Human Rights Applied to NYC City Council, From UN Haiti Cholera Test, Queens Scores Low

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 25, updated -- If it's true that all politics are local, then why not from the New York-based UN, embroiled in such questions as war crimes in Sri Lanka andFrance leaving Muslims at risk of attack in the Central African Republic, consider the records of New York City Councilmembers?

  The Urban Justice Center today releases a report card on the Council, assigning grade from A+ down to a C and C- in Staten Island to members of the NYC City Council. 

  The report "revisits two recent land-use projects -- Willets Point in Queens and Seward Park Extension Urban Park Renewal Area in Manhattan, which impact New Yorkers' housing, workers' and government accountability rights. It also discusses the human rights implications of waterfront redevelopment projects in Mill Basin, Brooklyn and St. George, Staten Island in post Hurricane Sandy New York City."

  The UN famously failed during Super Storm Sandy, neglecting to inform Ambassadors when it would be closed and when their cars, with diplomatic plates, could be removed from the UN's underground garages, as Inner City Press reported.

  In Haiti, the UN thumbs its nose at principles of accountability, refusing to even acknowledge service of process of legal papers in court cases from bringing cholera to the Island. 

   But former Mayor Bloomberg is now a UN official, on climate change; Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was going to meet with Mayor Bill De Blasio until it got canceled on the day of the East Harlem gas explosion.

  The Free UN Coalition for Access asked why it was not on Ban's public schedule, but UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said since it got canceled, this did not have to be answered. Isn't the right to information also a human right?

  The view east from the UN is of Queens, and it is notable that Queens Council members score low on human rights, with Peter Vallone Jr. among the bottom three. 

  The top eight in the rankings are all from Manhattan or Brooklyn; the top Bronxite after that represent Riverdale. Have any Councilmembers joined the call on the US Mission to the UN, or State Department in DC, to hold the UN accountable for cholera in Haiti? If all politics are local, they should. 

Updated: the above was published at the March 24-25 midnight embargo time. But on the afternoon of March 25, Inner City Press asked UJC's Research and Policy Coordinator Nicole Bramsted if the reports considered Council members' work on such issues as holding the UN accountable for cholera in Haiti -- or, one might add, extending a human rights monitoring mandate to the UN mission in Western Sahara. Inner City Press also ask for any comment on there being no Bronx (or Queens) Council members in the top eight ranked members.

  Bramsted and her colleague replied that such work is included in the narrative portion of the surveys, for example resolutions for the Senate to ratify CEDAW; low scoring geographies, it was said, could be held up in the spotlight. Watch this site.

   

At UN, Mike Bloomberg Meet Ban Ki-moon With No Read-Out or Safeguards Against Conflict of Interest; No Disclosure, Stealth Spox

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 21 -- Three weeks after the UN first announced a "climate change and cities" post for Michael Bloomberg, Inner City Press again asked about any safeguards against conflicts of interest, after Bloomberg held a photo op with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Ban's 38th floor conference room.

  Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq for a read-out of what Ban discussed with Bloomberg and then the two with Jen Stoltenberg; no read-outs were given by six pm. Haq said UN officials make disclosures; Inner City Press asked if Bloomberg's will be public, as Ban says he wants his officials to do. Haq said that's what Ban urges. We'll see.Video here and embedded below.

  Earlier, Inner City Press was told there would be "remarks," but that it could ask no questions. (Stop and frisk, practiced on the way up to the photo op, came to mind.)

  Ban said that Super Storm Sandy impacted the UN, and that a climate agreement by 2015 is key.  Bloomberg's remarks, after a joke about the blue UN pass he had just received, included thanking Ban for his comments on February 20 about "The Ukraine."

  As Inner City Press reported, Ban's comments were scripted and came as one of three pre-selected questions Ban took at a stakeout ostensibly about the Central African Republic. (Another question was about Syria.)

