On
CAR, France
Refuses to
Answer on
Pillay Saying
Left Muslims
at Risk, Why?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
January 28 --
After on
Central
African
Republic the
UN Security
Council
adopted
Resolution
2134 on
January 28,
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
came out to
the stakeout.
But the
obvious
question --
what is
France's
response to UN
High
Commission for
Human Rights
Navi Pillay saying
France left
Muslim
communities
vulnerable to
attack,
was not taken.
Rather,
Araud's
spokesperson
Frederic Jung
ordered the
UNTV boom
microphone to
go first to
two
correspondents
in French.
Inner City
Press asked
about a criticism
made in the
open Council
meeting to
the resolution
Araud said was
presented by
France, but
Araud said, go
ask the
critic. But
what is
France's
response to
the criticism?
The European
Union's Thomas
Mayr-Harting,
ever polite,
did take the
question about
France leaving
Muslim's
vulnerable. Video here and embedded below.
But rather
obviously,
it's not for
him or the EU
to answer.
Perhaps the EU
should
encourage its
member states
to answer
rather than
refuse such
human rights
questions.
Mayr-Harting
also said he
could not
confirm the
killing in
Bangui of the
brother of
former Seleka
#2 Nouredinne
Adam. Araud
previously
pushed back at
reports, by Al
Jazeera, that
Nouredinne
Adam was taken
into custody
by the French
Sangaris
force. What
now of the
reported
killing of his
brother by
anti-Balaka?
Why did Aruad,
who previously
answered even
if
combatively,
now refuse to
answer on the
critique in
the Security
Council and
before that by
Pillay? Absent
another
explanation,
it may be a
further
attempt to
erase the document from the
NYPD of
another French
diplomat taken
into custody -
click
here for story
and audio;
we'll have
more, it seems
sure, on all
this.
More
pressingly on
the Central
African
Republic, what
other than
spin and
trying to get
lower UN
officials to
contradict
Pillay is
France's
response to
her critique?
France on
January 22
selectively
promoted one
part of what
the UN's
Special
Adviser on the
Prevention of
Genocide Adama
Dieng answered
to Inner City
Press about
the Central
African
Republic,
while ignoring
Dieng's
admission that
after French
disarmament,
people were
killed.
Compare UN
Video here,
from Minute
0:36 to these
French tweets,
quoting only
Dieng's final,
face-saving
statement.
That smaller
countries
under fire
from the UN's
human rights
machinery
selectively
quote anything
that defends
them is one
thing. But
France?
In the same
dynamic
through which
France today
tries to evade
the criticism
in the UN High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights report
on the Central
African
Republic by
focusing on a
part of
another UN
officials
response,
France had
tried to claim
that its
Operation
Turquoise in
the Great
Lakes region
in 1994 saved
lives. But it
also helped
genocidaires
escape. Plus
ca change.
On January 22,
Inner City
Press asked
Dieng about
France and UN
High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Navi
Pillay's
January 20
testimony that
"the
disarmament of
ex-Séléka
carried out by
the French
forces appears
to have left
Muslim
communities
vulnerable to
anti-Balaka
retaliatory
attacks."
Dieng replied
among other
things that
there were
killings after
the first
French
disarmament,
and "we raised
it with the
Sangaris," the
French force.
See
UN Video here,
from 0:36.
Inner City
Press mused,
is that
accountability?
Will this
question be
answered by
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon new
Commissioners
on CAR, Jorge
Castañeda of
Mexico,
Fatimata
M’Baye of
Mauritania and
Bernard Acho
Muna of
Cameroon?
The moderator
said one more
question could
be asked.
After a lull,
Inner City
Press asked
about those
having to flee
the country.
The UN's
Special
Representative
on Sexual
Violence in
Conflict
Zainab Hawa
Bangura
replied that
this is having
a regional
impact, namign
Chad, Sudan
and the Congo.
She might have
added Cameroon
and even
Senegal. One
wanted to ask
her about the
findings,
yet to be
disclosed, on
rape
allegations
against UN
peacekeepers
in Mali.
Deputy
Emergency
Relief
Coordinator
Kyung-wha Kang
came over and
provided
additional
information,
that the the
International
Organization
for Migration
is in the
lead, at times
using
airplanes. One
wanted to ask
her about
MSF's critique
of the UN in
CAR: has it
been met? Is
the UN really
putting Rights
Up Front?
The UN's
Special
Representative
on Children
and Armed
Conflict Leila
Zerrougui also
briefed the
Council,
noting 23
children
released on
January 17.
One wanted to
ask her for an
update on
Chad, part of
the UN force
in Mali while
still on the
UN's child
soldier
recruiters'
list. Maybe
next time.
Finally
Jordan's
Prince Zeid
emerged; Inner
City Press on
CAR asked him
of the
proposed 500
Moroccan
guards, and
about the
mornings
presentation
on drones by
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous.
