By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
UN GATE, Feb 2 – How corrupt has the United Nations Organization become under Antonio Guterres? Well, after Inner City Press asked Guterres why he concealed his financial links to convicted UN briber CEFC China Energy, he banned Inner City Press.
Now, that ban has extended across the Atlantic to the UN in Vienna. UNOV advertised a press event about the 2022 agendas of the UN agencies there, and saying to RSVP. Inner City Press did, to press.vienna [at] un.org, anne.thomas [at] un.org and Ban Ki-moon's former spokesperson martin.nesirky [at] un.org: " Hello. Inner City Press closely reports on UN affairs, System-wide. This is a request to attend and ask questions at the February 3 press conference about UNOV's and the agencies' work."
Now, from Anne Thomas, this: "Dear Mr. Lee: UNIS Vienna is not able to provide access for you to this briefing." Photo here. Not able? This is corruption. They use public money, and conceal corruption. These are the agencies: "United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) Vienna Office, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) and the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention - UN Environment Vienna."
The speakers, complicit: "Martin Nesirky Director, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) Vienna Speakers include: Kai Bethke Director of External Relations, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Fredrik Dahl Spokesperson, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Brian Hansford Chief, Advocacy Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Gill Tudor Chief of Public Information, Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)." We'll have more on this.
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 loses a journalist of integrity, Apostolis Zoupaniotis, retiring to return to Greece. Even after the UN in retaliation threw Inner City Press out of its UN office, Apostolis offered the use of his cubicle.
By contrast the insiders of the UN Correspondents Association, while purporting to praise this journalist among with UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric on three week vacation in Greece, have neither responded to or offered any explanation when a lawyer's letter - to each UNCA Executive Committee member - urged them to have a dialogue about ending the UN's banning and censorship of Inner City Press.
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.
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