By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Video Q&A
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
UN GATE, August 29, Exclusive – Since August 3, Inner City Press has each week end asked UN Spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming about the UN's planned "honor system" UN General Assembly week, without vaccination required. Then it also asked, Where *is* Guterres? No answer.
Now late on August 27 Guterres issued a second internal memo which banned Inner City Press exclusively publishes herebelow.
And now this, about COVID in the UN on 45th Street, the semblance of precautions:
"From: Michael Jenkins Sent: Friday, 27 August, 2021 11:34 AM Subject: Possible Workplace Exposure FF Building
From DHMOSH: There was a person who came to the FF Building 7th floor on the 23rd August and later tested positive for COVID-19 – we fully expect this to happen occasionally even if there are relatively low community case rates. Please note that for confidentiality reasons and in line with accepted contact tracing procedures we cannot identify the person or give information that would let them be identified. If they voluntarily disclose this information to you or your office, please ensure it is treated sensitively otherwise it will undermine our efforts to encourage reporting from anyone who may be a case. In general, vaccination and masking in public places will prevent almost all transmission, and as the person remained masked the risk appears low. If you were in the area above at the time and believe you could be a contact, we recommend you get tested 3-5 days after the potential exposure. As that has already passed in this case, you may wish to get tested as soon as you can. In the meantime, wear a mask in all public places, not just the workplace, and take care around people who may be at particular risk of severe outcomes. DHMOSH does not have the capacity to test potential contacts in-house. Once you have a test result
Vaccinated, negative test: You may resume normal activity Unvaccinated, negative test: You should continue to wear a mask in public spaces for 14 days since exposure. Anyone with a positive test: Isolate yourself Report your test result with a copy to DHMOSH via the EarthMed so that we can do further contact tracing if need be. There is no requirement to stay out of the workplace until you get your test result, but vigilance in how you interact with others and wear a mask will be of value."
Yeah, "of value." We'll have more on this.
"From: United Nations Sent: Friday, August 27, 2021 4:33:10 PM To: Broadcast - UNHQ NY Secretariat Agencies, Funds and Programmes Subject: CORRECTION: Message from the Secretary-General to all personnel at UNHQ regarding arrangements for September 2021 | Communication du Secrétaire général adressée à l’ensemble du personnel du Siège de l’ONU concernant les modalités de travail pour septembre Dear New York-based Colleagues, I hope this message finds you and your loved ones well. Further to my previous communications, I would like to update you on the provisional working arrangements at United Nations Headquarters in New York from September 2021. As communicated in my letter of 3 June 2021, the United Nations Headquarters in New York, as of 6 July 2021, have been reopened fully for in-person business, and all UNHQ New York personnel are expected to be present and work from the duty station as of 1 September 2021. Given the COVID-19 conditions in New York, we will maintain our current posture. This means that, with the exception of the High-Level General Debate period, all UNHQ New York personnel are to continue to perform their functions on premises one or more days a week until further notice. For the High-Level General Debate period — 20 to 27 September 2021 (inclusive) — all UNHQ New York personnel who are not required to be on site to support the proceedings are mandated to work remotely under alternate working arrangements (AWA). For those who have been informed that they are required to be on site, specific information concerning the arrangements during this time will be communicated separately by the respective Heads of Departments and offices. The COVID-19 situation continues to be constantly monitored and measured to ensure a safe work environment for our personnel and delegates, and will be reviewed and adapted as needed. Guidance on the COVID-19 prevention measures announced in my broadcast message of 13 August 2021 (on mask-wearing, indoor dining, vaccination status reporting and mandatory vaccination) will be updated shortly. I also encourage staff who have not already done so to get vaccinated through the local vaccination programmes and report it through EarthMed."
Earth to Antonio: flying in unvaccinated delegations of dictatorships the UN supports, like in Cameroon, is contrary to New York City law - but Guterres asserts impunity, as on his ongoing ban on Inner City Press, not even answering the polite letter from the Quinn Emanuel law firm.
On August 9, journalist Benny Avni asked Dujarric about the letter, video here, transcript:
Question: My second question is the law firm ‑‑ what is it called? ‑‑ Quinn Emanuel wrote a letter to the UN asking about reinstatement of our colleague Matthew Lee into the UN press corps. Do you have any comment on that?
Spokesman: No. All I can tell you is that we've received the letter, and I'm not aware of any change to his status.
Question: You're not aware? I mean, aren't you part of the group that decides the fate of... or even the negotiations... The letter calls for renegotiation [Cross talk]
Spokesman: I decide the fate of no one. [Laughter] Trust me, trust me, my authority is extremely limited, whether at home or at work. What I can tell you and, joking aside, is that the letter has indeed been received, and I'm not aware of any... and there has been no change in Mr. Lee's status.
Question: Has the letter been answered? Do you plan to answer it?
Spokesman: It's been received. Whether or not it's been answered, I don't know yet.
The letter was received by the UN's Melissa Fleming, Maria Luiza Vioti and Tal Mekel and to each UNCA Executive Board member, to them citing UNCA's stated goals that it has a charter to supposedly uphold.
What's next? Since the letter, Inner City Press has published exclusive stories not only from the U.S. court systems but about the United Nations, including its agencies UNOPS, UNFPA, UNITAR and UNESCO. (Also credited in AP, Daily Mail, and Nigeria's Sahara Reporters, amid answers from the IMF.)
But none of its written questions have been answered by the UN Spokespeople, and it remains banned from entry to the UN's briefings. This must end.
Having asked for a colleagial discussion, and while still offering it, things must turn to the law. UNCA is a New York State non-profit which has not only not abided by its stated goals - it has tortiously interfered with a journalist's right to cover the United Nations. The United Nations itself propounds Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and has other legal duties that must be addressed by national courts, particularly in the UN's host country...
Those in receipt of the first, friendly letter: melissa.fleming@un.org, marialuiza.viotti@un.org, mekel@un.org, malu@un.org, and UNCA
Valeria Robecco, ANSA News Agency, Nabil Abi Saab, Al-Araby, Jianguo Ma, Xinhua News Agency, Edith Lederer, Associated, Giampaolo Pioli, Quotidiano, Linda Fasulo, Ibtisam Azem, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Ali Barada, France 24, Asharq Al-Awsat; Oscar Bolanos, OMB News, Sherwin Bryce-Pease, SABC South Africa - Alexander Hassanein, The Tokyo Shimbun, Maria Khrenova, TASS, Philippe Rater, Agence France-Presse, Kaori Yoshida, Nikkei, Betul Yuruk, Anadolu Agency at president@unca.com, valeria.robecco@gmail.com, nabisaab@gmail.com, mjg222888@gmail.com, elederer@ap.org, giampioli@aol.com, lindafasulo@gmail.com, ibtisam.azem@alaraby.co.uk, abarada@hotmail.com, ombyvozque@gmail.com, s.brycepease@gmail.com, alexander@tokyoshimbun.us, khrenova_m@tass.ru, philippe.rater@afp.com, kaori.yoshida@nex.nikkei.com, byuruk@aa.com.tr
We'll have more on this. Watch this site.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
