Amid Bombs in Southern Kordofan, UN Refuses to Report, Polio Vaccination Banned: Rights Up Front?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 20 -- Amid reports of bombings in South Kordofan, with the government bombing areas held by the SPLM-North rebels, and this group shelling regional capital Kadugli, Inner City Press on Wednesday asked UN spokesperson Farhan Haq what the UN can say about this, including in light of its announced polio vaccination plans.

  Haq said the UN has no presence in Southern Kordofan.

  Inner City Press pointed out, as it has before, that UN Peacekeeping's Abyei mission UNISFA has an office in Kadugli. There is also presumably a wider UN presence, given the statement that the UN stands ready to vaccinate throughout Southern Kordofan.

  But Haq insisted that since the UN Peacekeeping office in Kadugli is part of UNISFA whose area of action is in neighboring Abyei, the UN cannot or will not speak about bombings in Southern Kordofan.

  But Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently described to the General Assembly his new "Rights Up Front" plan, meant to address the failures shown by UN inaction in Sri Lanka in 2009 when 40,000 civilians were killed. It claims the UN will from now on proactively look out for abuses and report them.

So why not in Southern Kordofan? What does "Rights Up Front" mean?

Later on Wednesday, Haq's office sent a response not from UN Peacekeeping, whose chief Herve Ladsous has been allowed to refuse all Press questions (video here, UK coverage here), but rather from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

Subject: Your question on South Kordofan
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:30 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Regarding your question at today’s Noon briefing, we have the following from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

“The UN remains deeply concerned that the polio vaccination campaign has still not gone ahead in SPLM-N areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Cessation of hostilities is essential before the vaccination campaign can go ahead. The UN continues to call on the parties to cease hostilities and agree on outstanding logistical issues to allow this purely humanitarian initiative to go ahead.

The UN stands ready to implement the vaccination campaign at short notice as soon as the parties agree to a cessation of hostilities, provide security assurances and resolve outstanding logistical questions.”

  It will be hard to get "security assurances" amid government bombing, and rebel shelling of Kadugli -- especially if the UN refuses to look at or report on these, despite Ban's supposed "Rights Up Front" plan. Watch this site.

   

Leaving UN, Susan Rice Tells Inenr City Press Cutting South Sudan Oil Flow Shaded View of Nafie Visit

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 25 -- When US Ambassador Susan Rice Tuesday did what was billed as her final UN stakeout, nearly all of the questions were about Syria. Inner City Press asked her about Sudan -- specifically, about Omar al Bashir's adviser Nafie Ali Nafie's postponed or canceled trip to Washington, what it would take to revive it, and where Sudan is going. Video here, from Minute 21:56.

  Ambassador Rice said that while the Obama administration has a preference for improving relations with Sudan, there's Darfur and more recently the Two Areas (Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, see last week's Inner City Press story here) and Sudan's violation of the September 27, 2012 agreement with South Sudan.

  On that, Rice focused on the flow of South Sudan's oil, which she was was only to be stopped for technical and not political reasons. Khartoum claims that South Sudan is assisting the SPLM-North rebels, whose shelling of Kadugli killed an Ethiopian UN peacekeeping in mid-June.

  She said the halt on South Sudan oil flow shaded the view of the timeliness of the encounter with Nafie, and that there are steps that ought to be taken.

  Inner City Press' talks with Sudanese diplomats finds them giddy that Rice is getting this promotion to National Security Adviser in Washington. But do they know what Samantha Power would bring? Can you say, A Problem from Hell? Watch this site.

Footnote: Rice spoke more than one might have expected about cost-savings at the UN, even about whistleblower protection (which Inner City Press in recent reporting on awhistleblower in Mogadishu finds to be almost non-existent, click here for that). 

 But the sound quality of UNTV during her final stakeout certainly seemed to indicate cost-cutting: an almost unintelligible echo, video here from Minute 21:56.

  As Inner City Press reported this morning, the UN's new audio visual contractor TeamPeople is planning to shift down to a “skeleton crew” on July 1, when the US takes over the Presidency of the Security Council.

