UN Now Tells ICP Ambulance Stopped Because At "Incorrect" Entrance

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 -- Five hours after Inner City Press reported the UN's delay of an ambulance responding to a worker's seizure barely 100 feet from the Security Council, the UN Monday night provided a guarded response, claiming that it was the ambulance's fault for approaching from the wrong gate.

While it is questionable that such a dodge would hold up in a court of law, the UN also claims immunity from all lawsuits, all responsibility, so we will perhaps never know.

At 2:30 pm on April 16, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon top two spokesman the following, in writing:

"Hello - This is a request, in the context of a troubling / exclusive story, for the UN's response to staff complaints that earlier today when an NYC Ambulance came to respond to an audio technician collapsing some 100 feet from the Security Council, the ambulance was delayed at the First Avenue gate:

'when an ambulance and fire truck arrived at the UN on First Avenue they were told that only fire trucks could come in, not ambulances... a UN Security officer closest to the technician's collapse on Monday had a walkie-talkie which reportedly did not function. Finally, the UN Security guard at the First Avenue gate said he would take it on himself and allow the ambulance in. Even then, the emergency medical technicians were led through the Visitors' Tent, leading to further delay.'

"As raised at today's noon briefing, I have other questions. But this is a request for your / DSS' response, an email in reply to this question, as quickly as possible."

  Four hours later, after Inner City Press learned from whistleblowing UN staff even more about the incident, including the first name of the seizure victim -- Julio -- and what hospital he is in -- Presbyterian -- Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office sent this (non) response:

Subject: Re: Your question
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 6:31 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

There was no delay in allowing the ambulance personnel into the premises once they arrived at the correct location. We will provide a full reply at the noon briefing tomorrow.

  Inner City Press immediately replied:

"But tomorrow at noon I will be covering the Thabo Mbeki / Haile Menkerios briefing of the Security Council about the two Sudans. I asked your Office a question, asking for a response: hours later you send a vague denial and say you will give the full answer to at the noon briefing. I neither understand nor agree with this strange way of replying. Please explain asap."

  After that and another story, the following came in:

There was no delay in allowing the ambulance personnel into the premises once they arrived at the correct location. There was some delay when the ambulance was repositioned as explained below. However, it’s important to note that SSS EMT personnel were with the patient at 1212 providing basic first aid and stabilizing him. In fact all internal procedures for dealing with this worked well.

The ambulance first showed up at Post 105 (delegates entrance) instead of Post 106 (visitors entrance) where it would have afforded much more convenient access for conveying the patient to the ambulance. Once the ambulance repositioned to 106 (visitors entrance) the first responders came into the visitors entrance without delay. The patient was then transported by stretcher chair via Post 106 to the ambulance parked outside the post.

The statement in the Inner City Press report that upon arrival at the UN Security Post the EMS team was told that only fire trucks could come in, is unfounded. It is standard procedure to utilize Post 106 for access by EMS personnel responding to medical emergencies occurring in the GA building area, and therefore there was no requirement for any of the two responding vehicles to enter the premises, nor would it have made any difference if they did.

On the statement that one of the responding UN Security Officers radio did not function, this is also unfounded. The supervisor on the scene reported that the radios of all responding personnel were in working order.

Further, the final statement that after more than five minutes the Officer at the gate took it upon himself to let the ambulance in, is also unfounded, as the ambulance was relocated to the established staging area for receipt of the patient and there was no need for it to enter the premises.

  We publish the statement in full, even as UN staff express outrage to Inner City Press about the delay and dodge. One staff member Monday night in the North Law Building described to Inner City Press having watched a man die waiting for an ambulance inside the UN, and vowed to crawl out to the sidewalk, if necessary.

  The decree of distrust between UN staff and the Ban Ki-moon administration is exemplified by a "Motion of No Confidence" circulating April 16 in the North Lawn, regarding which Inner City Press immediately sought a response from the official complained of, so far without response. We will have more on this. Watch this site.

