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By Matthew Russell Lee, 14/5 Video, Scope

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 – On Gaza, Inner City Press on May 14 asked the Ambassadors to the UN of Palestine and Kuwait if the emergency UN Security Council meeting they were requested would occur on May 14, or the next day, May 15. Video here. They replied it would be on the morning of May 15 (Alamy photos here), and that a draft Security Council Press Statement had been distributed, with a silence procedure until 6 pm. On that, silence was broken by the US, whose President Donald J. Trump on May 18 is set to meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, listing in advance Syria and North Korea on the agenda, not Gaza. On May 15 Inner City Press asked Guterres' spokesman Farhan Haq about Friday's meeting - the UN does not anticipate any Q&A - and why Guterres has not set up a UN investigation. From the UN transcript: Inner City Press: the White House has put out a, I guess, a preview of the Secretary-General's meeting with President Trump on Friday and said, listing two countries, not the Middle East, Palestine or Israel, but listing Syria and North Korea as topics of mutual concern.  Does the Secretary-General… also reform an efficiency, but does the Secretary-General intend to raise this topic during his meeting Friday?  Because it seems from the listing that maybe the administration doesn't view the UN as… its role as useful on this topic as it does, apparently, on Syria and North Korea?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, we will bring up a range of topics of mutual concern.  We will provide those details following the meeting on Friday.

Question:  Is it your understanding if there will be a Q-and-A session of the President and António Guterres?

Deputy Spokesman:  I'm not aware of that at this stage, but if there is one, we will provide the details... Inner City Press: there have been various calls in the Council for transparent and independent investigation of killings in Gaza.  You were saying that the Secretary-General, you know, is calling for such an investigation; but as many have pointed out, he has the power to set up such an investigation.  Can you explain his reasoning, at least thus far, in not doing so?  And also, there had been a request that he provide a report on the implementation of the resolution in December 2016 on settlements, and is he aware of that and when will he do that?  Those are two separate questions, investigation and implementation.

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, first of all, regarding the question of investigations, we made clear repeatedly now that we want there to be credible investigations.  Ultimately, what we are doing at this stage is pressing for the authorities, the authorities responsible, in other words, in Israel, in Gaza and elsewhere to mount credible independent investigations.  We will have to evaluate whether that happens and whether the results are satisfactory.

Question:  When you say elsewhere, what do you mean — when you are calling on an investigation by Israel, Gaza and elsewhere?

Deputy Spokesman:  And also the Palestinian Authority, which is present also, as you know, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Question:  But, what is his reasoning not doing it himself, I guess, is what I'm saying?  There are many Council members that have said that he has it within his power to do it.  Is there some legal reason?  Is it a political judgment?

Deputy Spokesman:  Well, you're aware of the process by which UN investigative bodies get mandates, and that is something that we would need to be appraised of if that were a consideration down the line.  But, at this stage, our focus is seeing what the authorities themselves can do." Also on May 15, Kuwait said it will circulate a draft resolution on protection of civilians, modeled after a Norwegian one. France's Ambassador Francois Delattre spoke too, without taking questions. (His ambassador in Burundi Laurent Delahousse, meanwhile, replied to news of corpses in the river with one word: "Hippos?") Inner City Press was delayed since it is required by the UN of Antonio Guterres and his Global Communicator Alison Smale to only enter, unlike other UN correspondents many of whom rarely come in, rarely ask question and publish little, through the UN's Tourists Entrance, which was jammed and mis-managed on May 15. Periscope video - required to be turned off during the mis-management - here. We'll have more on this. Inner City Press asked, if as expected the US breaks silence, that they return to the Council stakeout. Kuwait, Sweden, France, Bolivia, Netherlands, Peru, Kazakhstan, Equatorial Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and China have requested from Secretary General Antonio Guterres, traveling in Austria before meeting US President Donald Trump on May 17, that Guterres prepare and submit a report on implementation of UNSC Resolution 2334 of December 2016, on which the US (previous administration) abstained.  Also, "Kuwait has requested an open meeting of the Security Council under the agenda item: The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, in light of the developments on the ground and the killing of innocent civilians, with reports putting the number of Palestinians killed at over 50.  Kuwait has requested for the meeting to be convened tomorrow morning, Tuesday May 15." Also on Gaza, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on April 5 said in a statement, "I reiterate my call on all concerned to refrain from any act that could lead to further violence or place civilians in harm's way, especially children." Then he prepared to leave for six days in China, just as the previous Friday he was an another UNannounced trip to his home in Lisbon. Now he is in Vienna. On April 20, after Palestine's Riyad Mansour, flanked by the Ambassadors of Tunisia, Kuwait and of the Arab League, conducted his Friday stakeout, Inner City Press asked if there has been any progress on requesting an inquiry by the UN Human Rights Council, and if Mansour had any comment on Mike Pompeo's upcoming trip to Jerusalem. Periscope video here. Mansour said he was not the right person to ask about Pence, and that some process is underway in Geneva. We'll see. On April 13, after Palestine's Riyad Mansour, flanked by the Ambassadors of Kuwait and of the Arab League, responded to Inner City Press' question about why Guterres hadn't followed his own advice and set up an inquiry, Inner City Press put the question to Guterres himself. He dismissed it with a wave of his hand. Vine video here. On April 20, after Guterres' spokesman refused to answer Inner City Press on who Guterres was taking with him to the UN Security Council retreat in Sweden (other than Izumi Nakamitsu, which Inner City Press on its own reported, on Syria and perhaps North Korea), Inner City Press asked Mansour if he knew if Guterres took envoy Mladenov to Sweden. Mansour replied that Mladenov would brief the open Council meeting on April 26 - and that Palestine is now going forward in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. We'll have more on this. Inner City Press Photos on Alamy. On Sunday, April 8, with Guterres issuing statements praising China but little to nothing on any other topic, the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda issued this: "It is with grave concern that I note the violence and deteriorating situation in the Gaza Strip in the context of recent mass demonstrations. Since 30 March 2018, at least 27 Palestinians have been reportedly killed by the Israeli Defence Forces, with over a thousand more injured, many, as a result of shootings using live ammunition and rubber-bullets. Violence against civilians - in a situation such as the one prevailing in Gaza – could constitute crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”), as could the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities. I remind all parties that the situation in Palestine is under preliminary examination by my Office. While a preliminary examination is not an investigation, any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny. This applies to the events of the past weeks and to any future incident. I am aware that the demonstrations in the Gaza Strip are planned to continue further. My Office will continue to closely watch the situation and will record any instance of incitement or resort to unlawful force. I urge all those concerned to refrain from further escalating this tragic situation. Any person who incites or engages in acts of violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing in any other manner to the commission of crimes within ICC's jurisdiction is liable to prosecution before the Court, with full respect for the principle of complementarity. The resort to violence must stop." At 6 pm on April 6 Mansour returned with Tunisia's Ambassador and said the US had broken silence and blocked the statement. 12 Minute Video here.

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