UN GATE / FEDERAL COURT, Sept 10 –
Denmark's own government website describes its August
Security Council presidency in explicit terms: "Denmark
looks forward to presiding over the Security Council's
next phase of this important process, reflecting our
strong engagement in promoting a transparent and inclusive
selection process conducted in close cooperation with the
General Assembly."
The same page cites "Denmark's longstanding
commitment to a more transparent, inclusive and effective
Security Council" as a defining priority of Ambassador
Christina Markus Lassen's month at the gavel.
Denmark's presidency is now ending, and
that specific promise was never tested where it mattered.
On August 1, the first day of Denmark's
month, Inner City Press wrote to Ambassador Lassen asking
for access to the Council's August 3 press briefing and
asking Denmark to raise, with the UN's Media Accreditation
and Liaison Unit, an eight-year-old, unexplained press
exclusion. Denmark did not respond. Through the month, UN
Web TV repeatedly failed to carry the Council's own
readouts following straw polls in the Secretary-General
selection — the same process Denmark's own website says it
is "strongly engaged" in making transparent.
Inner City Press on August 29, 2026 filed a
formal legal request with Denmark's Mission under the
Offentlighedsloven, Denmark's own Freedom of Information
law, asking directly what, if anything, Denmark did during
its presidency to act on either request.
On September 10, Denmark's Ministry of
Foreign Affairs responded to Inner City Press's formal
records request, saying it cannot meet the required
seven-working-day deadline under Section 36(2) of the
Offentlighedsloven and seeking to unilaterally extend its
response time by 14 working days. Inner City Press has
written back:
To: [Ministry, cc-ing UN Mission at nycmis
[at] um [dot] dk
Subject: RE: Case/ID No. 26/31635 — Request
for Expedited Processing, Context: Sept 17 UNSG straw
poll, Inner City Press continued exclusion hindering media
coverage
Dear Ms. Ghiasvand: I immediately respond to ask whether Denmark's Act, like the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, provides any mechanism for expedited processing where genuine time-sensitivity exists. Inner City Press often receives expedited processing. This request concerns Denmark's role and communications regarding the selection of the next UN Secretary-General — a process with its next scheduled Security Council straw poll on September 17, 2026, just days away, with a second one planned for later September during the UNGA High Level week. Inner City Press and remain banned from entering to covering (and asking questions about) any of this.
This is an appeal. There will be
more. Watch this site
Denmark is not a Council
veto-holder; as a non-permanent member, its vote counts
but does not carry a permanent member's weight. What it
did carry, for one month, was the gavel — and with it, the
specific, self-described responsibility to make this exact
selection process more transparent.
A government that put that commitment in writing, on its own website, has an opportunity, even after its presidency ends, to say what it actually did with it. Watch this site
