by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
UN GATE, Feb 22 – For months Inner City Press has asked the UN and its media people, including Stephane Dujarric and News and Media chief Ian Phillips, about evidence that UNRWA workers took part in the October 7 attacks. No answers at all - censorship.
A year ago, Inner City Press reported the corruption in UNRWA, by name:
"Dear Matthew Russell Lee / Inner City Press: We are a group of UNRWA staff who are witnessing daily violations and abuses and are unable to do anything about it due to bullying and fear of retaliation by the senior management. We have several documented cases of abuse and fraud by senior directors who are protected by the commissioner general. We saw your reporting, so:
Brian Baker, a national of the UK and a former UNICEF staff member, was moved out of Gaza a few years back for his problems with the community. He was interviewed in Jan 2019 for a P5 position of chief security. The Panel found him unsuitable and opted for another candidate of an Egyptian nationality.
Less than a year later, Brian was appointed as a Director of Security and Risk management with a fraud process orchestrated by the Director of Human Resources Antonino Brusa who is a friend and a former colleague of Brian Baker.
So who didn't know about the tunnels? We'll have more in this series.
Does the UN corrupt everyone that goes to work for it?
Given the inflated salaries it pays its officials, the UN can collect and try to buttress its credibility with for example name-brand journalists. But what freedoms do they give up, and how low do they go?
In 2023 the UN hired Ian Phillips, once the Associated Press' head of (get this) journalist safety. His LinkedIn profile, after moving to the UN, states that his "role includes advisory and policy work, with particular focus on press freedom."
So Inner City Press, having been roughed up by UN Security and then banned from entering or getting even its written questions asked, last week wrote to Ian Phillips at the UN - and through his LinkedIn profile:
Hello Mr. Phillips. I am asking you to look into this and ensure that the UN Media and Accreditation Unit fairly process, and rule on, my pending application for (re) accreditation. Two separate law firms have written the UN pro bono on my behalf, without answer."
No answer at all.
In the past weeks, we've sent our daily press questions to Mr. Phillips as well, since he's the head of the UN's "News and Media Division." Questions about Gaza and the Secretary General's finances. And no answers at all.
So again: Does the UN corrupt everyone that goes to work for it? We will continue to report on this.
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