UK
Says AMISOM
Complies With
Rights, But
Kenya
Navy Not Part
of AMISOM
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 18,
updated -- As
Kenya's navy
has been
shelling and
"softening up"
Kismayo in
Somalia, and
in the process
killing at
least three
civilians,
Inner City
Press has
repeatedly
asked the UN
what
safeguards are
in place.
After
pointing out
that the
Kenyan navy is
not part of
the
UN-assisted
AMISOM
mission, UN
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
finally
pointed back
to a
three week old
statement by
the UN's
humanitarian
Mark Bowden.
But
given the UN's
role in
funding
AMISOM, with
which the
Kenyan naval
shelling is
clearly
coordinated,
doesn't the UN
have a greater
role?
On
Tuesday
morning Inner
City Press
asked UK
Permanent
Representative
Mark Lyall
Grant about
the shelling,
after he
described the
just-passed
Security
Council
resolution and
upcoming
summit meeting
at the UN.
Lyall
Grant said the
Kenya's ground
troops are
part of
AMISOM, but
the "Kenyan
navy assets"
are not. He
said he would
not speak to
the timetable
for re-taking
Kismayo from
Al Shabab,
which he
called "a
longstanding
objective that
will be
pursued."
Inner
City Press
asked, since
the Kenyan
navy is
clearly
coordinating
with
the Council
authorized
(and UN
funded)
AMISOM, what
safeguards are
in
place?
Lyall Grant
said the issue
goes beyond
Somalia,
whenever
regional
organizations
are authorized
by the Council
in this way.
He
said while
less direct
than with UN
blue helmets
(or berets),
AMISOM
is still
expected to
comply with
human rights,
and he said
"we have not
reasons to
believe that
they are not
doing so."
But what about
the Kenyan
Navy and its
shelling?
There was
previously a
dispute in the
Security
Council about
whether to
fund the
Kenyan naval
component, or
at least its
maintenance.
Did declining
to provide
that funding
leave this de
facto
component
outside any
human rights
safeguards?
Watch this
site.
Here
is the UK
Mission
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
you mentioned
Al-Shabaab,
and there’s
been a lot of
reports in
recent days of
the Kenyan
Army and
AMISOM closing
in on Kismayo,
and also some
shelling from
ships that are
said to be in
the Kenyan
Navy. I’m
wondering 1)
what you can
say about this
kind of end
game with
Al-Shabaab,
but a question
arose, whether
the Kenyan
navy was part
of AMISOM, was
it ever
approved by
the Council,
are you paying
for the ships,
and if, what
safeguards are
in place for
this,
essentially,
shelling into
Kismayo that
some people
say has killed
at least three
civilians?
Amb. Lyall
Grant: “Well,
it has always
been a long
term objective
of both AMISOM
and the Somali
authorities to
take back
control of
Kismayo from
Al-Shabaab.
I’m not going
to comment on
the timetable
for that, or
the plans for
that. But that
is clearly an
objective and
it’s an
objective that
will be
pursued. In
terms of the
Kenyan naval
assets, they
are not
formally part
of AMISOM. The
Kenyan troops
since June,
when the MoU
was signed
with the
African Union,
have become
part of AMISOM
and are being
funded
accordingly.
But the Kenyan
naval assets
are funded by
the Kenyans
and are not
part of
AMISOM.”
Inner City
Press:
something I’ve
been trying to
figure out for
a few days.
Since it’s
working
obviously in
coordination
with AMISOM,
and there are
at least
reports, Human
Rights Watch
put out a
report that a
pregnant woman
and two
children were
killed by the
shelling, how
does the
Council ensure
that something
that’s part of
a mission that
it authorised,
that there’s
human rights
monitoring,
and safeguards
in place for
the whole
operation, and
not only part
of it.
Amb. Lyall
Grant: “Well,
that is a
general
challenge that
goes beyond
the case of
Somalia. There
are other
examples of
regional
organisations
that are
authorised,
mandated, by
the Security
Council to
take action.
Now obviously,
when it is a
full UN
peacekeeping
operation with
blue berets,
there is a
more direct
control on the
part of the UN
system and on
the part of
the Security
Council on
issues like
human rights.
With the case
of AMISOM, it
is a more
distant, hands
off
relationship.
But
nonetheless,
it is a UN
authorised
mission and we
do expect
AMISOM to
abide by
international
standards of
human rights
and
humanitarian
law, and we
have no reason
to think that
they are not
doing so.”
, 
