By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April
11 -- The
murky annual
UN cat and
mouse process
around Western
Sahara in
which the same
human rights
monitoring
mechanism
mandate that
other UN
Peacekeeping
missions have
is briefly
proposed and
then shot down
by Permanent
Member of the
Security
Council France
has moved into
a third stage.
Inner City
Press and the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access
on the morning
of April 11
put online the
first advance
copy of the
"Report of the
Secretary
General on the
situation
concerning
Western Sahara,"
to be issued
as a document
of the
Security
Council under
the symbol
S/2014/258, here.
At noon on
April 11,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric if
this is Ban's
position.
Dujarric said
it is not
final until it
is final --
not a good
sign, some
say. Who wrote
this? Who is
changing it?
Who CAN change
it? Inner City
Press asked,
without
answer. Video
here,
and embedded
below.
In Paragraph
100 on Page 20
Ban's (first)
report says,
or said, that
the goal is "a
sustained,
independent
and impartial
human rights
monitoring
mechanism."
Amid changes,
a Western wire
-- which has engaged in
censorship at
the UN, here
-- quoted
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
that "France
formally
denies any
interference
with the UN
Secretariat."
This servile
wire did not
even mention
that it can be
done within
the UN
Secretariat,
where the
Department of
Peacekeeping
which runs
MINURSO is
headed by
Herve Ladsous,
a long time
French
diplomat. Nor
does it
mention Araud
being quoted
by Javier
Bardem that
Morocco is
France's
"mistress" -
if only to run
Araud's denial
and litigation
threat. We
will be
watching for
that.
As a
part of this
watchfulness,
Inner City
Press had published a letter just submitted to the President of
the Security
Council by
"a number of
Nordic
organisations,
from Denmark,
Finland,
Norway and
Sweden,"
urging the
inclusion of
human rights
monitoring in
MINURSO's
mandate.
Even
former UN
envoy on
Western Sahara
Peter van
Walson has
written to
French
president
Francois
Hollande
urging France
to stop
opposing human
rights
monitoring in
Western
Sahara.
Also
new this year
is the
discomfort
caused by
Spanish actor
Javier Bardem
asserting that
French
Ambassador
Gerard Araud
told him that
Morocco is
like France's
mistress.
French foreign
ministry
spokesperson
Romain Nadal
has reportedly
confirmed that
Araud met with
Bardem in
2011; Araud
has said he
would seek
permission to
sue Bardem. (There is
a pattern here.)
Now, Jacques
Audibert is
said slated to
take over for
Araud by July.
So
this will be
Araud's last
campaign
opposing human
rights
monitoring in
Western
Sahara.
Earlier on
April 10 Araud
spoke at the
Security
Council
stakeout about
Central
African
Republic but
when Inner
City Press
asked about
the Chadian
troops there,
charged by the
High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights with
killing 30
civilians,
Araud told
Inner City
Press to Ask
Chad's
Ambassador.
US
Ambassador
Samantha Power
moments later
answered Inner
City Press'
question about
the withdrawal
of Chad's
troops from
CAR, video
here.
The
April 10
advance copy
of the "Report
of the
Secretary
General on the
situation
concerning
Western
Sahara"
consists of
104 paragraphs
and a map.
To
begin with --
Inner City
Press will
have more than
one report on
this Report --
there is a
recognition of
"demostrations
aimed at
drawing
attention to
human rights
concerns,
socio-economic
issues and
political
demands,
including the
right to
self-determination.
These were
swiftly
dispersed by
Moroccan
security
forces. On
most such
occasions,
there were
credible
reports of
heavy-handedness
on the part of
security
forces as well
as violence,
such as
stone-throwing,
on the part of
the
demonstrators."
The
Report says
"of particular
note was a
demonstration
that took
place in
Laayoune on 5
May 2013...
Protesters
expressed
dissatisfaction
that Security
Council
resolution
2099 (2013)
did not
include
provisions to
include human
rights
monitoring in
MINURSO's
mandate."
Will
it be
different this
year? Watch
this site.
, 