UN Ban's Office Withholds Answers on NY Safety, No Response on Congo Corruption

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 -- For UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office to have no information, or say it has no information, to respond to Press questions has become the norm.

  But on April 16, alongside unanswered questions on the Congo, Sudan, Timor Leste and other topics, Ban's spokesperson's office went further. Hours after Inner City Press asked for a direct response to a question about the delay of an ambulance entering the UN, the Office provided a vague denial then said that the full reply would be given the next day, not to Inner City Press but at the day's noon briefing.

  This is strange because Inner City Press didn't ask the question at the noon briefing, and explicitly asked for a direct response. It is also purposelessly inconvenient, as a briefing about Sudan of the Security Council by UN official Haile Menkerios and Thabo Mbeki begins at 11:30 am Tuesday.

  Does Ban's spokesperson's office not want Inner City Press to be present to ask a follow up question? Or does it have another motive for withholding from Inner City Press an answer to a question it asked, in order to later give it (first) at the noon briefing? We'll have more on this.

  For now, is the question Inner City Press e-mailed to Ban's two two spokesmen, their answer and Inner City Press' reply, followed by excerpts from the April 16 noon briefing with questions not answered.

  Inner City Press asked, in writing:

"Hello - This is a request, in the context of a troubling / exclusive story, for the UN's response to staff complaints that earlier today when an NYC Ambulance came to respond to an audio technician collapsing some 100 feet from the Security Council, the ambulance was delayed at the First Avenue gate:

'when an ambulance and fire truck arrived at the UN on First Avenue they were told that only fire trucks could come in, not ambulances... a UN Security officer closest to the technician's collapse on Monday had a walkie-talkie which reportedly did not function. Finally, the UN Security guard at the First Avenue gate said he would take it on himself and allow the ambulance in. Even then, the emergency medical technicians were led through the Visitors' Tent, leading to further delay.'

"As raised at today's noon briefing, I have other questions. But this is a request for your / DSS' response, an email in reply to this question, as quickly as possible."

Four hours later, after Inner City Press learned from whistleblowing UN staff even more about the incident, including the first name of the seizure victim and what hospital he is in, Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office sent this (non) response:

Subject: Re: Your question
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 6:31 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

There was no delay in allowing the ambulance personnel into the premises once they arrived at the correct location. We will provide a full reply at the noon briefing tomorrow.

Inner City Press immediately replied:

"But tomorrow at noon I will be covering the Thabo Mbeki / Haile Menkerios briefing of the Security Council about the two Sudans. I asked your Office a question, asking for a response: hours later you send a vague denial and say you will give the full answer to at the noon briefing. I neither understand nor agree with this strange way of replying. Please explain asap."

But to this there was no response or explanation. To defer to the next day's noon briefing a response to an e-mailed question the day before, while not answering questions that were asked at that day's noon briefing about Timor L'este and the Congo, for example, seems more than a little strange. From the April 16 noon briefing transcript of the UN:

Inner City Press: Sure, I want to, about Timor and the Congo. I saw the Secretary-General’s statement on the election in Timor-Leste and it looks like the winner is José Maria de Vasconcelos. He used to be a guerrilla leader who actually appears in UN reports as recommended for prosecution for illegal transfer of weapons, and so I wonder, the Secretary-General’s congratulations, is he aware of this previous past of the individual and one, is he saying that that’s now entirely forgotten, or is there no follow through by the UN system on its own recommendation for prosecution of this individual?

Deputy Spokesperson Del Buey: I’ll have to check on that Matthew, I don’t have anything on it.