 This is the increasingly controlled way in which Ban's UN tries to communicate. On February 21, Stephane Dujarric who is slated to become Ban's new spokesperson on March 10 was up on the 38th floor already. The day before, outgoing spokesperson Martin Nesirky told Inner City Press there would be no overlap between UN Media Accreditation, which Dujarric has been overseeing, and the role of UN spokesperson. Video here.

    At the February 21 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Haq in what capacity Dujarric was there. Haq said Dujarric is still the head of the Department of Public Information's News and Media Division and he was there in that capacity. Video here and embedded below.

  Another photographer remarked to Inner City Press that Dujarric is "never" seen at these photo ops, so why now, after he's been named spokesperson? And what does it mean in terms of Nesirky's statement that the post of Spokesperson is completely divorced from the DPI post that oversees Media Accreditation? We'll have more on this.

   More generally, if the UN wants to communicate, it should answer what safeguards it will put in place to ensure that Bloomberg's business interests somehow don't create conflicts of interest with his UN role. Only three days after getting the UN post, Bloomberg was in the news on his own Bloomberg Africa TV, which covers such issues as Air France and mining on The Continent.

   So Inner City Press went to the February 3 UN noon briefing and asked for whom Bloomberg is speaking, the UN or himself?  Video here from Minute 14:52. UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky replied that his deputy Farhan Haq had answered on this on January 31. 

  But Haq on January 31 after citing "terms of reference" said they are not public, instead to look at a press release which, it turns out, contains no safeguards. Nesirky said this is an early stage, and that is true. But it already seems clear that safeguards will be necessary. For now: UNIFEED video of Ban Ki-moon and team dining with Bloomberg, here.

  On January 31 Inner City Press asked Haq if any thought had been given to possible conflicts of interest, or restrictions on how information or access from the post could be used, given Bloomberg's businesses.

  The UN's Haq replied, "I believe appropriate terms of reference have been worked out with former Mayor Bloombeg, that should be an acceptable arrangement devised between them." Video here and embedded below.

  Inner City Press asked if these "terms of reference" were public and could be seen. Haq said "No... What's public is a lengthy press release available in our office."

  But the press release does not address any safeguards on conflict of interest at all. 

  As Inner City Press noted before the UN's announcement, when Michael Bloomberg was Mayor of New York, in light of obvious conflicts of interest he stepped back from Bloomberg News. He was criticized on issues ranging from stop-and-frisk to defending banks against minimal City community reinvestment standards.

  Now, according to one gushing report, he is poised to move to the United Nations, as envoy on cities and climate change. What about new conflicts of interest, and the above critiques?

  To give what credit is due, on the evening of January 30 Reuters' UN bureau issued a breathless "exclusive" with nothing but praise of Bloomberg -- not a word of any criticism, nothing on the conflict of interest with Bloomberg News purporting to cover the UN and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Given the percentage of the piece praising Bloomberg, that would seem to be the (anonymous) sourcing.

  Meanwhile at the UN on January 30, Inner City Press on climate change asked Ban's acting deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq of documents leaked by Edward Snowden showing that the NSA spied on the Copenhagen talks in 2009:

Inner City Press: there’s one of the [Edward] Snowden-released documents, but there’s a reason I’m asking you is it’s published in a Danish website “Information”and it talks about the Copenhagen climate change talks of 2009. And this seems to be the document and it says that the NSA [United States National Security Agency] was involved in monitoring communications at the discussions in order to advise the United States on the position of other Governments and presumably at the UN. So, I’m wondering, this seems to get more closely into things that are of much import to the UN, to the Secretary-General. Is there any response as to this memo coming out and the propriety of such surveillance?

Acting Deputy Spokesperson: Well, we wouldn’t have any specific response to this because ultimately, again, this is a case where we’d need to know what the basic facts are and whether there was any such surveillance that’s happened. However, our basic point that we’ve articulated many times in recent months still holds: that the inviolability of diplomatic premises needs to be respected by all States.

