In UN, Bed Bugs Scoop Confirmed, UN Tried to Cover Up, Staff Complain to Inner City Press

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, June 23 -- The UN has in the past had bed bugs in office space it has rented west of First Avenue, as Inner City Press exclusively reported on October 25, 2010 as to the rented Albano Building on 46th Street.

  But now Inner City Press has been exclusively informed that a high floor of the UN's own building, the 34th, has been evacuated due to a finding of bed bugs there. Inner City Press published the story on the morning of June 23 and asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about it at the day's noon briefing.

  
Dujarric said he was unaware. But Inner City Press not only obtained a copy of the UN's email on the subject - which Dujarric's office also provided mid-afternoon --  but was contacted by staff angry that the UN tried to cover up the bed bugs. "They were working on it over the weekend but didn't want to tell anyone," was one complaint, "like a [much] smaller version of their cover up of the sexual abuse of children in Central Africa." Or, Inner City Press might add, a smaller version of cholera in Haiti. What is wrong with today's UN?

 Here is the UN's own email, exclusively obtained and published by Inner City Press: 

"The Department of Management wishes to inform staff that bedbugs have been detected in an isolated area (two cubicles on the northern end of the 34th floor) of the Secretariat building. The Office of Central Support Services responded promptly, and the area is being treated by professional exterminators. In order to ensure that the infestation has been contained completely, a further canine inspection will be carried out tonight, including on surrounding floors. Affected staff will be briefed in an information session with the exterminator.

"We have every reason to believe that the problem has been contained, but will remain vigilant. As per normal protocol following the advice of the pest control expert, reinspection with be conducted by the exterminator in 2 weeks. Staff wishing to educate themselves further will find useful information at the following link: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/bedbugs/html/home/home.shtml"

Back on October 27, 2010, with bed bugs having been found and then confirmed in the UN's Capital Master Plan office in its headquarters building on 42nd Street, as first reported by Inner City Press on October 25, two days later the UN issued a statement trying to minimize the problem. 

  Spin, it seems, takes precedence at the UN over solutions.

After Inner City Press' exclusive October 25 report, at the October 26 UN noon briefing it asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky what the UN was doing. Later that afternoon Nesirky's office read a short statement over the UN's “squawk box” system. 

  Inner City Press request to be e-mailed a copy of Nesirky's responses to its questions itself went unresponded to.

On October 27, Inner City Press asked Nesirky what had happened after the UN found bed bugs in its 46th Street Albano Building in September 2009, another outbreak exclusively reported by Inner City Press. 

  Nesirky first said that had been “clover mites,” then acknowledged that characterization applied to a test done in May 2010, not the September 2009 incident Inner City Press was asking about. See list of previous Inner City Press articles, below.

UN's Ban, Adlerstein, Kane in North Lawn: bugs' next stop?

After the October 27 noon briefing, the UN issued the following written statement:

In September 2009, a bed bug sniffing dog confirmed infestation on most floors of the Albano building. The whole building was fumigated on 19 September 2009 and repeated 2 weeks later. As is standard practice, 6 months later on 6 May 2010 the dog returned and indicated the presence of bed bugs. However, the dog is not able to distinguish between alive and dead bed bugs. As a precautionary measure the whole building was fumigated the weekend of 8, 9 May 2010. On 10 May 2010 a staff member reported the presence of a bed bug in the office. The contractor examined the bug and identified it to be a “clover mite”, which is not harmful to building, furniture, or humans. Since the fumigation in September and October last year, one staff member advised of a suspected bed bug bite, but the expert advised this was from some other insect. In conclusion there has been no confirmed bed bug activity in the Albano building since the fumigations last year.

Since that time, as reported recently in the media, bed bug infestations have been found in many public and commercial buildings throughout New York City indicating a worsening problem. On 15 October 2010, bed bugs have also been found in furniture which came from the 19th and 20th floors of the Secretariat Building and on 22 October 2010 in furniture in the 1B area of the Library Building. This furniture has been moved to a part of the building not occupied by staff to facilitate fumigation. Two important factors are noted, firstly that the dogs are not able to distinguish between bed bugs that are alive and active or dead and secondly that no staff or building occupants have reported being bitten. We continue to follow the expert advice of our exterminator specialist making further tests with the bed bug sniffing dog to more fully assess and manage the problem.