And six hours later when the transcript went up, there was still not answer, nor any commitment to provide an answer. The UN report Inner City Press cites is in paragraph 134 of S/2006/822 --

134. F-FDTL weapons. The evidence relating to the unlawful movement, possession and use of F-FDTL weapons is described in paragraphs 95 and 96 and demonstrates that those weapons were distributed by and/or with the knowledge and approval of the following persons: Roque Rodrigues, Taur Matan Ruak, Tito da Costa Cristovão, aka Lere Anan Timor, Manuel Freitas, aka Mau Buti, and Domingos Raul, aka Rate Laek Falur. The Commission recommends that these persons be prosecuted for illegal weapons transfer. The Commission recommends further that of the persons who received the F-FDTL weapons on 24 and 25 May, only those who used the weapons in subsequent criminal activity be prosecuted. This includes, for example, Oan Kiak, who used a F-FDTL weapon during the incident at Mercado Lama on 25 May. Should a decision be taken to prosecute all individuals who received weapons for unlawful possession, the Commission holds records identifying these persons.

So why couldn't or wouldn't Ban's spokesperson's office answer this question, while withholding an answer to the ambulance question? Likewise on the Congo, a story Inner City Press published three days ago on April 13, still no response from Ban's spokesperson's office:

Inner City Press: I wanted to ask on the Congo, maybe you will have something, maybe DPKO will have something on this.  There is a controversy in MONUSCO in eastern Congo, Walikale, the town where there was mass rapes and allegedly with inaction of MONUSCO at the time.  There was a quick implementation or quick-impact project set up, five grinding mills into Walikale to somehow make life better there, but I am informed that four of the five mills were never installed, and that basically money has been wasted, they are rotting, rusting, and I just wonder, since this was a high-profile thing at one time, with the UN trying to make good in Walikale, what’s the status of that project and why has there been no follow-through?
Deputy Spokesperson:  Matthew, Matthew, you will understand I have to check into that for you; I don’t have that information with me.

Three days after the article, nothing; six hours after the briefing, nothing. But on April 13, lead spokesman Martin Nesirky claims that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations had provided an answer and explanation, about the use of private military contractors, which DPKO had not and still has not provided:

Inner City Press: Sure, I wanted to ask you — I’d asked you before — about this idea of whether the UN, particularly MONUSCO, hires private military contractors and I have since become aware of three contracts with Saracen Uganda, which is widely described as a private military contractor. It is to provide, they say, unarmed security in, in Entebbe and in Kampala. But, what I wanted to know is the following: doesn’t MONUSCO have its own peacekeepers and even a DSS component? What’s the rationale for a UN peacekeeping mission hiring outside security that some people call mercenaries and some don’t, and how does it just, how does it comply with GA resolutions and other UN statements about the use of mercenaries?

Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: Well, I think, with all due respect, Matthew, nobody except you is using that word, because this is, this is something that DPKO has explained very clearly to you already, and you are bringing it here to raise it again.

Inner City Press: I will tell you, I have asked all week for them to explain it. All they confirm is that Saracen was hired, and in terms of them being mercenaries, I can tell you for a fact that the Somalia-Eritrea sanctions committee viewed, had issues with them performing, for, in Somalia, so I am just asking…

Spokesperson: Well, let me just…

Inner City Press: it’s been a week; I am waiting. What is the statement? What is the clear statement of why the UN hires private security?

Spokesperson: Well, as I say, DPKO have addressed that, and let’s also just understand that the people we are talking about, this company, those people are being used to control access, in other words, at the entrances to the UN facilities that are in Uganda. We are not talking about inside the DRC. And also, it is important to note that those people are unarmed. That’s what I believe you have already been told. I don’t have anything further on that.

Inner City Press: Given that the company is owned by the President’s brother of Uganda, can you understand why? Maybe you can try to say it’s only me, but, in fact, it is not, that there are some concerns of the UN hiring, seemingly unnecessarily, an outside private military contractor owned by the relative of the president of the country they are in.

Spokesperson: As I say, Matthew, I think DPKO, Peacekeeping Operations, have responded to you.

In fact, DPKO never explained Saracen, and on the wider question said five days ago, without update, that "On private security more generally, I am still following up." Where is the follow up?

The April 16 UN noon briefing ended surreally, making it seem pointless to attend the rest of the week:

Inner City Press: I want to ask a procedural question. It seem like a lot of the questions weren’t answered; you said 'I don’t have anything on that.' Is there some way to know the answers that you do have?

