In
Geneva, Greece
on Ukraine But
Not IMF, Sri
Lanka Looming
in HRC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, March
3 -- When the
UN Human
Rights Council
began its
speeches on
Monday
morning, Syria
and North
Korea remained
in nearly
every speech
but Ukraine
and the
Central
African
Republic
worked
their way in,
along with a
smattering of
references to
Sri Lanka,
where the
killing of
tens of
thousands of
civilians
remains
unaddressed.
It
was noted that
the term of
High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights Navi
Pillay is
almost up. But
it was
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon who
said she'd
only have one
half of a
second term.
Pillay
on January 20
said the
France put Muslim
communities at
risk in CAR.
How will that
be acted on?
She's called
for a
international
accountability
mechanism for
Sri Lanka; Ban
says its
entirely up to
member states,
as he told
Inner City
Press regarding
having
controversial
military
figure
Shavendra
Silva as an
adviser to
UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous.
Qatar,
which sent
only a
"Minister's
Assistant,"
predictable
denounced
Syria and also
spoke for
freedom of the
press if not
of
speech.
#FreeAJstaff,
we and the Free UN Coalition for Access
absolutely
agree with.
But what about
Qatar
having locked
up the poet
Ajami?
Greece
spoke on
Ukraine,
taking the EU
line, which
implies that
the
International
Monetary Fund
will save
Ukraine. Has
they happened
in
Greece? What
about the
protesters in
Greece's
squares?
Ban
Ki-moon gave a
press
conference,
pitching for
relevance and
a role in
Ukraine, where
instead of
Robert Serry
he has now
sent his
deputy Jan
Eliasson. But
once it was
leaked that
former US now
UN official
Jeff
Feltman "got"
Ban to send
Serry to
Ukraine, Ban's
UN being
viewed as
impartial is
more
difficult.
It
was World
Wildlife Day,
so Ban gave a
speech on that
as well. But
unaddressed
since Inner
City Press reported
and asked
about it on
February 28
are what UN
whistleblowers
say are more
than 50 rapes
in
Eastern Congo
by poacher Mai
Mai Morgan.
Ban will meet
his Special
Representatives
including
Martin Kobler
from the
Congo. What
will the
UN's answer
be?
UK
Hugo Swire
took on the
Sri Lanka
issue; here's
his response
to
Pillay's
report. He
said it's time
for
international
action.
US
Samantha Power
won't speak
until March 4,
in the
afternoon in
Geneva so work
hours in the
US. Sri
Lanka's G.L.
Peiris
on the other
hand appears
March 5 but
3:40 am
Eastern Times.
Watch
this site.
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