UN Talks Disabilities, But Still No Ban Ki-moon Bulletin on Accessibility, Media Banned from GA Hall, FUNCA Protests

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 20 -- For this UN General Assembly week, one of the "High Level Events" is on Disabilities and Development. Inner City Press on Friday asked what if anything UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has done on the "Bulletin on Accessibility" which his spokesperson told Inner City Press two months ago was being worked on.

  UN official Daniela Bas said she could not answer for Ban, but that her department, DESA, has given all of its views and recommendation and now it's up to the senior level people to formulate. It all seems a bit slow, and contrary to the UN's claims for its high level event.

  For example, the UN has had a billion dollar peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a decade or more, but DRC has not even signed, much less ratified, the Disabilities Convention. The same is true, though more understandable, in Somalia and South Sudan.

  This comes while it is still UNclear if the US would grant a visa to Sudan's president, because he is indicted by the International Criminal Court, of which the US is not a member.

  The US has not ratified the Disabilities Convention (it received only 61 of the needed 66 votes in the US Senate in December), but Bas told Inner City Press that the US government has conducted "walk-throughs" to make sure that Monday's event is accessible.

  What will NOT be accessible to the press this coming week is the General Assembly Hall, where Monday's event will be held. In previous years there have been seats for the media in the back of the GA Hall. But this year, while delegations have had their number of seats reduced, the media has been eliminated. 

  The Free UN Coalition for Access @FUNCA_info has fought this and will continue to. FUNCA thanked Friday's speakers for coming; Bas said she used to be a journalist and appreciates "hard questions." There will be more. Watch this site.

   

At UN, Stress Test of A/V Snafus, Access Blockages Raised by FUNCA Ignored by DPI While UN Missions Respond

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 10 -- The UN spend millions of dollars on a new audio - visual conference system but for weeks there have been complaints about delays, malfunctions, and lack of accountability. There has been a lack of responsiveness, too.

  Some of the UN official most responsible for the snafus in the new system chose the time of shift-over as they time to go on vacation; even when back, they refused to respond to complaints.

  For example, the new Free UN Coalition for Access after fielding complaints both from inside UN headquarters and from those seeking to access the UN from outside, raised the issues to UN Webcast, UN TV, UN Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit and their supervisor, Stephane Dujarric -- all without recent response.

   The complaints passed on by @FUNCA_info have ranged from delays in putting online archived video of briefings through the so-called MAMS system, to blockages and unnecessarily deteriorated working conditions for journalists at the Security Council stakeout; to blackouts on UN EVTV, for example of BBC, and low sound volume and quality over the live webcast, raised by @FUNCA_Questions.

  @FUNCA_info has also raised, without explanation, favoritism and lack of transparency in the issues of access tickets (for example to Malala Day), to DPI's summaries of meetings being politicized (and even intentionally different in different languages), which was complained of by India in the last Committee on Information meeting, but happened again on Latin American ministers meeting with Ban Ki-moon about NSA spying and Edward Snowden , without explanation once raised.

  FUNCA also provides praise where appropriate, like here. Ironically, countries' mission to the UN answer FUNCA's access questions, while those in the UN charged with these issues try not to. That's this UN.

  UN staff sources describe to Inner City Press and FUNCA a "Town Hall" meeting in mid July in which the Department of Public Information, which controls the above-named units, said that the Department of Management led by Yukio Takasu promised it would all be workin "by the General Assembly," meaning the General Debate week in late September.

  But DPI has not even taken action on simple problems raised to it early in the summer. On June 10, FUNCA and Inner City Press e-mailed Dujarric and others in DPI a description of the photo booths above the floor of the new / interim General Assembly Hall, with tables, a broken chair, and no interpretation of the speeches taking place on the floor.

  A commitment was made to act on it. But nothing has been done since, even as it was raised again in connection with example with a GA session on Syria, or a staged Youth Day event at which Dujarric was present, taking and tweeting photographs of Ban Ki-moon.

  It is noteworthy that at least some in DPI are loud proponents of social media, but refuse to respond to back issues raised to them in such media. Meanwhile their units like UN Webcast tweet welcomes to the new US Ambassador, which they don't do for any other country. Perhaps they think that will give them the immunity the UN claims in Haiti.

  Meanwhile by enforcing an anachronistic monopoly for the old UN Correspondents Association they cut off other means of communication, and have even threatened Inner City Press' accreditation with suspension or withdrawal for merely hanging a sign of the Free UN Coalition for Accesson the door of its shared office, while UNCA now has five signs. It is pathetic.

  On Friday, August 9, Ban's associate spokesperson Farhan Haq read out a short announcement:

On Monday, 12 August, the Department of Public Information and other offices at UN Headquarters will be performing a large-scale testing of the new audio-visual conferencing system. During this test, we will be simulating meetings throughout the system to check the performance and work flows during peak demand periods for the forthcoming General Assembly. This exercise will include the simultaneous testing of every conference room and every studio in the facility. Some of this activity may be seen on the IPTV/EZTV system, and you may experience some disruptions during the time of the test.

