As
UN Re-opens
38th Floor,
Banning Press
&
Elections
Allowed by
UNCA
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 16 --
With UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon now
scheduled to
move back into
the 38th floor
office in the
glass
skyscraper on
December 17,
the lack of
focus on
access and
even space
for the press
has become
clear.
Under
the UN's
Capital Master
Plan, Ban
moved to the
temporary
North Lawn
building, and
the press
corps was
moved into
smaller space
in
cubicles above
the Dag
Hammarskjold
Library.
As Inner City
Press
exclusively
reported, and
opposed, the
UN had
installed
monitoring
cameras over
reporters'
cubicles.
(These were
then taken
down.)
There have
been other Capital
Master Plan
issues,
ranging from
Hurrican Sandy
back to
"fixed" but broken
elevators to
undrinkable
water. But
that's another
story, or 40
stories.
Now
as Ban moves
back to the
38th floor,
the press
corps will
remain in
the cubicles
over the
library at
least until
February.
And
after a
December 10
meeting, not
announced in
advance to
other
reporters or
even all UN
Correspondents
Association
members of the
Executive
Committee,
between a
handful of
UNCA insiders
and the UN,
it emerged
(only to UNCA
members) that
media space
will be
reduced by
more than
forty percent.
To
the insiders,
this seems not
to matter. Reuters,
for example,
is sure
to get it own
enclosed
office, as is
Agence
France-Presse.
Both of
these, along
with Voice of
America, urged
in 2012 the UN
to
dis-accredit
investigative
and critical
press. See VOA letter
to the UN,
here.
Now they
prepare a
$250 a plate
reception with
Ban Ki-moon on
December 19,
giving prizes
to their own
Executive
Committee
members and
even an award
to Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
Even just on
space, while
it might be
one thing for
Western wire
services to be
guaranteed the
largest
offices and
other
privileges,
why should
their
personnel who
rarely report
on the UN have
easier
"Resident"
access than
developing
world
journalists
who have
covered the UN
for years?
On
December 7, to
combat all
this and to
push for UN
Under
Secretaries-General
like Ban's
lawyer
Patricia
O'Brien and
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous to
have to hold
briefings and
answer
questions, the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
or FUNCA was
launched.
Ladsous has refused to answer questions for
example about
working with
units of the
Congolese Army
accused of
rape in
Minova, video
here, and
of UN
Peacekeeping's
dealings with
General
Shavendra
Silva of the
Sri Lankan
Army, depicted
by a UN report
as engaged in
war crimes.
Silva was
sponsored by
the UNCA
Executive
Committee to
deny these
charges inside
the UN Dag
Hammarskhold
Library
Auditorium, click
here for
fall-out.
On
December 14,
the UNCA
Executive
Committee
announced that
it was
putting off
the elections
that its own
Constitution
requires it to
hold by
December 15,
before leaving
office and
power on
December 31.
Here's
from UNCA's
Constitution,
Article 3,
Section 3:
"The
members of the
Executive
Committee
shall assume
their duties
on the
first day of
January
following the
election and
shall hold
office
until the last
day of
December of
the year.
Elections of
the
Executive
committee
shall be held
between
November 15
and December
15."
Despite this,
they say they
intend to hold
over. But
legally, they
have no
powers,
including
to run
elections,
after December
31.
The question
has been put
to UNCA's
president, who
has not
provided any
answer, as
also happened
when the evidence
of the
dis-acceditation
push by three
Executive
Committee
members
and UNCA
itself was
obtained under
the Freedom of
Information
Act (a version
of which FUNCA
asks the UN to
adopt.)
Will
this blatant
UNConstitutional
violation of
election rules
be brought
up on or
before
December 19 by
Ban Ki-moon or
UN
Ambassadors,
particularly
those like
France which
talk so much
about
democracy in
other
countries like
Cote d'Ivoire,
before they
party with
UNCA?
Earlier
on
December 19,
Ban has
scheduled his
"end of the
year"
press
conference. At
such events,
his spokesman
tightly
controls
questions, and
until now has
always given
the first
question to
UNCA.
Should that
continue on
December 19?
Can it? The
questions have
been
raised to the
UN. Watch this
site.
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