   Watch this site.

Footnote: While giving what credit is due to Reuters' UN bureau, despite their history, it must be noted that the bureau chief has not only spied for the UN -- he has also misused the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act to get Google to block from its search a leaked document showing him trying to get the investigative Press thrown out of the UN. All of this.. is how this UN works, or doesn't.

   

UN Memo Brags of Cutting 99 Publishing Posts, Blames "Outspoken Staff"

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, May 3 -- In the wake of the May Day protest by UN staff against working conditions and "forced relocations," Inner City Press has obtained and is exclusively publishing a UN memo bragging about "abolishing" 99 jobs in Publishing. Click here.

  In a session in which other departments also bragged of cost cutting and job cuts, the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management recounted that Hurricane Sandy allowed it to drive the final nail into Publishing, vacating the third sub basement and leaving those who worked there without posts.

  While all 39 "Trades and Crafts" jobs, and 60 General Services positions, are to be abolished, the number of higher paid Professionals actually goes up. This is Ban Ki-moon's UN.

  Ironically, DGACM lists under "What We're Doing Well" the purported "frequent communications between management and staff." 

  Then, under "Next Steps," it urges to "be prepared for any possible UNDT cases (assemble good records)." UNDT is the UN Dispute Tribunal, where cases have already been filed. Did the UN "assemble good records" to defend its abolition of posts?

  Of most concern to DGACM, according to the memo, was and is "staff being intimidated by a small (?) group of outspoken staff."

  That would the staff members who proposed the "no confidence" resolution as to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's leadership, which passed overwhelmingly.

  Rather than learn any lesson from that vote -- for example, don't in response to a Press question call those who work for you "selfish," as Ban characterized those staff in New York who oppose his mobility proposal -- management blames it on a "small (?) group of outspoken staff."

  And you know, on World Press Freedom Day, the UN doesn't like those who are "outspoken." We will be publishing another memo soon. Watch this site.

UN Public Info on Kenya & Mali, Reports Withheld, Press Raid Photos Leaked?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 22 -- The UN Department of Public Information has at least three constituencies: the 193 member states which own the UN, the journalists which DPI accredits to enter the UN, and last and sometimes least the public.

  On Monday the top leadership of DPI took questions from the member states on the Committee on Information. Japan asked what has been done to avoid another communications failure like after Hurricane Sandy last Fall. 

   The US asked how DPI evaluates itself and its impact. Spain asked about facilities for journalists. Russia asked for more translation, particularly of the webcast.

  Answers to these varied. On self-assessment not much was said. On Sandy, DPI's chief to his credit admitted that there had been failures. On media space, it was said the move-back to the renovated Secretariat will take place “in the next few months.” (This as an e-mail named May 10 as the date.)

Many promises were made how the webcast will get better after something called MAMS, the Media Asset Management System.

  But in the real world, despite months of complaints, DPI still hasn't gotten its existing webcast able to stream on the Android platform for smart phones. 

  Though perhaps not DPI's fault, at the recent Rwanda genocide memorial, a survivor's story was not only cut off but ended, simply so Secretary General Ban Ki-moon could go to another event.

  More substantively, at least in the two Rwanda memorial events Inner City Press attended, the UN did not in any way acknowledge its role in 1994, with peacekeepers pulled out and the willful ignoring of memos about the arming of the Hutu genocidaires.

  Sometimes DPI has a tough story to try to tell. On this, Ban's head of Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous is not only unwilling to answer Press questions, but he's now shown to have argued during the 1994 genocide in favor of helping the genocidaire government flee to safety in Eastern Congo.

This is a hard sell -- but when Ladsous had his spokesman seize the UNTV microphone ostensibly run by DPI, there was no public response, just more whispering. And so problems persist.

