By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
UN GATE, Nov 24 – Each day, the current United Nations gets worse. Usually we focus on Secretary General Antonio Guterres moving from concealing his links to UN briber CEFC China Energy to banning the Press that asks, to failures on Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras (JOH) & Nigeria (Nnamdi & Igboho).
But today the UN's partnership in censorship, the United Nations Correspondents Association, has hit a new low. While having lobbied to get independent Press thrown out, and having unprofessionally declined to response in any way to polite letter from a major US law firm asking about UNCA's commitment (if any) to the First Amendment, now UNCa has "elections."
And, for fifteen seats there were... fifteen candidates. No competition at all, like in North Korea. And at least forty percent of "candidates" are state media, including from Guterres' favorite China.
On November 24 the results were as follows: only 51 people voted - this, claiming to represent jouranlists all over the world, while selling them out daily. Even with no competition, some "candidates" like that of France 24 got only 31 votes. That's a vote of no confidence.
We'll have more, much more, on this. Because these unopposed candidates, most of them, received the polite law firm letter asking them why they supported or allowed censorship, and they didn't even have the courtesy or professionalism to answer. In any way. Impunity like Guterres, or the Hermit Kingdom.
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. And four months later, no answer. Total corruption and censorship.
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 (31 votes) 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 (39 votes), 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
Three of the 15 are from French media, two from Italy, with various dictatorships represented.
Newlly "elected" is Carrie Neuton of Le Monde, with 32 votes. She is now responsible for the UNCA board's lack of response to a law firm's letter about their / her role in censorship. Will there be a response?
We'll have more on this. Watch this site.
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