ICC
Indicts Sudan
Minister, UN
Keeps Working
With
Him, Entry
into S. Sudan
Ignored
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 5 --
Now that the
International
Criminal Court
has
indicted
Sudan's
Defense
Minister
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein for
war
crimes, how
will he be
engaged with
by the United
Nations, which
has
two
peacekeeping
missions in
Sudan, and one
next door in
South Sudan?
Inner
City Press
on December 2
asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky,
"what’s the
plan by DPKO
[the UN
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations] to
deal with this
now indicted
official?
There was a
lot of
criticism of
the flying
of Ahmed
Haroun
even this
week by ICC
Assembly of
States parties
presidents and
others. Can we
get a
statement from
DPKO how this
changes the
ways in which
they
will interface
with the
Sudanese armed
forces?"
Nesirky
said,
"Certainly, I
can ask for
that."
But
by Monday no
statement had
been provided.
Meanwhile it
was reported
that the
Sudanese Armed
Forces under
Hussein had
crossed into
South Sudan
and
taken the town
of Jaw, and
were moving
again toward
the Yida
refugee
camp which
they recently
bombed.
Inner
City Press
first asked
for
confirmation
by the UN
Mission in
South Sudan
that
the border had
been crossed;
Nesirky said
he might have
something on
that later.
Then,
as is
apparently
required to
get an answer,
Inner City
Press asked a
second
time how the
UN will engage
with ICC
indictee
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein. While
Nesirky had
not read it
out at the
beginning of
his
briefing, he
had a piece of
paper and a
response
written on it.
Nesirky
said that
"the ICC is an
independent
judicial
institution
with a mandate
that is
distinct,
separate from
the UN."
He
said that "
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein is the
Defense
Minister of
Sudan, where
the Security
Council has
established
peacekeeping
missions....
to
protect the
general
population.
Accordingly
the UN will
continue to
work toward
the full
implementation"
of the
mandates of
UNAMID
in Darfur and
UNISFA in
Abyei. Video
here, from
Minute 9:05.
Inner
City Press
asked if that
meant to work
with ICC
indictee
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein only
"as necessary"
or "as
before"?
Nesirky
repeated
the same
answer:
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein is the
Defense
Minister,
and the
Security
Council has
set up the
peacekeeping
missions. UN
transcript
here and
below.
Apparently
the
criticism of
the UN for
flying ICC
indictee Ahmed
Haroun to
Abyei,
where later
violence
increased
rather than
diminished,
taught the UN
nothing. At
least in that
case the UN
emphasized
that it would
have
contact with
ICC indictees
if it thought
it necessary.
Here even at
the outset no
such caveats
are offered.
(c) UN Photo
Ban Ki-moon
& Herve
Ladsous,
change after
ICC indictment
not seen
So
the UN will
engage with
ICC indictee
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein about
Abyei, from
which he
refuses to
withdraw his
forces, and
Darfur where
he is
indicted for
war crimes.
But the UN
can't confirm,
and apparently
hasn't even
asked
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein about,
Sudan's entry
into South
Sudan.
Since
Herve
Ladsous
was installed
at the fourth
Frenchman in a
row atop DPKO,
the
Department's
answers have
grown less
frequent
and more
contrary to
accountability
and to the
protection of
civilians,
whether dodging
questions
about any
standing
claims
commission
regarding the
introduction
of cholera
into Haiti,
monitoring
Sudanese Armed
Forces
flights of
Janjaweed
militia from
Darfur to
Southern
Kordofan
or
entry into
South Sudan.
Things seem to
be getting
worse daily.
Watch
this site.
From
the
UN's
December 5,
2011 noon
briefing
transcript:
Inner
City
Press: I had
asked you this
question on
Friday and I
just
wonder what
provisions
DPKO was
making now
that the head
of the army
in Sudan has
been indicted
for war crimes
by the ICC?
How does, you
know, UNAMID,
UNMISS and
UNISFA, how do
they intend to
deal with that
indictment?
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky: Well,
as you know,
the
International
Criminal Court
is an
independent
judicial
institution,
and has a
mandate that
is
distinct and
separate from
that of the
United
Nations.
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein is
Defence
Minister in
Sudan, where
the Security
Council has
established
peacekeeping
missions to
carry out
tasks that
are essential
for the
maintenance of
international
peace and
security, and
for the
protection and
welfare of the
general
population.
And so,
accordingly,
the United
Nations will
continue to
work towards
the full
implementation
of UNAMID and
UNISFA
mandates. So,
in other
words, the
missions
dealing with
Darfur and
Abyei.
Inner
City
Press: So will
they engage
with him only
on a sort of
as
absolutely
necessary
basis or just
as before?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
What I’ve said
is what I’ve
said. The UN
will continue
to work
towards the
full
implementation
of UNAMID and
UNISFA
mandates, and
Abdelrahim
Mohamed
Hussein is
Defence
Minister in
Sudan
where the
Council has
established
these
peacekeeping
missions.
Okay?
, 
