Some Press and All Public Were Banned from UN Communications Group, But NYT & Gates Foundation Were There, FUNCA Objects

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 29 -- A group of UN spokespeople which considers such issues as media accreditation met in New York May 20 to 22, and Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access asked to observe or at least get a summary.

  On May 20, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said no, it is internal, and declined to take a follow up question.  

  Now a summary of the meetings obtained by Inner City Press shows that to this "internal" UN meeting the Gates Foundation and the New York Times, among others, were invited:

UN Communications Group 13th Annual Session at Principal’s Level – 20-22 May 2014, UNHQ

The annual UNCG 13th Annual Session at Principal’s Level meeting, which was co-hosted by DPI and UNICEF, brought together directors and heads of communication from all UN entities. It allowed for a focused discussion and exchange of best practices in the field of advocacy and communication.

Working sessions were chaired by Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Under-Secretary-General, and featured interventions by Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General, and Yoka Brandt, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF.

Presentations were made on the following topics: “Communicating as One” – by USG Launsky-Tieffenthal;

“Breaking through the noise” - by Bruce Mau, Massive Change Network; Climate and post-2015 – a discussion moderated by USG Launsky-Tieffenthal; “Voice, reach and engagement” - UNICEF’s global communication strategy, by Paloma Escudero, Director of Communications, UNICEF; “Working with ad agencies to amplify UN messages” – David Ohana, Chief of Brand Building, UNICEF; Twiplomacy - social media in international organizations - by Adam Snyder, Director of Digital and Social Strategy, Burson-Marsteller; Journalism roundtable on the convergence of new and traditional media with panelists: Miriam Elder, Foreign Editor at Buzzfeed; Rebecca Howard, General Manager of Video Production at the New York Times; Jeremy Hillman, Director of External Communications, Gates Foundation, moderated by Deborah Seward, Director of Strategic Communications Division, DPI; “Storytelling, listening & communicating with data" - by Sebastian Majewski, Gates Foundation and Anoush Tatevossian, UN Global Pulse.

Other sessions focused on the high-impact of Partnerships; Social media, the Post-2015 agenda, and the 2015 EXPO Milan. Stephane Dujarric spoke about his work as the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

   So can a meeting be called "internal" when at least two media organizations and outside foundations are invited? On what terms? Here was UNICEF's response to FUNCA's request:

“The UN Communications Group meeting is co-hosted by UN DPI and UNICEF. It’s an internal meeting so isn’t open via webcast or otherwise.”

   Isn't open "otherwise"? To whom?

Background: Previous UNCG Annual Principals Meetings have come out with statements like that it is "important for the United Nations family to engage with all forms of new media, but that some, such as blogs, present particular challenges for accreditation."

   Even today, the UN lags behind the OSCE in raising concerns about the detention by Ukraine authorities of journalists like those of Life News, which put on YouTube video of “UN” marked helicopters in Ukraine. Inner City Press asked Dujarric about this on May 20 and was told that no one in the UN system has even raised the issue to Kyiv, unlike the OSCE. Video here.

   Inner City Press wrote to UNICEF to asked to attend or get access to a webcast of the UNCG meeting but was told: “The UN Communications Group meeting is co-hosted by UN DPI and UNICEF. It’s an internal meeting so isn’t open via webcast or otherwise.”

   But if it concerns topics like accreditation, shouldn't it be open or summarized? Watch this site.

   

On Minova Rapes, Bangura Says Unit Trained by US, 33 Perps, Ladsous Contrasts

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 -- One of the two Congolese Army rape units in Minova was “trained by Americans,” and a general has identified 33 suspected rapists, UN envoy Zainab Bangura told Inner City Press on Tuesday. Video here, on the latter.

  Both of these contradict what the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, led by Herve Ladsous, has said. 

 After Ladsous repeatedly refused to answer Inner City Press' questions about the rape (November 27, December 7,December 18 and since), DPKO told scribes from Agence France Presse and Reuters that of 12 suspensions for the rapes.

  But Bangura on Tuesday, even when asked a second time by Inner City Press, said that at least 33 presumptive rapists have been identified. 

  Why would Ladsous' DPKO still be low-balling the number, after stonewalling on the rapes for more than four months? We have asked, at 10:14 am, and DPKO has acknowledged receipt (while stating it does not understand what "deadline" means. We're watching.)

  Bangura also told Inner City Press, on a follow-up, that DPKO has suspended support to the two units. That is not consistent with what's been publicly said, and Inner City Press has asked DPKO to confirm or deny.

  Bangura's answer to Inner City Press also included that the US Ambassador to the DRC told her that one of the two units had been trained by the US. What does that say about the US' training?

