At
UN,
US In-Fighting Said to Delay Sudan PRST, Ethnic Cleansing Out?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 1 -- Forty four hours after the US
circulated a draft
Presidential Statement on Sudan to Security Council members, the
text
is said to again by stalled inside the US government. “The
Americans are fighting among themselves,” a representative of a
BRICS member of the Council marveled to Inner City Press on Thursday
morning, shaking his head.
When
the US
introduced the draft on May 31 at 2 pm, asking for a vote that day,
the late circulation of the text was explained thusly: the US
government has a detailed process to go through before proposing a UN
statement.
Other
countries
replied that they too have internal processes, and said there was no
way the statement could be debated, much less adopted, that day.
On
June 1, Inner
City Press covered a full day of wrangling on the text, first at the
so-called experts' level, then a quickly and fruitless meeting of
Deputy Permanent Representatives.
Late
on June 1,
Inner City Press asked US Ambassador Susan Rice to confirm that the
word “occupation” for Sudan's tanks in Abyei was being stripped
from the text. It's only a word, she said.
(When
Inner City
Press then asked her about the US “boycott” of the Durban III
review conference, she said it is not a boycott but rather
“non-participation.”)
Now,
sources say,
the term “ethnic cleansing” is also being removed from the text.
Susan Rice, Baso Sangqu, Menkerios, PRST &
replacement not shown
After
the experts
met again on June 1 until after 5 o'clock, the idea was that the US
would circulate a new draft. At 10 am a Western Council member's
spokesman told the press to watch for adoption of the Sudan PRST
“this afternoon.”
But
as of June 2
at 10:30 am, numerous sources told Inner City Press that US had not
yet circulated the draft. One wag quipped, you can't blame this one
on Scott Gration.
Western
NGOs bemoan
the Security Council's lack of speed in speaking on Abyei and Sudan.
But at least in terms of timing, are they blaming the right parties?
As they say, too many chefs spoil the soup. Watch this site.
* * *
At
UN,
Amid Haggling on Sudan, Haysum's Hat in Ring, Pascoe Eager to Leave?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 1, updated -- Twenty four hours after the US presented
a draft
Presidential Statement on Sudan asking for Security Council action
that same day, the Council remained in negotiations on it, from 11
am
Wednesday until Deputy Permanent Representatives began arriving
along with a new US draft after 3 pm.
One sticking
point
was flagged on the margins of Tuesday's Council meeting: whether
Khartoum's tanks in Abyei should be called an occupation.
China's
Permanent
Representative Li Baodong told Inner City Press that the word
occupation will not be in the PRST. He said that Sudan is the
priority for June, that China has no preference if stability is brought
by UN
peacekeepers or Ethiopian troops under an African Union banner.
(He
added that the AU felt “marginalized” on Libya, and that China
welcomes a visit to New York by an AU ministerial delegation in mid
June, on which Inner City Press reported on Tuesday, click here.)
The
elephant in the (consultations) room is what the future of the UN
Mission in Sudan or its successor will be. Ban Ki-moon proposed 7000
peacekeepers, which Southern Sudan said is not enough.
Tuesday
evening
UNICEF official Hilde Johnson confirmed to Inner City Press its
previous report, that she, Ian Martin and at least one other UN
official are under consideration to replace Haile Menkerios as head
of UNMIS.
Inner
City Press
can now exclusively report the name of this “other UN official”
-- it is Ban Ki-moon's savvy South African adviser on peacekeeping and
political affairs
Nicolas Haysum. Sources told Inner City Press a week ago that the
onus for Haysum's consideration is Ban Ki-moon's on again off again
policy of mobility, of no more than five years in a UN job.
Under
this policy,
for example, Department of Peacekeeping Operations' long time
spokesman has been sent out to Somalia.
But
others notice
that the policy is not being applied to many of those closest to Ban,
for example his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, his (and Kofi Annan's)
adviser Robert Orr, and genial DPKO chief Alain Le Roy, of whom more
and
more sources tell Inner City Press a (French) replacement has been
chosen, akin to the proposed Lagarde for DSK switch.
The
head of Ban's
Department of Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe is said to one close to
him to “want out, badly.” But would the UK take his spot? And if
so, what of Valerie Amos?
Pascoe, even
when he skips the stakout, answers on such topics as Kyrgystan. On
Wednesday the Spokesperson's Office took a question for him about the
mutinies in Burkina Faso. Watch this site.
Footnote: Menkerios
on Tuesday evening told Inner City Press, when asked when he'll come
back to New York, "when they call me." On Wednesday, Li Baodong told
Inner City Press Menkerios is "experienced" and "knows both sides," and
that China hopes he will stay while he is needed. We'll see.
Update of 3:50 pm --
outside the DPR level consultation, a close observer marveled to Inner
City Press that the US hadn't given any time for members' experts to
even confer with their DPR - the US "just keeps pushing."
Update of 4:13 pm --
the DPR's have left, two telling Inner City Press that the experts'
work wasn't done, it was too early to have convened them. On the
substance, some point at Southern Sudan having put a claim to own Abyei
in its draft constitution a provocation, just like what's now being
called the North's "takeover" (not occupation) of Abyei. Susan
Rice has done in to meet with Gabon, as storm clouds (literally) gather
over the UN.
Update
of
4:53 pm -- as US Ambassador Susan Rice left her bilateral meeting
with June's Gabonese Security Council president, Inner City Press
asked her to confirm that the word “occupation” of Abyei is
coming out of the PRST. It doesn't matter, she said. It's just a
word.
Sources
say that
the alternative is “takeover.”
Inner
City Press
asked Ambassador Rice about the US' just announced “boycott” of
the Durban III review conference. Not a boycott, she said.
Non-participation.
Another
word
switch. And so it goes at the UN.
Update
of
5:40 pm -- on the US drafted Sudan PRST, the experts meeting has
broken up. Inner City Press is told it will be sent to capital, also
subject to more negotiations Thursday morning under “Other Matters”
alongside the program of work consultations.
This is a substantive
text, an expert complained. They only introduced it yesterday
afternoon - how can they expect us to just go along? Delegations had
problems not only with “occupation” applied to Abyei, but also
“ethnic cleansing.” Which words will be traded out? Watch this
site.
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