Hit
for Inaction in Kordofan as Abyei, UN Pulls Staff Out, SC Postpones
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 13 -- In Southern
Kordofan UN peacekeepers are accused
of
inaction and even rape, by the SPLM's top official there,
Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu. Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky on Monday for the UN's response.
Nesirky
focused on
allegations about a single national staff member, denied that UNMIS
is abandoning anyone while conceding that “non essential
international staff” have been taken to El Obeid by Egyptian
peacekeepers.
Inner
City Press
again asked for a direct response to al-Hilu's and his spokesman's
charges of rape and the turning over of six civilians to the Sudanese
Armed Forces. Nesirky said he'd “sought guidance” from UNMIS and
this was the read-out that he had.
Amid
widespread
reports
of Khartoum bombing Jau in Unity State, Inner City Press
asked Nesirky if UNMIS could verify or deny this. It's not for us to
deny, Nesirky said, adding that he had no information about the
bombing.
Ban, Menkerios, Khare & Gambari: speak out on Sudan not seen
Meanwhile
the
Security Council had been set for a video briefing by Haile Menkerios
and
Thabo Mbeki from Addis Ababa
on Monday afternoon, 3 pm New York time. But at 2:47 pm it was
announced that the briefing was postponed, with no new date and time
provided. A Council member's spokesperson told Inner City Press "the
meeting on Abyei's not over."
The idea is
that each Council member
will eventually have to take a public position. But what about a
position on the
UN's own (in) action? Watch this site.
* * *
Amid
Sudan
Fighting, UN SC Cancels June 10 Meeting,
Waiting on Bashir
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 10 -- Amid the attacks and killings in Abyei and now Southern
Kordofan, the US
Mission to the UN last week pushed for a Security
Council Presidential Statement calling for Khartoum's forces to
withdraw.
The
US had wanted
the PRST to explicit set a follow up Council meeting on Friday June
10, but this, like references to Khartoum's “occupation” of and
“ethnic cleansing” in Abyei was omitted. Instead it called for a
monitoring meeting in the coming days. Even Khartoum's defenders,
though, said that this meant June 10.
But
now the June
10 follow up is canceled. Sources tell Inner City Press that based on
a letter from Sudan, and an impending meeting between Thabo Mbeki,
Salva Kiir and Omar al Bashir, under International Criminal Court
indictment, the Council has canceled Friday's meeting.
This
will be bad
news for demonstrators who circulated a call for a protest at the UN
on Friday morning, trying to get the killings in Southern Kordofan
added to the Sudan issues set to be discussed on Friday. Now, Sudan
will not be discussed by the Council on Friday. What will happen
over the weekend? Watch this site.
* * *
UN
Admits
2d
Flight
of
ICC
Darfur
Indictee
Haroun
to
Abyei
in
Sudan,
Impunity
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March
4,
updated -- The UN
has for a second time offered a free UN
flight in Sudan to Ahmed Haroun, under indictment by the
International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur, the UN
admitted Friday in response to questions from Inner City Press.
On
March 3 the UN
Security Council met about renewed fighting in the disputed Abyei
region. Back in January, Inner City Press got the UN to acknowledge
they had flown ICC indictee Haroun from South Kordofan, where he
serves fellow ICC indictee Omar al Bashir as governor, to Abyei.
The
UN has defended
this controversial flight by saying that Haroun and Haroun alone
could stop violence in Abyei. The UN never explained why the
government of Sudan, which has an air force currently bombing civilians
in Jebel Marra in Darfur, couldn't itself fly Haroun.
The
UN said it was
a scheduled flight, then UN Mission in Sudan chief Haile Menkerios
admitted to
Inner City Press that it was a special flight. Inner City Press is
told such flights cost $40,000, and the UN has confirm no
reimbursement has been sought from the Bashir government.
But
now the
violence has continued, making the UN flight of ICC indictee Haroun
harder to justify even by the UN's own argument.
March
3
in
front
of
the
Security
Council,
Inner
City
Press
asked
Council
president
for
March Li Baodong of China if the UN Peacekeeping official who briefed
the Council, Atul Khare, had mentioned if Haroun would again be flown
in a UN helicopter. Li Baodong did not directly answer.
At
the March 4 UN
noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman Martin Nesirky to confirm or deny that that the UN would
once again fly ICC indictee Haroun to Abyei, even now that his work in
connection with the first flight has proved ineffective.
Nesirky
said
he
would
check.
Ten
minutes
later,
Nesirky's
deputy
Farhan
Haq
announced
by
speaker
to all UN correspondents that yes, Haroun attended today's
meeting in Abyei, and yes, “he was transported” by the UN.
This
UN
promotes
impunity,
even
for
one
of
the
few
people
indicted
for
war
crimes by
the ICC. Meanwhile Ban Ki-moon brags about the Security Council's partial
referral of the situation in Libya to the ICC -- a referral that Ban
Ki-moon did not even call for until after the Council voted to make
the referral.
This
UN
is
promoting
and
enshrining
lawlessness,
with
no
transparency
or
accountability.
Watch
this
site.
Update
of 3:48 pm -- Human Rights Watch, via Richard Dicker, submitted
this
comment:
“This
is the second time in recent weeks the UN has transported Ahmed
Haroun who is charged by the ICC with war crimes in Darfur. We have
real concerns because the U.N. should not be in the business of
transporting Haroun. There needs to be an extremely high threshold of
urgency for such action by UNMIS.”
Responses
have
been
sought
from
the
Missions
to
the
UN
of
France,
the
UK
and the US,
with the latter two asked if they knew in advance of the UN's new
flight of ICC indictee Haroun. Given her
statements
this
year
about
social
media, & after hours of non-response by the US Mission
to the UN,@AmbassadorRice
has been asked directly as well. Watch
this site.
Update
of
4:30
pm
--
Then
this,
from
UK
Mission
to
the
UN
spokesman
Daniel
Shepherd:
“As
spokesperson, I would only reiterate the message that my two
Ambassadors have both said on the record (and published by Inner City
Press) first time around: that we aren’t going to second guess how
UNMIS fulfills its mandate to provide good offices to the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) parties in efforts to resolve
differences through dialogue and negotiations. I’d only add that
this work is particularly important at this sensitive time, to
contain any potential escalation after the recent Abyei violence.”
We could
note
again that violence has persisted despite the UN flying ICC indictee
Ahmed Haroun in the first time, and that it is the role of UN member
states to oversee the UN Secretariat, not to defer in this case to
what some see as its promotion of impunity - but at least the UK
would put its position on the record.
, 