Deputy Spokesperson: Ask the questions.

Inner City Press: Okay. All right, do you have anything on Latin America?

Deputy Spokesperson: What would you like to know?

Inner City Press: Any comment on the failure of the Summit of the Americas to come up with a statement? I mean, I guess we can go hit and guess, but if you prepare a statement, let’s just hear it.

Deputy Spokesperson: Well no, no — look, Matthew, this is a briefing at which we provide you with information of what the Secretariat is doing and we take a few questions every day.

Inner City Press: Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson: If you want to talk about the situation in Latin America, again, the Summit of the America is under the aegis of the Organization of American States, they run it, you might want ask them for their comments on how they see the outcome of that Summit.

Inner City Press: How about Guinea-Bissau? Do you have an if-asked on Guinea-Bissau? It seems like there was readout of the Secretary-General’s call with the Foreign Minister of Portugal where he said he had immediately condemned the coup, but some people noticed he didn’t immediately put out a statement once the military did what it did. Was this a recognition by the Secretariat that initially it wasn’t a coup? What’s the current understanding of the Secretariat on the situation in Guinea-Bissau?

Deputy Spokesperson: Well, let me read to you what I have.

Inner City Press: Okay.

Deputy Spokesperson: Basically, what the Secretary-General said was that he was in close contact with the SRSG in Guinea-Bissau, and they were determining what the course of events were. The course of events have been very fast-flowing, and when we have something else for you, we will get it to you.

[The Deputy Spokesperson later clarified that his Office had issued the following statement on Friday, 13 April:

The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms the unconstitutional seizure of power by the Armed Forces of Guinea-Bissau on 12 April. This action occurred as the people of Guinea-Bissau were preparing to go to the polls on 29 April to vote for a new President. The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the reported arrest and detention of key public officials. He calls on the Armed Forces of Guinea-Bissau to immediately and unconditionally release all detainees and ensure the safety and security of the general population, as well as of members of the international community in Guinea-Bissau.

The Secretary-General underscores the need for the Armed Forces and its leadership to respect civilian authority, constitutional order and the rule of law, as well as to take urgent and immediate steps to return the country to civilian rule. He urges the people of Guinea-Bissau to remain calm and to refrain from violence or acts of vandalism during this period. He reiterates the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support the constitutional order in Guinea-Bissau in ensuring sustainable peace and stability in the country.]

Inner City Press: Do you have anything on Heglig? This is my last question, you had a readout about attacks by Sudan in South Sudan -- actually, there may be more of this, Warrap State, they are saying was also attacked, but do you have anything the other way, if I were to say to you what is the status of South Sudan being in Heglig, would you remain alarmed?

Deputy Spokesperson: Well, we are not going to submit on a daily basis to complete interrogation. I have given you what I have given you on Sudan, and that’s basically all we have to say, okay?

  No - not okay. Watch this site.

UN Delays Access of Ambulance Responding to Emergency by Security Council

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 -- The UN delayed entry by a New York City ambulance on Monday after one of its media technicians fell to the ground barely 100 feet from the Security Council, the victim of an apparent seizure.

  Multiple UN staff complained to Inner City Press that despite calling the City's 911 emergency line, when an ambulance and fire truck arrived at the UN on First Avenue they were told that only fire trucks could come in, not ambulances.

  A UN staff member in the basement Publishing Unit died of a stroke after a similar ambulance blocking, as Inner City Press exclusively reported as well as a similar delay for a journalist, Han Janitschek, apparently without follow-up, after which it announced that the UN would henceforth allow Emergency Medical Service ambulances in, and that staff should call 911.

  But this instruction had obviously not been conveyed. And a UN Security officer closest to the technician's collapse on Monday had a walkie-talkie which reportedly did not function.

  Finally, after what witnesses say was more than five minutes, the UN Security guard at the First Avenue gate said he would take it on himself and allow the ambulance in. Even then, the emergency medical technicians were led through the Visitors' Tent, leading to further delay.

