With
UN Libya Expert Kartas Jailed
Guterres Says Nothing Now OIOS
Petition Salame Complicity
By Matthew
Russell Lee, CJR Letter
PFT Q&A
UNITED NATIONS
GATE, April 8 – The UN's own
Libya arms sanctions expert
Moncef Kartas has been
arrested and detained in
Tunisia and with Secretary
General now in Tunis praising
the government, there has been
no indication Guterres has
even raised the issue, while
he traveled to meet strongman
"General" Haftar.
Meanwhile the UN Security
Council failed again to even
issue a press release.
Guterres' failure is more
fundamental and should lead to
impeachment. Guterres met
Haftar on Friday and then
tweeted that he was leaving
Libya with a “heavy heart” and
was deeply concerned." Yeah,
heavy heart - after Guterres
already covered up slaughter
in Cameroon and Yemen.
#DumpGuterres. Now this: "RE:
REQUEST FOR A FORMAL
INVESTIGATION OF GHASSAN
SALAME’S POSSIBLE COMPLICITY
IN THE ARMED ATTACK ON
TRIPOLI... to the United
Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime pursuant to United
Nations General Assembly
Resolution A/RES/48/218B , the
Office of Internal Oversight
Services, and the
International Criminal Court
to conduct a formal
investigation into the
allegations that Mr. Ghassan
Salame had prior knowledge of
and offered support to Khalifa
Haftar’s plans to attack the
Libyan capital Tripoli.
On or about 5th April 2019,
Haftar’s spokesman General
Ahmad Mismari divulged in a
televised interview
(Attachment A at minute 1:55)
that Ghassan Salame was kept
abreast of the plan to advance
against Libya’s western
region. Despite this possible
prior knowledge, Mr. Salame
failed to take any steps to
protect the Libyan capital and
its residents from
destruction, summary killings,
pillaging, starvation, and
torture. Ghassan Salame has
not denied this
allegation. VIOLATING
THE UN MANDATE UN
Security Council Resolution
2238 (2015) specifically
requires the UN Envoy Salame
to hold accountable “…those
responsible for violations or
abuses of human rights or
violations of international
humanitarian law, including
those involved in attacks
targeting civilians”. Without
a question, any military
venture especially if
conducted by an undisciplined
militia with a demonstrated
history of war crimes will
result in catastrophic pain
and suffering on Tripoli’s
dense civilian population of
almost 1.7 million persons.
Mr. Salame bears full
responsibility for this
violation and should be held
personally accountable by the
UN and the International
Criminal Court. Mr. Ghassan
Salame has failed repeatedly
in the past to take steps to
protect Libyan civilians and
neglected to report war
criminals to the proper
international agencies. At a
minimum, this failure
represents grave dereliction
of duty that should be
investigated by the UN and the
ICC. AIDING AND
ABETTING WAR CRIMINALS – MENS
REA It is imperative
that the actions and positions
of the Special Representative
of the Secretary General are
consistent with international
law. Supporting, promoting, or
covering up for Haftar
violates international laws
against aiding and abetting
war criminals. Indeed, the
mens rea for aiding and
abetting war crimes under
customary law require only
knowledge and not purpose
(2). This concept has
been established by
Nuremberg-era trials, the
International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia, International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
the Special Court for Sierra
Leone, and the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Courts of
Cambodia. Article 30 of the
Rome Statute stipulates that
the default mens rea standard
for crimes under the Rome
Statue is knowledge. By
covering up for Khalifa Haftar
and his militia, Ghassan
Salame may be liable for
aiding and abetting a war
criminal even if there is no
intent to specifically promote
his war crimes (3).
Failing to take steps to
prevent Haftar’s crimes in
Tripoli and failing to
disclose Haftar’s plans to the
Libyan people and to the
United Nations may be
interpreted as a show of moral
support which establishes an
actus reus of aiding and
abetting as well as tacit
approval which establishes the
mens rea of the crime:
In Prosecutor v. Pauline
Nyiramasuhuko, Arsène Shalom
Ntahobali, Sylvain Nsabimana,
Alphone Nteziryayo, Joseph
Kanyabashi and Élie
Ndayambaje, Case No.