   The new Free UN Coalition for Access, formed due to attempts at censorship in the UN,  has asked the Department of Public Information why it is going to a skeleton crew, here, so far without response. As Rice said, many improvements are needed. Watch this site.

From the US Mission to the UN's transcript:

Inner City Press: You mentioned Darfur and the Two Areas, and I wanted to know—since you’ve been here, in terms of Sudan as a whole, where is it going? There was—Nafie Ali Nafie was supposed to visit the US. It’s been put off. Do you think you will continue to work on this issue in your new role? And what can you say beyond sort of putting out the fires in the three areas that you’ve mentioned? There seem to be problems throughout the country. What’s the U.S. strategy? And what would it take for Sudan to do to have someone like Nafie or someone else actually come to the United States.

Ambassador Rice: Yes, Matthew, I expect to continue to work on this issue along with many others. (background noise) Hold on—if I might finish the answer. Yes, indeed, I will continue to work on the issue. The issues of Sudan and South Sudan have from the very beginning of the Administration been high priorities for President Obama and will continue to be.

We have long indicated that our preference is for an improved relationship with Sudan but in the context of Sudan meeting the most fundamental obligations to its own people. And what we have seen tragically in Darfur and more recently in the Two Areas—and now with Sudan’s violation of the September 27th Agreement with South Sudan reflected in their decision to suspend oil flows, which are not meant to be suspended under the September 27th Agreement but only for technical reasons, not for political reasons—is discouraging and has certainly shaded our view of the timeliness of such an encounter. We remain in communication with the leadership in Khartoum. We will continue to do so. But there are important steps that the United States feels ought to be taken to protect the people of Sudan, which is the responsibility of the government, and those have always been central to our interest in and ability to make meaningful progress in improving the relationship.

On Peacekeeper Killed in Sudan, OCHA Responds, DPKO Silent, One-Way UN Information Center in Khartoum

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- While the question of who killed an Ethiopian UN peacekeeper in Kadugli, Sudan on June 14, asked by Inner City Press at the UN noon briefings of June 14 and June 18, has still not been answered by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Office of the Spokesperson or UN Peacekeeping (DPKO), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan has to its credit responded.

Acting on DPKO's failure to answer the question, a pattern under Under Secretary General Herve Ladsous, the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked in Sudan not only OCHA but the UN Information Center, which tweeted a link to OCHA's report.

That report said without qualification that the peacekeeper's death was due to shelling by the SPLM-North rebels. FUNCA asked: “This says SPLM-N killed the peacekeeper; OSSG & DPKO haven't said that. Explain?”

  UNIC Khartoum, run by the UN Department of Public Information, has yet to respond. But OCHA Sudan, again to its credit, did: “@FUNCA_info, the bulletin says 'according to media reports'... plus, SPLM-N press release claims responsibility for Kadugli shelling.”

  The part about the press release is true, making DPKO's silence all the more troubling, given that the UN immediately condemns after such claims the Taliban in Afghanistan and Al Shabaab in Somalia.

  But the OCHA report does not cite “media reports” for who was doing the deadly shelling, only for WHY they were doing it:

"On 14 June, a member of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) was killed and two others injured when shells fired by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) hit the UNISFA logistics base in Kadugli, the state capital of South Kordofan. According to media reports the shelling was aimed at military targets in Kadugli"

  But we want to again highlight OCHA's responsiveness -- they did the same thing earlier this year when a report of their on Haiti was mistranslated and called the residents of IDP camps in Haiti promiscuous. Once it was pointed out, they explained, and re-did the report.

By contrast, Ladsous' DPKO did not even explain an early attribution of the attack to South Sudan. Ladsous' spokesperson Kieran Dwyer put out a statement masquerading as a UN News article on June 14, that "'We condemn in the strongest terms this shelling. It is essential that the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan immediately cease hostilities and resume ceasefire negotiations,' Mr. Dwyer said."

This statement including South Sudan, though corrected to "SPLM-North" without explanation by Reuters, remains online not only on Reuters' website, but also on the Daily Star in Lebanon; RTTnews.com; the Premium Times in Nigeria, via NAN; Euronews and the Star in Malaysia, both again with the quadruple byline "Reporting By Michelle Nichols in New York and Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Michael Roddy."