Prince Zeid
said the
forthcoming
CAR resolution
would address
the former,
and to ask
Ladsous about
the drones.
We'll see.
On January 14,
Pillay's
office said it
"received
credible
testimonies of
collusion
between some
Chadian FOMAC
elements and
ex-Séléka
forces."
At that day's
UN noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press sought
to pursue this
and its
implications.
From the UN's
transcript:
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Matthew, last
question
please? Keep
it short.
Inner
City
Press: I'm
sure you've
seen the
report by the
Office of the
High
Commissioner
on Human
Rights (OHCHR)
about human
rights abuses
in Central
African
Republic and
what I wanted
to ask you is
that, they say
that the
disarming,
that the
French
disarming of
some left
Muslim
communities
subject to
attack and
that Chadian
FOMAC
(Multinational
Force of
Central
Africa)
peacekeepers
credibly
colluded with
ex-Séléka
forces that
they’re
accusing of
human rights
violations.
So, I wanted
to know how it
works. Given
that the Chad
Army is also a
peacekeeper in
the UN force
in Mali, does,
what happens
in the
Secretariat or
DPKO
(Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations) on
a finding such
as this, that
peacekeepers
in one country
may have
colluded with
human rights
abusers?
What’s the
next step?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, let's
just be clear.
This was a
team that was
deployed, four
people who
were deployed,
to the Central
African
Republic from
the twelfth to
twenty-fourth
of December.
And what they
have produced
today, and
what Ms. Navi
Pillay’s
office has
been talking
about today,
and she
herself has
been talking
about
preliminary
findings that
describe a
cycle of
widespread
human rights
violations and
reprisals. And
Ms. Pillay has
made clear she
will give a
fuller account
of the team’s
findings
during a
special
session called
by the Human
Rights
Council, and
that’s due to
take place in
Geneva on 20
January. So, I
think I’d
rather wait
until that and
see
Well, on
January 20
Pillay dropped
the word
"credible."
From her
statement:
"The mission
also heard
witness
accounts
alleging the
involvement of
some FOMAC/
MISCA soldiers
in the killing
of Christian
civilians,
which should
be further
investigated."
By dropping
the word
credible and
calling for
investigations
-- note that
UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous
has allowed
Chad to do its
own
investigation,
and then not
make public
any result
-- the can is
kicked down
the road, so
that the UN
and France can
continue to
use Chadian
"peacekeepers"
in Mali.
Rights Up
Front?
That France's
military
operation in
Central
African
Republic left
Muslims to be
killed by
Christian
anti-balaka
militia was
noted even by
the UN Human
Rights team
that recently
visited the
country.
But a dubious
wire service
quotes
the European
Union's
usually sharp
humanitarian
chief
Kristalina
Georgieva that
the problem in
CAR is "the
complicated
relations
between Chad
and Central
African
Republic."
That
"complication"
surely exists.
But consider
this detailed
video report
of France and
the
anti-balaka,
here. What
does the EU
have to say to
that? Are
these "Rights
Up Front," as
the UN dubbed
its post Sri
Lanka failure
plan which it
now claims to
apply to CAR?
Disarming one
community to
be killed by
another?
After the UN's
envoy to the
Central
African
Republic
Babacar Gaye
was asked on
January 13 by
Inner City
Press about
Chadian
"peacekeepers"
and undue
influence on
CAR from
outside, i.e.
from France,
the UN simply
edited it out
of its
summary.
Video here, from Minute 12:06; compare
to UN's
sanitized
summary, here.
Now on January
14 the UN's
own Office of
the High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights reports
that its
"mission
received
multiple
reports that
the
disarmament of
ex-Séléka
carried out by
the French
forces left
some Muslim
communities
vulnerable to
anti-Balaka
retaliatory
attacks."
This
might be
called the
polar opposite
of
"Responsibility
to Protect" --
the
affirmative
putting of
civilians at
risk, on
religious
lines.
The OHCHR also
notes that
"witnesses
consistently
reported that
ex-Séléka,
wearing the
armbands of
Chadian FOMAC
peacekeepers,
went from
house to house
searching for
anti-Balaka,
and shot and
killed
civilians. The
team also said
it received
credible
testimonies of
collusion
between some
Chadian FOMAC
elements and
ex-Séléka
forces."
The UN Human
Rights Council
takes up CAR
on January 20.
Will these UN
reports of
France and
FOMAC be
addressed?
On January 13,
Gaye said that
the problem
was the
Chadian
component of
the Seleka
rebels; he
acknowledged
that there was
an intention
to assign the
troops from
Chad outside
of Bangui. But
he said for
now they
remain there,
patrolling
with the
Sangaris
forces of
France, both
countries'
colonist.
Of Bozize, he
said that
Michel
Djotodia
blames human
rights
violations --
be to
discussed in
Geneva January
20 -- on
Bozize
followers, but
said Bozize's
name had not
come up in the
talks in Chad.
(The UN had
refused, when
Inner City
Press asked,
to even
confirm that
Gaye and his
UN mission had
any role in
the talks in
Chad).
