On 130
Minova Rapes
& Kobler's
Claim of
Clarity, UN
Has No Answer
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, June
9 -- The UN
still hasn't
said how its
Human Rights
Due Diligency
Policy applies
to the 130
rapes in
Minova for
which only two
DR Congo
soldiers were
convicted.
Inner City
Press asked
again on June
9, video
here.
When UN
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous held a
press
conference on
May 29, Inner
City Press
asked him why
UN
Peacekeeping
has yet to
apply the UN's
stated Human
Rights Due
Diligence
Policy after
only two
Congolese
FARDC
soldiers were
convicted for
more than 130
rapes in
Minova in
November 2012.
Ladsous said,
"You know I do
not respond to
you, Mister."
Video
here.
On June 7 the
head of the
UN's MONUSCO
mission in DRC
Martin Kobler
put out a
press release,
about an
attack in
South Kivu,
that "la
MONUSCO
soutient
activement les
FARDC" -
that is, that
the UN's
MONUSCO is
actively
supporting the
FARDC.
Because Ladsous
has refused to
answer
questions,
first about
the Minova
rapes (video
compilation
here) then
about how the
Human Rights
Due Diligence
Policy applies
to future
support to
FARDC units,
the question
arises: is
MONUSCO
"actively
supporting"
any of the
unpunished
Minova
rapists?
Inner City
Press asked
this question.
Kobler to his
credit responded.
He said,
"What a
nonsense
Matthew, our
policy on
Minova is
clear."
But is
it? If
Kobler's boss
in UN
Peacekeeping
Herve Ladsous
has outright
refused to
answer
questions
about the
rapes and
about the
policy, the
policy is NOT
clear.
So at the next
UN noon
briefing on
June 9, Inner
City Press
asked UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric:
Inner
City
Press: over
the weekend,
Mr. Kobler
from MONUSCO
said that the
policy on the
Minova rapes
is clear.
Maybe you
agree with
that, but to
me, at least,
it’s not clear
in the sense
of just what
the steps are
after two
convictions…
Spokesman
Dujarric:
We’ll try to
make it clear
Nine hours
after the
briefing and
counting, no
answer, not
clear.
Has any
support been
suspended
since only two
soldiers were
convicted for
130
rapes?
What is the
process? Who
makes the
decision? How?
The Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
which has
raised to
senior UN
official
Ladsous'
refusal to
answer
questions and
his directing
a spokesperson
to seize the
UN TV
microphone to
avoid
questions,
will stay on
these
transparency
issues, while
Inner City
Press
continues
reporting on
DRC -- and
Burundi, on
which Kobler
also
commented.
Watch
this site.
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