  Still no explanation. And we note that the Department of PUBLIC Information's Khartoum UNIC did not respond.

  Rather it continues blithely one-way tweeting about the UN “Day of Public Service” and a June 24 meeting on sexual violence in conflict -- can you say, Ladsous' cover up of 135 rapes in Minova by two units of the Congolese Army that UN still supports? -- a meeting we will cover, on belatedly provided benches but not yet any worktable, which in the past facilitated new media coverage of the Security Council. Watch this site.

As UN in New York & Ladsous Won't Say Who Killed Peacekeeper, Sudan UNIC Does, But Won't Explain

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 22 -- When a UN peacekeeper get killed, how is “Who did it” announced, and by whom?

  In the case of the Ethiopian peacekeeper killed last week in Kadugli, it wasn't the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, or the Office of the Spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, despite two separate sets of questions by Inner City Press at the noon briefings of June 14 and June 18.

  On June 20, DPKO chief Herve Ladsous declined to hold a Press stakeout on Sudan, as his predecessors Alain Le Roy and Jean-Marie Guehenno almost certainly would have done.

  Rather, on June 22 the UN in Sudan flatly put in a report that the SPLM-North rebels did it. The report was by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; it was tweeted by UN Information Center in Khartoum, run by the UN Department of Public Information.

  The new Free UN Coalition for Access tweeted back at UNIC Khartoum, asking for an explanation of the statement on SPLM-N, compared to the UN in New York having said it was under investigation and then giving no further update. 

   Hours went by, but this DPI unit which had just tweeted on this topic did not response much less explain.

  On June 14, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesperson Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: the attack on Kadugli, I wanted to ask you, there have been shelling in the past by the SPLM-North [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army] of the city of Kadugli. So, is it possible to say either who did it or at least what type of shells were used?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, I do know that there is already an investigation under way to look into this incident... to try to understand and establish precisely what happened. And that is something that is under way. Therefore, we cannot really go into it any further about who may or may not have been responsible for it, okay.

Four days later on June 18, Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Eduardo Del Buey:

Inner City Press: I want to ask you about Kadugli and Sudan where the peacekeeper was killed last week. The SPLM-North [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North] has said that there had been shelling on Friday, what they called military targets in Kadugli, and they actually have now said that they’ve resumed shelling on Monday. I know that it was said initially that the UN is investigating and can’t say anything, but there is a party that is shelling the city, so I wanted to know, has there been any further development on the UN’s investigation?

Deputy Spokesperson: Well, as I said, we will have to check into it. The investigation continues; I don’t have any further update. We’ll try and get an update on the investigation.

  But in the four days since there has been no update given. Herve Ladsous refused to do a stakeout on June 20 -- in the past, when a peacekeeper was killed, the head of DPKO would take questions.

  Now the report UN Sudan (OCHA) is here, stating “On 14 June, a member of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei was killed and two others injured when shells fired by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) hit the UNISFA logistics base in Kadugli.”

  So is it that the UN in Sudan wants to tell that audience that the SPLM-N did it, but Ladsous doesn't want to? Or is Ladsous simply unable or unwilling to provide information, even on a dead peacekeeper? This is the type of issue the Free UN Coalition is working on, including through itsTwitter account @FUNCA_info. Watch this site.

On Sudan, HRW Chides UNAMID, ICG on Aid into Blue Nile from Ethiopia, Amnesty Report Online (as is FUNCA)

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 21 – In Sudan, International Criminal Court indictee Ali Kushayb continues killing in Darfur and the SPLM-North rebels shell Kadugli, recently killing a UN peacekeeper there.

In New York, the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International held a join press conference on Friday. 

  On Kushayb, Inner City Press asked HRW's Jehanne Henry about the UNAMID peacekeeping mission responding on June 5 that “fighting between Miseria and Salamat tribes took place [but] UNAMID has not observed Muhammad Ali Abdel-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb) in Darfur.”

  Henry replied that while UNAMID has a strong protection of civilians mandate, it is not fulfilling this mandate, there are many examples and this is just one. Video here, from Minute 27:13.