ICTR-98-42-A, Judgement (AC),
14 December 2015 (4), para.
1955 these types of actus reus
and mens rea are confirmed: "…
The Appeals Chamber recalls
that the actus reus of aiding
and abetting " consists of
practical assistance,
encouragement, or moral
support which has a
substantial effect on the
perpetration of the crime” and
the mens rea is “the knowledge
that these acts assist the
commission of the offense".
Furthermore, “The Appeals
Chamber has further explained
that an individual can be
found liable for aiding and
abetting a crime when it is
established that his conduct
amounted to tacit approval and
encouragement of the crime and
that such conduct
substantially contributed to
the crime." CLEAR AND
OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE OF WAR
CRIMES Ghassan Salame
cannot claim ignorance of the
bloody history of Khalifa
Haftar. As in my ICC complaint
OTP-CR-113/17, these crimes
have been well documented by
local media, social media,
international media, and the
United Nations Committee of
Experts. Moreover, the
evidence for Haftar’s personal
culpability is overwhelming.
Haftar personally and openly
ordered war crimes.
Consistent with the ICC’s own
commentary on Article 8 (2)
(b) (xii), Khalifa Haftar has
publicly and purposefully
violated every element of the
war crime of denying
quarter: 1. In his
infamous instructions
delivered three years ago to
his axes commanders including
Al-Werfalli (5), Khalifa
Haftar “declared or ordered
that there shall be no
survivors”. Haftar never
rescinded these orders. In
this video recording link,
Haftar commands his troops (
minute 1:06) that “There
shall be no mercy in
confronting the enemy. There
is no such thing as take him
prisoner. There is no
imprisonment here. This is a
battle field. Story
finished.” 2. Haftar’s
“order was given in order to
threaten an adversary or to
conduct hostilities on the
basis that there shall be no
survivors.” Indeed Haftar made
his orders public to precisely
achieve this end. 3.
Haftar was “in a position of
effective command or control
over the subordinate forces to
which the declaration or order
was directed” as he was
speaking to his commanders in
full military uniform showing
his rank and decorations. He
was identified in media loyal
to him as “the General
Commander of the Armed Forces”
as the video segment in the
link above shows. 4.
Haftar’s orders “took place in
the context of and was
associated with an
international armed conflict.”
Haftar was preparing his
troops for battle by
commanding them to use all
weapons and means possible:
“We consider all weapons are
allowed and permissible”
(minute 0:13). According to
the United Nations,
international powers have
provided Haftar with direct
military support in conducting
his war in Libya. 5.
Haftar “was aware of factual
circumstances that established
the existence of an armed
conflict.” as he has
personally initiated,
commanded, and perpetrated the
war in Benghazi, Derna, and
other parts of Libya.
HAFTAR’S HISTORY OF STARVING
CIVILIANS In a televised
speech (attachment delivered
in August 2017 and never
recanted or rescinded, Khalifa
Haftar explicitly, directly,
and publicly calls for the
starvation and suffocation of
civilians in a flagrant
violation of the Rome Statue
Article 8(2)(b)(xxv), Article
54 (1) of the Additional
Protocol I, and of the
additional Protocol II.
Specifically, Khalifa Haftar
stated the following: “A
blockade means blockade… No
one is to say pilgrims. Now is
not the time to make
pilgrimage…..does not mean
those who are sick can
leave…..or children that need
to study….none of these calls
mean anything to us…..a
blockade means
strangulation….a blockade
means cutting off the
air….medicine or treatment or
whatever….none of that is
allowed…. Must suffocate
them.” According to the
International Committee of the
Red Cross: “Rules 54–56 are a
corollary to the prohibition
of starvation of civilians as
a method of warfare. This
means that attacking objects
indispensable to the survival
of the civilian population
(see Rule 54) and denying
access of humanitarian aid
intended for civilians in
need, including deliberately
impeding humanitarian aid (see
Rule 55) or restricting the
freedom of movement of
humanitarian relief personnel
(see Rule 56) may constitute
violations of the prohibition
of starvation. Practice in
respect of Rules 54–56 further
reinforces this rule’s status
as a norm of customary
international law.” If
these allegations are
confirmed, by providing Haftar
with the opportunity to attack
cities in western Libya,
Ghassan Salame personally,
knowingly, and purposefully
was willing to subject
countless Libyans to
starvation. A CLEAR AND
PRESENT DANGER It is,
therefore, imperative that the
United Nations and the ICC
conduct a swift investigation
into the allegations I set
forth in this complaint.
