At
UN
as Portugal's
Month Ends, Of
Stakeouts
& Humor, a
Play for
Working
Methods
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 29 --
Portugal is
finishing its
first of two
years
on the UN
Security
Council, and
its one and
only month
with the
presidency.
Tuesday night
at the River
Club on 52st
Street over
the
East River,
Portugal had
its end of
presidency
reception,
complete
with sweet
dessert cakes
and, the
delegation
pointed out,
all of the
P-5 Permanent
Representatives,
at least for a
time.
Tuesday's
reception
came on the
eve of the
capstone of
Portugal's
presidency,
an open debate
on the
Council's
Working
Methods.
Portugal had
wanted
to chair the
Working
Methods
committee, but
it was given
by the P-5
to Bosnia,
which leaves
the Council
next month.
To
his credit,
Portuguese
Permanent
Representative
José
Filipe Moraes
Cabral held
more stakeouts
for the press
during
his month than
any recent
presidency. He
took questions
on issues
beyond those
on which the
Council had
just met.
While it
understandably
fell off
a bit while
Foreign
Minister Paulo
Portas was in
town,
José
Filipe Moraes
Cabral deputy
João
Maria Cabral
still held
some
stakeouts,
holding back
perhaps
because the
number one
diplomat
should be the
one to deal
with press.
Still
Deputy
João
made
some good
jokes while
presiding,
particularly
over two
rounds of
voting between
Ugandan and
Sierra Leonean
candidates for
the
International
Court of
Justice: do I
really have to
read the rules
again? Yes,
was the
answer.
As
Portugal's
presidency
ended, Inner
City Press has
suggested a
specific
Working
Methods
reform: that
like the
Secretary
General, and
even Mayor
Bloomberg,
the daily
schedule of
the Security
Council
presidency be
put online.
This
would be
important,
because
increasingly
matters of
international
peace and
security like
Kenya's entry
into Somalia
are
"regularized,"
as it were, by
meetings
between the
country's
Permanent
Representative
and the
Council
president.
While
Inner City
Press
often learns ad
hoc of
such meetings,
that's far
less than the
transparency
that should
apply to the
Council, which
can authorize
air strikes on
Libya and
sanctions on
Eritrea. That
was the
breaking news
Inner City
Press gleaned
from the
evening - click here
for that story.
(c) UN Photo
PR Cabral and
Portas in
Council, first
year review
shown here
Without
disruption
any diplomat's
confidence,
from the UN
Secretariat
chief
of staff Vijay
Nambiar was
there, along
with
Department of
Political
Affairs chief
Lynn Pascoe,
Department of
Field Support
deupty Tony
"Elated"
Banbury and
staffers on
children and
armed
conflict and
other UN
issues. There
was no DPKO
chief Ladsous
to be seen; no
DSG Migiro,
known to be
pushing for a
second term.
One
correspondent
noted with
approval there
was
single malt
scotch "unlike
the
reception for
the Day of
Solidarity
with
Palestine,
which was
dry."
That event was
preceded by
rights of
reply in the
General
Assembly,
in which
Israel accused
Kuwait of
"also"
expelling
Palestinians,
which Kuwait
responded
angrily to.
When Inner
City
Press tweeted
the exchange,
replies came
in that Kuwait
HAD in fact
made the
expulsions.
But some said
it was not for
Israel to
raise it.
But
even at the
event starting
the day of
solidarity, it
was Cabral
with his UN
insider ways
who knew how
to pronounce
the names of
his fellow
panelists, for
example
Palitha Kohona
of Sri Landa.
At
the reception,
an habitue and
proponent of
the Human
Rights Council
admitted that
"failure" on
Sri Lanka was
the HRC's
lowest moment
to date.
"But Ban
Ki-moon sent
the Panel of
Experts'
report to
Geneva
without even a
UN stamp on
it." And so it
goes at the
UN.
Click here
for
Inner City
Press' review
of Portugal's
first ten
months on the
Security
Council; a
review of
another "new"
member is
forthcoming,
watch this
site.
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