New York, 27 Oct. 10

Inner City Press Asks UN of 123 NGOs & Darfur Experts Calling for Herve Ladsous' Ouster

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 22, more here -- Amid the cover up of rapes in DR Congo and now in Darfur by UN Peacekeeping, whose chief Herve Ladsous met with Sudan's International Criminal Court - indicted president Omar al Bashir without ever explaining why, 123 non-governmental organizations and human rights experts and activists have called for Ladsous to be fired. Ladsous video here, Vine here.

   Inner City Press has obtained the letter and published it below. 

  At the UN's December 22 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric to confirm receiving and then provide responsive comment on the letter.Video here, including sample Ladsous "walk away" on April 23, 2014 about his cover up in South Sudan.

   This follows UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon taking no questions about Darfur or Sudan during his December 17 press conference (at which, as noted by the Free UN Coalition for Access, Ban seemed to have the content of questions in advance.) Nor did Ban answer Inner City Press' request for an update at the Darfur rapes at the end of his December 22 media stake-out.

  The letter is copied to the presidents / prime minister, foreign ministers and UN ambassadors of the US, UK and France. How will they respond, particularly France which installed Ladsous atop UN Peacekeeping after their first selection, Jerome Bonnafont, was rejected at the last minute by the UN? And how might this new outspokenness of NGOs impact attempts to install Andrew Lansley atop the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs?

  The letter says, "The result has been a vastly expensive and discredited UN mission, led by Herve Ladsous, who consistently and deliberately diminishes the scale of the conflict in Darfur, thereby enabling Khartoum’s crimes to flourish, whilst the international community congratulates itself on improved circumstances in Darfur."

  The letter's final paragraph begins, "At the very least Herve Ladsous should not continue his role at the UN DPKO."

  Here is the letter, about which we will have more:

Mr Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary-General of the United Nations

22 December 2014

Dear Secretary-General

Re the ICC arrest warrant for President al Bashir

We are a group of NGOs, individuals, representatives of Sudanese political parties and interested partners.

We write regarding the announcement by the ICC Chief Prosecutor that she is suspending new investigations in the cases of President al Bashir and those Sudanese officials indicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

We share the Chief Prosecutor’s frustration that members of the United Nations Security Council have demonstrated an insufficient engagement with the ICC’s repeated demands for international co-operation in holding to account those indicted for their part in gross violations of human rights in Darfur. It is notable that even signatories to the Rome Statute have ignored their obligations to bring President al Bashir and his fellow Sudanese indictees to justice.

However, we fear that the Chief Prosecutor’s intervention will only serve to embolden the Sudanese armed forces and their proxies in their systematic campaign to ethnically cleanse Sudan of those they wish to eliminate. Fatou Bensouda’s attempt to shine a spotlight on the UN Security Council, whilst temporarily suspending investigations, has already had the unfortunate consequence of making those responsible for atrocities in Sudan believe that they have won the moral battle. They now compute that killing, bombing, raping, burning, intimidating, and looting can be continued with impunity.

The UN Security Council has had many opportunities to enforce numerous resolutions on Darfur from 2004 onward concerned with pressing the Sudanese government to stop bombing and attacking its own unarmed civilians. However, the Security Council has consistently refrained from enforcing resolutions giving permission to impose targeted smart sanctions and travel bans on the architects of the ethnic cleansing in Darfur. Consequently, those indicted by the ICC have continued to travel without fear of arrest; their assets could have been frozen, according to the UNSC’s resolutions, and yet no action has been taken, despite the repeated refusal of indictees to make good their promises to the UNSC and to you personally.

One disturbing aspect of the UNSC’s reluctance to press the government of Sudan to obey international treaties and conventions it has signed has been the failure to demand that the Khartoum regime investigate the deaths of UNAMID personnel and to bring to justice those responsible. Nothing has been done to follow up expressions of concern following the killing of the UN’s own staff by proxies closely associated with the Sudanese regime. The signal this sends the Sudanese regime is one of only a token gesture. Unsurprisingly those indicted by the ICC have concluded they can ignore these statements and continue perpetrating atrocities with no accountability.

