By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 29 --
When UN
humanitarian
official John
Ging
returned from
Iraq, Lebanon
and Jordan and
held a UN
press
conference on
October 29,
Inner City
Press asked
him about US air-drops
of aid in
Iraq's Anbar
province and
reported theft
of aid by ISIL
there, and of
Lebanon
banning refugees.
Ging replied
that the UN
tried to
"de-conflict"
and only deals
with military
to say where
its
humanitarian
colleagues
are, for their
safety. But
what then IS
the UN's aid
coordinating
role?
Ging
said he was
not aware of
reports of
ISIL stealing
nine trucks of
aid in Anbar
and requiring
pledges of
allegiance in
order to eat.
Those quotes
are from Anbar
provincial
council
spokesman
Khalil
al-Alwani.
On Lebanon,
Ging's take
was that while
the
responsibilities
of countries
under international
humanitarian
law are known,
they apply to
ALL member
states, who
should held
the neighboring
states more.
Inner City
Press for the
Free UN Coalition
for Access
thanked Ging
for always
doing these
Q&A
briefings when
he returns
from UN trips,
and said it
should be the
norm -- but is
not, as to UN
Peacekeeping
and Political
Affairs.
Back on
October 7 when
UN official
Kevin Kennedy
called into
the UN noon
briefing from
Erbil, he
even then
mentioned
bringing aid
into Iraq's
Anbar
Province,
under control
of the Islamic
State and not
the
government.
So
Inner City
Press asked
Kennedy, until
recently the
head of the UN
Department of
Safety and
Security and
now UN Deputy
Humanitarian
Coordinator in
Iraq, if the
UN could
confirm human
rights groups'
reports on the
use of barrel
bombs in
Anbar.
Kennedy
replied,
“I don't know
about the
military
issues, I'm
not in charge
of that.”
We'll take him
at face value.
But note that
the UN Office
for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs in its
reports on
Syria does
report on
barrel bombs.
What's the
difference?
Inner
City Press
asked Kennedy
about Islamic
State's use of
water as a
weapon,
specifically
its threat to
dams. Kenney
said “water is
a concern, a
dam just south
of this region
[Erbil] opened
and began to
flood this
morning, We
begin working
on today.”
On a
second round,
Inner City
Press asked
Kennedy since
there are aid
workers in the
field in Iraq
if the US and
others give
the UN
notification
of their
airstrikes.
Kennedy
replied
obliquely that
the UN tried
to keep aid
workers safe
by “any means
we can.” So is
that a yes?
Finally,
Inner
City Press
asked Kennedy
about the
report by NBC
News that the
Iraqi Air
Force dropped
supplies to
ISIL. Kennedy
said he hadn't
seen it. Well,
here
it is.
Watch this
site.
, 
