UN's
Cameroon Troops in CAR Accused
of Abuse, ICP Asks UN's Dujarric,
Still UNanswered
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
March 13 – Not only has the
UN been silent on the
crackdown and Internet cut-off
in Cameroon's Anglophone areas
- even when asked four times
by Inner City Press, the UN's
top two spokesmen refuse to
answer basic questions. After
being told late week that
there would be an answer, on
March 13 Inner City Press
asked the UN's holdover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript
here:
Inner City Press:
last week, I'd asked Farhan
[Haq] a number of times about
Cameroon, including these
questions about whatever
happened with the allegations,
not only sexual abuse in CAR
[Central African Republic],
but also doing business.
There was… in the middle of
2016, there was public
complaints by a member of
parliament in the CAR that the
Cameroonian contingent in a
region of CAR was doing
business, and so, what did the
UN ever do about that?
Did they clear them…?
Spokesman: I'll
check. I don't have an
update on that, but I will
check with you.
"With"
you? Five hours later, no
answer. UN Peacekeeping has
failed to vet the Cameroon
security forces it sends into
other countries and has failed
to follow up on allegations
against them for example in
the Central African Republic.
In CAR last year, "a Member of
Parliament representing the
Nana-Bakassa District in the
Ouham Prefecture, Roland
Achille Bangué-Betangaye,
accused Cameroonian forces
serving in his country under
the banner of the United
Nations Multidimensional
Stabilization Mission
(MINUSCA) of trafficking in
minerals, including gold and
diamond. Speaking over CAR
national radio, the MP said
Cameroonian soldiers serving
in the country have
transformed themselves into
business men through the
smuggle of food items, gasoil
and beer. In turn, he said,
they make away with minerals
especially gold and
diamond. The Cameroonian
military serving in the
Nana-Bakassa District, the law
maker said, have even opened a
drinking spot where people
come and refresh themselves."
So what has the UN done about
it?
On March
10 at noon, after publishing
the above, Inner City Press
asked the UN's holdover Deputy
Spokesman Farhan Haq about it
- and by day's end he had
provided no answer at all. UN transcript:
Inner City
Press: a follow-up on
peacekeeping
accountability. In the…
in the Central African
Republic, there were
allegations by an elected
member of parliament there, of
the Ouham prefecture, Roland
Bangué-Betangaye. This
goes back to June 2016.
He publicly said that the
Cameroonian contingent in the
area that he represents were
engaged in business, including
gold… gold, conflict diamonds,
opening of businesses.
This was widely… you know, you
can find a number of articles
about it from that time.
And what I’m wondering, is,
what was ever done… there was
a statement that there’s an
investigation being
opened. That was by, I
guess, Mr. Montero at the
time. But there’s been
nothing publicly said
since. What… were all of
these allegations made by an
elected official and on
national radio in Central
African Republic false?
Or was there actually
something done by
MINUSCA (United Nations
Stabilization Mission in the
Central African Republic) and
UN peacekeeping about these
allegations?
Deputy Spokesman: Oh,
I’ll check with MINUSCA to see
what happened with that.
Have a good weekend, everyone.
There are
also sexual abuse allegations,
at a time the UN
is saying it is getting
tough, on which we'll
have more. On March 10, Inner
City Press asked
the UN's holdover spokesman
Farhan Haq about this:
Inner City Press:
There was an Amnesty
International report about…
about sexual abuse in the
Central African Republic in
which they said a Cameroonian
peacekeeper was killed, and
the next day the contingent
returned to the area.
And many people thereafter
testified about sexual abuse,
including of minors. So,
in the report, it says that
there is, one, a sole
allegation of sexual abuse
against the Cameroonian
contingent in [the Central
African Republic]. This
was some time ago as you
remember in the… and there’s
also another one in MINUSTAH
(United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti). Is it
possible, in the spirit of the
transparency you’re
discussing, to say, what’s the
status of this? Why has
it taken so long? Why
was there only one charge
written in this report when,
according to the Amnesty
International one, they’re the
contingent that went back and…
and at the time frame?
