On
Israel and
Palestine,
Feltman Says
UN Hopes CoI
Brings
Justice, US
Elevator
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June
24 -- After UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
decided not to
list Israel or
Hamas in the
annex of his
Children and
Armed Conflict
report -- nor
the French
troops alleged
to have raped
children in
the Central
African
Republic -- on
June 18 Ban
came to the UN
Security
Council media
stakeout,
accompanied by
CAAC expert
Leila
Zerrougui. But
he answered no
questions.
On June 24,
the UN's Under
Secretary
General for
Political
Affairs
Jeffrey
Feltman
addressed the
Security
Council,
saying:
“The
Secretary
General took
note of the
release on
Monday of the
Human Rights
Council's
independent
Commission of
Inquiry's
report on
Gaza. While we
do not comment
on the
substance of
such reports,
it is our hope
that it will
contribute to
bringing
justice to
victims of
last year's
war and
encourage the
parties to
engage in
serious and
credible
examinations
of their own
behavior."
But is that
credible? Down
in UN Conference
Room 3, US,
joined only by
Canada, voted
with Israel
against a UN
Budget
resolution on
Lebanon and
the attack on
Qana;
upstairs, the
US'
representative
left the
Council with
Feltman and
got on the
same elevator
with him. Periscope
video here
available for
24 hours,
after 470 live
views. Geneva
may well tilt
one way, but
the
Secretariat
tilts the
other. Watch
this site.
Back on June
18 after Ban
read a
statement
about climate
change and
then the
"controversy"
about his
report, he
said he had to
leave. There
were some
grumbles;
Inner City
Press asked,
about the
Central
African
Republic rapes
and cover up,
what about the
Panel? Ban did
not answer.
Periscope
video for now
here.
Zerrougui
stayed,
gamely; she
declined to
answer about
the
non-inclusion
of Israel.
Inner City
Press asked
her about the
CAR rapes and
cover up. She
said while she
didn't find
out all in
time, once she
did, she spoke
with the
government
concerned.
Inner City
Press reported
exclusively
that Zerrougui
met French
Ambassador
Francois
Delattre --
his Mission
declined to
confirm or
deny, when
asked in
writing by
Inner City
Press - but
what has come
of it?
And what of
the CAR rapes
by the French
troops? They
are mentioned
in the text of
the report,
but not in the
Annex. Ban
said a Panel
would be set
up- but hasn't
yet done it.
Inner
City Press is
exclusively
informed that
concerned
member states
will meet not
with Ban but
his Deputy Jan
Eliasson on
June 19. Some
are concerned
Ban might even
try to put
Eliasson on
the
"independent"
panel, despite
controversy
about an
August 8, 2014
email saying
Eliasson would
be briefed
that afternoon
about the CAR
rapes. (The UN
now says
Eliasson
didn't learn
of them until
April
2015.)
We'll see.
, 
