again, remarks praising Saudi Arabia's counter terrorism work. Some find it ironic; some call this trip "Blood Money II." But duty called. Before he left, Guterres who refused actually pointed Press questions with dismissive wave of the hand, delivered a 20 minute interview to Saudi aligned media. Now there, he is quoted with more praise of Saudi, by the Saudi Press Agency (to which his UN has given office space and full access while evicting and restricting the independent Press). The UN has yet to send out a transcript of Guterres' craven remarks quoted by the Saudi Press Agency, sending so far only a speech beginning "Your Excellency, Foreign Minister al-Jubeir, Your Excellency, Ambassador Al-Mouallimi, I want to express my deep gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its generous support to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre, a support without which the Centre, would probably never have been able to be born. And I thank Ambassador Al Mouallimi for his able chairmanship of this Advisory Board... I recently launched the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Compact, which I signed with the heads of 36 UN entities, the INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization." INTERPOL, of course, is used by some governments to arrest or travel ban their opponents. We'll have more on this. Only a week before as Guterres took off on his trip to China, Inner City Press which has pursued the UN bribery scandals of Ng Lap Seng and now the China Energy Fund Committee asked Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric on April 6 if Guterres will address any of these issues during his five days in the country. Dujarric was dismissive, and ended the briefing. Video here; UN transcript here and below. This cutting off of public quesitons happened after Guterres gave a private (self) promotional interview to China's state media Xinhua, touting the trip and China as "absolutely essential" on the North Korea nuclear issue. Dujarric race off the podium made it impossible to ask him for Guterres' opinion on if the gifts given to Kim Jong Un on his recent train trip to China violated the UN's 1718 sanctions. Then again, the UN's own World Intellectual Property Organization helped on North Korea's cyanide patents without telling the 1718 Committee, and Guterres has been as hands-off with WIPO's Gurry as he has been with UNAIDS' Michel Sidibe on the sexual harassment and retaliation scandal. We'll have more on this.
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 12.55 p.m. please arrive by 12:30 p.m.
Venue: Austrian Chancellery, Marmoreksalon, Chancellery
2. Joint press stakeout with the Secretary-General and the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 2.15 p.m.
Venue: Austrian Chancellery, Grauer Ecksalon, Chancellery
3. Photo opportunity with the Secretary-General and the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 2.35 p.m.
Venue: Hofburg, Ballhausplatz, 1010, Vienna
4. Joint press stakeout with the Secretary-General and the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 3.10 p.m.
Venue: Hofburg, Ballhausplatz, 1010, Vienna
5. Photo opportunity with the Secretary-General and the Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 3.30 p.m., please arrive by 3 p.m.
Venue: Austrian Foreign Ministry, Minoritenplatz 8, 1010 Vienna
6. Photo opportunity for the arrival of the Secretary-General at the Vienna International Centre
Date: Monday 14 May 2018
Time: 4.10 p.m., please arrive by 3.45 p.m.
Venue: Plaza, Vienna International Centre