Coupled with his extensive
financial ties to member
states that are party to the
Libyan conflict, Ghassan
Salame’s continued deployment
to Libya represents a clear
and present danger to the
Libyan people. I hereby
request that Ghassan Salame is
relieved of his duties. In
addition, these allegations
should be fully and thoroughly
investigated by the UN and the
ICC including allegations of
violating his UN mandate,
being complicit in war crimes,
aiding and abetting of war
criminals, dereliction of
duty, and endangering the
Libyan people.
Respectfully Submitted... to
Ben Swanson, Director of
Investigations, Office of
Internal Oversight Services
Simone Monasebia, Director,
United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime UN Security Council
Members UN Sanctions Committee
United States Department of
Justice United States
Department of State United
States House and Senate
Foreign Relations Committee
European Union Representative
for Foreign Affairs Italian
Ambassador to Libya German
Ambassador to Libya."
Meanwhile in New York, more
than an hour before Guterres'
corrupt UN sent anything out,
April's UNSC president Christoph
Heusgen mis-bragging
about transparency said "The
council calls on LNA forces to
halt all military movements.
The members of the Security
Council expressed deep concern
at the military activity near
Tripoli which risks Libyan
stability and prospects for UN
mediation and a comprehensive
political solution to the
crisis." Just before the murky
meeting, enabler Francois
Delattre of France said in
front of the UN Security
Council, "Just a few words
about the situation in
Libya. As we stated
yesterday in a joint statement
with the United Arab Emirates,
the United States, Italy and
the United Kingdom, France is
extremely concerned about the
ongoing fights near Tripoli.
We call on all the parties to
urgently cease the current
escalation, which can only
take the country back into
chaos.
We will now have an exchange
with SRSG Salamé on the
situation on Libya. We fully
support the SG and Ghassan
Salamé’s efforts and those of
the United Nations more
broadly to put an end to the
current deadlock and to
initiate a strong political
momentum. We therefore call on
all Libyan actors to work
constructively with the UN and
to participate in the national
conference planned for April
14-16. This conference should
be an important milestone in
the political process, which
is the only way out of the
crisis.
And we must say time and again
that there is no military
solution to the crisis in
Libya. I’m sure it will be our
common position during the
consultations of the Security
Council that we are about to
have." We'll have more on
this. Guterres' deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq on March
29, in a briefing Inner City
Press was banned from by
Guterres for the 268th day,
said when asked if Guterres
would even raise the issue of
the illegal detention of UN
expert Moncef Kartas, Haq
said, "We shall have to
see. Of course, we’ll
provide details of his travels
as they happen.... We’ll
provide
details of his
meetings in
Tunisia while
he’s there. "
So where are the details?
There's a gushing photos
from UN Spokesperson,
presumably Stephane Dujarric
who took Friday off as usual.
And no answers.
A week after
Inner City Press on Libya in
2018 asked the UN about
General Haftar's moves on
Derna, it was reported there
that the "UN" envoy named by
Secretary General Antonio
Guterres, Ghassan Salame,
refused to meet with people in
Derna because Egypt, the UAE
and France did not want him
too. The UN never responded
two questions on this or much
else, preferring instead to
try to extend UNSG Antonio
Guterres' ban on Inner City
Press even outside the UN,
moving to bar the Press from
an October 31 speech by
Guterres at a religious
institution and from
"his" December 10 UN
Human Right event. Now
on March 1 from the UN, this:
"The Secretary-General
welcomes the 27 February
meeting in the United Arab
Emirates, convened by his
Special Representative for
Libya, Ghassan Salamé, between
the Prime Minister of Libya
and President of the
Presidency Council of the
Government of National Accord,
Faiez Serraj, and the
Commander of the Libyan
National Army, Khalifa
Haftar.
The Secretary-General commends
both parties on the progress
made, in particular the
agreement on the need to end
the transitional stages in
Libya through the holding of
general elections, and also
the commitment to maintain
stability in the country and
unify its
institutions.
