To
Replace Saudi
on UNSC,
Jordan As Gulf
Moves in
Lockstep, HRC
to
Save Face
By
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 7 --
After Saudi
Arabia turned
up its nose at
the
UN Security
Council seat
it without
competition
won on October
17,
Kuwait was
identified as
a likely
replacement.
But now Inner
City
Press has
multiply
confirmed that
Jordan's
Permanent
Representative
to the UN
Prince Zeid
Ra'ad Zeid
Al-Hussein is
flying back to
Amman to help
hammer out the
details of
Jordan taking
the seat.
(Inner City
Press
named
Jordan as the
replacement
back on
October 25.)
Why
Jordan?
While
other have not
reported it,
instead
laughably
tying it to
some deal
of Jordan
dropping out
of the race
against Saudi
Arabia for a
significantly
less valuable
UN Human
Rights Council
seat, the
reasoning is
the Saudi
Arabia is the
king,
literally, of
the Gulf.
If
Saudi says no
to the
Security
Council, well
placed sources
exclusively
tell Inner
City Press, so
must Kuwait
and the United
Arab
Emirates. They
stand together
against Assad
of Syria, the
logic goes.
The
Human Rights
Council to
Security
Council seat
deal mentioned
by other
media is just
a way for
Saudi Arabia
to try to save
face, sources
tell Inner
City Press.
Now
Jordan has to
receive
assurances of
enough
staffing and
resources for
the Security
Council seat.
This should be
finalized by
this weekend,
sources tell
Inner City
Press.
Longer form analysis
of Saudi
Arabia's move
by this author
is available
on Beacon
Reader, here.
On
another note,
Inner City
Press was
impressed by
Prince Zeid's
position not
only on sexual
abuse by UN
peacekeepers,
but also on Sri
Lanka military
figure
Shavendra
Silva being on
the UN's
Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping
Operations.
While
other
Permanent
Representatives
from South
Asia who
initially told
Inner City
Press they
were opposed
to Silva's
participation
later
under pressure
recanted, Zeid never did.
But the
policies, at
least
in the
Security
Council, would
be coming from
Amman. Watch
this site.
, 