We have noted in the past a reticence by HRW to criticize the UN. Perhaps because UNAMID is a hybrid mission with the African Union, it is different? One wonders: when Ken Roth met with Ban Ki-moon, was the weakness of UNAMID brought up?

  And why has HRW said so little about DPKO's Herve Ladsous' lack of communication and action about the rapes in Minova by two units of the Congolese Army he continues to support? 

  About Ladsous' proposed use of the Chadian Army, on the UN's list of child soldier recruiters, in the MINUSMA mission in Mali – which not only Watchlist but also WorldVisior have criticized?

On the evening of June 20, Inner City Press asked top UN Humanitarian Valerie Amos about Amnesty's report on Blue Nile; she said that Sudan is offering to let aid in “cross line” but is opposed to cross border entry from South Sudan, which the SPLM-North is insisting on. 

  The question is whether the insistence on cross border aid is, as in Syria, used for political purposes by some.

  Renzo Pomi of Amnesty declined to get into cross-border aid, saying it is being discussed but not yet put on paper. He noted divisions in the UN Security Council, and said he'd more closely review what Amos answered Thursday night. We'll await that. The Amnesty report, including recommendations to international NGOs and UN agencies, is online here.

  EJ Hogendoorn of the International Crisis Group said if the aid into Blue Nile couldn't be cross-line, it should be cross border. He said this might be possible from Ethiopia, which would be less problematic for Sudan.

  One wonders how the killing of an Ethiopian peacekeeper in Kadugli, pretty clearly by the SPLM-North, will impact Ethiopia's positions on Sudan and South Sudan.

  The Ethiopia idea was something new, at least in UN world – just as when ICG's Comfort Ero told Inner City Press of Mali, “there must be a willingness to include all armed groups at table if they are willing to end armed struggle.” 

  That was not pen-holder France's thinking; Ero was also willing to publicly note that Romano Prodi with his Sahel report had been slow. Now that it's out – and underwhelming – we'll be writing on that soon. Watch this site.

Footnote: In a note on the ICG / Ero press conference on Mali, the UN Correspondents Association and some of its Executive Committee members' attempt to get the investigative Press thrown out of the UN was reviewed. On Friday, the first question went to UNCA, taken by a person who lost when running for the Executive Committee. We've said it before: given the payment of dues, this amounts to questions being for sale at the UN. So says the FREE UN Coalition for Access, now tweeting questions, often from journalists denied access or answers by the UN, from@FUNCA_info. Onward.

To Mali, After Reuters Misreported Liberian Troops On their Way, Plane & Training Questions: Free UN Coalition for Access

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 21, updated -- The departure on June 20 of Liberian soldiers by plane for the peacekeeping mission in Mali was reported by Reuters as a fact, as having already taken place that day. 

  This was repeated in, among others, the Chicago Tribune, the Global Post, Yahoo News and, ironically, "Eyewitness" News.

There was only one problem: the Liberian troops did NOT go to Mali.

  Inner City Press asked the UN Mission in Liberia why they had not left, along with the new Free UN Coalition for Access, now pushing all parts of the UN system to be more accessible and answer questions, including by Twitter. (The FUNCA_info twitter feed is here: @FUNCA_info. 

After that story appeared in Google News, and while the false Reuters report continued to circulate in Switzerland and back to Liberia, UNMIL responded: "The plane scheduled to carry soldiers developed mechanical problem. Once resolved AFL soldiers will be on their way to Mali."

  This was sent between 4 and 5 am Friday, New York time. Still the Reuters story circulated, even on Voice of America -- which uses US taxpayer money to pay Reuters for stories which are, in this and other cases, incorrect. 

  This story had fully four bylines or credits: "Reporting by Alphonso Toweh; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Angus MacSwan."

Did too many cooks spoil the journalistic Soup? Among other things, FUNCA fights for the rights of smaller, less corporate media -- and for its troubles faces attacks, even on its sign, from the UN and its partners.

Another Reuters four-way flub happened recently with the mis-naming of South Sudan in connection with the killing of UN peacekeeping in Kadugli in Sudan, still without explanation, with the quartet of "Reporting By Michelle Nichols in New York and Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Michael Roddy."

