At UN for Human Rights Council, Drop-Out Jordan Gets 16 Votes, Saudi Arabia Only 140, Uruguay & South Sudan Lose, Sri Lanka Silva in the House

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 12 -- Among the UN system's five regional groups, only two had any competition in the election of their members this morning to the UN Human Rights Council.

   In the African Group, South Sudan lost with 89 votes. Elected were South Africa with 169, Algeria with 164, Morocco with 163 and Namibia with 150. (Tunisia got two votes.)

  In the Latin American and Caribbean Group, Uruguay lost with 93 votes. Elected were Cuba with 148 and Mexico with 135.

  The Asian / Pacific Group was going to have competition, before Jordan dropped out. Still, Jordan got 16 votes; Saudi Arabia got 140, less than the Maldives' 164.

   From Eastern Europe, two candidates for two seats: Russia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. (Slovakia and Latvia each got one vote.)

   The West European and Other Group, which talks a lot about democracy and against "clean slates," had a clean slate: two candidates, the UK and France, for two seats. Still, France got only 174, and UK 171. Stray votes went to Andorra, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal and San Marino. 

  During the voting Inner City Press took and tweetedphotographs, of gifts and, for example, Sri Lankan military figure Shavendra Silva in the crowd. UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant conferred with Liechtenstein's representative,then with Rwanda's.  Our next story is about the International Criminal Court and Kenya.

  On Monday late afternoon, after Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's speech to member states in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, South Sudan's Permanent Representative Francis Deng, himself a former UN official, was seen heading to the Delegates Lounge in late-minute campaigning. 

  It's a young country.

  Also campaigning was a Togolese diplomat running for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Koffi Kumelio A. Afande. The Permanent Representative from another African country told Inner City Press, it's a competitive race, and some "Europeans try to undermine African candidates for the ICTY."

  Down in the UN lobby, Morocco had arranged to have a display in support of its candidacy. In the General Assembly last week, it defended the exclusion of the Frente Polisario from the Security Council stakeout, saying this is only for member states. (The UN told Inner City Press it is only for "participants" in Security Council meetings, a different standard.)

In essence, only two countries will be left exposed as "losers" Tuesday morning. (This is prevalent at all levels of the UN, locking in the lack of reform.) But to compete and lose is one thing -- to through weight around, as is WEOG, is something else. Watch this site.

   

UN Refuses Press Qs on Haiti, Congo Rapes & Raid, Mad about De Mistura Scoop?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 5 -- That UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey almost never has answers to questions is one thing.

  But on April 5 Del Buey decided he wouldn't even let questions be asked. 

 Del Buey simply refused to take Inner City Press questions on Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, countries in which the UN has peacekeeping missions (mis) run by Herve Ladsous costing $800 million and over $1 billion, respectively. To this low has Ban Ki-moon's UN sunk.

The first speaker at Friday's noon briefing was Ban's main spokesman Martin Nesirky, who been gone all week in San Marino, Andorra, Monaco and now Madrid. 

  The purpose of the call-in was to describe and promote a call Ban made -- by Skype! -- to Malala, the courageous schoolgirl shot be extremists in Pakistan.

   Nesirky said clips from the call would soon be uploaded to YouTube.

(Flashback: after the UN raided Inner City Press' office on March 18, on March 19 a UN supervisor wrote to demand that the after raid video be removed from YouTube as a “first step.” This request, about which Inner City Press answered questions from the Department of Public Information which led the raid, has never been withdrawn.)

  As a question to Nesirky, Inner City Press asked him to confirm the Vatican's report that Ban will visit Pope Benedict in Rome on April 9, and to confirm a visit to and appointment of Staffan De Mistura, currently deputy foreign minister of Italy as UN envoy to Mali, “as we have reported.”

“Who's we?” Nesirky asked.

“Inner City Press,” was the answer. Nesirky would not even confirm the Vatican visit. Mighty dangerous, the Vatican.

After Nesirky spoke about Ban's time at the UN World Tourism Organization, Del Buey read out announcements then said he would take questions. 

 After leaving Inner City Press for last, as has become the norm, Inner City Press said for planning purposes that it would ask questions about Sudan, Haiti and the DRC -- all countries in which the UN has peacekeeping missions (mis) run by Herve Ladsous.

