| In
Corrupt UN of Guterres Bogus UNESCO
Celebration of World Press Freedom Day
2026 By Matthew
Russell Lee &
sources,
Exclusive UN
GATE, May 11
– UNESCO,
like the whole
UN system
under Antonio
Guterres was
been
falling apart
in corruption
and fraud. Inner
City Press has
been reporting
on serious
malfeasance by
the French
Audrey Azoulay
administration
at UNESCO in
Paris, almost
as bad as
Antonio
Guterres'
corruption in
and of the UN
in New York. A
fish rots from
the head. The
UNESCO
corruption
series is now
more than 145
stories
long. Since
November 2025,
the Egyptian
former
Minister Mr
Khaled
El-Enany is
the DG of the
Agency.
His election
had raised
high hopes. Some
corrective
measures are
underway,
while certain
appointments
we had warned
against are
beginning to
have the
expected
negative
repercussions
for the
Egyptian
Director-General.
For example,
on February
15, we wrote
the following
(here
) : “Regarding
recent
appointments
made by the
DG, staff in
the
Communication
and
Information
(CI) sector
have informed
Inner City
Press that
Mariya Gabriel
of Bulgaria,
who has just
been appointed
ADG for CI,
does not have
the years of
experience
required for
the position
as specified
in the vacancy
notice. In
this regard,
all rejected
candidates who
met the
requirements
but were
vetoed by
El-Enany can
challenge this
decision and
are assured of
winning the
appealâ€.
Experience
is crucial,
and the recent
blow to
UNESCO’s
reputation
stems from the
failure of
Mariya
Gabriel’s CI
Sector to
properly
organize World
Press Freedom
Day (WPFD),
celebrated
this year in
Zambia. For
the first
time, UNESCO
has failed in
one of its
core
functions: the
celebration of
freedom of
expression.
This occurred
right at the
very beginning
of Egyptian
Director-General
El-Enany’s
term.
Here is a
story that no
one is talking
about. To
raise the
event’s
profile,
UNESCO
decided—under
the leadership
of Mariya
Gabriel and
the CI
Director for
Freedom of
Expression,
the
Frenchwoman
Sylvie
Coudray—to
organize the
WPFD 2026
conference
titled
“Shaping a
Future at
Peace ,†(but
then on the
same page (here
its says
"Shaping a
Future of
Peace" - even
the title of
the event is
mistaken on
the UNESCO CI
web-page) in
collaboration
with NGOs such
as ARTICLE 19
and Access
Now, in
Lusaka. Access
Now was tasked
with
organizing the
global digital
rights
conference
RightsCon
2026, which
was to be held
on the
sidelines of
UNESCO’s
annual WPFD
global
conference.
Problems began
when Zambian
authorities
decided to
cancel
RightsCon 2026
following
political
pressure.
Access Now
stated that it
found this
pressure
“extremely
concerningâ€
and
“immediately
pushed back,â€
believing it
could resolve
the issue with
the
government.
Furthermore,
it has become
“a major
concern†that
the WPFD
global
conference
became subject
to security
screening and
vetting of all
participants.
“We also call
on UNESCO and
participating
states in the
WPFD
conference to
address this
situation
publicly and
unequivocally.
Celebrating
press freedom
in this
context
implicitly
endorses
restrictions
on who can
participate
and what can
be discussedâ€,
wrote ARTICLE
19. Of
course,
Bulgaria’s
Mariya Gabriel
had no trouble
endorsing
Zambia’s
aforementioned
decisions and
restrictions,
as she is
accustomed to
such measures
given her
previous role
in Bulgarian
politics. For
UNESCO,
however, the
damage to its
reputation
remains
paramount.
Although he
had been
warned of her
poor track
record,
Director-General
El-Enany
decided to
proceed with
her
appointment.
He can
therefore
hardly feign
surprise today
at the
fiasco.
The
cancellation
of RightsCon
2026 and the
subsequent
reaction of
key sparked an
unimaginable
outcry at
UNESCO. As an
immediate
consequence,
Director-General
El-Enany’s
trip to Zambia
was canceled
right away,
Sylvie Coudray
did not attend
either, the
planned
two-day
celebration
was reduced to
a single day,
and the number
and the level
of
participants
dropped
significantly.