  In the spirit of fairness, among positive DPI projects described on Monday were a “sports for peaceful elections” program in Kenya, complete with Google+ Hangout, and the involvement of a DPI staffer in DPKO's - that is, Ladsous' -- mission to northern Mali. 

  This, it was said, was described to member states. But how about to journalists and more importantly the public?

  That can be a contradiction. Last week Inner City Press wrote to DPI asking why UN reports, for example the recent one on Western Sahara, are withheld from the public by not being put on the UN's website even when they are complete, and handed in paper form to some.

DPI has yet to respond -- it has still not formally responded to 10 proposed reforms submitted to it in February by the Free UN Coalition for Access -- but when Inner City Press spoke Monday afternoon with member states about it, many also expressed outrage.

  Several said the UN's lack of transparency and selective release helps the UN reports be spun in a particular way, before people in their country can even see the underlying report.

  So the question on this is, does DPI and the UN view its duty as to the public, or to a smaller subset, not even member states? Because if member states and their desire for translation is being cited, then member states have to be consulted.

  The UN Secretariat, including Ban Ki-moon's office and DPI, have no right to keep secrets -- from members states, and thus from the public. To use the self-interest of some media as ground-cover for a lack of transparency is shameful. (That, however, is why they call it the UN's Censorship Alliance.)

  In candor, we believe a key need at DPI is due process rights for journalists, so big media like Reuters' Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols and AFP's Tim Witcher are no longer emboldened to file false complaints against smaller more investigative media, and even so the expression of opinions by DPI's accreditation staff does not come off, as it does now, as censorship.

  (Click here on DPI's recent “urgent” inquiry into a single Press tweet mentioning #WW2.)

  There is also the matter of DPI finally coming clear on how photos taken during its raid on Inner City Press' office on March 18 were leaked to BuzzFeed, immediately after that publication contacted Ban's Office of the Spokesperson to ask about the raid.

  Whom did DPI allow to take photographs? DPI's failure to answer only leads, inevitably, to questions about UNCA president Pamela Falk of CBS, who did take photographs. 

  To whom were photographs given, such that they were then given to BuzzFeed? It's simple, but it must be answered. Why not take the same approach as after Hurricane Sandy?Watch this site.

After Staff No Confidence in Ban, Graisse Can't Get a Meeting, Gettu in Wings

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 4 -- Fifty days after the UN Staff Union voted “no confidence” in Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Ban's outgoing chief of the Department of General Assembly and Conference Management Jean-Jacques Graisse can't even get a meeting with his staff.

  On March 28, Graisse wrote to Staff Union leaders as well as Ban officials Susana Malcorra, Catherine Pollard and Franz Baumann, asking for an “emergency” meeting on April 3. He said it concerned the “force majeure” event of Hurricane Sandy, which allowed the UN to move on plans to kill off publishing jobs.

  On April 2, Graisse's office asked, “May we propose to meet for an emergency DGACM staff-management consultation on Friday, 5th April, from 10 to 12 in the morning, in room S-1517, to discuss the current temporary situation resulting from the impact of storm Sandy with regards to the Publishing Section staff? Our invitation to President of the Staff Union to participate in the meeting if she finds it acceptable and useful remains open.”

After some back and forth, he was told that some in the Union, due to the no confidence vote of January 24, would decline to meet with him. And this turned out to be true:

As stated previously we intend to abide by the vote of no confidence taken by the EGM of the staff. It will be up to the staff to mandate us to meet with the management.

Just to remind all of our fellow DGACM we initiated a dialogue with Mr. Graisse when he first came subsequent to that meeting and the subsequent meeting that included Mr. Baumann, we went back and forth on the issue of the meeting record being falsified and our position being misrepresented. Despite repeated attempts to have this corrected by them and their refusal, this matter is now before MEU. The illegal actions by Mr. Baumann to restructure the Publishing Section without mandate and the pretext of a vague plan in an Annex of a budget proposal was the subject of tribunal orders of Suspension of Action and Interim Relief. To remind you, the Tribunal in Order No. 77 (NY/2013) of 27 March 2013 "order[ed] the Respondent to suspend the implementation of the decision to conduct a recruitment exercise via Inspira, or by any other means whatsoever, for 19 new posts in the Publishing Section, DGACM, for a period of 60 days from the date of this Order or pending a final determination of the substantive merits of the application, if sooner, or until such further Order as may be deemed appropriate by the Tribunal".

