On
Burundi, ICP
Asks US
Samantha Power
of Troops from
MONUSCO,
Burundians in
CAR
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 12 --
After the
belated
Burundi
resolution of
the UN
Security
Council was
unanimously
adopted on
November 12,
Inner City
Press asked US
Ambassador
Samantha Power
about the
specifics of
how UN
Peacekeepers
from the
Democratic
Republic of
Congo might be
able to
protect
civilians in
Burundi, video
here.
Inner
City Press
also asked
Power about
the Burundian
forces serving
in the UN
Mission in the
Central
African
Republic: not
only if some
of them may
have been
involved in
the human
rights abuses
in Burundi but
also why DPKO
chief Herve
Ladsous
granted them a
waiver to
continue in
CAR without
the right
equipment,
about which
Inner City
Press has also
asked the UN,
see below.
From the US
transcript:
Inner City
Press: There
was some
reporting
yesterday
about the
possibility of
peacekeepers
from MONUSCO,
if needed,
going in. And
I wanted to
know what
steps would
that require?
And also,
there’s some
discussion –
Burundi has UN
peacekeepers
and police in
CAR and I’ve
seen a
document that
says that they
are not
appropriately
equipped,
they’ve been
given waivers
and extensions
to continue
serving in
CAR. I wanted
to, I guess,
know from you
what
connection
should there
be if some of
these troops
were either
engaged in
abuses back in
Bujumbura, or
in terms of
actually
giving them
waivers? Is
this a
leverage that
the UN has to
try to get
better
performance in
Bujumbura?
Ambassador
Power: I’m not
going to
comment on the
specific
Burundi-CAR
connection,
because I
actually
haven’t seen
the specific
report, so let
me take it up
a level.
Troops and
police that
deploy in UN
missions have
to be vetted.
And certainly
when we have
information
that troops or
officers are
implicated in
human rights
abuses, that
is something
that we as a
member state
share – as a
matter of
course – with
the department
of
peacekeeping,
and we
encourage
other
countries to
do the same.
I think you’ve
seen in recent
months how
training for
Burundian
peacekeepers,
whether on the
military or
the police
side, has been
dialed back
quite
considerably
by a number of
countries,
including the
United States.
And that’s
unfortunate,
frankly,
insofar as all
of us have an
interest in
Burundian
peacekeepers,
police and
military
performing
well and
operating
professionally
in other
countries
around the
world. But
there also has
had to be a
response to
the events on
the ground and
to the steps
that the
Burundian
government has
taken that
have
contributed to
this
deterioration.
But again,
when troops or
police are
involved in
abuse, they
should not be
serving in
peacekeeping
missions; they
should be held
accountable by
the UN and
then of course
in the home
country.
On the MONUSCO
question,
given the
divisive
rhetoric,
given the
history in
this country,
given the
number of
people who’ve
been killed up
to this point
and the vast
numbers who
are living in
fear or
fleeing to
neighboring
countries, we
have an
obligation to
do contingency
planning of
all kind. And
the fact that
you have a
mission nearby
means that, of
course given
how slow UN
deployments
can be and how
long it takes
to move people
from their
home country
into a country
that is
experiencing
violence, a
scenario in
which one
looks at
MONUSCO is one
that has to be
examined.
And I think,
again, this
resolution is
important
because it
empowers the
UN to look at
various
scenarios and
various
contingencies.
To be clear,
MONUSCO is a
separate
mission, those
troops have
their work cut
out for them
where they
are; there has
been a rise in
militia
violence, as
you know,
cooperation
between the
Congolese
government and
MONUSCO has
not been what
it should be.
And for
MONUSCO to
move to
another
country, you
might remember
from South
Sudan when we
did
inter-mission
cooperation,
it requires a
Security
Council
resolution to
move that
forward. It
also requires
troop-contributing
countries to
be willing to
deploy in a
very
difference set
of
circumstances.
So that’s a
complicated
piece of
business, and
I want to
stress, our
goal is not to
have to get to
that point.
But our
primary
objective, of
course, is to
ensure that
Burundi does
not descend
into mass
violence.
And so that’s
why looking at
contingencies,
grappling with
the complexity
of that option
or any one of
a number of
options – and
you know the
East African
Standby Force
is doing
contingency
planning,
again from our
contacts at
the AU – they
are doing
contingency
planning. So
we’re starting
to see the
regional and
international
machinery kind
of kick in and
it’s important
because if
something
descended very
quickly, we
all know from
past
experience
that the
startup costs
for actually
responding to
mass violence
can be
substantial.
And so again
our goal is,
through
diplomacy and
through a
political
solution – a
political
track – never
to have to get
to any of
these
contingencies
Video
here. As
to the waivers
or extensions
Herve Ladsous
has granted to
Burundi - some
of whose
soliders and
police
complain of
not being
paid, that the
government has
been keeping
the money -
Inner City
Press reported
exclusively on
this last
month.
On October 1,
2015, UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous on
October 1 held
a meeting with
Burundian Vice
President
Joseph Butore.
Inner
City Press has
already tweeted
a photograph
of the
meeting, but
has now
received the
complete UN
read-out,
which raises
more questions
about Ladsous.
On the
crackdown,
Ladsous
assured Butore
that he has a
“pragmatic
approach” and
is of no mind
to question
what happens
in any
country, does
not involve
himself in
"domestic
affairs."
On the sexual
abuse
allegations,
Ladsous spoke
only in
platitudes,
without
requiring or
even inquiring
into any
actions taken
by the
Burundians on
the alleged
abuse.
Even though
Burundi was
already given
a “grace
period” to
bring
appropriate
equipment into
the Central
African
Republic for
the MINUSCA
mission, they
have not done
so. In the
meeting,
according to
the read-out,
Butore
"acknowledged"
the
substandard
equipment.
Butore
requested, and
Ladsous for
now granted,
yet another
extension to
bring the
requirement
equipment --
until March
2016 for light
equipment, and
to June 2016
for heavy
equipment.
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