At
UN
on
Abyei Force, Delay on Precedent of No Human Rights Mandate - But
Khartoum May Nix If In?
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
24, updated -- In the
face of stated urgency in Abyei, those
raising questions in the UN Security Council go beyond the UK and
French concerns reported this
morning by Inner City
Press, to wider concerns about “precedent” raised by Germany,
which will take Council presidency in July.
Two
Permanent
Five members of the Council, from East and West, both expressed
bafflement to Inner City Press about Germany's position. The wonder
from the East was that Germany would want to add mandates to the
Ethiopian force beyond those agreed by Khartoum and Juba.
From
the
West, the
Germany use of the word “precedent” was not understood. Perhaps,
it was surmised, the problem is the idea of a UN mandated
peacekeeping force without a human rights monitoring component --
like has been allowed for MINURSO in Western Sahara. That, was a
precedent.
But
the concerns,
contrary the caricature presented from East and West, are for a UN
peacekeeping force made of of only one country, a relatively
neighboring one at that.
Mbeki in Khartoum, human rights monitors not shown
The Eastern
position would be to view this
like a multi-national force, as if paid for by the Ethiopians. But
the UN will pay.
Some
say
Khartoum's
real position is they'd like an IGAD force, paid by the
UN. But if the German's and others push to put in mandates that
Khartoum (and Juba) never agreed to, could the deal fall apart? Watch
this site.
* * *
At
UN
on
Abyei Resolution, Western Delay on Budget & Bombing
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
24 -- With much talk of the urgency of authorizing and
sending Ethiopian troops to Abyei in Sudan, a split has developed in
the Security Council about the timing and contents of the necessary
Council resolution.
Within
the
Council's
Permanent Five members, there's both support for adopting
the Abyei resolution on Friday June 24, to get the clock running.
Other P-5 members want a briefing from the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations and have an additional round of amendments.
Blame
for
delay is
usually cast on Russia and China, as on the moribund Syria
resolution. But in this case, the United Kingdom acknowledges having
more amendments, and not seeing a difference on the ground for
waiting until next week. Sources on June 24 told Inner City Press that
France too is for delay. French Ambassador Gerard Araud was observed on
June 22 outside the closed meeting on Darfur complaining about the
budget.
The
issues on
content involve not only whether and how much -- if any -- of the
criticism of Khartoum's bombing in Abyei and South Kordofan to
migrate from the draft Presidential Statement introduced earlier in
the week by the United States, but also what relation the Ethiopian
force will have with the post July 9 UN mission in South Sudan.
Some
feel
that
doesn't need to be decided at this time, in a way that results in any
delay of adopting the Abyei resolution authorizing the Ethiopian
troops to deploy to Abyei.
Following
the
UN's
confirmation this week of Inner City Press' scoop that Norway's
Hilde
Johnson has been tapped by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to succeed
Haile Menkerios for the UN in South Sudan, seemingly at the request
of the US Mission and Ambassador Susan Rice, some pushback has
developed in the Security Council, where praise of Menkerios is
contrasted to Hilde Johnson's history as an advocate.
Ban's
spokesman
Martin
Nesirky said that the Council has been consulted or
coordinated with before Ban tapped Hilde Johnson. Comments on June 24
did not seem to bear that out. Watch this site.
* * *
For
South
Sudan,
Hilde
Johnson Tapped as Ban's Envoy, UN Confirms to Press, “Like
Susan Rice”
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
22
-- Hilde Johnson of Norway has been tapped to head
the UN Mission in South Sudan, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman Martin Nesirky confirmed
to Inner City Press on Wednesday.
Inner
City
Press asked about Sudanese president Omar al Bashir's
threat to cut off the oil pipeline from South Sudan, set for
independence on July 9, and whether the UN would sent Ms. Johnson
there.
The
oil pipeline
threat is just one example of the foreseeable tensions between South
Sudan and Khartoum
that a UN envoy in Juba should work on.
But well
placed UN sources have told Inner City Press, which first reported
Ms. Johnson's candidacy and confirmed it with her, that “heart-felt
activist” Hilde Johnson may find it hard to be heard in and by
Khartoum.
After
reporting
Ms. Johnson's candidacy for the post as far back at May 16, along
with UN officials Ian
Martin of the UK and “Fink” Haysom of South Africa, Inner City
Press asked the US Mission to the UN to confirm that Ambassador Susan
Rice was lobbying Ban Ki-moon to give the post to Johnson.
US
Mission
spokesman Mark Kornblau replied to Inner City Press on June 14 that
“we generally don’t comment on nominees until they are officially
put forward by the Secretary General.”
On
June 21, having
confirmed from other diplomatic sources that Ban Ki-moon had acceded
and tapped Johnson for the post, Inner City Press asked Kornblau, now
that “she has the UNMIS job -- did the US / Ambassador Rice support
her?” Twenty three hours later there has been no response. Now that the
UN itself has confirmed, will Rice or her Mission now speak out?
Johnson, with Ms. Coomaraswamy & Rama Yade,
mediation not shown
Johnson
recently
chaired
a
UN session on how to help South Sudan. She is hardworking,
having reportedly clashed while at UNICEF with other UN officials about
the use of
heightened security threat ratings by the UN during the Arab Spring.
But
as one well
placed source put it, “Why not name, like, Susan Rice at the UN's
envoy to South Sudan? Isn't the point of the UN to be able to talk to
both sides of a conflict?”
Some see this
move by Ban as symbolic
of the over-domination by the United States which even wire services
have reported, much to the displeasure of Ban's communications team.
The proof is and will be in the pudding. 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.
Update
of
4:43
pm
--
this
too
has
come
in,
perhaps
in
response:
Date:
Fri,
Mar
4,
201
Subject: Haroun and Abyei
To: Matthew.Lee [at]
innercitypress.com
You
guys
ask
great
questions!
Have
you
noticed
perhaps
that
the
United
Nations
seems
to
be unaware of who is causing the violence in Abyei.
And yet "diplomatic sources" report seeing the burial of 33
bodies - all southerners.
The
Arab
nomads
say
the
violence
started
when
SPLM
police
shot
at
them
(Hitler
used
a similar ploy to invade Poland) - and today thousands
of civilians fled Abyei fearing another crisis like in June 2008. The
Dinka Ngok villages north of Abyei, such as Maker, have been
burnt to the ground. The end explains the means. There is a
creeping ethnic cleansing going on in the Abyei region despite the
agreements of 2005 and the Court of Arbitration ruling in 2010.
Why
fly
Haroun
to
Abyei
-
what
is
his
cv?
It
is,
as
you
correctly point
out, that of arming arab militias to burn villages. I hope to see
more of your questions pinning the UN to the responsibility to
protect.
, 
in