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UN Inaction in Abyei Is Under "Review,"
Despite Belated Fight-Back from Qazi, Drone Stories
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
June 18, updated June 19 --
Inaction by UN Mission
in Sudan peacekeepers while the town of Abyei was being burned down has
resulted in belated fight-back from UNMIS chief Ashraf Qazi. On
Tuesday, U.S.
envoy for Sudan Richard Williamson said that despite having a mandate
under
Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which allows the use of force, UN
peacekeepers
in Abyei stayed inside their compound while houses were being
burned down and
looted a mere 25 feet away. Qazi, in a statement issued Wednesday from
Khartoum,
wrote "I am sure the statements attributed to Mr. Williamson's views do
not reflect the position of the U.S. Government. In the aftermath of
the Abyei
crisis, I have had the privilege of
meeting U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative Wolf during the recent
visit of
the Security Council to the Sudan."
Leaving
aside that Alejandro Wolff's name has two F's, and the the statements
were
attributed to Williamson, not to his view -- they were
his views -- on the central issue of UNMIS' mandate, Qazi is
adopting a troublingly Rwanda-like reading. The UNMIS resolution states
that
"Acting
under Chapter VII of
the UN Charter, UNMIS is authorized to take the necessary action, in
the areas
of deployment of its forces, and as it deems within its capabilities,
to
protect United Nations personnel and to ensure their security and
freedom of
movement, as well as, without prejudice to the responsibility of the
Sudanese
Government, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical
violence."
In Abyei,
by all accounts, civilians were under imminent threat of violence.
Qazi in Sudan, defense of inaction not shown
Qazi adds a
qualification that is not in the resolution, that
" whenever, despite
our peace keeping efforts, large scale hostilities break out between
the two
parties, UNMIS has neither the capacity nor the mandate to militarily
intervene
or to provide law enforcement functions, which are the responsibility
of the
Government."
But
what about
protecting civilians? Inner City Press
asked UN spokesperson Michele Montas for the view of Ban Ki-moon's
outgoing chief
of peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno. Video here,
from Minute 17:32. Ms. Montas said, you are free to ask
Mr. Guehenno's department. In response to an email, Guehenno's
spokesman Nick
Birnback told Inner City Press:
"As we
always do after such
incidents, we are reviewing the Abyei incident. Together with UNMIS we
will
draw lessons and ensure the mission continues to implement all aspects
of its
mandate productively, so as to assist
the parties in advancing the CPA. Currently UNMIS is actively
supporting the
implementation of the agreement reached by the parties on 8 June, in
particular
concerning the deployment of the Joint Integrated Units (SAF/SPLA)
which began
this morning (18 June)."
This
differs from the combative defense of inaction issued by Ashraf Qazi.
The
upbeat conclusion of the response, reflected here,
needs to be followed and
will be. Watch this site.
Footnote: there is
talk of Zambian peacekeepers in
Abyei actively ejecting civilians and locking themselves in, "hear no
evil, see no evil." There are echoes of Rwanda. And in the hall outside
the Security Council on Wednesday morning, there was Rwanda's affable
UN Ambassador,
who told Inner City Press that the UN has to get harder and more
serious on the
Hutu FDLR rebels who are still in the Congo. The head of the UN mission
in the
Congo, Alan Doss, recently said the drones would help his work. Inner
City
Press has asked UN Peacekeeping if they are formally requesting such
drones,
and if also on drones they are monitoring and can confirm or deny
Abkhazia's
charge that Georgia is still flying them over the Kodori Gorge. Answers
have
been promised to both questions, watch this site.
Update:
we now have responses on both of
our questions to Peacekeeping about drones:
DR Congo envoy
"Doss has indicated that if
MONUC was tasked to carry out additional tasks the Mission would need
additional enablers and capability and possibly additional specialized
forces. These additional assets could,
conceivably, include unmanned aerial vehicles."
In
Abkhazia, "UNOMIG has limited capacity to monitor airspace over the
zone
of conflict. There have been reports of
some UAV overflights over the Kodori valley which UNOMIG could not
confirm. It however followed up on
those reports with the Georgians who have denied any are flying there."
One hopes
that the UN would monitor its own drones in the Congo if they get
them...
* * *
These reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
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718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
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2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
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