(Reuters, whose scribe Michelle Nichols was present, may well present these Bangura answers as another Reuters faux scoop -- who knows, maybe Nichols will file another faux UN Security complaint.)

  Inner City Press also asked Bangura if her office, on Sexual Violence and Conflict, covers abuse by UN Peacekeepers. No, she said, there is a DPKO unit for that, it is sexual exploitation.

  But what about in Haiti the UN Peacekeepers who forcibly abused or mock-raped a boy? Isn't that abuse? Inner City Presss has asked DPKO to “name the five more recent repatriations of UN Peacekeepers or police for sexual exploitation or abuse, or state why it will not.”

  Bangura told Inner City Press she is following up on the muffed hand-over of child soldiers and “war brides” in the Central African Republic, that it is “chaos” there.

  A Department of Public Information official said, anymore questions? This is the time. So Inner City Press asked Bangura about allegations from Sierra Leone, naming her, about Gates / GAVI funds missing in the Ministry of Health which she headed.

  Bangura smiled and replied that when, as Tony Blair's suggestion, she took over the Ministry of Health, there were 88 accountants, with lack of clarity who had signing authority. The missing funds, one of her aides quickly added, pre-dated Bangura taking over the ministry.

  Bangura said, that's politics, people throw unfair allegations at you. And that, on personal experience, is true. What Inner City Press received about Bangura, and asked her in fairness both to her and the sender, was on the record. 

  The UN Censorship Alliance, by contrast, works anonymously in social media or comments, or filing stealth comments with UN Security, including, by AFP's Tim Witcher, explicitly in defense of Ladsous not getting asked the type of questions Bangura handled Tuesday. Watch this site.

After UN Acceditation Chief Criticizes Press for Quoting UNCA's Pam Falk, Radio Silence, Absurd Tweets

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 – The UN believes in free speech, but only for some, and not in freedom of the press. 

 This we are forced to conclude from a still-unexplained letter sent Wednesday evening to Inner City Press by UN official Stephane Dujarric.

  Dujarric, who is in charge of media accreditation for the UN, wrote that “we are deeply disappointed” with an article Inner City Press published on February 25. 

   Dujarric took issue with Inner City Press use of direct quotes, and audio to back them up, from the top two officials of the United Nations Correspondents Association.

  What is the interest of Dujarric, and more generally of the UN, in if and how Inner City Press runs admittedly accurate quotes from UNCA officials?

   Dujarric's letter claimed, falsely, that the session at which UNCA President Pam Falk -- who was not named in the February 25 report -- screamed that Inner City Press is a“mugger” and “you call yourself a journalist,” was understood by all to be off the record.

 In fact, Inner City Press said clearly “you are on the record,” and Falk said “he's going to write about this.”Click here for audio.

  Inner City Press replied immediately to Dujarric, noting this and that

Louis Charbonneau of UNCA (and Reuters) said that the problem is the Inner City Press website. This is inappropriate, given freedom of the press. But you said nothing. Please state whether your formal letter about an article I wrote is intended to be placed in some file, regarding discipline or accreditation, and what my due process rights are. 

I reiterate my question: the description in the Voice of America document I cited which says UNCA met with the UN "very quietly" in the middle of 2012 about dis-accreditation -- please state who was at the meeting(s) from the UN (and UNCA) sides. Due process rules are absolutely needed.

I am pasting below the 10 reforms the Free UN Coalition for Access] raised on February 10, to which we as yet have no response - beyond an invitation to a meeting to be screamed at by UNCA's President -- who was told, this is on the record, and even said, you will report this -- and now your formal letter. I will appreciate your soonest response.

  But in the 36 hours since, there has been no response. As reported in the interim, when Dujarric on June 29, 2012 offered Inner City Press re-acceditation to the end of the year, he seemingly conditioned it on not criticizing UN Peacekeeping's Herve Ladsous or Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, even on Twitter. 

 As the year closed, Dujarric twit-icized an Inner City Press quip about France and the Central African Republic, which is fine, but see below.

   One might surmise that the goal of the February 27 letter, sent by the official in charge of accreditation to the UN and expressing in UN-ese “deep disappointment” about critical reporting was intended to stop that reporting, or that reporter.

   Well, no. In February 28 Inner City Press published an account and video of another session moderated by Dujarric the day previous, this time with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at which Inner City Press asked about recent meningitis vaccinations in Chad which sickened 38 children. 

  An answer was promised but, as with Dujarric's letter, there's been no follow up for two days.

   Nor has there been anything from Pamela Falk, the UNCA President. At the still only half-quoted session she made many loud claims, or denials, about social media. 

  That is increasingly Falk's mode of communication, flurries of tweets directed at the spokespeople of the Missions to the UN of the United States, UK and France (those to non-Western missions were sent from another account), promoting stories that are sometimes two days old.

