Amid
Hangings and
Geneva
Convention
Violations, UN
Watches &
Talks
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 13 --
While M23 and
Congolese
government
representatives
bicker in
Kampala, there
are hangings
and violations
of the Geneva
Conventions in
Goma, from
which the M23
pulled out in
connection
with the
Kampala talks.
Wednesday
at
the UN in New
York, Inner
City Press
asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky:
Inner
City Press:
There are
reports that a
lot of people
who were
released
from jail in
Goma, some of
them are being
hanged and
subjected to a
kind of street
justice. Is
this something
that MONUSCO
is… is
looking at?
What is the
solution to
this? And some
people have
been
captured and
are being said
to be M23
people that
are captured,
but
they are being
paraded in a
way that some
people believe
violates the
Geneva
Conventions,
the parading
of war
prisoners. So,
since these
seem to fall
into the kind
of human
rights or
protection of
civilians
mandate of
MONUSCO, are
they aware of
it and what
are they doing
about it?
Spokesperson
Nesirky
replied, "I’ll
check with my
colleagues to
see what
they have to
say."
While
DPKO chief
Herve Ladsous,
ultimately
responsible
for MONUSCO's
actions and
inactions, on
Wednesday refused
once again to
answer a
simple UN
Peacekeeping
question posed
to him by the
Press,
Nesirky's
office did
provide some
response to
these two
questions:
Subject:
Your
question on
MONUSCO
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at]
un.org
Date: Wed, Dec
12, 2012
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Abdallah
Wafy,
the Deputy
Special
Representative
for the
Secretary-General
for
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo, ad
interim, just
returned from
Goma where he
discussed the
issue of
escaped
prisoners with
the
Congolese
authorities.
MONUSCO will
assist with
the
restoration of
one of the
buildings of
Goma prison,
starting this
week.
Regarding
the
alleged M23
fighters
arrested in
the DR Congo,
the country's
Minister of
Communication
and Media has
informed
MONUSCO that
the
suspects will
be tried next
week.
But
what did the
Congolese
authorities
say, about the
hanging of
prisoners? And
what about the
alleged
violations of
the Geneva
Conventions?
What about the
FARDC rapes in
Minova, and
Ladsous'
outright
refusal to
answer
questions
about them and
Ban Ki-moon's
supposed Human
Rights Due
Diligence
Policy?
On November
27, Ladsous
refused just
these
questions,
then summoned
handpicked
correspondents
into the
hallway, video
here. This
is a new low,
and will
be
combated.
Watch this
site.
, 