It is our position that DGACM has continually acted without regard to any mandates, rules, or staff rights. Let us not waste anymore time meeting with a management in which the staff has no confidence and continue to show bad faith to us. In calling for the meeting, Mr. Graisse stated that "[t]he urgency is dictated by the fact that a number of PS staff currently have no meaningful work assignments - a situation unacceptable to them as well to the management and Member States." This is not a cause for staff-management consultation, but an indictment of the incompetency and failure of the management of DGACM.

The DGACM management must show that it is sincere in establishing proper relations or willing to mend their ways and work to rebuilding trust and the confidence of the staff. Regrettably, I don't see this happening with the DGACM management of Mr. Graisse, Mr. Baumann, Mr. Olafsson, Ms. Chiulli, Mr. Nanadoe and Mr. Shpiniov.

And there you have it. But will it be different with Graisse replaced by Gettu? There's talk of businesses in Addis. Meanwhile Ban himself has been in San Marina, Andorra and Monaco. 

  Ban USG for Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous openly refuses to answer Press questions about spreading cholera and rapes by the UN's partners. 

 Ban's Department of Public Information raided the Press' office, while the president of the UN's Censorship Alliance Pam Falk of CBS took photos. Now DPI won't even give the names of those allowed by it to enter. So it goes at the UN. Watch this site.

UN Deaf, Dumb & Blind, Security Council 2 Days With No Wi-Fi

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 4 -- The UN claims it wants to help journalists report on its work. Forgetting for a moment their willingness to conduct raids on media offices, leading to the anonymous leaking of raid photographs, even on the most humdrum basics the UN under-performs.

  On April 3 while Inner City Press covered the UN Security Council, the UN's wireless Internet became weak and then stopped working all together. 

  After a complaint to the Department of Public Information's Media Accreditation and Liaison unit, it was said that the Office of Information and Community Technology would fix it.

But on April 4, while Inner City Press covered the Council's session on Yemen, again there was no wi-fi. This time, for obvious reasons, Inner City Press bypassed the non-responsive and complained to OICT as the Free UN Coalition for Access.

(FUNCA's twelve and counting most needed reforms submitted to DPI as far back as February 10 have yet to be implemented by DPI; are even simple things at the UN un-reformable?)

OICT responded in writing: “We are aware of the wi-fi issue happening today. Yesturday [sic] it started in the early afternoon and we had it resovled [sic] shortly after. Today it started around 10:30 and we are working to resolve it.”

FUNCA replied that “it seems obvious that since the problem persists today, it wasn't really resolved or fixed yesterday. Can you state what the problem is, that OICT is trying to fix? Thank you.”

There was a response, but no answer: “The network team is handling the issue and the Helpdesk is not aware on the actual issue at hand.”

Things happen. This is the Security Council, two days in a row. Who's in charge here?

Footnote: As Inner City Press has asked, again without answer, there has been no chief of OICT since mid 2012. 

The Group of 77 has complained in the Budget Committee about the failure to fill the post -- Inner City Press reported that after the UN's failure during Hurricane Sandy, even to send an e-mail to member states, a more “political” OICT chief was sought. But it remains unfilled, and the UN lurches on. Watch this site.

After Hurricane Sandy, UN Left Staff In Water-Logged Chairs in Basement, No Printers, While Raiding Press Office Overground

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 1 -- In a sign of UN management's dysfunction, and staff resiliency, after Hurricane Sandy work continued without proper ventilation or even chairs in the UN's third sub basement (3B) by the Logistics Unit of the Office of Information and Communications Technology.