  In that case, while they have still not deigned to explain it and their uncorrected stories remain online, it appears that Reuters simply took and retyped mistaken information provided by UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous' spokesperson Kieran Dwyer.

  Ladsous is the one making but not taking Press questions on supposed human rights due diligence and training, while seeking to include the Chadian Army, on the UN's own list of child soldier recruiters, in the Mali peacekeeping force, along with these 50 Liberians.

  The Liberian troops were given training in May from the US Marines, called Operation Guardian Angel. Notably, one of the two units of the Congolese Army implicated in the 135 rapes at Minova in late November 2012, the 391st Battalion, was also trained by the US. Has the training changed?

  Now Inner City Press in conjunction with the new FUNCA project has on deadline asked UNMIL's top three spokespeople "if the plane scheduled to carry the soldiers was a UN plane, a Liberian plane, or a plane of another country -- and if so, which one -- and to describe any human rights and child protection training they have received or will receive. 

Update: Deputy spokesperson Aleem Siddique responded quickly, "I understand that the plane carrying the AFL troops was an American plane." And it broke down? There are other questions. Watch this site. Watch this site.

Amid Sudan Aid Blockage, No Ladsous Stakeout Despite Killed Peacekeeper, Censorship Circus

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 20 -- The UN Security Council was briefed Thursday about Sudan and South Sudan, by both Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous and his UN Humanitarian counter-part Valerie Amos.

  Despite a UN peacekeepers have recently been killed in Kadugli, pretty clearly by shelling by the SPLM-North rebels, Ladsous went he emerged with a big entourage did not speak at the stakeout. 

 His predecessors Alain Le Roy and Jean Marie Guehenno always spoke after such a death. But Ladsous has contempt for the Press.

  Amos, by contrast, took at least four questions on Sudan. Inner City Press asked about the SPLM-North's insistence on cross border aid from South Sudan: was that humanitarian or political, as some say it is in Syria? Video here from Minute 6.

Amos said the parties don't trust each other, that they may meet in Addis Ababa by the end of the month to talk at least about a vaccination program.

Inner City Press asked about a recommendation in Amnesty International's new report on Blue Nile state, that aid NGOs and UN agencies like Amos' document diversions of aid by SPLM-North and report to the Secretary General. Video herefrom Minute 3:58.

  Amos said she'd have to know more about the recommendation, where the aid that's be referred to is. There's slated for the UN at 10:15 am on Friday a press conference sponsored by Norway, that it seems like address this report. Sudan wasn't aware of the press conference and didn't think it could get into it. 

Footnote: Meanwhile, the UN's Censorship Alliance has scheduled a private session, only for its members, with incoming PGA John Ashe for the same time.

  The UN gives UNCA a big space and even a locked pantry to store their wine glass -- UNCA president Pamela Falk's wine cellar it's been dubbed -- and in turn has briefing about topics like Sudan undermined by private insider schoozefests. Meanwhile the UN has tried to take down even the sign of the alternative Free UN Coalition for Access. Have they stopped a campaign that even many in the UN have called absurd and inappropriate? Who knows. Welcome to the UN and its Censorship Alliance. Watch this site.

After Blaming South Sudan, UN's Half-Retraction Leaves It Online from Nigeria through Malaysia to Lebanon, via Reuters

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 15 -- With fighting continuing in Southern Kordofan the day after shelling killed a UN peacekeeper in Kadugli, a statement co-blaming South Sudan made and then retracted by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations continues to circulate on the Internet.

  This seems like the opposite of "peacekeeping"

  DPKO chief Herve Ladsous' spokesperson Kieran Dwyer put out a statement masquerading as a UN News article on June 14, that "'We condemn in the strongest terms this shelling. It is essential that the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan immediately cease hostilities and resume ceasefire negotiations,' Mr. Dwyer said."

  This statement including South Sudan, though corrected to "SPLM-North" without explanation by Reuters, remains online not only on Reuters' website, but also on the Daily Star in Lebanon; RTTnews.com; the Premium Times in Nigeria, via NAN; Euronews and the Star in Malaysia, both again with the quadruple byline "Reporting By Michelle Nichols in New York and Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Michael Roddy."

