UN
Maher Nasser Partner in
Censorship in UN and UAE Silent
Across 1st Ave On Q of Guterres
Useless
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive CJR PFT
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, February 20 -- The
United Arab Emirates,
ostensibly criticized by the
UN for jailing human rights
defender Ahmed Mansoor,
recently outed for its spying
and censorship, and for the
Dubai ruling family's
incarceration and worse
of Latifa bint Mohammed
al-Maktoum, is set to be
assisted by the UN with Expo
2020 Dubai.
Tellingly,
as Inner City Press
exclusively reported on
February 2, the head of UN
Secretary General's Department
of Global Communcations Alison
Smale, who has without due
process banned
investigative Inner City Press
from any entry of the UN since
3 July 2018, was naming as
"Commissioner General" of Expo
2020 Dubai her deputy Maher
Nasser whose false complaint
against Inner City Press as
one of the few bases of her
exclusion edict.
On February
20 when Inner City Press was
called on - unlike in the UN
from which it has banned now
for the 231st day - and asked
a question about Antonio
Guterres neglecting to even
attend the UNSC's urgent
January 26 meeting on
Venezuela and being called
useless and worse in the US
Senate, Nasser was present -
but said nothing. He is
responsible for the banning of
Inner City Press from the UN,
with a false complaint and not
statement or action in the
last 231 days. We'll have
more, much more, on this.
After
publishing its exclusive,
Inner City Press in writing
asked Smale, who has promised
answers, and Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric as well as
Guterres himself, "in the
context of the Pope's comments
in the UAE, immediately
describe the UN system's role
and financing, in or out, for
2020 Expo Dubai and the SG's
view of freedom of expression
and academic freedom in the
UAE and what the UN's
involvement will do to advance
these - or not. The Pope in
the UAE called on
countries throughout the Gulf
region to extend citizenship
rights to religious
minorities. The pope
called for "societies where
people of different beliefs
have the same right of
citizenship and where only in
the case of violence in any of
its forms is that right
removed." Citizenship
rights in the United Arab
Emirates are predominantly
reserved for native-born
Muslims?" Smale, Guterres and
Dujarric answered. But with
the latter two on the road
again on February 8 deputy
Farhan Haq read out: " I am
happy to announce that the
Secretary-General has
designated Maher Nasser,
Director of the Outreach
Division in our very own
Department of Global
Communications, as
Commissioner-General for the
Organization’s participation
in Expo 2020 in the United
Arab Emirates. The
theme of the Dubai Expo 2020 —
“Connecting Minds, Creating
the Future” — is in line with
the United Nations strategic
focus on youth and
innovation. The
international exposition runs
from 20 October 2020 to 10
April 2021. The
Department of Global
Communications, in close
collaboration with other UN
system entities, will leverage
the opportunity of Expo 2020
to showcase the central role
of the Organization as a
proponent of ideas, a catalyst
for action and a driver of
multilateral solutions to
global problems. Mr.
Nasser has over 30 years of
experience working with the UN
in multiple duty stations, and
at the Department of Global
Communications. More in
a press release in our
office." Inner City Press is
banned, 219 days now, and
can't reach that office. Only
four correspondents asked
questions on February 8, none
on this, be design. The UN is
dying, or more accurately is
being killed, by the
above-named.
While Smale
was asked by UN Special
Rapporteur for Freedom of
Expression David
Kaye about the lack of
due process and how Inner City
Press could appeal, she never
answered on that. Instead, her
response
said that Inner City Press'
written questions to the
Office of the Spokesperson
Stephane Dujarric would be
answered. But this has not
been true, for weeks at
a time. Even before former New
York Times Berlin bureau chief
Smale banned Inner City Press,
there was no substantive
answer to its questions about
whistleblower's complaints
to it that Smale diverted
funds meant for her
Department's swindling Swahili
programming to English
language social media
lavishing praise on Guterres.