  As recounted by staff in e-mails exclusively obtained by Inner City Press, OICT higher-up did not provide them with toner or a printer, but told them to return to water-logged chairs in 3B.

  After the UN's insurance company seized damaged goods to assess the UN's claims, the Logistics Unit organized its own fundraiser for such basics as chairs and toner.

  Meanwhile from the floor of a Staff Union meeting, above ground, a resolution expressing “no confidence” in Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was passed. Ban now is in San Marino then Andorra, then finally to a meeting of the UN system's Chief Executives Board.

While the gap between these high-fliers and the staff doing their own fundraisers to continue to do the UN's work, water-logged and underground, be discussed there?

  There is a final sub-irony: while the UN as a post-hoc pretext for its March 18 raid on Inner City Press' office used the concept of safety, and allowed the taking of photographs which were then given to BuzzFeed and published on March 22, it was on the same March 18 that the e-mail below was sent out.

One difference: while the UN allowed the taking and then anonymous distribution to BuzzFeed of photographs of Inner City Press' office, desk and bookshelf -- and has refused to say who it let in, and who distributed -- Inner City Press is NOT here publishing the damning 3B photographs.

But here is the e-mail:

Subject: Fund Raiser for Logistics Unit
Date: 18/03/2013 12:02 PM

Dear All! Welcome to our first fund raiser for the Logistics Unit!!

When Sandy hit at the end of October 2012 we lost all of our desks, working tables, shelves, supplies, tools, power, air, LAN, etc., etc. Well, you get the idea...

However, we had to stay and do our work since it was SOOOOO IMPORTANT that all the losses be properly recorded lest the Organization not get reimbursed by the evil insurance companies, bla bla bla.

So, our job was done to the complete satisfaction of all concerned; in fact, we were asked for far more than what we were responsible for because, and I quote, "...You can be trusted to do things right... ...You guys care... You know what you are doing...", and other such BS.

Meanwhile, we got tired of the lack of power and air and phones so we managed to get space in a copier room in 2B. Of course, being a copier room, it was small, had no air and was/is used by many to print their documents. So we had to go back to 3B.

In the last 4 weeks; however, and through the help of individuals, (very few), in a private capacity, the Logistics Unit room in 3B has reached several milestones:

1. The air conditioning sausage has been extended so now we actually have air inside the room. Imagine that.

2. We have ONE electrical circuit, (15 amps I was told), that is used to power everything. We have daily contests to see what we will power that particular day without blowing out the fuse.

3. We have LAN and telephones!!! Woohoo!!!

4. We have 4 small tables that we use as desks and had, until last Friday, chairs to sit on.

BUT THOSE CHAIRS ARE GONE!!! They have been taken by the evil insurance companies!! (No kidding).

Before you ask, yes, we did request, (through the proper channels and procedures), 4 USED desks, 6 USED chairs and 6 USED work tables so that we could actually work like human beings; however, FMS said NO. Why? I'm glad you asked. Apparently it has something to do with us, (Logistics), not having a "Project Manager", (whatever THAT is), and/or no one wanting to be liable if we get sick or who knows...

Bottom line: NO CHAIRS. Oh, yes, the same people that took our chairs gave us a set that is in even worse condition than the stuff they took. I dare any of you to sit on them day in and day out.

Which is why we are having this fund raiser. Wait you say! Why not ask OICT?? Well, maybe because we asked for toner, (really, toner, for the loaner printers), 4 weeks ago and we are still waiting. We requested for our use a Managed Printer, (or whatever that nonsense is called), 2 weeks ago and we are still waiting. So what did we do? One of our guys found a discarded scanner; brought it back to life, connected it to "our" LAN and to a little network printer and voila! We now have a scanner and a network printer.