  On February 28, Falk tweeted about the February 25 UN announcement that it belatedly took Osama bin Laden off its Al Qaeda sanctions list. 

  On February 27, Falk mis-tweeted that the Iran nuclear talks had taken place in Rome, rather than where they actually were in Kazakhstan. This is the UNCA chief who screamed at Inner City Press, “you call yourself a journalist.”

 (We won't here cite, only yesterday, to Inner City Press scoops on Sudan, UN corruption and union busting, and even Palestine, except to note we never mentioned Falk in any way until she took the UNCA post, apparently without due diligence, and then things got worse under her.)

   Now to make some point, Falk had made herself into a hashtag, lists UNCA as part of her one-line journalism pedigree and links to her TwitPic profile sitting behind a CBS news desk. 

  But where again were those Iran nuclear talks? And is three day old news Up To The Minute?

  Most recently, Falk has taken to sending UNCA promotional tweets such a one containing only the phrase, “UNCA Executive Committee” and a link to the photographs of the 15 members. 

  We were and are tempted to write on this, since the topic has been opened. But we continue to await explanation -- on the record, of course, and so best in writing to avoid the confusion Dujarric seems or claims to have had. Watch this site.

Footnote: Dujarric claims that his goal is or was to improve the “climate” in the UN and its press corps. But issuing formal complaint letters about articles, when one controls accreditation, and so openly siding with one group over another is not designed to improve any climate. This and the subsequent failure to explain or answer direct questions only worsen things. FUNCA will Press forward.

At UN, Few Answers by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Meningitis Vaccination Sickening 38 Chadian Children

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 28 – Earlier this year, following an investigation into 38 Chadian children harmed by a meningitis vaccination campaign done wrong, questions were raised about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that were, at that time, not answered.

  Chad's Health Minister Mamouth Nahor NGawara said diplomatically that “during the last phase of the vaccination campaign organized at Gouro on December 11 to 15, 2012, unusual reactions were noted.” 

  Unusual to say the least: seven children were taken out of the country for treatment in Tunisia.

  The question was raised: “What part does the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) play within the campaign? Who is responsible for administering the funds provided by the BMGF?”

  With no answered, when the UN Department of Public Information sent out invitations to a February 28 briefing by Dr. Chris Elias, President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations’ Global Development Program, Inner City Press signed up.

 Even though subsequently a UN Security Council meeting about Mali got scheduled at the same time, Inner City Press left covering it and went up to a glassed-in conference room in the UN's renovated headquarters building.

A number of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation staffers accompanied Chris Elias, who spoke for example about an upcoming event in the United Arab Emirates which he said Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will attend, to praise donations from the UAE.

(Earlier this week when Ban was in the UAE, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman if Ban was aware of the UAE blocking entry by an academic to speak at a London School of Economics sponsored conference about Bahrain, because of the professor's views. 

  The spokesman said Ban was aware of it, but there is no indication that Ban raised it in his meetings with the UAE ruling family.)

When UN Department of Public Information official Stephane Dujarric called on Inner City Press to ask a question at this on the record briefing, Inner City Press asked about the vaccination problems in Chad.

  BMGF's Dr. Elias replied that he was aware of the meningitis vaccination campaign in Chad (and twenty other countries in the Meningitis Belt), but said he was not aware of this case. Video here.

  Off camera a staffer said he was aware, that some “government” action led to illness and promised to send more information to Inner City Press, which gave the staffer all the contact information.

  Fifteen hours later, no information has been provided. From Mr. Dujarric came a letter complaining about Inner City Press' reporting - click here for more on that.

   The UN's recent dismissal of the legal claim it brought cholera into Haiti, killing 8000 people, leaves the UN with little credibility as a defender of any people made sick. In this situation, which side do you think the UN is on?

  An honest UN official, John Ging, this week told Inner City Press that the claim dismissal harms the UN's "corporate reputation." This is a small example of how. There will be many more.

  BMGF's Dr. Elias mentioned the “Path” program. But among the questions raised has been whether “Is the way in which PATH Intl. still promotes the campaign to solicit funds without reflecting on the recent happenings still helpful?”

 These questions should be answered. This is called reporting. Watch this site.

Footnote: Recently UN DPI has set up on the record "brown bag" sessions with, for example, the UN's expert on the prevention of genocide (about Syria), the now gone head of UN Security, a UNHCR official (about Syria, all on the record and helpful.)

  The February 27 session felt different, perhaps because a non-UN entity flush with cash was allowed, essentially, to advertise. On February 22, UNCA (a/k/a the UN's Censorship Alliance) similarly ran a "press conference" which devolved into an advertisement for the German car company BMW. There, questions about environmental impact were referred to BMW. Will these questions be answered? Watch this site.