There is still no
public financial disclosure
for Smale on the UN's website,
unlike officers who came in
after her. Smale's email
naming Nasser is below. But
here's their record with
censorship:
After
receiving from Smale's
staffer Tal Mekel at 6 pm on
Friday 20 October 2017 a
letter clearly drafted by
Nasser, Inner City Press
immediately published a story
about it. The Free
UN Coalition for Access,
an actual press freedom
advocacy group which UN
official Hua Jiang had threatened
Inner City Press'
accreditation for posting a
sign for on its then UN office
door, put out a press release
and flier. And on Monday 23
March 17 before 11 am Inner
City Press sent the following
to Smale and to Guterres and
his deputy Amina J. Mohammed:
"The UN threat letter sent to
me after 5 pm on Friday,
attached, coming as it does as
Inner City Press pursues
stories not only of UN corruption
but, most pressingly, inaction
amid mass killings in Cameroon
and elsewhere is troubling...
As to Mr Nasser's misuse of
the DPI / MALU threat process
to try to win an argument he
escalated on Twitter on
October 19, saying I should be
less negative about the UN
when I noted how many clicks
it takes to find sexual abuse
and exploitation information
on the new DPKO site he
promoted - before he blocked
me on Twitter on October 20 --
great outreach there, now
communications are broken off
-- the audio
linked to in the article is
from the stakeout area by the
Secretariat lobby elevators.
It did not violate even this
rule that the DPI and DSS
mis-negotiated, not with the
press corps but a subset of
the UN Correspondents
Association, whose members by
the way do not obtain or even
seek prior consent for
recording, and membership in
which is not and cannot be
required to be a resident
correspondent." But Smale,
using Nasser's bogus complaint
and ignoring Inner City Press'
response, has banned Inner
City Press for 213 days and
counting.
Here now is her
email naming her deputy Censor
to head an Exposition of
Censorship in the UAE: "From:
Julie James Sent: Friday,
January 25, 2019 9:56 PM To:
Alison Smale [and members of
the UN Communications Group]
Subject: Nomination of UN
Commissioner General for Expo
2020 Dubai - Message from USG
Smale
Dear Colleagues,
As those of you who were at
the UNCG Principals meeting in
Madrid in November 2017 will
recall, one of the agenda
items was planning for UN
participation at Expo 2020
Dubai. Since that discussion,
we have not received any
formal interest from UNCG
members to take a lead role in
planning for the
Expo. Recent
contacts with the Dubai
organizers meanwhile have
indicated their preference for
the UN Secretariat to take the
lead and ensure a coherent UN
participation at the Expo. The
organizers have also confirmed
that there will be a UN
Pavilion and they have asked
for UN engagement and to start
a coordination process with
all concerned. I understand
that separate discussions and
outreach have been made by the
Expo organizers to some of you
in relation to the
Opportunities
Pavilion. In view
of the theme, “Connecting
Minds, Creating the Future,”
and the coordination role
played by the Department of
Global Communications, I
intend, in order to start
planning for the Expo as soon
as possible, to nominate Mr.
Maher Nasser, Director of our
Outreach Division as the UN
Commissioner-General for Expo
2020. Maher brings
to this role over 31 years of
UN experience, 13 of which
have been with the Department,
a thorough knowledge of the
work of the United Nations and
the issues on its agenda, and
strong connections with UN
system leadership and all of
you. He is further able to
build on established
connections with UAE officials
to ensure that their plans for
a UN Pavilion are reflective
of the work and priorities of
the United Nations
System. In view of the need to
start active planning, I will
proceed with the nomination of
Maher as Commissioner General
to the Secretary-General
pending any response from you
by 30 January. We look forward
to working with you to
leverage the opportunity of
Expo 2020 to showcase the UN
at its innovative best,
working together for a common
goal, and creating a peaceful
and prosperous world for a
better future. All
best, Alison
Under-Secretary-General for
Global Communications
Julie James Special Assistant
to the Director Strategic
Communications Division
Department of Global
Communications."
And
there's this, from Smale's
Department now known as
Guterres' Department of Global
Censorship:
"From: malu Date:
Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 12:23 PM
Subject: U.N. eAccreditation
request for Matthew LEE Ref#
M72295425 has been
declined
"Greetings
Matthew LEE from
ICP
INNER CITY PRESS, Your
media accreditation request,
with reference no: M72295425,
has been declined for the
following reason:
Accreditation was withdrawn on
17 August 2018."
No
due process, no road map to
return, pure censorship. We
will not rest. We'll have more
on this.
***
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