The Secretary-General hopes
further progress can be
achieved on the basis of what
has already been agreed upon,
with the support of the
international
community.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman
for the
Secretary-General New
York, 1 March 2019." The UAE,
of course, is where UN sell
out Bernardino Leon is running
their diplomatic academy...
Guterres on December 16 in
Doha amazingly called Libya a
success for the UN, or just
for him, here.
Now on February 4 Inner City
Press prior to the UN noon
briefing it was banned from
for the 215th day asked in
writing question to Guterres,
his rarely present deputy
Amina J. Mohammed, Global
Censor Alison Smale and lead
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, "February
4-3: On Libya,
what is the
SG's knowledge
of and comment
and action on
allegations
that his envoy
Salame is
declining to
send UN to
check on Derna
and impending
killings
there?" Hours
later,
nothing, no
answer at all,
as Dujarric
in his
briefing joked
about his "fat
fingers on
[his] iPhone." Here
is what Inner
City Press'
sources in Libya
tell it, that
those whom Salame
is blocking are from
the UN system
but said not
to mention their
names due to
the pervasive
retaliation
under Guterres, "Salame
is the one
resisting to
send them to Derna. Haftar’s
LNA militias
promised 3
days ago, 48
hours to
‘liberate’ the
Old City.
This is the
same time
frame which
was given to
Ganfouda, in
Benghazi.
They’ve been
in Benghazi
for nearly 2
weeks. They
were supposed
to head to Derna
today but that
didn’t happen.
Salame seems
to be on the
side of those
who are most
likely to win/
take control
of the
country, and
in this case,
the #LNA. As
someone
working for
the UN, he
should be
working to
serve the
civilians and
Libyan people.
Not any side
in
particular." But this
is
today's
corrupt UN of
Guterres.
Inner City Press' many UN
sources tell it Salame was
largely selected / placed in
the position by France; Egypt
backs Haftar. The UAE bought
the UN's previous envoy
Bernardino Leon; Inner City
Press is informed that Salame
has been on the board of the
UAE Diplomatic Academy. This
is today's UN. And this:
Guterres' UN Security forcibly
ousted Inner City Press from
the UN on June 22 and July 3,
and Guterres has banned Inner
City Press from the UN since
July 5.
Fox News July
5 story here,
GAP blogs I
and II.
CJR,
August
11. Guterres made it a
lifetime ban on August 17; his
UN has claimed the US Mission
supports the ban. On
September 12, the US State
Department said, "Today, the
United States, in coordination
with the UN Security Council’s
Libya Sanctions Committee,
imposed financial sanctions on
Libyan militia leader Ibrahim
Jadhran. In accordance
with today’s UN listing, which
was proposed by Libya’s
Permanent Mission to the UN,
the U.S. Department of the
Treasury’s Office of Foreign
Assets Control (OFAC) has
designated Jadhran pursuant to
Executive Order 13726.
Consequently, all of Jadhran’s
assets within U.S.
jurisdiction are blocked, and
U.S. persons are generally
prohibited from engaging in
transactions with him.
In addition, the corresponding
UN sanctions require all UN
Member States to impose an
asset freeze and travel ban.
In June 2018, forces led by
Jadhran violently attacked and
seized control of the Libyan
oil ports Ras Lanuf and Al
Sidra. This created an
economic and political crisis
that cost Libya more than $1.4
billion in revenue and set
back efforts to promote
political progress and
stability in Libya." So close
to and with the UN, whose
spokes- and hatchetman
Stephane Dujarric on the
evening of September 6 issued
for the Security Council a
Press Statement praising
Salame: "The members of the
Security Council welcomed the
briefing from the Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General, Ghassan
Salamé, on 5 September 2018.