UN Complains ICP Accurately Quoted Its UN Censorship Alliance & UNCA Presiden Pam Falk, Reforms Not Shown

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 27 – The way some in the UN try to use their UN Censorship Alliance was made clear Wednesday evening. 

  Mid-level Department of Public Information staffer Stephane Dujarric, who previously accepted or even encouraged dis-accreditation requests without providing any notice or opportunity to be heard, complained to Inner City Press about an article it wrote.

  Of course it would be improper for the UN official in charge of accrediting the media to complain about the substance of an article. So Dujarric complained about HOW it was reported: with direct quotes and audio to substantiate them.

Click here where Inner City Press says "you're on the record" and Pamela Falk of CBS, UNCA's President, says "he's going to write this up." Yes. But the letter of the UN's Dujarric, who was there, pretends this was never said.

  It concerned a February 22 meeting to which DPI invited Inner City Press, as a co-founder of the Free UN Coalition for Access. The invitation, sent only the night before, did not say the meeting would be off the record. And at the meeting, Inner City Press repeatedly said, yes this is on the record.

   Another invitee, Pamela Falk of CBS who is the president of the UN Correspondents Association (now also known as the UN Censorship Alliance), even said, he's going to report this, several times. She was right. And at no point in the meeting did she or anybody else try to put it off the record. And since she claimed that she was previously misquoted, she herself brought on the need for audio to accompany the story and confirm her quotes.

Since Falk during the meeting -- at which she called Inner City Press “a mugger” and tried to say that writing to media organizations about their policies “might be a crime” -- characterized the use of her name as part of a question in the UN noon briefing of February 21 as “slander,” Inner City Press in its first report did not use her name.

Inner City Press waited from February 22 to the afternoon of February 25 before publishing the story. 

  In the interim, just as Falk urged in a February 15 annual UNCA meeting on which Inner City Press also reported, an UNCA Executive Committee member plopped down in the UNCA branded front row seat at the February 25 noon briefing and demanded and got the first question.

That is precisely what Inner City Press for FUNCA, on February 21 and at the February 22 meeting with DPI, said it would oppose, each and every time.

Still, Inner City Press went out of its way not to include Falk's name, nor that of her first vice president, Louis Charbonneau of Reuters. Charbonneau during the meeting, as he did repeatedly in 2012, said that Inner City Press' website is “the problem.” It is not for Reuters to try to dictate content to anyone else. But Dujarric at the February 22 meeting did not say anything about this.

  It appears, while the head of DPI is out of the country in Vienna, that Dujarric is trying to use Inner City Press' February 25 report as a rationale for not doing anything for example about the ten needed reforms FUNCA submitted on February 10.

  But Inner City Press stands entirely behind the story, ironically just as Dujarric's ultimate boss Ban Ki-moon stood behind his answer to Inner City Press that his staff opponents are “selfish,”

  Inner City Press has responded asking Dujarric if his formal letter is meant to go into some dis-accreditation file, and to state once and for all his knowledge and / or presence at meeting with UNCA in 2012 seeking to dis-accredit Inner City Press:

I have just received your letter and must reply. I said repeatedly at the meeting that it was on the record. [Click here where Inner City Press says "you're on the record" and Pamela Falk of CBS, UNCA's President, says "he's going to write this up." Yes.] 

FUNCA did not ask for the meeting. As I said, while FUNCA's co-founder suggested we should not attend, I did so as a courtesy to Peter.

However at the meeting, to which DPI invited me, you allowed Pam Falk of UNCA to scream and call me a mugger, and say “you call yourself a journalist” -- and you said nothing.

Louis Charbonneau of UNCA (and Reuters) said that the problem is the Inner City Press website. This is inappropriate, given freedom of the press. But you said nothing.

If you will notice -- and only as a courtesy to Peter -- the article you cite did not at that time use the names of the two UNCA representatives you invited, nor describe the venue.

  Please state whether your formal letter about an article I wrote, sent to me after 6 pm as I write about the Mali stakeout and brown bag session an answer promised at which [by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation] has not yet been provided nine hours later, is intended to be placed in some file, regarding discipline or accreditation, and what my due process rights are.

Given that you yourself have told me you do not object to being quoted, and that FUNCA sessions with DPI were on the record and recorded, and that at the February 15 meeting I said repeatedly that it was on the record, I find your letter inappropriate.

  I reiterate my question: the description in the Voice of America document I cited

http://www.innercitypress.com/unofficials1unca061112.pdf

which says UNCA met with the UN "very quietly" in the middle of 2012 about dis-accreditation -- please state who was at the meeting(s) from the UN (and UNCA) sides.  Due process rules are absolutely needed. I will appreciate your soonest response.

Watch this site.