Another consequence of the UN lack of consistent and meaningful pressure on the government of Sudan is that UNAMID has been rendered impotent. While its personnel know they cannot count on support from New York when they are prevented from performing their duties by Sudanese officials, they will be unwilling to risk their lives by trying to fulfil their mandate to protect civilians and report on suspected human rights abuses. The result has been a vastly expensive and discredited UN mission, led by Herve Ladsous, who consistently and deliberately diminishes the scale of the conflict in Darfur, thereby enabling Khartoum’s crimes to flourish, whilst the international community congratulates itself on improved circumstances in Darfur.

It is against this background that President al Bashir has felt at ease traveling the world, breaking his promises to the UNSC, and making fools of the international community. The Sudanese leader has perceived weakness, indifference and insincerity, and has pressed on with his policy of ethnic cleansing the minorities of Sudan.

At the very least Herve Ladsous should not continue his role at the UN DPKO. Moreover, if the UNSC is to have any credibility in future it must begin to enforce the smart targeted sanctions, asset freezes and travel bans on those indicted by the ICC. If member states refuse to co-operate, they should face penalties accordingly. This is a wake-up call to the UNSC and to your office personally: to redeem credibility, it is time to apply sustained and genuine pressure on those indicted by the ICC. We have long since appealed to the UN to help save the lives of millions at risk in Darfur. This plea has so far gone unanswered. Hence we hope a direct request to you and your office, the UNSC and the head of the UN DPKO will command the attention it deserves.

Yours sincerely

1. Waging Peace, Olivia Warham MBE, Director (UK)

2. Voice for Nyala, Elena Ghizzo, Coordinator (UK)

3. Darfur Development Agenda, Saifeldin Nemir (YEMEN)

4. Article 1, Madeleine Crowther, Research, Refugee & Campaigns Assistant (UK)

5. Darfur Bar Association, Abdelrahman Mohamed Gasim , Protection and External Relations

6. Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), Baroness Cox House of Lords and CEO (UK)

7. Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART), Alice Robinson, Advocacy and Communications Manager

8. Zarga Organization for Rural Development, Mustafa Adam Ahmed, Director (UK)

9. Darfur Victims Organization for Rehabilitation and Relief (DVORR), Ishag Mekki, Chair (UK)

10. Eric Reeves, Professor, Smith College & Sudan Expert (USA)

11. The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director (USA)

12. Congolese Genocide Awareness (CGA), Anthony Kasongo, Executive Director (USA)

13. Religious Liberty Program and Church Alliance for a New Sudan, Faith J. H. McDonnell, Director,

14. Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Director (USA)

15. Never Again Coalition, Lauren Fortgang and Diane Koosed, Co-Chairs (USA)

16. Hamid E. Ali, PhD, Associate Professor and Department Chair, Department of Public Policy and

17. Justice & Equality Movement Sudan (JEM), Gebreil I M Fediel, Chairperson

18. Darfur Humanitarian Advocacy Australia, Eltayeb Mohamed Ali Abdelrahim, President

19. National Sudanese Women Alliance in Diaspora , Suhair Sharif, Chairwoman (UK)

20. Jews Against Genocide, New York, Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder (USA)

21. New York Coalition for Sudan, Neiki Ullah, Communications Director (USA)

22. Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator (USA)

23. Give Back Project, Waleed Abdallah, Project manager (UK)

24. Beja Congress UK , Mohammed Alhalengy (UK)

25. Idaho Darfur Coalition, Marcia Prasch, Co-Founder (USA)

26. The House of the Lord Churches, Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, National Presiding Minister (USA)

27. Umma National Party of Sudan, Mariam Alsadig Almahdi, Vice President

28. Sudanese Community Church of Denver, The Rev Dr Oja B Gafour, PhD, Vicar (USA)

29. African Freedom Coalition, New York City, Al Sutton MD, President (USA)

30. Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, USA, Laura Limuli, Coordinator (USA)

31. Genocide Watch, Dr Gregory H. Stanton, President & Professor, George Mason University (USA)

32. Women Voice for Peace in Sudan, Mastora Bakhiet (USA)

33. Ubuntu Women Institute USA, Sunday Taabu, Founder (USA)

34. Stop Genocide Now, Gabriel Stauring, Founder (USA)

(UK)

Institute on Religion and Democracy (USA)

Administration, The American University in Cairo (EGYPT)

(AUSTRALIA)

