At
UN, Ladsous
Spins on Drone
Procurement,
Congo Rapes,
Silva,
Cholera
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 19 –
The UN
conference
room was full
of military
uniforms
Tuesday when
UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous
haltingly
read a speech
to the
Committee of
34 (C-34),
which is
supposed to
oversee his
Department.
In
the course of
his speech,
Ladsous
misspoke on
drones,
downplayed 126
rapes by his
partners in
the Congolese
Army, and did
not mention
the
participation
of an alleged
war criminal
on his Senior
Advisory
Group, of
any safeguards
after the
introduction
of cholera to
Haiti.
Without
taking
any questions,
he turned the
floor to his
fellow Under
Secretary
General Amira
Haq. Where is
the oversight?
On
drones,
Ladsous said
that the
Security
Council noted
and approved
their use in
the Democratic
Republic of
Congo, and
after that he
sought
Expressions of
Interest from
drone
providers.
But
as Inner City
Press exposed,
Ladsous' DPKO
issued a
procurement
document on
November 28,
2012 for
drones in West
Africa as well
as
Central Africa
-- while the
Security
Council only
gave its “case
by
case” approval
two months
later on
January 22,
2013, and only
for
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo in
Central
Africa.
Ladsous
had
wanted drones
for former
French colony
Cote d'Ivoire,
but never
got approval
from the C-34.
But he began a
procurement
for them
anyway.
Elsewhere
in
his speech
Monday Ladsous
said “we have
to support
host
countries” --
this despite
at least 126
rapes in
Minova by the
Congolese
Army, which
the UN
supports.
After refusing
to answer any
Inner City
Press
questions
since May 29,
2012, in early
February
after the
issue was
raised all
over, Ladsous
did take a
question.
He
said that the
UN knows the
identify of
the majority
of the
rapists.
But when Inner
City Press
asked a follow
up, the answer
was that the
UN will not
take any
action until
the Congolese
investigation
is over
- creating
what can be
called a rape
grace period.
Ladsous
mentioned
the report of
his Senior
Advisory Group
without any
mention
of the participation
on the SAG of
Sri Lankan
general
Shavendra
Silva, who is
depicted in
Ban Ki-moon's
own report on
Sri Lanka
engaged in war
crimes.
Now
did Ladsous
mention any
safeguards to
avoid
spreading
cholera, as
happened in
Haiti. So
where is the
oversight? Watch this video - and
watch this
site.
Footnote:
Ladsous left
it to Amira
Haq to say: in
2012 there
were 60
allegations of
sexual abuse,
a high
percentage of
them
"eggregious."
At Tuesday's
UN noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
for a read out
-- today -- of
the
disposition of
the cases. How
many
repatriations,
to which
countries, any
prosecution or
convictions?
He said he
would check
with Ladsous'
DPKO. Watch
this site.
, 