  At the June 14 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: the attack on Kadugli, there have been shelling in the past by the SPLM-North [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army] of the city of Kadugli. So, is it possible to say either who did it or at least what type of shells were used? By the same token there is also some dispute about an oil pipeline that was attacked in Abyei that caught fire. But, the main one I wanted to know is on Kadugli since it is an attack that killed a peacekeeper. It seems like there is only two parties could do it, either the Government or SPLM-North, or may be another rebel group, but what type of shell was used?

Spokesperson: Well, I do know that there is already an investigation under way to look into this incident in which, as we have said, one peacekeeper was killed and two more were wounded. This was obviously a serious incident which the Secretary-General has condemned and which he also referred to at the stakeout in his remarks just a little while ago as well. The most important thing is that the Government of Sudan and the SPLM-North suspend their hostilities immediately and resume ceasefire negotiations. As I have said, needless to say, after an incident of this kind, there is an investigation to try to understand and establish precisely what happened. And that is something that is under way. Therefore, we cannot really go into it any further about who may or may not have been responsible for it, okay.

There has been no update since by the UN. But the SPLM-North had said openly that they shelled Kadugli, and are moving in on it. So why did Ladsous' DPKO say South Sudan, then half-retract it, and now say nothing? 

On World Press Freedom Day this year, Inner City Press asked Dwyer how DPKO chief Herve Ladsous refusing to answer Press questions, on topics ranging from the UN's introduction of cholera into Haiti to accepting advice from a Sri Lanka military figure depicted the UN's own report as engaged in war crimes to mass rapes in the Congo, is consistent with DPKO's claim to support free press where it runs missions.

  Dwyer defended Ladsous' stonewalling, then changed the topic to return to what he claimed DPKO is most concerned with: South Sudan. Video compilation here.

Watch this site.

At UN, Ban Takes 2 Pre-Selected Questions on Syria, Proud to Get US Letter, Signed by Susan Rice, Africa as Footnote

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 14 -- The UN has always been tightly scripted. But under Secretary General Ban Ki-moon it's hit a new level. 

  The day after the White House said it is now convinced Syria has used chemical weapons and would send a letter to Ban, the UN announced Ban would make a statement and take "one or two questions."

  The venue was changed so that it could be broadcast live. The players assembled; Ban's special rostrum was rolled out.

  After congratulating John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda for his selection as the next President of the General Assembly --as noted by Inner City Press, Sri Lanka military figure Shavendra Silva also offered praise, in the new General Assembly from which the press and public are banned -- Ban predictably turned to Syria.

  Ban cited the 93,000 killed figure released yesterday by the Human Rights Data Analysis Group, in a study the UN won't say -- and doesn't know -- who funded. That might have been one of the questions -- Inner City Press put it Thursday to the UN in Geneva and New York, without substantive answer. But no.

  Ban announced, proudly it seemed, that he just received a letter from the United States, but that it would be up to them to decide if it would be released.

(Outgoing US Ambassador Susan Rice was slated to do her own stakeout between 11 am and noon; when she did, she said it was she who signed the US letter.)

  Then Ban said he would take "two questions." Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky announced the identify of both questioners before either began. Video here from Minute 5:56.

  The first was Pamela Falk of CBS, as the 2013 president of the old UN Correspondents Association, a group which just agreed with Ban's Secretariat to ban media workspace that pre-dated Ban's tenure at the UN Security Council. Seemingly in exchange, the UN is now pressing for the removal of any sign of the new Free UN Coalition for Access, even on journalists' office doors.

  But the right question wasn't asked, leading to shouted questions after Ban as he walked away. Soon he will go to China. On the road again. Watch this site.

Footnote: Ban confined to a concluding footnote the killing of a UN peacekeeper in Kadulgi, Sudan; while sometimes an item is last to give it prominence, here no question on it was taken. That is the place of Africa in today's UN -- yesterday, the UN's DESA released a report projecting the Sierra Leone will still have the lowest life expectancy at birth in the year 2095. 

  DRC and Guinea Bissau, which also have UN missions, were similarly profiled. Diplomats from each expressed disgust to Inner City Press on Thursday night, one saying "they just want to raise money." And so it goes.