35. Ahmed H Adam, Visiting Fellow, Institute for African Development, Cornell University (USA)

36. Unite for Darfur Organization, Bahar Arabie, CEO (USA)

37. Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick (USA)

38. Raga Gibreel, Green Kordofan, Founder (UK)

39. Darfur Australia Network (DAN), Guna Subramaniam (AUSTRALIA)

40. Women From The Far West, Mariam shaw, Founder (UK)

41. Darfur Association in Uganda, Mohamed Ishaq Abdulshafi, President (UGANDA)

42. Sudan Broad National Front, Mr Ali Mahmoud Hassanein, Chairman

43. Namaa Al-Mahdi, Member of the National Umma Party Executive Committee (USA)

44. Darfur Union UK & Ireland, Muatasim Mahadi, Chairman (UK)

45. Darfur Union UK & Ireland, Motaz Bargo, Secretary General (UK)

46. Darfur Center for Transitional Justice & Peace Studies, Dr Enas Osman Ahmed,

Executive Director (USA)

47. Sudan Liberation Movement Second Revolution, Abdellatife Ismail, Deputy Chairman (UK)

48. SUDO, Osman Mansour, Coordinator (UK)

49. Voice of Darfur Women, Mariam Suliman, Chairperson (UK)

50. Nuba Now, Claire Budd (UK)

51. Georgia Coalition to Prevent Genocide, Melanie Melkin, Chair, (USA)

52. Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, David Rosenberg, Coordinator (USA)

53. Dear Sudan, Love Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator (USA)

54. San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, Mohamed Suleiman, President (USA)

55. Commission of Protection of Civilians and Promotion of Women and Children Rights, SPLM

Controlled Areas, Monim El Jak, Vice President (KENYA)

56. Nuba Mountains Peoples Foundation, Elrayah Kakki, Chief Executive Officer

57. SPLM-N, Kamal Kambal (UK)

58. World Peace and Reconciliation, Adeeb Yousif (USA)

59. Carl Wilkens Fellowship, Katie-Jay Scott, Program Facilitator (USA)

60. EASE Women Group, Amal Elsheikh (UK)

61. Sudan Solidarity Network, Sabir Abu Saadia (SOUTH AFRICA)

62. Mohammed Hamid, Journalist (UK)

63. Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Richard Sribnick, Chairman (USA)

64. Investors Against Genocide, Eric Cohen, Chairperson (USA)

65. Act for Sudan, Martina Knee, Co-Founder (USA)

66. Massachusetts Coalition for Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director (USA)

67. Sudan Liberation Movement Minni Minawi, Abuobieda Elkhalifa

68. Collectif Urgence Darfour, Dr Jacky Mamou, Chairman (FRANÎ)

69. Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director (USA)

70. Umma Party, USA Chapter, Abdul Suliman (USA)

71. Beja Congress UK, Dr Abu Amnas (UK)

72. SOESA INC, Bakri Omer, Director (AUSTRALIA)

73. Darfur Call, Abdelhadi Abaker, Chairman (THE NETHERLANDS)

74. Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation & Development Organisation, Nagwa Musa Konda (SUDAN)

75. People4Sudan, Zeinab Blandia, Chief Executive (USA)

76. Nuba Christian Family Mission, George Tutu, Founder/Director/Chairman (USA)

77. Darfur Union, The Netherlands, Eisa Mustafa, Chairman (THE NETHERLANDS)

78. National Unionist Party UK & Europe, Amin Hamad, Head of the Party’s Committee (UK)

79. Beja Congress Corrective, Zeinab Kabbashi, Chairperson (UK)

80. Sudan Organisation for Development, Zeinab Malik, Chairperson (UK)

81. DAAM (Network for Coordinating Sudan Pro-Democracy Action Abroad), Ali Abdelatif,

Coordinator (UK)

