UK's
Month Had
Q&A, Tiffs
With Syria,
Zim &
Libya, Power
Moves, River
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
August 28 --
The UK's
month as
President
of the UN
Security
Council
President has
more
question-and-answer
stakeouts than
is the
norm, also
more emergency
meetings --
and, uniquely,
a presentation
of Hamlet in
the
Trusteeship
Council
Chamber.
Their
end of
presidency
reception,
overlooking
the FDR Drive
and East River
on August 28,
featured
discussion of
Ukraine,
Syria and US
President
Barack Obama's
tan suit
earlier in the
day, and
diplomats'
tension
for the upcoming
General
Assembly
ministerial
week.
Hours
before,
Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin
said in the
Council
chamber
that while the
UK's month had
many things
“not correct,”
they had
worked hard.
The latter was
indisputable.
When Permanent
Representative
Mark Lyall
Grant couldn't
summarize a
consultation
or
read out a
Press
Statement at
the stakeout,
his deputy
Peter Wilson
did. They took
questions,
they sent out
transcripts of
what was asked
and answered.
The
UK considers
itself a
leader on
Darfur, but as
its month atop
the
Council ends
it is still
not clear if
cover-ups by
the UNAMID
mission
won't
continue. The
issue wasn't
sufficiently
addressed, it
seems, in
the mandate
renewal
resolution the
UK shepherded
through.
There
were a few
kerfufels in
the chamber:
not only
Syrian
Permanent
Representative
Bashar
Ja'afari being
cut off while
speaking, of
which
the UK might
be proud, but
a speeding
along of
Zimbabwe and a
failure
to seat
Libya's
Ibrahim
Dabbashi at
the Council
table before
voting
on the
Council's
Libya
resolution,
for both of
which the UK
apologized.
What
role did the
UK and its
envoy Jonathan
Powell play in
the switch in
UN envoy from
Tarek Mitri to
Bernardino
Leon? Inner
City Press would
still
like to know.
But
spokesperson
Iona Thomas
provided
comment on
issues ranging
from freedom
of the press
in Somalia to
#BringBackOurGirls
in Nigeria.
The
UK ran a
hybrid Council
trip to
Europe, South
Sudan and
Somalia; from
Inner City
Press' and the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access'
perspective,
there
could have
been more
follow up on
the troubling
crackdown on
reporters in
South Sudan,
including most
recently even
a staffer of
UNMISS public
affairs.
To
the UK's
credit, it
followed
Rwanda's lead
and made its
wrap-up
session
public. In it,
interestingly,
Argentina
spoke about
the
sanctions due
process
ombudsperson,
and Jordan
called for
less
grandstanding
or
“showcasing”
on Council
meetings.
(Lyall Grant
laughed and
indicated it
would be hard
to prevent
that.)
The
UK has long
made Myanmar,
or Burma, one
of its main
foreign policy
issues. But as
the UN gives
in and stops
even using the
word
“Rohingya,”
will the UK
push back?
Perhaps that's
not their
issue
with Burma.
But why not?
Given the UK's
also colonial
relationship
with Sierra
Leone, some
had hoped it would
get the
Security Council
engaged on
ebola (on which
Inner City
Press got
an answer from
the
International
Monetary Fund
on Thursday, retyped
by Reuters.)
Overall,
compared
to some
others,
though, the UK
presidency was
more even
handed, and
certainly
allow for more
questions, and
provided more
read-outs.
There is still
at least one
day left:
August 29,
with Yemen and
Kosovo. We'll
have more on
this.
, 
