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

Sudan Slaughter of 150 Nubans Frozen in UN Edit Room, Rudderless Peacekeeping

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 21 -- While the UN holds a report that that one of its staff members in Sudan saw the piled corpses of 150 people of Nuban descent in South Kordofan, it insists that because the report is a “leaked draft,” it cannot or will not take action on its yet.

  On July 21, the day after Inner City Press put the full report online, it asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky about this paragraph:

28. An UNMIS staff member who was detained by SAF at their military facility in Umbattah Locality reported during his detention, that he saw over an estimated 150 dead bodies of persons of Nuban descent scattered on the grounds of the military compound. Some of the bodies appeared to have bullet wounds and he reported a large quantity of blood on the ground. He reported a SAF soldier told them that they had all been shot dead.

  But Nesirky cut Inner City Press off in the middle of the paragraph, to insist this is only a draft. From the UN's July 21 transcript:

Inner City Press: I am still looking at this report that was put out by the human rights component of UNMIS [United Nations Mission in Sudan]. One of the many things said in it is that --

Spokesperson Nesirky: Let’s just roll back a bit, and I am sorry to interrupt you, but it is not a report that has been put out by UNMIS, it is an as yet un-finalized report that was leaked. So let’s get the context correct.

Inner City Press: Let’s say this: the leaked report says that an UNMIS staff member witnessed 150 dead bodies of Nuban descent in a military facility in Sudan. So, my question is, even though it’s a leaked report, it seems to be such a serious allegation that it seems strange that the UN would say, we’re going to wait two weeks to finalize it. What is being done, since that 150 dead bodies was witnessed by a UN staff member? What actions have been taken, even while the actual document itself is being finalized?

Spokesperson Nesirky: I am sure that the relevant people, and you’ve heard Ivan Simonovic speaking on this topic, will have been seeking to follow up on it. And as you heard Mr. Simonovic say, there are efforts to gain access, so that there can be the kind of follow-up that you are talking about. And if Mr. Simonovic has any further follow-up on that, then obviously I’d let you know.

Question: And just one more on peacekeeping. Today at the stakeout, Mr. Le Roy said that he’s leaving on 10 August. So that seems to be coming up pretty quickly. Without, I guess, getting into the names, is there are going to be a new Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations on 10 August, or when is the process thought to come to a conclusion? Is there a shortlist, et cetera?

Spokesperson Nesirky: I would doubt that there would be a new Under-Secretary-General in place to take over the day after Mr. Le Roy leaves office. Obviously there are, there is an established procedure for having an officer-in-charge until a new Under-Secretary-General is appointed. And when we get to that stage, an announcement will be made.

  At the Security Council stakeout on July 21, Le Roy told Inner City Press that the report would not be finalized by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations until two weeks after Mr. Simonovic spoke to the press last week. That would be the day after Le Roy's final press conference, and just before he leaves with no successor in place.

  Meanwhile, as to the future in Southern Kordofan, Inner City Press asked Nesirky:

Inner City Press: there has been this quote by the Foreign Minister of Sudan, Ali Karti, that there is an openness on the part of Khartoum to, quote, “foreign troops” in Southern Kordofan. Has the UN been informed of that? What does the UN think of that statement?

Spokesperson: We are certainly aware of the statement, and we’re following up with the Sudanese authorities to try to understand in greater detail what that means.

  But who in the UN is following up with what Sudanese authorities? Watch this site.