UN
Used
Mercenaries in
Congo, ICP
Proves, As Ban
Stonewalls,
Deal with
Museveni
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 11, updated
April 12
-- The UN uses
private
military
contractors or
mercenaries,
in the Congo
for example,
Inner City
Press has
learned.
The
UN is not
supposed to
use
mercenaries,
but on April 9
Inner City
Press asked
the Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations in
writing:
"please
confirm
or deny that
MONUSCO uses
the private
security firm
Saracen, and
if not deny,
state what
they do, and
how use of
this firm does
not constitute
UN using
private
military
contractor or
'mercenaries,'
including in
light of
interaction
between
Saracen and UN
Somalia /
Eritrea
sanctions
committee.
Where (else)
does DPKO or
DFS use
private
security?"
But
DPKO, despite
having a
database to
contractors to
which Inner
City Press
also has
access, said
it needed time
to response.
So the next
day on April
10 Inner City
Press asked
the UN
spokesman:
Inner
City
Press: I have
asked DPKO and
I haven't
received an
answer, does
MONUSCO use
Saracen Uganda
or any other
Saracen
variant which
is a private
military
contractor,
for security
in the Congo
and how does
it comply with
UN rules on
using
mercenaries?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: if
you have asked
DPKO and they
haven't
answered yet,
don’t take
that
necessarily as
a no, it means
they may still
be trying to
get the answer
you are
looking for,
okay.
Inner
City
Press: Since
you’ve got a
procurement
data base,
they can just
plug the name
in.
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Thanks,
Matthew, for
that, and
let’s see what
we can come up
with. Good
afternoon
everybody.
But
even the next
day April 11,
the spokesman
did not send
Inner City
Press any
answer, and
DPKO said it
needed yet
more time.
Saracen, as
Inner City
Press
previously
reported in
connection
with its
attempts to
get paid by
Somalia's
Transitional
Federal
Government
despite the
UN's Somalia /
Eritrea
sanctions, is
partially
owned by the
brother of
Uganda's
president
Yoweri
Museveni --
who Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon called
on April 11,
according to
Sudan's
Permanent
Representative
with whom Ban
also spoke.
So
here from
Inner City
Press is
information
from the UN's
procurement
database,
answering the
question in
the
affirmative
(but in turn
raising more
questions to
be pursued) --
August
2010
SARACEN UGANDA
LTD UGA
CON/MON/10-085
Provision of
Unarmed
Security
Services at
Entebbe and
Kampala
1-Aug-10 to
31-Jul-11
$170,685
MONUSCO
September
2010
SARACEN UGANDA
LTD UGA
Security
services
$132,935
11KIN-200211
MONUSCO
July
2011
SARACEN UGANDA
LTD UGA
Security
services
$144,648
12KIN-200059
MONUSCO
So
why wouldn't
DPKO and Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman just
answer the
question?
Watch this
site.
Update
of
April 12, 10
am -- DPKO has
written, in
response to
the April 9
questions:
"I
have
a response on
the parts of
your questions
related to
MONUSCO. On
private
security more
generally, I
am still
following up.
Question:
Is MONUSCO
using the
services of
SARACEN, a
Ugandan
private
security
company?
"MONUSCO
contracts
private
unarmed
security
companies to
assist in
access
control
procedures in
all of its
compounds.
Saracen is
contracted by
MONUSCO for
these purposes
at its base in
Entebbe,
Uganda."
While
DPKO did not
provide that
actual
contract
information
which Inner
City Press
published,
this
information
says Saracen
is under UN
contract in
Kampala as
well. We seek
explanation
and await
response
"private
security more
generally" -
and how it
complies with
UN system
rules and
principles.
Watch this
site.
, 
