On S
Sudan's Wau,
UNSC Doesn't
Say How Many
Killed, Ban
Withholds
Reports
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
1 -- The UN
Security
Council
belatedly
issued a Press
Statement on
Friday about
the killings
in Wau, South
Sudan. The
statement did
not say how
many civilians
were killed,
nor explain
why the UNMISS
mission did
not open the
gates to its
camp.
“The
members of the
Security
Council
expressed deep
alarm at the
fighting in
Wau, South
Sudan which
broke out on
June 24 and
has resulted
in the
displacement
of an
estimated
70,000 people,
including
12,000
sheltering
near the
United Nations
Mission in the
Republic of
South Sudan
(UNMISS) base
in Wau,” the
UNSC statement
on Friday
began.
“The
members of the
Security
Council
acknowledged
the formation
of the
investigation
committee by
the
Transitional
Government of
National Unity
and urged the
Transitional
Government of
National Unity
to quickly
investigate
the attack and
hold those
responsible to
account,” the
UNSC's
statement
continued. But
the UN itself
has not been
accountable
for its
failings in
Malakal in
February.
“The members
of the
Security
Council
expressed
appreciation
for UNMISS’s
efforts to
carry out its
protection of
civilians
mandate.
While the
members of the
Security
Council
underscored
the importance
of the role of
UNMISS in the
protection of
civilians, the
primary
responsibility
for protection
of civilians
in South Sudan
remains with
the
Transitional
Government of
National
Unity,” the
UNSC's Press
Statement on
Friday
concluded.
On
Tuesday, Ban
Ki-moon will
accept the
credentials of
South Sudan's
replacement
for Francis
Deng as
Ambasssador,
Akuei Bona
Malwal,
previously
posted in
Addis Ababa.
We'll have
more on this.
How
low has the UN
fallen, in
terms of
corruption,
not stopping
rapes, and
retaliating
against the
Press that
asks the
questions? April 16 eviction here and here.
May
14 New York
Times here.
On May
26 amid UN
Peacekeeping
scandals
ranging from
rapes and
sexual
exploitation
to the
“protection of
civilians”
crisis
exemplified by
the failure at
Malakal in
South Sudan,
DPKO chief
Herve Ladsous
and DFS' Atule
Khare held a
press
conference.
Ladsous
refused any
questions; and
the Malakal
report
promised by
the end of May
didn't come
out for three
week.
On
June 23, Inner
City Press
asked Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq a
question
Ladsous
refused on
June 22, video
of refusal
here, June
23 transcript
below.
Now
the impact of
Ban Ki-moon's
UN withholding
reports about
its failures,
and his
Ladsous
refusing to
answer Press
questions
about it,
become even
more clear. In
Wau, as
fighting picks
up, sources
say the UN did
not allow into
its
“Protection of
Civilians”
base those
fleeing the
violence.
Despite
that, Ban
Ki-moon issued
a canned
statement to
some, praising
the response.
On June 30,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, video here, UN
transcript
here
, 