So, if you find it in your heart please contribute generously so we can go to the nearest Salvation Army thrift shop and get what we need.

Incidentally, the attached photos are real...

See above. And, watch this site.

UN Tries to Bypass Its Critics, in Staff Union & Media, Double Standards on Access?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 – The UN doesn't like to meet with its critics, only with its friends.

  That's what many in the UN Staff Union say, complaining they were not consulted with before Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's announcement that fully 70% of $100 million in budget cuts most come out of “posts,” or salary.

  After the Staff Union passed a resolution of “no confidence” in Ban Ki-moon, the elected leader of the UN Publishing Division cited the resolution to Ban's chief of staff Susana Malcorra.  Click here for Inner City Press' exclusive story on that.

  Thereupon, Publishing Division activists tell Inner City Press, Malcorra worked around them to meet with more Ban-friendly Publishing Division staff, particularly those not impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the cuts.

  At the UN noon briefing on March 1, Inner City Press asked Ban's Deputy Spokesman Eduardo Del Buey about a UN Dispute Tribunal decision of February 22, first reported by Inner City Press yesterday, criticizing Ban's Secretariat for trying to eliminate 59 posts without authorization.

  Del Buey did not have an answer but said he would try to get one. After the briefing the UN sent an answer to the previous day's question:

Subject: Your question from yesterday on the Staff Union
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 12:42 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

The Secretary-General and senior management fully recognize the importance of dialogue and consultation with staff representatives to ensure that the views and concerns of staff are taken into consideration.

This dialogue has continued subsequent to the 24 January resolution of the NY staff union and the Chef de Cabinet met with the New York Staff Council on 6 February. This meeting reflects the position of the NY Staff Council itself that consultations and engagement with the administration should continue.

Outside of such meetings, the Chef de Cabinet and other senior managers have and will, of course, continue to meet with managers and staff to discuss issues related to the management of the organization.

At least they sent an answer. Inner City Press, and the Free UN Coalition for Access, continue to wait for a response or explanation from UN Media Accreditation chief Stephane Dujarric, who sent a bizarre letter on February 27 claiming that everyone understood that a February 22 meeting with the UN-friendly UN Correspondents Association and the watchdog FUNCA was off the record.

  In fact, Inner City Press for FUNCA said loudly in the meeting that “this is on the record,” and UNCA President Pamela Falk of CBS said, “He's going to write this up.” Click here for audio.

  Dujarric's letter implied that because of the (now disproved) breach, he will not engage on the reforms FUNCA is demanding. The demands remain, it is seems he is not the right interlocutor.

  Just after the March 1 noon briefing, Inner City Press returned to covering the UN Security Council bilateral meetings. Inside the Council door was none other than Pam Falk and her first vice President Louis Charbonneau of Reuters, and some others. 

 A full list of the is not possible as they turned around quickly. Later, Inner City Press is reliably informed, they were asked to leave the way they came in, from the General Assembly vistors' lobby and "stop hanging around" since Council President for March Vitaly Churkin of Russia was meeting Ambassadors in there.

 Click here for Inner City Press' exclusive interview with China's Permanent Representative Li Baodong about the draft North Korea nuclear test resolution.

   Inner City Press asked and learned that the Department of Public Information, which tells journalists they cannot enter the Security Council, did not know about and was not a part of the UNCA entry into the Council. Inner City Press for FUNCA has asked what the rules are, and so far has been told "when a media, any media, needs to film from the floor they need to ask 24 hours in advance and we have to ask Security Council affairs." MALU has "also seen staff members and delegates bring guests / visitors to the floor." It does not seem that is what happened here. 

  Whatever the rules are, they should be the same for all. 

 Instead, while the UN has given UNCA a number of tours of the renovated spaced, to help them with their faux Astroturf advocacy, Inner City Press was told it can only see the spaces a month before move-back, already delayed to April.  FUNCA will Press forward. Watch this site.