Now that
Michel
Djotodia has
resigned,
after that
two-day
meeting held
in Chad,
confirmed
along with the
disproportionate
role of Chad
and France in
CAR is another
point.
The UN has
been
marginalized
even in the
Central
African
Republic. This
UN has allowed
itself to
become, often,
a mere fig
leaf for big
powers, here
the former
colonial
rulers.
When Inner
City Press on
January 8
asked UN
spokesperson
Farhan Haq of
any UN role or
presence at
the next day's
meeting in
Chad at which
France says
the country's
leadership
will be
determined,
Haq would not
directly
answer. Video
here from
Minute 18:50;
UN transcript:
Inner
City Press: On
the Central
African
Republic, Mr.
[Laurent]
Fabius and a
Defense
Minister are
both quoted as
saying that it
will be
determined
tomorrow at a
meeting held
in Chad
whether the
current
interim or
temporary
Prime Minister
remains in
power, that it
will be
decided by
regional
countries. And
I wanted to
know, given,
you know, the
UN’s mission
and role in
the Central
African
Republic, is
the UN
attending that
meeting? Do
they have any…
what’s their
presence there
and what would
they say to
those who say
that there
should be more
involvement in
Central
African people
in deciding,
you know, who
the leader is,
rather than
the
neighbouring
countries or
France?
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
I wouldn’t
speculate on
what the
meeting has to
accomplish.
We’ll actually
see what the
outcome of the
meeting is
once it takes
place. At this
stage, it’s
speculative to
see what the
meeting
entails for
the leadership
of the Central
African
Republic.
Inner
City Press: Is
Babacar Gaye
going? I just
want to know
that before it
takes place.
Acting
Deputy
Spokesperson:
We’ll try to
monitor the
meeting as
best we can. I
don’t have any
details to
give you right
now, but once
the meeting
happens, we’ll
let you know.
Now
what? On
January 6 some
noted that UN
Department of
Political
Affairs chief
Jeffrey
Feltman
avoided
directly
answering on
France's lack
of
impartiality
in its
intervention
in its former
colony.
Feltman seemed
to focus on
the UN's role
on
humanitarian
issues -- even
on that, the
UN has been
subject to
scathing
criticism from
Doctors
Without
Borders --
while leaving
the finding of
a political
solution to
others.
Reuters
quotes three
French
officials, two
named and one
unnamed,
opining about
who should
lead CAR,
including,
"Djotodia and
us, it's not a
love story.
The quicker he
goes, the
better things
will be. We
are making do
with him and
holding him
back."
And yet
Reuters, now
the colonial
news wire, did
not mention
FrancAfrique
or this
colonial
relationship,
whether such
picking of
leaders from
outside like
France did
with Ahmad al
Jarba in
Syria, is
appropriate.
This is, to
some, "the
international
community."
Back on
January 6 as
the Central
African
Republic
consultations
of the UN
Security
Council
stretched past
6 pm,
Permanent
Representatives
then even
Deputy
Permanent
Representatives
left, even as
new Council
member
Lithuania
spoke.
One
departing
diplomat told
Inner City
Press that US
Ambassador
Samantha Power
"gave a moving
speech" but "it's
not longer a
time for
speeches but
action."
Inner
City Press
asked the
diplomat if
the sentiment
is to move to
a UN
peacekeeping
mission, or
stay with
MISCA (in
which
component
contingents
have fought
each other)
and the French
SANGARIS
force, accused
of disarming
the Seleka but
not
anti-balaka
militia.
The
answer was
UNclear. The
briefer was
the head of
the UN's
Department of
Political
Affairs,
Jeffrey
Feltman, whose
statement
during the
open meeting
said "this is
the first case
for the Secretary
General's
new Rights
Upfront
agenda." That
was the UN's
belated
reaction to
its own
systemic
failure during
the killing of
tens of
thousands of
civilians in
Sri Lanka in
2009.
But
last month
Doctors
Without
Borders
pilloried the
UN for not
protecting
civilians,
even inside
its own
compounds, and
for not
deploying
despite
requests to
Yaloke and
Bouca. UN
humanitarian
chief Valerie
Amos told
Inner City
Press she
was
"disappointed"
by MSF's
letter.
What would
Feltman say?
When finally
Feltman
emerged, Inner
City Press
asked him
about reports
of France
disarming the
Seleka, not
the
predominantly
Christian
anti-balaka.
Feltman
replied that a
"non-discriminatory
way" is
required, all
most be
disarmed. He
said more
coordination
is needed
between the
UN, France's
Sangaris, and
MISCA.
Moments
later, Inner
City Press
asked Jordan's
Permanent
Representative
Prince Zeid,
the president
of the
Security
Council for
January, about
perceived
(im)partiality.
He responded
that the
situation is
complex, as
African
members
pointed out,
and that he
and other new
Council
members had
material to
work through.
We'll see.
* * *
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