The members of the Security
Council condemned the recent
violence in Tripoli and called
on all parties to exercise
restraint, protect civilians
and engage seriously in
national reconciliation. They
reiterated that there can be
no military solution in
Libya. The members of
the Security Council called
for those who undermine
Libya’s peace and security to
be held to account. The
members of the Security
Council welcomed the result of
the mediation reached on 4
September by the United
Nations Support Mission in
Libya (UNSMIL), which aims to
de-escalate violence in and
around Tripoli and to ensure
the protection of
civilians. They
reiterated their strong
support for the Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General, Ghassan
Salamé, as he works to realise
an immediate and durable
cessation of hostilities in
the Libyan capital, which is a
critical step to advancing the
political process in
accordance with the United
Nations Action Plan." On
September 4 new UN Human
Rights Commissioner Michelle
Bachelet issued this: "Since
the outbreak of violence in
the Libyan capital Tripoli on
26 August, at least 21
civilians have been killed,
including two women and two
children, with a further 16
people injured. The parties to
the conflict have been firing
indiscriminately and using
weapons with wide-area effects
-- including rockets, tank
shells and artillery -- in
densely populated residential
areas. We call on all parties
to put an end to
indiscriminate attacks and to
take all feasible precautions
to spare civilians and
civilian objects.
We are also concerned about
the impact of the conflict on
groups in vulnerable
situations, including migrants
and internally displaced
people. Some of the nearly
8,000 arbitrarily detained
migrants are trapped in
detention centers in areas
where fighting has been taking
place, without access to food
or medical treatment.
Others have been released, but
have not been able to access
safety and essential services.
Some of the migrants released
from official detention
centers are reported to have
subsequently been taken into
captivity by armed groups and
are being forced to work for
them.
On 2 September, at least two
displaced Tawerghan men died
and five women were injured
when the al-Fallah IDP camp
was shelled.Hundreds of
families have been displaced
in recent fighting, with some
sheltering in schools. Others
are believed to remain trapped
in areas of active hostilities
without electricity, water and
food. We are also concerned by
reports of pillage and
looting.
According to information
received by UNSMIL,
humanitarian aid workers were
shot at on Saturday, 1
September, while seeking to
evacuate civilians trapped in
an area near Khilat al-Firjan.
The al-Kaniyat armed group is
also alleged to have
confiscated three ambulances
from the Ambulance and
Emergency Services.
We call on all parties to the
conflict to facilitate
immediate, unimpeded and safe
access of humanitarian aid and
aid-workers to civilians in
need. We urge the warring
parties to respect and protect
personnel engaged in
humanitarian relief, and to
cease all attacks on medical
transport and units, as well
as to facilitate the safe and
voluntary movement of
civilians wishing to leave
areas of active
hostilities." What and how
will Bachelet
do on this
file, and on
the UN's own
censorship.
We'll see - two
requests
have been made
to her and her
team,
on both
human rights
including in
Cameroon and
relatedly on
UN censorship.This
while Dujarric has
refused days in a row to
answer Inner City Press'
simple emailed question about
Salame and Libya, despite USG
Alison Smale's false pledge
that such written questions
would be answered. Today's UN
is corrupt.... July 24 from
MSF: "Doctors Without
Borders/Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) calls for an
end to the arbitrary detention
of refugees, asylum-seekers,
and migrants in Libya.
Conditions in already
overcrowded detention centers
are getting even worse after a
dramatic increase in the
number of people intercepted
in the Mediterranean and
disembarked in Libya by the
Libyan Coast Guard, which is
supported by the European
Union. At least 11,800 people
have been returned to Libya
from unseaworthy boats in the
Mediterranean so far this year
according to UN organizations,
with interceptions in
international waters between
Italy, Malta, and Libya taking
place on an almost daily
basis. Upon disembarkation,
people are transferred to
unregulated detention centers
along the Libyan coast, where
many are held in inhumane
conditions. 'People who have
just suffered a traumatic life
or death situation at sea
should not be transferred to a
system of arbitrary detention
that is harmful and
exploitative,' said Karline
Kleijer, MSF's emergency
program manager." And what is
Salame, and what are his
sponsors, doing about it?
We'll have more on this. On
June 18, Inner City Press
asked UN spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: In Libya,
there's a lot of fighting in
the Oil Crescent, and it seems
that some large oil facilities
are on fire in Ra's
Lanuf. So, I'm
wondering, given Mr. [Ghassan]
Salamé… seems like it's both
an environmental as well as a
political… pretty much of a
crisis. What's the UN
system doing about these
burning oil tanks…?
Spokesman: "I did not
get an update from Libya
today." Oh - is that all the
UN spokesman's job is, beyond
evicting and restricting
the Press that asks? The next
days, nothing from Dujarric
except more cutting off of
questions by calling on
favored scribes, and from the
UN an ouster of Inner City
Press, video
here,
story here.
