On
W. Sahara, As
Polisario
Files Letter,
Echoes of
Congo,
Kosovo,
Palestine
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 26 --
In the run up
to this week's
closed door
meeting on
Western Sahara
in the UN
Security
Council, two
representatives
of the
Polisario
Front entered
the Council on
Monday.
They
delivered a
letter, a copy
of which Inner
City Press obtained and
puts online
here. They
said that
since Morocco
is a member of
the
Council, at
least for the
next 13
months, they
want to be
sure their
views are
known. And
their letter
offers to
address the
Council.
Largely,
they
blame Morocco
for having
tried to
sideline UN
envoy
Christopher
Ross, and for
opposing,
along with
France, a
human rights
monitoring
component in
the MINURSO
mission.
This
suddenly seems
a bit ironic:
the UN mission
in the Congo
MONUSCO has
a human rights
monitoring
component, but
under DPKO
boss Herve
Ladsous,
the troops
stood by and
did nothing as
the M23
mutineers
took over Goma
and Sake.
Since
then DPKO
has delayed in
answering
basic
questions
about rapes
and
looting, and
the UN's own
Human Rights
Due Diligence
policy.
Some
might ask:
under Herve
Ladsous, the
fourth
Frenchman in a
row to head
DPKO, what
would a human
rights
monitoring
component be
worth?
Another
irony
is that this
same week,
Palestine is
applying for
Observer
State status
at the UN.
And Kosovo has
its
representatives
in town,
for a debate
that even they
tell Inner
City Press
will be
"boring."
With
the right
friends, as
Kosovo has,
one can scoff
at non
membership in
the UN. Still
with a
Permanent Five
member in
opposition,
one cannot
join the UN.
Kosovo has its
opponent, as
does
Palestine. And
then you have
Western
Sahara. We'll
be here for
the
closed door
meeting. Watch
this site.
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