At
UN,
Despite Libyan Testimony on Mercenaries, Issues Not in Press
Statement
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 22 -- Amid killings including reportedly by
mercenaries in Libya, the UN Security Council met for three hours
Tuesday afternoon then issued a Press Statement.
Inner
City Press
asked Libya's Deputy Permanent Representative Ibrahim Al Dabbashi
about the use of mercenaries by Gadhafi. He is using them, Dabbashi
answered, in the west of the country.
Mercenaries
from
where? Inner City Press asked.
“From African
countries,” Dabbashi said.
But
the Council
press statement, when read about by the Brazilian president, did not
mention mercenaries.
“Did the
Council
discuss mercenaries?” Inner City Press asked her.
No,
she said, the
Council did not discuss that.
Why
not?
Earlier,
Inner
City Press asked the UN's Lynn Pascoe about mercenaries. He said that
UN staff in Libya are worried about being mistaken for mercenaries,
so the stories are out there.
Brazil SC president, mercenaries not shown
The
UN has not
spoken about Bahrain's open use of police from Pakistan and Yemen to
attack Bahraini demonstrators -- arguably, mercenaries. Watch this
site. Here is the press statement:
"The
members
of the Security Council were briefed on the situation in
Libya by Mr Lynn Pascoe, UN Under Secretary-General for Political
Affairs, and the Permanent Representative of the Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, whose Mission had requested a meeting of the Security
Council.
The
members
of the Security Council welcomed the statement issued by the
League of Arab States on 22 February 2011.
The
members
of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the
situation in Libya. They condemned the violence and use of force
against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful
demonstrators and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of
civilians. They called for an immediate end to violence and for steps
to address the legitimate demands of the population, including
through national dialogue.
The
members
of the Security Council called on the Government of Libya to
meet its responsibility to protect its population. They called upon
the Libyan authorities to act with restraint, to respect human rights
and international humanitarian law, and to allow immediate access for
international human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies.
The
members
of the Security Council called for international humanitarian
assistance to the people of Libya and expressed concern at the
reports of shortages of medical supplies to treat the wounded. They
strongly urged the Libyan authorities to ensure the safe passage of
humanitarian and medical supplies and humanitarian workers into the
country.
The
members
of the Security Council underlined the need for the
government of Libya to respect the freedom of peaceful assembly and
of expression, including freedom of the press. They called for the
immediate lifting of restrictions on all forms of the media.
The
members
of the Security Council stressed the importance of
accountability. They underscored the need to hold those responsible
for attacks, including by forces under their control, on civilians.
The
members
of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the
safety of foreign nationals in Libya. They urged the Libyan
authorities and all relevant parties to ensure the safety of all
foreign nationals and facilitate the departure of those wishing to
leave the country.
The
members
of the Security Council will continue to follow the situation
closely."
* * *
As
Libya
Kills
Protesters, Gadhafi Daughter is UN Ambassador, UNDP Silent
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February
20 -- As in Libya the forces, including
mercenaries, of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi shoot and kill peaceful
protesters, the UN has been nearly entirely silent.
On
the morning of February 20, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky:
In
the
wake
of the gunning down of 46 democracy protesters in Libya’s
second largest city, Benghazi, by security forces under the command
of Colonel Gadafi, is the UN reassessing its relationship with Col
Gadhafi’s daughter, Aicha, who the UN has designated a “Goodwill
Ambassador?
Has
the
Secretary-General
sought to use the UN’s special relationship
with its Goodwill Ambassador Dr Aicha Gadhafi to persuade her father
not to use such excessive force against peaceful demonstrators?
Nine
hours
later,
no response at all from the UN. Inner City Press also asked Ban's
spokesman Nesirky “in this context, the Secretary-General's planned
trip to California to meet and greet 'the entertainment industry,'
how much is this trip costing, and is it funded by the Regular Budget
of the UN -- and if not, what is the funding source?” Again, no
answer.
On February
17,
Inner City Press had asked Nesirky
Inner
City
Press:
Is there any thought of using the existing UN programs on
the ground, whether it is UNDP or
otherwise? There was some
criticism of this training of police in Egypt
prior to the — there
was criticism by NGOs that it didn’t bring in human rights
activists but rather Government people. Is there some thinking of
how — the UNDP website about Libya hasn’t been updated now in
several months, I guess — it seems to some, due to the turmoil. What
about these UN…?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Who
might that be? Who is it, these people who think it
might be?
Inner
City
Press:
People that look at it and have seen that it was updated
all the way, until suddenly there was turmoil in the country and then
it is not updated any more.
UN's Ban and Gadhafi, Goodwill Ambassador daughter not shown
Inner
City
Press: What’s the role, according to the
Secretary-General, of the existing UN programmes in countries like
Libya and Yemen, where Helen Clark visited and didn’t say anything
about democracy?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
there are lots of, as you know, across the region,
there is a UN presence in different constellations; country teams
with different components, whether it is UNDP or other UN agencies,
funds and programmes. Of course, given that they are already on the
ground, given that they have been working there in different
capacities on different projects, they are well placed to be further
involved. But this is part of a bigger picture, and it is being very
carefully coordinated.
Inner
City
Press:
Is there any change of policy? I guess I am saying,
given that the announcement today that the UN is sort of taking
cognizance of all this, is there, is that…?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well,
Matthew, it’s hardly an announcement today. This
is something that has been said consistently for a number of weeks
now. And indeed, further back, as you know, the Human Development
Reports on the Arab world have been saying this for the best part of
a decade. So, okay, thank you very much.
But
what had the UN
been doing about Libya? Watch this site.
* * *
, 
