DRC
Resolution
Passes 15-0,
UN Inaction
Contrasted
With Mali
Dreams
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 20 --
At same day as
the UN
Peacekeepers
stood by
while the M23
mutineers took
over Goma,
the Security
Council met
Tuesday night
and adopted by
a 15-0 vote a
French drafted
resolution
calling among
other things
for the M23 to
"permanently
disband."
This seems
unlikely to
take place.
The resolution
is here.
The
resolution was
first slated
for a vote at
5:30 pm on
Tuesday. But
first
"one country"
-- the United
States, more
than one
source
told Inner
City Press --
invoked
the Council's
24 hour rule,
which would
push the vote
to Wednesday.
Then troop
contributing
countries, one
of which India
holds the
Council
presidency
this
month, wanted
a discussion.
The
resolution
called on
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon to
report on
"possible
redeployments,
in
consultation
with troop-
and
police-contributing
countries, of
MONUSCO."
Earlier
on
Tuesday Inner
City Press
asked Ban's
deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey why the
peacekeeper
count in Goma
had not
increased in
the three
days after UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous
estimated
it but
refused
to take Press
questions.
Del
Buey replied
that there are
problems and
instability
elsewhere in
the
Congo. But
Ladsous
refused to
answer why his
MONUSCO was
not
protecting
Pinga, for
example, from
the non M23
Mai Mai
militia.
And
that is one of
the points: in
the Congolese
statement
after the
vote,
nearly all of
Eastern
Congo's
problems were
blamed on
Rwanda, it was
noted.
Afterward, off
camera, a
Rwandan
diplomat
explained that
his
country thinks
the Congolese
parties should
speak, given
the military
failure. But
that's not
what Tuesday
resolution
does.
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
came out to
take
questions,
unlike Herve
Ladsous. Inner
City Press
asked Araud
about the UN
Peacekeepers
standing by
while M23 took
over Goma. He
said UN
peacekeepers
are not
for civil
wars.
Inner
City Press
asked him then
about Mali,
where France
speaks of the
Security
Council
authorizing,
and it seems
the UN
funding, a
force to
"reconquer"
Northern Mali.
Those would
not be UN blue
helmets, Araud
said.
It
is unclear by
this logic how
UN
peacekeepers
can protect
civilians.
But earlier
this month another of
Ladsous'
missions,
UNAMID in
Darfur,
actually
provided free
air flight to
soldiers of
the Sudanese
Armed
Forces,
whose
president and
defense chief
have been
indicted for
genocide and
war crimes in
Darfur.
Ladsous
has
more than a
little
explaining to
do. He went to
Tuesday's vote
and sat behind
the president.
He came out
and looked at
the stakeout
while Araud
was speaking.
And then he
left. Watch
this site.
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