Now this on June 27 - not from
the UN which has an envoy, but
from the US, UK, Italy and
France: "The governments of
France, Italy, the United
Kingdom, and the United States
are deeply concerned about the
announcement that the Ras
Lanuf and Sidra oil fields and
facilities will be transferred
to the control of an entity
other than the legitimate
National Oil
Corporation. Libya’s oil
facilities, production, and
revenues belong to the Libyan
people. These vital
Libyan resources must remain
under the exclusive control of
the legitimate National Oil
Corporation and the sole
oversight of the Government of
National Accord (GNA), as
outlined in UN Security
Council Resolutions 2259
(2015), 2278 (2016), and 2362
(2017). UN Security
Council Resolution 2362 (2017)
condemns attempts to illicitly
export petroleum, including
crude oil and refined
petroleum products, from Libya
by parallel institutions which
are not acting under the
authority of the GNA. Any
attempts to circumvent the UN
Security Council’s Libya
sanctions regime will cause
deep harm to Libya’s economy,
exacerbate its humanitarian
crisis, and undermine its
broader stability. The
international community will
hold those who undermine
Libya’s peace, security, and
stability to account. We
call for all armed actors to
cease hostilities and withdraw
immediately from oil
installations without
conditions before further
damage occurs. In
September 2016, the LNA
supported the legitimate
National Oil Corporation’s
work to rebuild Libya’s oil
sector for the benefit of the
Libyan people. This
action served Libya’s national
interest. The legitimate
National Oil Corporation must
be allowed again to take up
unhindered work on behalf of
the Libyan people, to repair
infrastructure damaged after
the attack by forces under the
direction of Ibrahim Jadhran,
and to restore the oil exports
and production disrupted by
that attack." Only after the
above did UNSG Guterres
belatedly speak, through his
(censoring) spokesman
Dujarric: "The
Secretary-General is concerned
about the latest developments
in Libya's "Oil
Crescent" region. He
calls for de-escalation and
for the return of all natural
resources, their production
and their revenues to the
control of the recognised
Libyan authorities. The
Secretary-General recalls, as
stipulated in Security Council
resolution 2259 (2015), the
need for unity of Libyan
institutions and the exclusive
right of the National Oil
Corporation to export the
country's oil. The
Secretary-General reiterates
his support to the efforts of
his Special Representative,
Mr. Ghassan Salamé, towards an
inclusive political process
among all Libyans through the
implementation of the UN
Action Plan." On May 29, Inner
City Press asked UN Spokesman
Stephane Dujarric, UN
transcript here:
Inner City Press: on Libya, I
mean, I see a picture of Mr.
Salamé there behind Mr.
Macron, so just I wanted to
know in what context did the
UN participate in the
announcement made in France
and also was Mr. Salamé at
this SRSG [Special
Representative of the
Secretary-General] meeting in
Mont Pèlerin. Which… did
all SRSGs…?
Spokesman: Yes. As
far as I know I think all
SRSGs were there. Mr.
Salamé was there to represent
the UN. As I said, I
would have expected to have
something to share with you,
but I don't as of yet." Later
they issued a canned statement
including "The
Secretary-General welcomes the
Political Declaration on Libya
adopted in Paris today by four
major Libyan actors convened
under the auspices of the
United Nations and hosted by
President Emmanuel Macron...
The United Nations, led by
Special Representative Salamé,
will continue to implement the
United Nations Action Plan, as
supported by the Declaration
adopted today." His master's
voice. It
was not worth
asking the UN
Spokesman in
writing - he
does not
respond, evicted
and restricts
Inner City
Press and bans
it then
its Periscope
from Antonio
Guterres UNTV
filmed events.
Inner City
Press then in
person asked
Guterres' lead
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who
said he'd
inquire and
revert, but
never did, as
is his
practices. On
May 25 when
Guterres'
deputy Farhan
Haq limited
Inner City
Press to only
two questions,
Inner City
Press used one
of them this
way, UN transcript:
Inner City
Press: I had
asked Stéphane
[Dujarric]
about whether
the the
UN's envoy on
Libya, Ghassan
Salamé,
as has been
reported
there,
declined to
speak with
civilians in
Derna, and I
had wanted to
ask you.