  After saying he didn't know about a Small Arms Survey report on South Sudan, Del Buey turned away and told another correspondents, “last question.”

  Why? Inner City Press asked.

  Del Buey seemed to say because he'd been in the room too long. But he took very few questions -- in fact on April 3 he managed to hold his briefing right during Susan Rice's stakeout, taking only two questions in a record low six minute briefing. Is he tired?

  The UN's Censorship Alliance, known as UNCA, never challenges the decline of access to information at the UN. The most recent posting on its glassed-in bulletin board is from February 1.

Meanwhile DPI, from the non-UNCA bulletin board won through advocacy by the Free UN Coalition for Access, recently tore down every flier, saying they were too old, including a critical flier from late March.

  The president of UNCA Pamela Falk of CBS took photos of the March 18 raid, then issued a legal threat to Inner City Press not to write about it.

To this as the UN descended. As to the questions Del Buey refused to taken, much less answer, watch this site.

On Haiti, Cholera & Nepal, UN Has No Safeguards, 9 Day Stonewall by #Ladsous2103

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 4, updated -- After the introduction of a strain of cholera from Nepal into Haiti killed thousands of people, currently a training for 800 troops from 23 countries for UN Peacekeeping missions is taking place... in Nepal.

  It would seem that UN Peacekeeping should have some safeguards in place, even though Secretary General Ban Ki-moon tersely dismissed legal claims about the cholera, calling them “not receivable.”

  But UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous has repeatedly refused to answer any Press questions, about Haiti, cholera, safeguards, rapes by his partners in the Congolese Army, anything.

  About the Nepal training, on March 26, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky

Inner City Press: Martin, I want to ask you about Nepal, there is beginning a two-week training; it is described as a training for UN peacekeeping missions of over 800 troops from 23 countries. Inevitably because outstanding allegation that it was Nepalese peacekeepers who inadvertently brought cholera to Haiti for not being screened, from, coming from a country in which cholera was prevalent at the time, what can you say to those who would say bringing prospective peacekeepers from 23 countries to Nepal might not be a good idea, absent some safeguards on DPKO’s (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) part on either screening or ensuring that what took place in Hait as is widely alleged doesn’t take place elsewhere. What’s your response?

Spokesperson Nesirky: I’ll check with DPKO.

On March 28, Ladsous again refused to answer Inner City Press questions at the stakeout broadcast by UN Television, run by the UN Department of Public Information.

On April 4, nine days after Nesirky said he would ask DPKO about any safeguards to not spread cholera again and kill people, Inner City Press asked the question again, this time to Ban's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey. (Nesirky is traveling with Ban in San Marino, Andorra and Monaco).

What safeguards does DPKO have?

  Del Buey said, we'll check with DPKO. Video here from Minute 7:25

  But that's exactly when Nesirky said on the question, nine days before. Inner City Press asked Del Buey, “Did you check with DPKO?”

  Del Buey said yes.

  So Inner City Press asked, in light of the nine day with no answer to this basic question, if it would be fair to say that Ladsous' DPKO has no safeguard.

  Del Buey now protested, no, don't put words in my mouth.

  But nine days after being asked, by Ban's spokesman, if there are any safeguards, to have disclosed none: what else can it mean?

  What several member states' representatives now say is that Ladsous not remain as head of DPKO. As one of them suscinctly put it, “It's an experiment that's failed, he'd not cut out for it.” #LADSOUS2013.

Footnote: just before Del Buey's “we'll check with DPKO” nine days after Nesirky said just that, there was a press conference about landmines at which another of Ladsous' spokespeople -- not the noted microphone grabber -- was present. But still, no answers. No answers at all. Even a post-Ladsous DPKO has been run into the ground.

Update: Ten minutes after publication of this article, and nine days after the questions were asked, this partial answer was suddenly sent:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply
Date: 2013/4/4
Subject: Answer to your questions
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Regarding your question about Nepal's training of peacekeepers from 23 different countries, our answer is: that's a US-led/funded training programme.

But it's explicitly FOR UN Peacekeeping missions. And in any event, the question is what safeguards DPKO has to ensure not spreading cholera and killing people. Total failure.

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.