The person who
might require
a clear
explanation of
this fiasco is
the President
of the General
Conference,
Mr. Khondker
M. Talha of
Bangladesh. He
was already on
a plane headed
for Lusaka
when the event
became
embroiled in
political
turmoil. The
question now
is, who will
reimburse the
trip of the
President of
the General
Conference to
Zambia? After
the
cancellation
of the
high-level
segment and
bringing the
celebration to
the mere
reading of
speeches by
subordinates,
Mr. Talha
cancelled his
participation,
which is
understandable,
but ended up
engaging in
sightseeing
for three days
at taxpayers’
expense. The fat
salaries of
Mariya Gabriel
and Sylvie
Coudray could
be used to
reimburse
these
unwarranted
expenses.
In the
corridors of
UNESCO,
another
question is
sparking
heated
discussions.
For Gabriel,
it’s clear,
she’s "new,
inexperienced
and weak", but
how could
Sylvie Coudray
have made such
a rookie
mistake after
all these
years at the
Agency? One
possible
explanation
could be a
covert attempt
at
unintentional
damage by
allowing this
failure to
occur.
El-Enany, an
Egyptian from
a country not
exactly known
for its
freedom of
expression and
press freedom
(Egypt ranks
169th in RSF’s
2026 World
Press Freedom
Index),
certainly did
not deserve
such a false
start for the
first
celebration of
World Press
Freedom Day
under his
tenure as
newly elected
Director-General.
Since his
election,
numerous
allegations
have
circulated
regarding
press freedom
in Egypt. That
is why it was
so important
for El-Enany
that World
Press Freedom
Day 2026 be
properly
organized. But
not, Gabriel
and Coudray
had other
plans for him,
and it is now
time for both
of them to
take
responsibility
for this
failure, since
such a level
of
ineffectiveness
is appalling,
even for the
UN at large.
It is highly
likely that DG
El-Enany has
now fully
grasped and
understood why
competence is
essential. He
still has time
to reconsider
Gabriel’s
appointment,
as she is
currently in
her
probationary
period.
In Zambia,
Mariya Gabriel
spoke on
behalf of
UNESCO to the
participants
and other
government
representatives;
here is a
quote from her
remarks that
we found on
the UNESCO
website: “The
integrity of
journalists
and freedom of
expression are
essential
guarantees to
the
development of
societies and
peaceâ€. This
is probably
the most
hackneyed
remark one
could
find.
This is not
the first time
we write about
the UNESCO way
in organizing
the
celebration of
the WPFD. In
May 2022, (here
), we wrote
the following
: †Last week,
Inner City
Press informed
you about the
private visit
to Venice of
UNESCO’s
Director
General,
Audrey
Azoulay,
here
“This week,
the vacation
on public
money
continued. The
celebration of
World Press
Freedom Day
that was
attended by DG
Azoulay and
her pets from
the Cabinet,
took place in
Uruguay, in
the very chic
beach resort
of Punta del
Este. The
dedicated web
page that
praises the
site says,
among other
things: “Punta
del Este
offers some of
Uruguay’s most
popular
beaches and
surf spots,
but it’s also
a place where
you can swim
with wild sea
lions and
attend a sun
ceremony.
Party at the
beaches, the
yacht harbor,
or casino but
take in its
simple joys
too, like
walking the
forested paths
of Isla
Gorriti or
ordering a hot
chocolate at a
cat café as
you pet a
fluffy feline.
While there’s
plenty to
splurge on
here, there’s
lots of
activities
that require
little to no
money that
will still
allow you to
relish in
Punta’s golden
sand, fresh
sea breeze,
and air of
refinery. So,
this is the
place chosen
by UNESCO to
organize its
World Press
Freedom Day
celebrations.
Obviously, the
spirit of
vacation
prevails these
days instead
of
seriousness.
Most probably,
the UNESCO
bosses
consider that
this
celebration in
a posh resort
will put some
cheer into the
hearts of
imprisoned
journalists
and families
of killed
journalists
around the
worldâ€.
This is where UNESCO stands today. We will have more on that. Watch this site 
This is
where UNESCO
stands today.
We will have
more on that.
Watch this
site.
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Friday, May 15, 2026
In Corrupt UN of Guterres Bogus UNESCO Celebration of World Press Freedom Day 2026