  Later on Friday, a range of UN staff contacted Inner City Press, and some explicitly FUNCA, with information about this so-called "stress test." One said, "It's a total fiasco, Patrick Morrrison got his D-1 and he's leaving, money is being wasted everywhere and no one, least of all DPI, is taking responsibility."

   Several urged the Free UN Coalition for Access to keep pushing the issue. And so we will, seeking as from FUNCA's founding to make the UN more accessible, without favoritism or intimidation. Watch this site.

   

UN Deletes FUNCA's Thanks to Deputy SG Jan Eliasson From Its Transcript, But UN Video Shows It: Censorship Alliance

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 3 -- How far with the UN go to try to ban dissent and to censor those who question it?

   Recently Inner City Press asked the UN to respond to what a Somalia whistleblower told it, that the head of the UN Mine Action Service in Mogadishu David Bax has been sharing genetic information from bombings with US intelligence.

  While still not answering the question, now after 10 days, the UN is conducting a witch hunt seeking to root out the whistleblower.

  On a smaller scale in UN Headquarters itself, the UN seems intent on trying to ban the sign and even name of the new Free UN Coalition for Access. 

  At the July 3 noon briefing with Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson, before asking about Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, Inner City Press thanked Eliasson “on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access.”

UN video here, from Minute 19:44.

  But when the UN put out its transcript, the name of FUNCA was cut out:

“Q: I want to thank you for doing this briefing so soon after you got back, and also I hope that we will have some questions on more general UN items, after, it should be... There is DRC, Haiti and other things going on.”

  By contrast, the UN (mis) transcription left in the name of the old UNCA, as recited by its 2013 president Pamela Falk of CBSNews.com:

“Q: Mr. Deputy Secretary-General, welcome on behalf of the UN Correspondents’ Association, welcome back and thank you for the briefing.”

  Who in the UN decided what to cut out of what purports to be a transcript? What is the basis of the deletions? If they cut this, do they cut or change whole questions? Answers? We have asked.

  This takes place as the UN Department of Public Information has threatened to suspend or withdraw Inner City Press' accreditation for having a FUNCA sign on the door of its office - despite the fact that UNCA is allowed two signs, and much more.

  Even amid this censorship, FUNCA continues its work,pushing inside the UN to restore space for the press and public 100% eliminated in the new General Assembly Hall, and on July 3 supporting a FUNCA member in Somaliland, protesting the jailing of two fellow journalists there.

  But how far with the UN go to try to ban dissent and to censor those who question it? And what does it undermine? Watch this site.

  

At UN, Indigenous Displaced from GA Hall for Economists & Bankers, from Qatar

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 16 -- With the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in town, the UN General Assembly Hall had long been booked for their event on Thursday, May 17. Then the indigenous were unceremoniously displaced again, this time so that a "High Level Event" on the economy can take its place in the GA Hall.

  A number of Permanent Representatives, mostly but not only from Latin America, complained to Inner City Press, blaming the President of the General Assembly, who they called "the Qatari." It was noted that among the participants in this High Level on the Economy event is Qatar Central Bank, and Doha Bank Group. 

  Soon came this announcement:

"Please note that there has been a last minute change of venue for the opening segment of the HLTD on the State of the World Economy from the ECOSOC Chamber to the GA Hall."

  So Inner City Press replied to the PGA's spokesperson:

"I'm hearing complaints by indigenous groups that they got bounced from the GA Hall tomorrow for this -- can you comment? They (indigenous, some Latin diplomats) say they had the GA for a long time, just "thrown out" now - true? "

After that, yet more Latin Permanent Representatives complained to Inner City Press, describing a meeting with the PGA's chief of staff, at which it was argued that the High Level on the Economy participants would need spaces for bilaterals. This argument was described as "laughable."

Then came this response:

Subject: Re: Question: were indigenous "bounced" from GA Hall tomorrow? If so, why?
From: Spokesperson of the PGA
Date: Wed, May 16, 2012 at 7:50 PM
To: Matthew Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com

It is incorrect Matthew for you to use the phrase “thrown out”. The change of venue was done simply for security and logistical reasons. There is a long list of Speakers in the opening segment. They are accompanied by their delegations and the GA hall is the only venue big enough to accommodate all the participants and their delegations. Additionally, we received requests from several missions for access to the press corps accompanying their officials to the venue of the opening segment, and this access is not possible at ECOSOC. 

 

In fact, a representative group of indigenous leaders has met in our office with the Chef de Cabinet and his Deputy, who explained to them the reasoning behind the switch of venues. Additionally, the PGA is scheduled to give opening remarks at the Commemoration of the 5th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

 

   Out of respect, we'll headline it "displaced" rather than "thrown out." While it is not clear how this will go down with the complaining Latin and other Permanent Representatives, at least the PGA will speak to the indigenous group -- many have complained that Ban Ki-moon has yet to. Watch this site.