  Earlier this year, Inner City Press exclusively reported that UN Security found 14 kilograms of cocaine in the UN mail room and only disclosed it, first to others, after it was reported by Inner City Press. What will they say now?

  The UN fought long and hard not to allow the Fire Department to ever inspect the UN headquarters building, finally relenting only after New York City threatened to block City students from taking paid tours of the UN.

  More recently, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has sat on documented claim that UN Peacekeepers introduced cholera to Haiti; the UN argues it has immunity, some say impunity, from legal requirements that apply to others.

  But to block the access of an ambulance?

  The UN has what it calls a "protection of civilians" mandate in many of its missions around the world, but cannot even protect, or allow the protection of, those in its own buildings in New York. Watch this site.

UN Installs Cameras to Film Reporters' New Offices, No Whistleblower Zone

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/un1panopticon121409.html

UNITED NATIONS, December 14, updated -- As UN correspondents were moved over the weekend to smaller offices without floor to ceiling walls, the UN's lack of respect or understanding for independent media became clear. Directly above the journalists' cubicles, Inner City Press discovered a spherical black security camera. Even investigative journalists meeting with UN whistleblowers would be filmed under this arrangement.

One long time correspondent, when Inner City Press pointed out the camera, called it "creepy." Another asked how it is different than the UN bugging journalists' telephone conversations or reading their mail.

UN 360 degree security camera over journalists' cubicles

Those in charge of the relocation space for the media during the UN's Capital Master Plan renovation have problematic relations with independent media.

CMP chief Michael Adlerstein, for example, demanded of the Press "did you make a mistake" regarding reporting of a death at the UN, and asked "how should you be punished?" He has also barred the Press from his Town Hall meetings about the CMP.

The head of the Department of Management, Angela Kane, convened and summarized a meeting in May 2009 at which the UN's top legal officer, spokesperson and speech writer strategized on legal threats against three publications, including this one, which they sought to be removed from the Google News data base.

As one Greek correspondent has confirmed, with documents leaked from within the UN Department of Political Affairs, the UN system including the UN Development Program pays and controls many of the journalists which cover it.

But to actually monitor and film in their offices the journalists who are trying to hold the UN accountable to member states and the public is a new low. Watch this site.

Footnote: one wonders, too, if this means that Ambassadors and other diplomats will also be surveilled.

Update I: a UN official with responsibility over the swing space into which UN correspondents are being moved has argued to Inner City Press that the cameras are only there to film the doorways, to see who enters. But they are round and film 360 degrees. Watch this site.

Update II: one of the surveillance cameras has been moved, after a threat to cover it with paper or disable it. But if one has thus been moved, shouldn't all be moved or removed? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1panopticon121409.html

At UN, Man Bites Man as Contracts Cut, Snafus of Relocation, Flushing Out the Press

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unin2out072409.html

UNITED NATIONS, July 24, updated July 27 -- A UN security officer was bitten earlier this month, not by a dog but by a just-terminated staff member. Special Operations officer Peter Kolonias, responding to a disturbance in the UN's building on the west side of First Avenue and 44th Street, was confronted by an individual distraught by his contract's termination.*

The UN sources who told Inner City Press about the biting, which has not been reported by the UN at its noon briefing nor in any other media, said that further adverse reactions by staff are to be expected, with the UN having eliminated the so-called permanent contract as of July 1, and now moving remaining staff members out of its headquarters to locations as far west as Madison Avenue and as far east as Long Island City.

In the course of Inner City Press' reporting on July 24 to confirm the man bites man story, a range of staff members complained about their moves, in connection with the UN's Capital Master Plan renovation. Members of the Office of Human Resources Management, after being told there would be no more changes to the relocation plan, were recent told they will move across the East River into Queens.

Longtime Conference Management staffers have been told they will relocate to "above the liquor store" on Second Avenue. "Whiskey for breakfast," one staffer said, questioning moving his unit four blocks away from the meeting rooms they service.

