Ban
Will Not Block
Alleged War
Criminal As
His Adviser on
Peacekeeping
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 28 --
Sri Lankan
alleged war
criminal
Shavendra
Silva will in
fact serve on
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
Senior
Advisory
Group on
Peacekeeping
Operation, as
Ban disclaims
any
responsibility
and will do
nothing to
stop it, Ban
spokesperson
informed Inner
City
Press on
January 28.
Acts
of Shavendra
Silva's
battalion in
2009 are
described in
the UN's own
Panel of
Experts report
on Sri Lanka,
and lawsuits
have been
filed against
Silva for war
crimes.
On
January 27,
Inner City
Press asked
and wrote that
in other
circumstances,
such as
Syria's bid to
be its
regional
group's
representative
on the UN
Human
Rights
Council,
efforts have
been made at
the UN
including by
the
Secretariat to
avoid or
reverse
nominations
like this one
which would
be an
embarrassment
and make a
mockery of the
UN's stated
principles.
After
Inner City
Press asked at
the UN noon
briefing on
January 27 if
Ban would say
or
do anything,
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
said "Matthew,
don't press
your luck" and
that he "might
have something
a little
later."
When
nothing came
by close of
business that
day, Inner
City Press put
the question
directly to UN
Peacekeeping,
including
chief Herve
Ladsous of
France
and Susana
Malcorra,
reportedly
slated to be
promote by Ban
to his
Deputy
Secretary
General,
So
far neither UN
Peacekeeping
official has
responded with
any comment on
how
appointing an
alleged war
criminal to
the Senior
Advisor Group
would
impact the
credibility of
DPKO or DFS.
Back
on October
24, Malcorra
told the
General
Assembly's
committee on
peacekeeping
that Ban
"had
taken
steps to
fulfil his
mandate to
create a
Senior
Advisory Group
comprising
five eminent
persons of
relevant
experience;
five
representatives
from major
troop
countries;
five
representatives
from
major
financial
contributors;
and one member
from each
regional
group... If
the Group was
to be
appointed, it
would be
important for
Member States
to complete
their
responses to
the
Secretary-General’s
request for
nominations."
Malcorra
asked
member states
to send Ban
"nominations,"
which to some
implies that
Ban did not
have to accept
any and all
names
submitted,
for example
that of an
alleged war
criminal.
Would Ban
similar put on
his Senior
Advisory Group
the chief of
Sudan's
military, who
has been
indicted for
war crimes by
the
International
Criminal
Court?
In fact, Ban's
and Ladsous'
envoy to
Darfur Ibrahim
Gambari
recently
greeted ICC
indictee Omar
al Bashir
at a wedding
reception in
Sudan. When
Inner City
Press asked
Nesirky if
this complied
with Ban's UN
policy, the
belated
response was
that Gambari
greeted the
ICC indictee
based on
"African
traditions."
This is Ban's
UN.
On
January 28, a
Saturday, 24
hours after
Inner City
Press posed
the question,
the
following was
received:
Subject:
Your
question
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Sat, Jan
28, 2012 at
12:43 PM
To: Matthew
Russell
Lee [at]
innercitypress.com
The
General
Assembly
instructed the
Secretary-General
to establish
the
senior
advisory
group,
stipulating
that its
membership
should
comprise five
representatives
nominated by
the
troop-contributing
countries,
five
representatives
nominated by
the financial
contributors,
and one
representative
named by each
of the five
regional
groups. The
General
Assembly
specified that
five eminent
persons of
relevant
experience
should be
independently
appointed by
the
Secretary-General
himself. The
Secretary-General's
responsibility
under GA
resolution
65/289 related
only to the
nomination of
the five
eminent
persons that
he was asked
to selected
himself; the
15 other
members of the
SAG were
selected by
the TCCs, FCCs
and Regional
Groups, as
prescribed by
the General
Assembly.
The
response seeks
to absolve all
responsibility,
including for
the UN's
credibility,
from Ban
Ki-moon, who
already stood
smiling as
Tamil children
at
gunpoint sung
his name in
the internment
camps in
Northern Sri
Lanka
in May 2009,
and since then
yelled at his
own staff in
front of
President
Mahinda
Rajapaksa.
Ban shakes
with Silva as
Kohona looks
on, Feb
23 2011 (c)
MRLee
In other
cases, Ban has
tried to
exercise
leadership
with member
states,
including to
impact his
UN's
credibility.
But not here,
it seems;
while his two
top
peacekeeping
officials
remain silent.
An
alleged war
criminal
appointed
without any
push back by
Ban Ki-moon to
Ban's
Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping
Operations:
this is Ban's
UN.
Watch this
site.
From
the
UN's
transcript of
its January 27
noon briefing:
Inner
City
Press: You
would, I am
sure, know
this, there
was a big
fight
here for
example of
keeping Syria
off the Human
Rights Council
and
there was, it
was initially
a nominee of a
regional
group, I mean
there seems to
be some
ability
certainly of
Member States,
but I
believe at
times the
Secretary-General
to…
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky:
Matthew…
Inner
City Press:
…not accept…
Spokesperson:
Matthew,
sometimes it
seems you
don’t listen
to what I am
saying. I just
said I may
have something
further for
you later,
okay?
Inner
City
Press: I know,
I did hear you
say that, I
just want to
make
sure. I am
writing about
it today, so
... is it
going to be
before 5
p.m., what you
have say?
That’s why I
am asking a
follow-up
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: Don’t
push your
luck, Matthew.
Was
that a threat?
"Rajapaksa
style," as one
wag afterward
put it? We'll
see.
, 
