Amid UN80 Pay to Play Staff Urge Baerback to Let Them to Questions SG Candidates as Press Banned

Amid UN80 Pay to Play Staff Urge Baerback to Let Them to Questions SG Candidates as Press Banned by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack UN GATE, April 30 – How corrupt is today's UN under Antonio Guterres? Now with Guterres just back from a junket blathering about the rule of law while banning the Press, his staff tell Inner City Press things have hit a new low about which his spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming refuse all Press questions. First, this is about UNDT/2026/042: 438 staff members challenged the removal or expiration of their roster status. The Tribunal dismissed the application as not receivable, relying on three technical grounds: the prohibition of collective applications, the characterization of the impugned measure as a regulatory act, and the finding that the alleged harm was hypothetical.  This judgment fails to confront the underlying institutional reality. The unprecedented appearance of 438 staff members in a single proceeding is not a procedural anomaly—it is compelling evidence of systemic failure. Indeed. Now staff have written to PGA Baerback: "a governance approach that is increasingly centralized and insufficiently consultative. Decisions affecting due process, staff rights, and the credibility of the internal justice system appear, at times, to be shaped without meaningful engagement with those most affected. This pattern risks fostering a perception of an internal culture that prioritizes administrative control over transparency, participation, and accountability.  In this context, further concern arises from what appears to be an undue alignment between the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the management body. OIOS was established as an independent oversight mechanism accountable to the General Assembly; however, recent practice suggests a level of proximity and deference to management that risks compromising both the reality and the perception of independence. Where oversight and executive functions appear to operate in close concert, confidence in impartial scrutiny is diminished.  Crucially, this is not a theoretical concern. Staff members directly experience the consequences of this proximity, and it has generated a growing sense of unease and erosion of trust within the Organization. It is therefore imperative that this issue be openly acknowledged and addressed, so that staff can see that their concerns are recognized and that institutional independence is being meaningfully restored. Oversight must not only be independent—it must be seen to be independent, and demonstrably so.  Such a trajectory is incompatible with the principles the United Nations promotes globally. An Organization that serves as a voice for human rights, rule of law, and freedom of expression must demonstrate these values internally, including through genuine respect for staff representation and open dialogue and respect the principle of International Labour Organization  In the context of the UN80 reform agenda and the forthcoming selection of the next Secretary-General, we respectfully submit that this moment presents a critical opportunity for corrective action.  We therefore request that the Office of the President of the General Assembly facilitate structured, transparent, and inclusive engagement between candidates for the position of Secretary-General and United Nations staff at large, including personnel across the Secretariat, Agencies, Peacekeeping Operations, and Field Missions."   But if the Press can be banned from even a chance to questioning these wan candidates, who refused written questionnaires about accountability, at the stakeout, fat (Tony) change on a better process. The UN is in continued, steep decline. This is about inequitable cuts at UN ESCAP in Thailand: Dear Matthew Russell Lee,  The plan for abolishment from UN-ESCAP  is directed only at GS staff, while senior positions—P-5, D-1, D-2, and USG—remain untouched. The salary of a single one of these officials is equivalent to that of fifty or more local staff members. If justice truly mattered, it would be these high-level posts under review—not the livelihoods of ordinary staff. Many of these officials are beyond retirement age, largely inactive in their offices, while their administrative assistants act more like personal aides or cooks than contributors to the Organization’s actual work.  This is not about fairness—it is about selfishness and corruption. Guterres and his team have revealed themselves as weak, wicked, and corrupt. They cling to their privileges while sacrificing the most vulnerable staff, simply because they hold the power to decide.  It is therefore no surprise that more and more staff are coming to agree that the UN has become useless, especially under the failed leadership of Guterres.  Guterres appears increasingly surrounded by what staff describe as “phone-call human resource advisors and legal officers.”    Martha Helena Lopez, the Secretary-General’s senior advisor on human resources, has become emblematic of this “don’t care” policy. Observers note she looks fatigued, more focused on retirement than on strengthening governance. Rather than engaging with tribunal rulings, she and her team have defaulted to what staff now mockingly call “phone-call directives,” issuing guidance over the phone without regard to established precedent or proper review.  In New York, staff have started referring to her and her legal colleagues as “phone-call officers and advisors” because of their casual approach to matters of grave consequence. Their advice to the Secretary-General effectively shields misconduct from judicial scrutiny, entrenches his culture of impunity.  Guterres, they say, should end censorship. Application was made on June 19, 2025. Watch this site. *** 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. 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