The UN's Under Secretary General for Management Angela Kane told the Press earlier this week that the temporary General Assembly building rising on the UN's North Lawn will not have a bar, as the current building does in its second floor Delegates' Lounge. Ms. Kane spoke rosily of the contract changes that resulted in the elimination of permanent contracts -- and, the Staff Union says, in the death of the independent international civil service -- and of progress with the Capital Master Plan.

CMP chief Michael Adlerstein, who along with Ms. Kane changed previous plans for enclosed media work space to an "open office" system in which whistleblowers could not approach the Press, is said to be angered concerned about a Dear Colleague letter circulated in the U.S. House of Representatives about this aspect of the CMP, and a Kane-led meeting to target the Press. But this reporting on events at the UN will continue -- particularly when man bites man. Watch this site.

Update of July 27 -- Three days after Inner City Press published the above, UN Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq confirmed the a biting incident took place in the DC-1 building, and stated that the biter was, according to the UN Development Program, a job seeker, and argued that the underlying recruitment process was transparent. Haq referred all other questions - including whether the individual was maced and taken to the local police precinct - to UNDP. Inner City Press has asked UNDP, which has declined in the past to answer basic questions, and any update will appear on this site.

Update of July 27, 6:35 p.m. -- Inner City Press asked UNDP in writing:

Please provide all available UNDP information on the biting incident I asked about at noon: Farhan says UNDP tells him the biter was a job SEEKER, and that the recruitment was transparent. Please name the underlying job, the job seeker, and what happened.

Six hours later, UNDP's Christina LoNigro replied:

There was an unfortunate and isolated incident involving an employee of UNDP on 23rd June 2009. UN Security and the New York Police Department responded, and it is now being handled by the authorities of the host government.

But what of the biter's name, the specifics of the post and recruitment, and what happened at and after the 17th police precinct? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/unin2out072409.html

At UN, Press Table Relocated by Implicated Security Official, Under Picasso Pretext, of Porno and Preferential Treatment

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undss6chaos042709.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 27, updated -- A senior UN security officer, part of promotion irregularities exposed by a memo leaked to this publication by Department of Safety and Security whistle blowers, on Monday morning ordered the relocation of the press table that for three years has been to the side of Security Council entrance.

Captain Mark Hoffman, named for one of the now-questioned promotions in the leaked memo, pointed at the table and Inner City Press and told an officer under his command, that has to move. Asked for an explanation, he said, it is “blocking the Picasso.” There is a tapestry replica of “Femme Sur l”Echelle,” Woman on the Ladder, along the wall.

Inner City Press moved the table away from the front of the replica. Captain Hoffman persisted, no I am going to move it away from the Security Council. Inner City Press suggested that he ask the UN's Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit, which is charged with ensuring the media access to newsmakers at the Security Council and elsewhere. Hoffman announced his intent to MALU's chief, and had the officer under his command move the table to a back area where diplomats and others are allowed to smoke.

While Inner City Press assisted the officer in moving the table, it appears that Captain Hoffman's reasoning to order the relocation of a table that has been in the same spot for at least three years was retaliatory.

Beyond the promotion irregularity leak, which has given rise to a formal demand by the UN Staff Union for an independent outside investigation including of Captain Hoffman's superior Bruno Henn, last week following the arrest of UN employee for child pornography, Inner City Press asked the Office of the Spokesperson to confirm or deny that several senior DSS officers have been informed that they are under investigation for similar -- but non-child -- issues.

Inner City Press asked the Office of the Spokesperson

(5a) The child porn guilty plea, on which I am asking for updates on what the UN does, was by "Jose Antonio Ortega Osona, 40, a Spanish citizen who lives in New York, pleaded guilty Friday in Dartmouth provincial court to a Criminal Code charge of possessing child pornography and a Customs Act charge of smuggling prohibited goods."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9011475.html

(5b) Finally, for now, a simple factual question best answered in this format / medium:

please confirm or deny that there are several senior DSS / SSS officers at UNHQ in NY who have received letters of reprimand for pornography, and explain any difference of treatment from that accorded on the same charges to a lower level staff member. To ensure your answer, I suggest you ask OHRM, OIOS and DSS.

