UN Corruption Association Promotes Hedge Funder's Kids' Book, UNrelevant to Press Access at UN Amid Scandals

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 13 -- With the UN embroiled in scandals including the indictments of former President of the General Assembly and Macau businessman Ng Lap Seng, one would expect the UN press corps, even the entity the UN itself chooses to set aside first questions for, to be pursuing rather than be involved in the scandals.

  But that is not the case with the UN Correspondents Association, this year more than ever. The scandals are below. But even just today, ask why a UN Correspondents Association would publicize and host in the clubhouse the UN gives it the launch of a children's book by a hedge fund executive from Italy?

 What does this have to do with the UN? Not only does UNCA not promote more access to information at the UN (after having tried to censor and eject the investigative Press) - now it promotes Italian hedge funders, with promises of wine in the afternoon.

  The UNCA announcement, provided by a disgusted member of the group in decay, says "About the author: Simona Paravani-Mellinghoff is Italian by birth." It says she has a "full-time job in financial services" -- UNCA doesn't say, but it's with multiply protested Blackrock.

 It also says she "has worked in the financial industry in Asia [HSBC, Inner City Press notes], North America and Europe.  She was named a Rising Star of Finance by Financial News, a sister company of the WSJ. She also founded ‘Cervelli in Fuga’, the website for the Italian Community overseas."

 To this has UNCA descended - even before considering the disqualifying scandals below.

   In 2011 under then-president Giampaolo Pioli, UNCA took money from the South South News of now-indicted Ng Lap Seng, then gave South South News an UNCA award and gave Ng Lap Seng a photo op with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

  Now in November 2015, Pioli has solicited $6000 from UN Ambassadors for seats at the “VIP” table at the UNCA “Ball” on Wall Street: to sit with Ban Ki-moon. This is precisely the type of sale of access involved in the indictments of Ng, Sheri Yan and Frank Lorenzo.

  While others are announcing audits and freezing such contacts, UNCA under Pioli is bulling forward, charging ever more money, getting ever further from journalistic purposes.

   On November 12 Pioli posted his photograph in the hallway outside the clubhouse the UN gives to UNCA, signifying that he is running for yet another term (this as the Security Council met about Burundi, where a third term has triggered demands for change and reform). For the three running unopposed for five president slots, two were already on the UNCA board during the relevant time period; the other is Pioli's former protege at Quotidiano Nazionale. It's an Italian thing.

   Running for Treasurer? It's Agence France Presse, whose previous correspondent tried to use a position on the UNCA board to censor Press coverage of Herve Ladsous, the fourth Frenchman in a row atop UN Peacekeeping.

  Reuters is in the mix, too, and another which joined Pioli in trying to censor coverage of Pioli unilaterally approving a Sri Lankan government war crimes denial film for a “UN” screening, after Pioli rented one of his apartments to Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the UN. This is UN. But amid the new scandals at the UN, this is something new: watch this site.

Footnote: Inner City Press after Pioli's and others censorship bid, and attempt to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN (uncovered along with documents still to be published by a Freedom of Information Act request, here, and questioned by the New York Civil Liberties Union), quit the UNCA board and co-founded, with another who'd quit UNCA as corrupt, the Free UN Coalition for Access.

 FUNCA does not seek any automatic first questions, butopposes the UN setting aside first questions for an entity which, as now shown, is enmeshed in the very UN scandals that must be asked about. Watch this site.