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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

UN GATE, May 24 –    The UN Security Council among its Permanent members has no African country. But there are three elected members.

One of them, Ghana, on May 24 announced that with the other two (Mozambique and Gabon) it will hold a press stakeout "to highlight Africa's approach towards convergence by the Council leading to negotiations on the financing of AU-led Peace Support Operations."

   The stakeout will be inside the UN - from which Sec-Gen Antonio Guterres and his spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming ban Inner City Press, after its questions about Guterres' finances.

Inner City Press has appealed, but UN Security chief Gilles Michaud hasn't deigned to answer. So how can Inner City Press attend?

 Here is the invite, and to whom and how it was sent:  From: Solomon Korbieh <skorbieh@yahoo.com>

Date: Wed, May 24, 2023 at 6:44 PM Subject: MEDIA STAKEOUT BY GABON, GHANA AND MOZAMBIQUE ON 25TH MAY(TOMORROW), 2023 AT 10.45AM

To: Stephane Dujarric <dujarric@un.org>, Farhan Haq <haqf@un.org>, melissa.fleming@un.org <melissa.fleming@un.org>, AG <ag@un.org>, Marcia Soares Pinto <soarespinto@un.org>, David Kaye <dkaye@law.uci.edu>, Amina Mohammed <amina.mohammed@un.org>, Janos Tisovszky <tisovszky@un.org>, Eihab Omaish <omaish@un.org>, Tal Mekel <mekel@un.org>, Keishamaza Rukikaire <rukikaire@un.org>, seda.pumpyanskaya@un.org <seda.pumpyanskaya@un.org>, corbeta@un.org <corbeta@un.org>, Eri Kaneko <kaneko@un.org>, achim.steiner@undp.org <achim.steiner@undp.org>, abaza@un.org <abaza@un.org>, opga@un.org <opga@un.org>, Brenden Varma <varmab@un.org>, Florencia Soto Nino-Martinez <sotonino@un.org>, MALU <malu@un.org>, Monica Grayley <Grayley@un.org>, tremblay@un.org <tremblay@un.org>, Paulina Kubiak <kubiakp@un.org>, courtenay.rattray@un.org <courtenay.rattray@un.org>, awada@un.org <awada@un.org>, siwen.qian@un.org <siwen.qian@un.org>, coutrix@un.org <coutrix@un.org>, Matthew R. Lee

Cc: funca, ghanaperm@aol.com <ghanaperm@aol.com>, info@ghanamissionun.org <info@ghanamissionun.org>, Felix Boateng <felix.boateng@mfa.gov.gh>, Bismark Anyanah <bismarkanyanah@yahoo.com>  

Dear Mr. Dujarric,  This is to inform you that Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique (A3)  would have a MEDIA STAKEOUT tomorrow, 25th May 2023 at 10.45 am at the Security Council Press Area.  

As you may be aware, the Security Council is scheduled to have a briefing on the Secretary-General's Report on Financing of African Union Peace Support Operations (AUPSO) at 11.00 am. The media stakeout by the A3 seeks to highlight Africa's approach towards convergence by the Council leading to negotiations on the financing of AU-led Peace Support Operations.

 Best regards.

 Solomon Korbieh Minister Plenipotentiary/Spokesperson Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations 19 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017 

  On Thursday, 3 November 2022 at 11:52:37 GMT-4, Matthew R. Lee  wrote:   Still banned from UN, for being roughed up on 3 July 2018 while covering the UN Budget Committee meetings I am entitled to cover under MALU Access Guidelines and as applied to all other non resident correspondents). Why is Inner City Press, despite the Quinn Emanual law firm's pro bono letter to Melissa Fleming more than a year ago, still banned from entering to ask these questions?   These written question are posed and responses requested pursuant to the until-now broken commitment the the UN will "continue to answer e-mailed questions from Mr Lee" InnerCityPress: here

Why is Inner City Press, despite the Quinn Emanual law firm's pro bono letter to Melissa Fleming more than a year ago, still banned from entering to ask these questions?  In June 2022, while still banned from the UN: June 24, 2022, IMF Q&A with Kristalina Georgieva, "Matthew Lee, come on in please.  Q: Thank you. Matthew Lee, Inner City Press. on the Federal Reserve and transparency... there's some large bank mergers pending on which hearings have been scheduled," transcript Video:  

On Sept 15, 2022, with your UN still not acting on my application to enter and cover UNGA week 2022, the IMF answered my questions on Zambia, Ghana / Ukraine and Suriname. So how can the UN ban Inner City Press, other than corrupt censorship?  Please immediately explain the basis, and the compliance with due process, of MALU's Jan 10, 2022 denial  Immediately specify, after USG Melissa Fleming tweeted "That email only went to about 25 staff" who the staff were, and who sent it - or, why not. 

Nov 3-1: On Ghana, UNSC President, and corruption, what are the comments and actions if any of SG Guterres on that One of the daughters of Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo has denied receiving a government contract of $25m (£22m) to paint murals in parts of the capital, Accra. Gyankroma Akufo-Addo said such allegations were a "complete fabrication being propagated by some shameless persons". She said the three sites painted by her Creative Arts Agency company were conceived, managed and financed privately. "This project was not embarked upon to make profit, and there have been no lucrative contracts awarded for it," she said in a statement. She said she would seek redress in court against people and media houses that published falsehoods on the project

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