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At UN, Zimbabwe and Pro-Rape Arguments Fade, from Condi to
Susan Rice
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
June 19 -- As the UN Security
Council's debate on a resolution to condemn rape as a tool of war
began, after
Condi Rice swept into the chamber with her entourage, the U.S. mission
let it
be known that abstentions were no longer expected. What, one wondered,
had been
the pro-rape argument? As always at the UN, it was styled as a matter
of
principle. The first argument, according to Inner City Press' sources
involved
in the negotiations, was that rape no matter how systematic is not a
threat to
international peace and security but is rather an internal matter. The
second
was a cultural argument, that the drive behind the resolution is
"Western
in nature." To be seen as pro-rape, however, would not do. And so a
unanimous vote is expected in connection with Condi Rice's visit. There
will be
60 speakers, with Myanmar near the rear in 57th place.
Before the
meeting began, France's Rama Yade came to the stakeout microphone and
gave a
speech in French. Like the Security Council delegation, she had just
returned
from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, specifically the Kivus. She
said
militias must be disarmed and then distanced from the Kivus and kept
occupied.
But which region of Congo would want the FDLR? One imagines a "not in
my
backyard" battle, in which inducements might be proffered.
Ban Ki-moon and Condi Rice, Susan Rice not shown
On
Zimbabwe, Condi Rice will head to the basement for an 11:30 meeting.
The Press
will be allowed in, after security screening, for the first ten
minutes,
including a speech by Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibril Bassole,
then out. On
her way to meet Ban Ki-moon, Condi Rice will stop to speak and maybe
take some
questions. Afghanistan? North Korea? John McCain?
Footnotes:
Following his meeting on Darfur in the
same basement conference room where Condi Rice will be, U.S. envoy for
Sudan
Rich Williamson headed to Chicago for a McCain fundraising event. He is
said to be positioning himself
for a position if McCain wins. On the Obama side, the UN word is Susan
Rice. From Condi Rice to Susan Rice,
November will tell the story.
* * *
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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Other,
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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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