By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 17 --
Five days
after
Jamaica's
candidate for
the
International
Court of
Justice pulled
ahead of
Argentina's in
the UN General
Assembly, on
November 12
Inner City
Press was
informed from
Buenos Aires
and reported
that
Argentina,
with class,
had pulled out
of the race.
Now on
November 17,
this has been
confirmed.
Jamaica's
candidate
Patrick Robinson
got 185 votes
in the General
Assembly, and
all 15 in the
Security Council.
The only drama
was getting
the quorum of
all 15 members
in the
Security Council.
The UN loudspeaker
asked at least
one delegate
from Jordan
and the US to
please come to
the chamber.
The US State
Department, as
has been
reported,
suspended some
of its email
accounts due
to suspicion
of hacking,
which might
explain the
delay. But
Jordan?
Back on the
morning of November
7, while
the Security
Council stuck
on nine for
Argentina's
Susana Ruiz
Cerutti and
six for
Jamaica's
Patrick Lipton
Robinson, in
the General
Assembly
Jamaica's
Robinson rose
in support.
Just after
noon he
received 123
votes, versus
only 69 for
Argentina's
Ruiz Cerutti.
As that
November 7
meeting broke
up to
reconvene at 3
pm, numerous
diplomats
stopped to
talk to Inner
City Press.
What sense
does it make,
one of them
asked, for the
Security
Council to
ignore what
the full 193
members think?
Why are the
two bodies
given equal
weight when
"we are all
here," meaning
in the General
Assembly?
On
the other
hand, an
Argentine
argument made
to Inner City
Press is that
this is not
about
countries
about about
legal systems:
Commonwealth
means common
law.
Meanwhile an
African
diplomat in
the General
Assembly asked
Inner City
Press, And if
the Jamaican
gets a two
thirds
majority in
the GA - what
then? What,
indeed.
Winning ICJ
judge
positions on
November 6
were Kirill
Gevorgian of
Russia, with a
perfect 15
votes in the
Council's
final round of
the day, Joan
E. Donoghue of
the US and
Mohamed
Bennouna of
Morocco, both
with 14, and
James Richard
Crawford of
Australia with
12.
In
the Security
Council, Argentina's
Susana Ruiz
Cerutti got
just enough
votes with
nine, and
Jamaica's
Patrick Lipton
Robinson did
not, with
seven.
But
in the General
Assembly,
Jamaica's
Robinson with
141 led
Argentina's
Ruiz Cerutti
with 108. The
vote, Security
Council
president Gary
Qiunlan said,
would continue
on November 7.
In
the hall
diplomats from
the General
Assembly
continued to
talk up
Jamaica,
saying the
African Group
has a special
relationship
with CARICOM,
and talking
about the
Commonwealth.
(Want to guess
where the UK
comes down in
this one?)
, 
