Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, April 9, 2014 -- How can one write about the corruption of a UN Peacekeeping mission, at length, without naming the person in charge? Why would one airbrush that person, in this case Herve Ladsous the UN Under Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations, out?

   The former spokesperson of the UNAMID mission in Darfur quit, spoke out and finally leaked documents. Radio Dabanga as well as Foreign Policy began publishing them on April 7 (FP did not mention Dabanga, and calls it back to back  Ladsous-less pieces an exclusive investigation).

  Today's piece focuses on the US role, all to the good, but not only doesn't mention that the UN's Ladsous met with International Criminal Court indictee Omar al Bashir in July, without providing any read-out, but also omits France's hosting of Darfur rebels, for example.

  There are also other UN agencies thrown out of Sudan - Inner City Press has questions in about just such a story, watch this site.

  On April 8 Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about the leaks, until a scribe in the seat of the UN Correspondents Association cut off the questioning to suggest a background briefing "not today, not tomorrow," but sometime in the future. From the UN transcript:

   That Ladsous' Department of Peacekeeping Operations would cover up attacks on the troops it receives from Rwanda, Nigeria, Gambia and elsewhere is a trend -- but the leaving unprotected, or even active harming, of civilians is something else. This is what has happened under Ladsous' DPKO -- but it cannot or will no be exposed without naming Ladsous.
  
   Nor is this problem limited to UNAMID in Darfur. Just from the four corners of a quoted email, the new head of the mission in Cote d'Ivoire Aïchatou Mindaoudou Souleymane of Niger is included. Is that mission less tightly bound to the government, and to the French troops in the Force Licorne?

    On the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide's beginning, when then and now Eastern Congo player Herve Ladsous told Inner City Press "I never answer your questions," more questions of Ladsous' veracity were put to UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq, video here.

   As if to explain not only Ladsous' refusal to answer Press questions about rapes in Minova by his partners in the Congolese Army but also the discrepancy between his statements in New York and memos to his mission in Darfur, Haq in response contrasted the "good will of the host Government required to allow peacekeepers to do their jobs, and the sometimes contradictory imperative to report accurately and candidly."

  In Kigali earlier in the day, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that his Rights Up Front program -- adopted in the wake of the UN's 2009 failure in Sri Lanka -- sends a signal to UN representatives to "Speak up, even if it may offend." But then Haq again said that the need for the good will of governments like Sudan's contradict reporting accurately and candidly," transcript below.

  Ladsous throws this out the window: simply refusing to answer questions or questioners he doesn't like. That is Ladsous' "Rights Up Front."

  From the UN's April 7, 2014 transcript:

Inner City Press: there is this incident where IDPs were taken hostage or kidnapped by people that were in Government army uniforms, and somehow UNAMID is saying that they opposed it and they denounced the kidnapping, but some people are wondering how armed UN peacekeepers could have IDPs under their care and they could all be kidnapped. Can you clarify how it took place and how it is consistent with protection of civilians?

Spokesperson: Well, I have asked the Mission for more details on that, and I think if you were listening carefully you will have heard me read out precisely what you just said to me.

Inner City Press: But what I am asking about specifically about how it could take place?

Spokesperson: I heard what you said, and I’ve said that I’ll see if I can find out more, which is what I have already asked the Mission and Peacekeeping Operations.

  Now Radio Dabanga has published a memo by UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, from April 10, 2013, still saying he didn't know how it happened.

  What is Ladsous doing? Then, and apparently now, he refuses Press questions about topics ranging from Sudan -- why did he meet with International Criminal Court indictee Omar al Bashir in July 2013? -- to rapes in the DR Congo by UN Peacekeeping's partners in the Congolese Army.

  Dabanga to its credit says it is reporting the memos along with FP. The FP story, at least the first one, does not mention Dabanga, nor Ladsous' meeting with Bashir. Previously an explanation was provided for not reporting on Ladsous' extraordinary and public "non-answering," noted from the UK by the New Statesman, here.

  Will the publication of these leaks, in a non Ladsous protective way by Radio Dabanga, finally help bring accountability?

  The citation is to former UNAMID spokesperson Aicha Elbasri. Back on February 4, 2014, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson about the full-on critique of UNAMID and DPKO by Ms Elbasri:

"we were asked about reporting by the African Union–UN Mission on developments in Darfur. UNAMID notes that it reports verified information on the situation in Darfur to the United Nations and to the African Union on a daily basis. This information is then made public in the Secretary-General’s quarterly reports to the Security Council and, as the situation warrants, in press statements."

  To a casual or ill-informed listener, it sounded like a legitimate answer. But as the UN and its Department of Peacekeeping Operations under Herve Ladsous know, this was part of Aicha Elbasri's critique, even then:

"On 24 April I resigned from UNAMID and wrote my end-of-mission report requesting the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to look into UNAMID’s violations of the UN Public Information policy which calls for open, transparent and honest information-sharing with the media. I didn't receive any response. On past August, I requested the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services to open an investigation into the matter. The information I shared with them should have made anyone who cares about the people of Darfur and the UN values and policies jump, call me and take a quick action. What I received so far is a deafening silence. And I can no longer wait, because every day that goes by, more men, women and children die in Darfur in total impunity and invisibility. So today I will break the UN code of conduct and share with you some confidential photos and information that show the African Union, the United Nations and UNAMID’ conspiracy of silence."

  Surely Ladsous' DPKO (and Carman Lapointe's OIOS) knew what Aicha Elbasri submitted. But the public response was as set forth above. Now, will the publication of these leaks, in a non Ladsous protective way by Radio Dabanga, finally help bring accountability? We'll be following this. Watch this site.