Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the United Nations to Wall Street to the Inner City

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 26 -- The UN Security Council wrap up session that have become an expected part of each monthly President's program of work came under fire on November 26 from Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.

  Beyond critiquing the Security Council's approach to such issues as Syria, Bosnia and Ukraine, Churkin questioned the utility of the wrap up sessions.

  He said these have become a theater for “glorifying approaches that are not effective.” As an observer, it does seem strange to have the Council's 15 members generally praising themselves and each other, rather than for example listening to the other 178 member states -- and, why not, the Observer State of Palestine. As with the spirit behind this Country - By - Country report, critique and disagreements are more illuminating than pablum.

  Churkin complained about a Russian draft Presidential Statement on the dangers of terrorists possibly using chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq being blocked at the expert level.

  He again explained Russia's abstention on the month's Bosnia resolution, saying “it unacceptable that Bosnia and Herzegovina should be urged to join the European Union and NATO through a decision of the Security Council on the basis of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.”

  On Ukraine, Churkin said that “the meeting on November 12 was used by those that proposed it for another round of propaganda wrangling.” On November 25, Ukraine said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a telephone conversation with Petro Poroshenko had “assured that the entire world supported Ukraine."

  Another Permanent Representative who spoke during the wrap up session, Mark Lyall Grant of the UK, largely praised Australia's month as Council president (Inner City Press' review is here), describing the Council's response to the reports of rape in Darfur “agile.” Others disagree, and wonder why the Council didn't “take up” the Secretary General's report on UNAMID's earlier cover ups.

  Inner City Press asked the UK Mission to confirm receipt of a letter from Darfuri groups calling for a review of the response of Herve Ladsous' UN Peacekeeping and got this in return: “I can confirm that we received the letter indirectly. In terms of contents, on alleged rape cases, the Security Council issued a press statement calling for a full investigation. The UK initiated the call for a press statement and so agree that this issue needs to be looked at.”

  Inner City Press has previously reported that Lyall Grant will leave as UK Permanent Representative in April 2015 and be replaced by Matthew Rycroft, here.

 Today, with Russian Deputy Permanent Representative Alexander Pankin's departure public confirmed by his farewell call on Ban Ki-moon's schedule, Inner City Press can report that Pankin's successor as Deputy Permanent Representative will be Petr Iliichev, expert in among other things African affairs.

 These make up more than half of the Security Council's agenda, so it is appropriate -- how ever frequently or honesty the Council's work is reviewed. Watch this site.