And, of course, they’re not
all criminals, but I’m asking
you, can you get an update
later today about this case
reported on by Amnesty
International?
Deputy Spokesman:
Ultimately, for us to get an
update, we need to have
progress in the
investigation. Once we
have the results to deliver,
we can provide that, but until
that point, we’re allowing
that process to continue.
Inner City Press: Right, but
it was said yesterday that
things were going to move
faster. In the time
frame given, given when these
incidents took place, how is
it still… what is… I guess,
even a statement of what’s the
status within the Cameroonian
justice system?
Deputy Spokesman: At
this stage, there’s no update
to provide. Once we have
an update, we’ll certainly
provide it, but every process
has its own momentum, has its
own rate.
The UN says it's
fine that its Resident
Coordinator from her official
Twitter account blocks the
Press which asks about it.
Amid the ongoing abuse of
Anglophones in Cameroon, the
Internet being turned off for
51 day in their regions, Inner
City Press on March 8
discovered that the UN's
Resident Coordinator in
Cameroon, Najat
Rochdi of
Morocco,
blocks it on
Twitter, see
here. So
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General
Antonio
Guterres'
holdover
Deputy
Spokesman
Farhan Haq
about it on
March 9, UN
transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
the answer you
sent about Mr.
[Francois]
Louncény Fall
saying that he
would raise
issues to the
authorities.
Can you say
whether the
issue of the
internet being
off in two
provinces for
52 days has
been
raised?
And,
secondarily, I
wanted to ask
you
this.
You announced
from this
podium that
Najat Rochdi
is going to
Central
African
Republic as
Resident
Coordinator.
What's the
process to
appoint a new
Resident
Coordinator
for the UN
system in
Cameroon?
And is it… is
it… is it… can
it be public
in any
way? It
seems many
people have
complained
that, while
she was there,
she never
raised the
Anglophone
issue.
And, in fact,
I found that
she blocks
Inner City
Press on
Twitter, so
I'm unable to
ask her why
this issue has
not been
raised.
But what's the
process to
replace… and
you can smirk,
but should a
UN official in
their official
account…?
Spokesman:
That's an
unrelated
thing. I
mean,
obviously, all
people… all
individuals,
not even just
all UN
officials, are
free to block
whoever they
want on
Twitter.
That's within
their rights.
Inner City
Press:
Including
missions?
So you think a
peacekeeping
mission should
pick and
choose which
media can
follow it?
Spokesman:
Organizations
will respond…
are supposed
to respond to
press
requests.
Individuals
can do
whatever they
like with
their Twitter
accounts.
Inner City
Press:
What's the
process of
replacing the
Resident
Coordinator in
Cameroon?
Spokesman:
It's the same
as in any
other
place.
There's a
process that
goes… that you
go through,
and the
Resident
Coordinator's
selection
process is
supervised by
the UN
Development
Programme
(UNDP).
This is at
odds with the
UN's claims to
be transparent
in its use of
public money,
and to be open
to the press
and impacted
public, and
will be
pursued at
Rochdi's next
assignment at
the UN in
Central
African
Republic. But
it raises the
question: how
are UN
Resident
Coordinators
selected?
Inner City
Press reported
on Ban
Ki-moon's son
in law
Siddharth
Chatterjee
getting
multiple
promotion
under Ban,
including
being named UN
Resident
Coordinator in
Kenya by Ban
himself.
(Inner City
Press was evicted
by Ban's UN,
and remains
restricted
under Ban's
successor).
But shouldn't
Anglophone
Cameroonians
have some
input into the
UN's next
Resident
Coordinator in
their country?
This is a
project for
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
@FUNCA_info.
Watch these
sites and
feeds.
Inner City
Press on March 7 and March 8
asked UN Secretary General
Antonio Guterres' spokesman,
for the third and fourth
times, about what the
Political Affairs official
Guterres extended to April 1,
2018, told the Press: that
Francois Lonseny Fall visited
the areas. Video
here and here.
