By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 20,
more
here --
Across First
Avenue from
the UN on the
Saturday
before the
General
Debate, the chants
were "Stop the
killing in
Sudan" and "Bashir
to the ICC" (a
sign added
Ahmed Haroun),
then "Shame on
Ban Ki-moon."
The UN,
protected by
large NYPD
cement blocks,
seemed
unconcerned,
preparing for
the projection
of
environmental
images against
its facade
four hours
later.
The head of UN
Peacekeeping,
Herve Ladsous,
met
with ICC-indictee
Omar al-Bashir,
and refused to
answer Press
questions
about what was
discussed. (Video compilation here, UK
coverage here).
His Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations flew ICC-indicted
Haroun in a UN
helicopter to
Abyei to
talk to the
same type of
pro-government
militia he led
in war crimes
in Darfur.
Now even as
the Mission in
Darfur UNAMID
is belatedly
investigating
itself for
covering up
attacks on
civilians, the
head
of UNAMID
Chambas is
being given
another post,
atop UNOWA in
Dakar, Senegal,
as Inner City
Press first
reported.
This is
today's UN.
Back on July
15 when the
Coalition for
the
International
Criminal Court
and Human
Rights Watch
came to brief
the UN press
corps about
the ICC, Inner
City Press
asked them
about
Ladsous
meeting with
Bashir, and
about his mission
in the Congo
flying the
leader of the
FDLR militia
at least to
Kinshasa.
CICC
convenor
William Pace
replied that
the UN
Secretariat
should be
instructed to
limit all
non-essential
contacts.
HRW's
Richard Dicker
said he was
unaware of Ladsous'
meeting with
Bashir --
strange, since
HRW's UN
lobbyist has
been queried
about it --
but correctly
brought up UN
Peacekeeping's
previously
flying in
Sudan of Ahmed
Harun.
"That
same standard
applies to
FDLR
leadership,”
Dicker said.
Well, who's
going to tell
Ladsous, or
the French
government
which
installed
Ladsous as the
fourth French
head of UN
Peacekeeping
in a row?
There
was talk of
how ICC judges
are elected.
Inner City
Press
previously reported on
France
offering to
support a
candidate
deemed
unqualified if
his country
would support
France's
candidate.
Maybe they
never heard of
that one,
either? Watch
this site.
, 