While the Spokesperson's Office has yet to answer the question, DSS sources tell Inner City Press that Hoffman is among the officials now belatedly being considered not for promotion but demotion. We continue to await the Spokesperson's Office's answers to the questions asked last week.

A lower level UN official lost his job for viewing and forwarding pornography, as Inner City Press reported. Many now complain that higher ups engaged in the same behavior are being given preferential treatment. To cover the Security Council from a table that has for at least three years been open to all reporters is not preferential treatment. But its arbitrary removal is viewed as retaliation, as yet another sign of lawlessness in the UN, in this case by a purported representative of the law. We will have more on this.

Update of 11:30 a.m. -- after the above report, the table's relocation was partial revoked, and the table moved back to the side of the Security Council entrance. "I got calls from the highest levels," Captain Hoffman came to Inner City Press to say, quite affably. Let's hope it stays that way.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undss6chaos042709.html

UN's Lack of Risk Assessment May Delay Capital Master Plan, Force Exit of Officials

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/uncmp1riskdss041509.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 15, updated -- The UN's multi-billion dollar relocation and rehabilitation Capital Master Plan may be delayed by the failure of the UN's Department of Safety and Security (DSS) to conduct risk analysis of the relocation spaces.

In the third of a series of resolutions complaining about DSS, the Staff Council has unanimously "not[ed] the multiple failures of the Chief of the Security and Safety Services at Headquarters to follow mandated procedures" and has now "request[ed] the Secretary General to suspend all scheduled staff transfers to the new office spaces until such time as the mandated Security Risk Analyses have been properly executed." [Since on-camera UN Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq said this Resolution 43/5 is not known, Inner City Press puts it online here.]

In recent months, DSS has increasingly been surrounded by scandals, from promotion and placement irregularities exposed in memo leaked to Inner City Press to the death of staff member Jesmel Navoa due to DSS failure or delay in calling New York City's 911 emergency services providers, and to allow them access to UN Headquarters, click here for that story.

The chief of DSS, David Veness, ostensibly resigned in the wake of the deadly December 2007 bombing of the UN in Algeria. He is still however in his office on 45th Street across First Avenue from UN Headquarters -- the only UN building in New York for which a Security Risk Analysis had been conducted. Inner City Press is told by sources that Veness will finally be leaving at the end of April, and that the internal short list process has focused on an American from the U.S. State Department's diplomatic security service.

The man responsible for security of the UN in New York is Bruno Henn. Many DSS officers say Henn is rarely present, and for some time used his official car to drive back and forth to him home in the suburbs. Questions about his educational background and previous employment have gone unanswered by the UN. Now he is being targeted by name by the Staff Union, and blamed for the potentially expensive delay in implementing the Capital Master Plan.

The argument is that a Security Risk Management System complete with SRAs was mandated by the UN Chief Executives Board in October 2004, then by the General Assembly in January 2005. It was implemented at other UN headquarters, in Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi and regional hubs in Thailand, Lebanon, Ethiopia and elsewhere. Only in New York was it not carried out -- and Bruno Henn is blamed.

The counter-argument, as best as Inner City Press can make it out, is that the UN in New York relies on the City's government and its Police Department. But Article 100 of the UN Charter states that "In the performance of their duties the Secretary-General and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the Organization." [Click here for the Charter sections 99 and 100; the former Inner City Press has been citing of late in light of Ban Ki-moon's failure to raise the "bloodbath" in Sri Lanka formally to the Security Council.] More practically, NYC officials have been less than enthusiastic about the UN's security and construction plans.

It is anticipated that the Staff Union, pursuant to its recent resolution, will further brief the Press on April 16. Even before that, Inner City Press will be seek responses from the UN Secretariat, including on specific risks in the current and prospective UN buildings. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/uncmp1riskdss041509.html