After
Congo
Rapes, Would UN Expert Wallstrom Shift to a Swedish Post?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 16 -- The relative inaction in the face of the
Congo
rape scandal of Swedish UN official Margot Wallstrom may have
an explanation. On Sunday, Wallstrom's comrade Mona Sahlin runs for
prime minister in Sweden. Sahlin has indicated she would like
Wallstrom as her foreign minister.
Would Wallstrom leave her UN post,
on Sexual Violence and Conflict, barely six months into a so far
unsuccessful tenure?
When the rapes
took place in Eastern Congo, Wallstrom was said to be “in Europe,”
even “on vacation.” She did not learn of the July 30 to August 4
rapes until August 21, through “emerging media reports.”
Between August 21
and the Security Council's September 7 meeting about the rapes and
the scandal of the UN's inaction, Wallstrom did not even go to the
Congo, unlike the Department of Peacekeeping Operation's Atul Khare.
Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon has indicated he will “send” Wallstrom to the Congo.
But what if she leaves the UN, for a job back in her native Sweden?
One particularly well placed source told Inner City Press, “rats
leave a sinking ship.” Watch this site.
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On
Congo
Rapes,
UN Admits 240 Victims, Dodges Meece Inaccuracies,
Wallstrom Inaction
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September
1 -- As the UN tries to slow down or even bury the
story of its inaction on the mass rapes in Eastern Congo, the
questions keep on coming and the admissions, drip by drip. But
belatedly updated victim numbers can't change the inaccurate statements
of MONUSCO chief Roger Meece, nor the inaction of
Margot Wallstrome, UN envoy on Sexual Violence and Conflict.
On
Wednesday
at
the UN in New York, Inner City Press asked about
Inner
City
Press:
what the UN knew and when, saying that on 30 July in that
e-mail it mentioned a rape in the village of Mpofi, and also a 10
August e-mail mentioning already 25 rapes. These dates are
inconsistent, to put it mildly, with what Mr. Meece said to us from
the video screen. What are the ramifications? Does the UN deny
this... or are we missing something in terms of the inaccuracies?
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan
Haq: As far as that goes, as you’re aware,
when the Secretary-General learned of these mass rapes, what he did
from our side was to immediately dispatch Atul Khare, the Assistant
Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. He is there right now. We just mentioned
what his travels in the area are. He, among other things, was sent
there specifically to look into the mass rapes that occurred in the
Walikale area. He’ll also look at our response and how we
responded to it. He’s there now collecting information and we will
see what his evaluation is of that situation when he returns. We
expect him back next week and we expect him to report back to the
Secretary-General, and also, by the way, to the Security Council,
although, of course, their schedule for the month is still being
determined.
Inner
City
Press:
But I remember Martin [Nesirky] saying from this podium
that here at the Secretariat in New York your office was looking into
this 30 July e-mail to find what it was and what it said. Now, the
New York Times says a rape occurred. I’m just wondering, has your
office found that e-mail? And totally outside of Mr. Khare’s time
schedule, what does it mean it mean about what Mr. Meece told us?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
Yes,
we have been looking into that. At this stage,
what I would wait for is to see what information Mr. Khare, as the
person who is there on the ground, because he is there, he is
accumulating data and he will report back. I think we’ll leave it
until then. But, yes, we’ve been looking into this and certainly
we’re trying to find what the providence of this particular e-mail
is.
Inner
City
Press:
Just one more on this. The International Medical Corps
now says that the number of women treated in this mass rape incident,
they’ve raised their number from 192 to 242. I’m just wondering
if the UN, which initially had this 154 number, do you dispute those
numbers? Or is the UN just shutting down its communications until 7
September?
Deputy
Spokesperson:
I
don’t have for you at this stage any higher number
beyond what we’ve given. However, as our presence in that area
grows and as there’s been more of a restoration of peace to various
areas, freeing up people to feel like they can speak, we’re trying
to get more information about what’s going on. So we may find out
more information about other attacks. So we would update the numbers
accordingly once we get that. But right now at this stage what we’re
doing is we’re spreading out into various communities. We’re
looking into different reports and we’ll try and see what further
information we have.
[The
Spokesperson
added
later that the United Nations Organization
Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(MONUSCO) has put the number of rape victims at higher than 240, with
more cases being reported.]
In
fact, after the
above transcribed questions, the UN released not only an updated
number of victims, but a whole press release, in French which a
tri-lingual colleague in New York has helpfully translated, below.
UN previously in Pinga, Wallstrom and Meece
inaccuracies not shown
Unofficial
translation
from
French
Today,
MONUSCO
in
partnership with the DRC government, has continued to
review its activities on the ground in order to better protect the
civilian population, while conforming to its mandate.
MONUSCO
launched
today
operation "Shop Window" in the areas of
Pinga, Kibua, and Walikale, aimed at reassuring the population and
demonstrating its efforts to use all available resources to fulfill
its mandate to protect.
This
operation
follows
the observation of increased activities of armed
groups in the areas of Walikale and Masisi, who have committed a
number of human rights violations and fostered insecurity amongst the
civilian population.
Indeed,
after
the
rapes of over 240 victims in Kibua, MONUSCO received
additional information concerning other acts that have occurred in
Mubi and in the area surrounding Pinga.
CONCERNING
MUBI
Mubi
is
an
area located approximately 36km northwest of Walikale on the
axis of Walikale-Kisangani. On August 17, the North Kivu Brigade,
MONUSCO police and the joint UNHCR bureau reported clashes between
the FDLR and the Mai-Mai Sheka (that occurred) on August 16 and 17
and that resulted in the pillage of several homes, the detention of
at least 50 people for looting, and the deaths of 2 FARDC and 7
wounded.
On
August
25,
"Heal Africa" informed MONUSCO of the 8 rape
victims who sought medical attention in their center in Bilobilo. The
office of human rights contacted the NGO IMC the same day for
additional information. That evening, they received information of
the release of all those who had been previously detained. On August
28, the IMC informed MONUSCO that according "Heal Africa"
they had 11 rape victims in their center in Bilibilo, but that the
number of victims could increase.
CONCERNING
PINGA
Pinga
is
located
10 km northeast of Masisi. Based on the report from an
interpreter who received information from an NGO, military observers
made another report on August 18. A team was sent to Pinga on August
30 to verify the information. As a result, they confirmed that 16
rapes had occurred in the area over a period of two weeks: 2 in
Bushimo on August 12 and 14---13 in Chuho on August 17 and 1 in
Burai.
A
patrol
was
dispatched to each of these locations to gather
information and secure the areas. A meeting was set up with the 121st
brigade that reinforced (the patrol's) presence and opened up an
investigation. One suspect has already been apprehended.
Helicopter
patrols
in
these areas have also been set up and MONUSCO troops have
already received instructions concerning their future conduct. On
August 30, a joint protection team was sent to Walikale and received
a list the names of approximately 40 rape victims.
But
what about the
inaccurate statements by Roger Meece? And the inaction by Margot
Wallstrom? What about accountability? Watch this site.
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