By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
UN GATE Exclusive Series, Nov 16 – In the UN of Antonio Guterres, those who ask about his undisclosed links to Chinese bribery firm -- and UN accrediated NGO -- CEFC China Energy, or or blow the whistle on the UN given China the names of Uighur witnesses, get physically thrown out and banned, or in the case of staff, fired.
Inner City Press, which asked Guterres' spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming each weekday in August and September about the slow motion firing of whistleblower Emma Reilly, on the morning of November 10 exclusively published an answer from her, below, and emailed a question about it to Guterres and his spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming. Neither deigned to answer.
But on November 16 the UN patted itself on the back for saying it will let NGOs back into the building in January 2022. One who worked with Dujarric to get the Press banned bragged about it; Melissa Fleming, apparently from Geneva, said "We are so happy to welcome you back!" Reilly said, "Oh, please."
Because the UN doesn't give a damn about real NGOs. Consider those that supported Reilly, and about whose support Inner City Press in writing asked Guterres, Dujarric and Fleming without answer - the UN doesn't care. But CEFC China Energy? In. See: "We, the undersigned, condemn the action taken by the United Nations to fire human rights whistleblower Emma Reilly on 9 November 2021 and call on the Secretary-General, António Guterres, and the UN General Assembly to commit publicly to critical reforms to ensure UN whistleblower protections are brought into the 21 st century.
Ms. Reilly is one of a long line of internal whistleblowers who have suffered for trying to do their jobs and uphold the human rights mandate of the United Nations. The two should not be incompatible...
The WIN Board of Trustees wrote to Secretary-General, António Guterres, on two separate occasions, one in 2020 and the other in early 2021 detailing the series of procedural failures and abuses in Ms. Reilly’s case. The letters sought assurances that action would be taken to halt the unfair treatment of Ms. Reilly and urged him to make sure his orders from April 2018 to have Ms. Reilly transferred and to mediate in her case be fulfilled. No assurances were provided. Importantly, we called on the Secretary-General to properly and independently investigate her serious concerns about the practice of handing to the Chinese authorities the names of dissidents who were providing information and testimony to the UN Human Rights Council.
Ms. Reilly’s concern remains as urgent today as it did in 2013. It is imperative that the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres and the UN General Assembly now recognizes the UN internal justice system is broken and commits publicly to critical reforms to ensure UN whistleblower protections are brought into the 21st century. [Fat chance.]
Ms Reilly “…was interested in human rights and protection of human rights activists. OHCHR was, by virtue of the Complainant’s whistleblowing, placed in a very awkward diplomatic position by a human rights issue that it struggled to handle well. A whistleblower’s reporting of such a practice, which was contrary to fundamental UN principles and values, is exactly the sort of activity that must be protected; it is far more important than minor infractions of bureaucratic rules, which the system finds it much more easy [“sic”] to classify as protected.”
Protecting public interest whistleblowers is no longer a niche issue, if it ever was, it is essential to upholding human rights and protecting the public’s right to know. The United Nations must lead the way. We remain at your disposal to help in any way we can. Yours faithfully
African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (Nigeria) Alison Tilley, Attorney (South Africa) Blueprint for Free Speech Campax (Switzerland) Cathy James, Solicitor (former CE of Protect) (UK) Centre for Free Expression, Ryerson University (CAN) Centre for Research in Employment and Work (CREW), University of Greenwich (UK) Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation (Malta) David Lewis, Professor of Employment Law, Middlesex University (UK) Drago Kos, GRECO Chairman (form.) Edward Patrick Flaherty, Senior Partner, Schwab Flaherty & Associes, Attorneys-at-Law (Switzerland) Emmanuel Jacob, President European Organisation of Military Associations and Trade Unions (EUROMIL), EU GlobaLeaks (Italy) Government Accountability Project (USA) Guernica 37 International Human Rights Law Chambers (UK) James I. Wasserstrom, Founder and CEO, The Integrity Sanctuary Kosovo Democratic Institute / Transparency International Kosovo Martin Bright, Acting Editor, Index on Censorship (UK) Martin Jefflén, former Eurocadres President, initiator of WhistleblowerProtection.EU OBC Transeuropa (OBCT) Oziveni (Czech Republic) Peter A. Gallo, Attorney (and former UN Investigator) Pan African Anti-Corruption Network, UNIS Parrhesia Inc (UK) Pištaljka (Serbia) Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) Page 4 Protect (UK) SpeakOut-SpeakUp Ltd (United Kingdom) The Signals Network (USA and France) Transparência Internacional Portugal Transparency International Slovakia Transparency International Slovenia Transparency International Ireland Transparency International Italy Xnet (Spain) WBN - Whistleblower Netzwerk (Germany) Whistleblowing International Network CC: Ms. Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights."
Bachelet too is a joke, on the firing of whistleblowers and colluding with Guterres' censorship of Press, often away from Geneva at her real home while still drawing her large salary.
While refusing to answer Inner City Press written questions despite an on camera (broken) promise to do so, Dujarric told those he let into his briefing that Reilly is NOT a whistleblower, and that the UN will not talk about "private" communications - i.e., firing her.
Reilly to Inner City Press: "I was retrospectively placed on special leave with full pay from the moment the UN sent armed police to invade my home. They stopped even pretending I had functions - why bother, when they can just fire any judge at the Tribunal who isn't willing to simply copy-paste their position?
And I was fired for daring to tell the truth. I am not and have never been accused of lying about this policy, just of revealing it and trying to warn people. The UN "anonymous" source in Le Monde (Eric Tistounet) all but admits the destruction of evidence I've reported - sorry, but a list of names handed over was allegedly stolen? Did the dog eat the UN's homework, too?
I, of course, dutifully reported that directly to the Secretary-General yesterday. The UN has absolutely no idea how many times names were handed over, whose names were transmitted, and whether it continues. Names appear to be now given orally. Still nobody thinks that it's worth investigating why this policy was put in place. Guterres told me in a personal email once that he would see what he could do about my case with the "people in charge." His words. I guess the Chinese delegation gave its orders.
There isn't an amount of money on earth that I could be paid to be complicit in torture and genocide.
The UN considers my lack of "remorse" for that an aggravating factor justifying my immediate dismissal. I have a message for UN managers. I no longer have immunity. Sue me for defamation if you pretend anything I have ever said is untrue. I will certainly be suing those who lied about me. And you can quote me on all of that."
This is today's UN under Guterres: absolutely corrupt. Inner City Press has applied to re-enter and cover it as closely as it does the SDNY court these days; a polite letter to this effect from law firm Quinn Emanuel has yet to be answered by Fleming or any of her allies in censorship. Watch this site. For more on Guterres' UN and China, see (just out) "Belt and Roadkill," here.
***
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.