It wasn't much
in his
briefing to
the Security
Council, and
people there
say that, in
fact, the
hospital has
no more oxygen
because of the
siege
laid. So
what is the
UN's position
on General
[Khalifa]
Haftar's
siege?
And number
two, I've gone
back and looked
and it seems
that Mr.
Salamé, at
least as of
2016, was on
the advisory
board of the
UAE's [United
Arab Emirates]
Diplomatic
Academy, where
now Bernardino
León, the
former envoy,
has a
position, and
I wanted to
know.
There's
nothing since
then and
there's no
Ghassan Salamé
financial
disclosure
online, at
least, to
disclose his
outside
activities.
Is he still
affiliated
with the UAE
Diplomatic
Academy, given
that the UAE
is supportive
of General
Haftar?
And number
two, was this
some kind of a
problem, his
affiliation
with the UAE,
given their
influence in
Libya, and
position in
Libya,
positions on
Libya?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Well, first of
all, regarding
what you said
about Mr.
Salamé and
this report
that he did
not… that he
refused to
talk to Derna
representatives,
we've checked
with the
Mission.
That report is
false.
Mr. Salamé and
the Mission
have been in
touch with
several people
and entities
from Derna and
they are ready
to speak to
all
Libyans.
Regarding…
Inner
City
Press: Can
you say which
entities
because the
groups went on
the record
saying he
wouldn't speak
to them.
Can you say
which groups
those are?
Deputy
Spokesman:
This is the
information I
have.
And… but he
has been in
touch, and he
continues to
be open and
available to
talk to all
the various
parties,
including in
Derna.
There's… we do
not believe
that there's
any problems
with any
conflicts
regarding Mr.
Salamé.
He was vetted
during the
course of his
recruitment.
Inner City
Press:
Did he stop
his position
as being on
the advisory
board of the
UAE Diplomatic
Academy when
he began
working for
the UN?
Deputy
Spokesman:
I'm… as far as
I'm aware,
there are no
conflicts
regarding his
roles.
Hold on."
Yeah, hold on.
Back
on April 19 with questions
abounding in Libya about where
General Haftar was and about
his health and mental state,
Inner City Press asked UN
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here: Inner City
Press: there's a lack of
clarity of the health and
whereabouts of General
[Khalifa] Haftar in Libya. He
sort of disappeared.
Some diplomats have said he's
had a serious heart attack and
may not function. So,
I'm wondering, since the UN
does have an envoy, Ghassan
Salamé, is he aware where
General Haftar is?
When's the last time he spoke
to him?
Spokesman: "Mr. Salamé
spoke to… hold on a
second. I know he spoke
to… I think last week he spoke
to General Haftar. I'll
have to get you the exact
date. And, as for the
whereabouts, I mean, I think
that's up for those… those…
Mr. Haftar and his people to
talk about....Mr. Salamé spoke
to General Haftar last
Friday." And since?
With
Libya on the UN Security
Council's agenda on March 21,
Inner City Press asked UK
Ambassador Jonathan Allen
about continued reports of
slavery there. From the UK
transcript: Inner City Press:
On the issue of human
trafficking and even slavery,
migrants: BBC had another
story today about people who
had been imprisoned for months
and who had been sold. Is the
UN doing anything? Is the UN
doing enough? What should be
done about that?
We obviously have passed the
resolution in the Security
Council I think last November
which was really clear about
the expectations the Council
has, and that I know a number
of countries are working with
Libya but also other countries
in Africa, including European
Union projects, including
through bilateral means, to
try and resolve some of the
problems that we’re seeing
because there is a huge
problem that needs to be fixed
and ultimately it will be
fixed when Libya is able to
have political institutions
that work and is able to come
together as a country, which
is what we’re talking about
this morning, of course."
We'll see. At the end of the
open meeting on Libya,
Russia's Ambassador Nebenzia
distributed a video about..
Eastern Ghouta. Inner City
Press Periscope here.
When the Libya sanctions
committee of the UN Security
Council met on February 9 in
the UN basement, only one
media was covering it: Inner
City Press.And now by Guterres
it has been banned from the UN
since 3 July 2018...
***
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