Palestine
in Front Row
at ATT, in
Corner, No
Status
Upgrade,
Only at UN
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 3 -- It
was six
o'clock when
the "question
of
Palestine" was
resolved, in
its fashion,
in the UN
Conference on
the Arms Trade
Treaty.
Palestine's
Riyad Mansour
told Inner
City
Press and come
and see.
There
in
Conference
Room 1,
Palestine took
its seat in
the front row,
between the
Holy See and
Afghanistan.
Click
here for
re-tweeted
Inner City
Press photograph.
But
it got no
upgrade in
status, and as
opponents of
any upgrade
told Inner
City Press,
"the
credentials
committee
would have to
operate by
consensus." So
no
hope there
either.
Two
days
of wrangling
resulted in a
seat in the
front row, but
way off in
the corner by
the wall. They
were not, as
requested,
between Palau
and Panama, as
a party to the
ATT.
The
Holy
See spoke out,
saying its
rights were
violated, it
was to have
been the "all
states"
format.
Afterward
Mansour
embraced
the
representative
of the Holy
See, and there
was applause
in the
Conference
Room.
Palestine
also has
maintained, as
they did
yesterday,
this the ATT
is an "all
states"
conference in
which they can
participate.
They say
"even the US
knows this,"
but is using
its muscle to
scare
other
conferees.
"They threaten
to pull out,
and even our
supporters get
scared."
Responding
to the
theory that
Egypt "used"
them,
Palestine says
that Egypt
has suggested
a number of
compromises to
get the
conference
started.
The
US
has dangled an
openness to
language on
ammunition. On
this, rather
than trying to
bring the UN
"up" to the US
standard, the
US
is opposing
such a rising.
Why?
A
key language
point in the
ATT involves
how to view
the human
rights
records and
dangers of
arms
purchasers --
merely to
"take into
account," or
ignore it? Or
to "shall not"
sell to
them? The
solution, if
there is one,
will be in the
middle. And if
it is too
weak,
countries like
Mexico will
leave. Watch
this site.
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