Disputed Soft Porn Quietly Removed from UN Lobby, "They Told Us to Take
It Down"
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, February 29 --
Four days after the sale of soft porn in the UN lobby was first
covered by Inner City Press,
and two days after the
UN defended the titles then on
sale, the publications
Smooth and King were removed from the UN newsstand. In their place were
the fashion publications Elle and Vogue.
Asked where the soft porn had gone, the
newsstand attendant said forlornly, "They came and told us to take them
down." What a difference two days make. On February 27, UN Deputy
Spokesperson Marie Okabe responded to Inner City Press:
Subj:
answer to your question on newsstand
From: Marie Okabe at un.org
To: Inner City Press
Date: 2/27/2008 11:39:39 AM Eastern Standard Time
The newsstand in the Secretariat Lobby is managed by Hudson News,
through a contract with the United Nations Secretariat. The Contractor,
as a matter of policy, does not display or sell "soft core magazines"
such as Penthouse, Playboy, or Hustler that are known for soft
pornographic materials. As to other magazines, the Contractor reviews
them as they come in, and if there is material that may be offensive
they do not display or sell the magazine at the United Nations. The
Contractor does not display magazines that feature nude pictures.
This being said, it is very difficult to define a culturally uniform
standard of what is offensive and what is not. The general guideline -
beyond magazines that clearly specialize in this kind of material - is
to try to avoid any kind of material that displays nude shots or similar
material.
The Department of Management has been in contact with Hudson News and
reinforced the importance of keeping a watchful eye on this.
But there were
apparently further contacts after this message, and the
resulting article.
Due to the UN's lack of transparency, it is unclear if the Department of
Management had a change of heart after Wednesday, or if the UN's
Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of
Women, Assistant Secretary-General Rachel N. Mayanja, finally acted on
the outrage she on Monday told Inner City Press she has felt about the
magazines for six months. "I am very appalled," she said. "I had already
raised it to the Department of Management and had been assured they were
going to ask them to take it down."
UN newsstand earlier this
week: now, King and Smooth are Elle and Vogue Photo by Luiz Rampelotto
Inner City Press asked how long ago the
request had been made to the Department of Management, headed by Under
Secretary General Alicia Barcena. "At least six months ago," Ms. Mayanja
said. And so six months from now... Watch this site.
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