After the March 8 briefing,
the UN sent this to Inner City
Press:
"Subject:
Your question
on Cameroon
From:
UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply
Date: Wed, Mar 8, 2017 at 3:30
PM
To: matthew.lee [at]
innercitypress.com
Mr. Francois Lounseny Fall and
members of his team have
conducted a series of visits
to Cameroon to assess the
situation in the Anglophone
regions. Mr. Fall will
continue to engage with the
national authorities and
monitor the situation in these
regions and, in the first
instance, bring any concerns
to the authorities so that
they may be addressed."
So have
any "concerns" been raised by
the UN to President Biya? We
will continue on this.
From the UN's March 7
transcript:
Inner City Press:
On Cameroon, I’d asked
Stéphane Dujarric, then I’d
asked you. Finally, Mr.
[Jeffrey] Feltman said Mr.
[Francois] Louncény Fall had
made two visits to the
area. Many people have
now asked online, what came of
those visits? Because
there was nothing put out by
the UN. When were the
visits made? Did Mr.
Louncény Fall express any
concern about the treatment of
Anglophones to President
[Paul] Biya’s
Government? And is there
some way to know what the
purpose of those visits were?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
we’ll check with his office
about whether they have an
update.
Six hours
later, nothing. Absolutely
nothing. On March 6, Inner
City Press asked the UN
Secretariat for the second
time about the issue. On March
3, lead spokesman Stephane
Dujarric told Inner City
Press, "We're obviously
following it, and I'll see if
I can get you something
further." But on March 6
Dujarric's deputy Farhan Haq
had nothing further, just
generalities about a due
process that the UN itself
doesn't offer. But when
Inner City Press asked UN
official Jeffrey Feltman of
the Department of Political
Affairs, Feltman said that
Francois Lonseny Fall of UNOCA
has visited the regions twice.
To what end? We hope to have
more on this.
On March 5
asked Rupert Colville, the
spokesperson for UN High
Commission for Human Rights
Prince Zeid of Jordan,
questions including this:
"What is the UN system,
including the High
Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR), doing about abuses
against the Anglophone
community in Cameroon, in the
Northwest and Southwest
regions where the Internet has
been cut for 49 days and
counting?"
Past noon
the following day, March 6,
still no response from
Colville or the OHCHR. Is this
acceptable?
While UN Security
Council members visiting
Niger, 188th out of 188 on the
UN Development Index, is
certainly welcome, it is
noteworthy has is not being
addressed or even publicly
mentioned on this trip.
Beyond the
omission, which some called
shameful, of the plight of Anglophones
in Cameroon -- the
Internet has been turned off
in their regions -- the common
denominator of France's
historical power relations
with, say, Chad and Niger was
omitted even from reporting
from inside the Council's
bubble.
It was
complained to the Free UN
Coalition for Access that the
UN didn't even inform the News
Agency of Nigeria that it
could go on the trip (but did
inform, for example, Voice
of America). Might NAN
have been more critical of
aspects of the trip? How will
this omission be addressed?
And while
a Security Council member has
responded to Inner City Press
that the issue was raised in
meetings, given that VOA,
invited and on the trip, did
not even mention it, one
wonders when, where and with
what seriousness it was
raised. We hope to have more
on that.
Inner City Press in the past
was informed of such trips,
and went on some, for example
to Chad
where then French Ambassador
Jean Maurice Ripert dissembled
about President Deby's
non-appearance, then
confronted Inner City Press
about its reporting, in the
airport in Kigali, Rwanda.
Now, following a retaliatory
eviction and continuing
restriction at the UN by
Department of Public
Information chief Cristina
Gallach and spokesman Stephane Dujarric
for seeking to cover the Ng
Lap Seng / John Ashe UN
bribery case in the UN
Press Briefing Room on January
29, 2016, Inner City Press is
no longer informed or invited.
DPI under Gallach churns out
assemblages of canned quotes
and tweets as "stories,"
as from within the bubble.
We'll have more on this.
On a
previous Security Council trip
that included Sudan, Council
members spoke to the Press
about standing up to the
Sudanese government about
abuses. So what happened in
Cameroon?
***
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