Colombia's
Caffeinated
Month Jumped
through 9
Stakeouts from
Cyprus to
Bissau
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
July 30 --
Colombia's
months atop
the UN
Security
Council
began and
ended with
backlogs
caused by
French
grandstanding,
on
Syria and
Congo.
In between,
Nestor Osorio
managed issued
ranging
from Cyprus
through Sudan
and Guinea
Bissau to, on
his last day,
the
Mission in
Darfur.
Throughout the
month the
coffee flowed,
hot and
cold, drawing
a crowd.
On
the next to
last night,
Osorio threw
his end of
presidency
reception
in the Juan
Valdez coffee
house on 57th
Street. It was
better than
most such
events, with a
Latin music
trio, barrista
bar set up,
and
even dancing.
Inner
City Press
asked if the
Somali foreign
minister was
still on for
Tuesday. No,
was the
answer, he has
left town.
There were
other
answers,
ranging from
if the Lord's
Resistance
Army is still
in the
UNAMID
resolution
(yes) to
whether Rwanda
will be
mentioned in
France's Congo
draft --
another P5
member did not
know.
France
was again over
represented,
with PR Araud,
DPR Briens and
the deputy
spokesman.
They intend to
dominate
August, even
with their
ruling
class on a
month long
vacation.
The
backlog at the
start was
triggered by
France's loud
request for
Navi
Pillay to
brief on
Syria. In
retrospect she
had little new
information,
and little
came of it.
On
July 30, while
France spun
the media it
would
circulate a
draft press
statement
about the
Congo it did
not. One
wondered if
the goal was
to
delay so that
Osorio's
replacement,
Gerard Araud
of France,
could
read out the
statement on
UN TV.
Last
time Araud was
Council
president, in
May 2011, he
did only three
question and
answer
stakeouts, and
fled one of
them without
taking
any questions.
Osorio
by
contrast did
at least nine
stakeouts this
July,
foregoing one
so
his foreign
minister
Holguin could
speak. Osorio
strove to live
up
to what's call
the gold
standard: a
stakeout by
the president
after
closed door
consultations,
to try to
explain what
happened.
And at his end
of Presidency
reception he
was gracious,
even
explaining how
some sessions
were canceled,
and giving out
flowers and
taking photos
to the end.
Nestor Osorio:
presente!
Watch this
site.
, 