82. Norwegian Church Aid, Dawood Narbi Kodi, Program Manager (NORWAY)

83. Rabah Alsadiq, Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Hurriyat E-Newspaper ( SUDAN)

84. Sports League of Sudanese Expatriates, Abdel Al-Monim Omer Osman

85. Society of Sudanese Journalists Abroad, Ismael Mohammed Ali, General Secretary

86. The League of Friends of Mahjoub Shareif, Mohammed Abdel-Jalil, Chairman

87. Sudan Association of Transitional Justice, Ali Zain Elabdein, (SUDAN)

88. Gaafer Ali, Community Activist, UK

89. Mohammed Bahari, Activist, UK

90. Abdalla Ahmed, Activist, UK

91. Sam Godolphin, Activist, UK

92. Ahmed Elzobier, Human Rights Activist, UK

93. Ahmed Gamar, Activist, UK

94. Hamza Yousif, Activist UK

95. Emmanuel Walla, South Sudan, Activist

96. Mohamed El Faki Hamilton, Darfuri and Human Rights Activist

97. Zahir Moh Musa Akasha, Civil Society and Human Rights Activist

98. Alhadi Altrayih, Activist, UK

99. Mohammed Abaker, Activist, UK

100. Ali Rahman, Activist, UK

101. Rasha Ibrahim, Activist, UK

102. Khalid Kodi, Activist, USA

103. Ahmed Ballah, Activist, UK

104. Samia Adnan, Activist, UK

105. Zeena Farouk, Activist, UK

106. Ahmed Farouk, Activist, Belgium

107. Farah Farouk, Activist, Vietnam

108. Abaker Abuebashar, Activist, UK

109. Mona Zanoon, Activist, UK

110. Zahir Akasha, Activist, UK

111. Aboud Arosh, Activist, UK

112. Abdulazim Ahmed, Activist, UK

113. Amal Habani, Journalist/Human Rights Activist, SUDAN

114. Rasha Ibrahim, Activist, UK

115. Hashim Othman Mustafa Ibrahim, Activist, UK

116. Reverend Heidi McGinness, Activist USA

117. Mustafa Siry Suliman, Journalist, UK

118. Mohamed Hamid, Journalist, UK

119. Nasredeen Abdulbari, Activist, USA

120. Siddique Al-Mouj, Journalist, SAUDI ARABIA

121. Samih Elshaikh, Blogger, BELGIUM

122. Elsadig Adam Ismael, Human Right Activist, SUDAN

123. Altahir Ishag Eldouma, Journalist/Writer, SUDAN

cc

David Cameron, UK Prime Minister

President Barack Obama, President of the United States

Francois Hollande, President of France

Philip Hammond, UK Foreign Secretary

John Kerry, Secretary of State, USA

Laurent Fabius, Foreign Minister of France

Sir Mark Lyall Grant, UK Ambassador to the UN

Samantha Power, USA Ambassador to the UN

Francois Delattre, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations

   When UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held a press conference on December 17, there were no questions about UN scandals such as UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous covering up mass rape in Darfur as he did in Minova in Eastern Congo (nor about UN Peacekeepers shooting protesters in Haiti).

  In fact, as Ban read his answers from prepared noted, it seemed to many that Ban had been given the questions in advance.

   Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric set aside the first question for the outgoing head of the UN Correspondents Association, who lobbed a softball question on a topic Ban has no power over or responsibility for. This is how it works. UNCA used Ban to give a faux "UN" award to a Turkish billionaire only the night before, and to hand up a Haiti award with no reference to cholera or shooting at protesters.

 But the omission of the cover up of rapes in Tabit in Darfur was particularly egregious, and telling. The UNAMID mission there under Herve Ladsous on November 9 issued a statement that "village community leaders reiterated to UNAMID that they coexist peacefully with local military authorities in the area" and that no evidence of rape was found.

 On December 4, Inner City Press asked Ladsous, Why did UNAMID not say on November 9 that it was surrounded by soldiers? Video here,and embedded below.

  As is his habit, Ladsous did not answer on December 4, even with his UN Peacekeeping under fire for cover ups. It is a pattern with Ladsous. He refused Press questions for months about rapes in Eastern Congo in Minova by DRC Army units his UN Peacekeeping supports: video compilation here; Vine here.

  On the morning of December 4 Ladsous claimed to the Security Council that UNAMID's findings were "inconclusive" due to army presence. But his UNAMID's press release whitewashed the situation in Tabit and did not mention the army presence. The covering-up continues, with no credibility, as Ladsous did on the Minova raped by DR Congo Army units his UN Peacekeeping supports.

 On November 25, a wide range of groups in Darfur petitioned the UN Security Council about UNAMID's malfeasance. Inner City Press that morning obtained the letter (h/t) and put it online in full here,

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