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In UN Basement, Zimbabwe and Myanmar and a Fig Leaf NGO,** Consensus Belied by Empty Chairs

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, June 19, updated July 11 -- The staged Zimbabwe meeting convened by Condi Rice occupied less than an hour in the UN basement Thursday. Around a horseshoe table were nameplates for the 15 Council members. South Africa's and Libya's seats stayed empty until 11:55. Then again, Costa Rica's seat was not filled,* and doubtless Mugabe's name is mud in San Jose. The rape debate upstairs created conflict. In Conference Room 7, African nations were given the extra seats, along with World Vision in the center.

   Ms. Rice's co-sponsor, the foreign minister of Burkina Faso, said afterwards that now is not the time for sanctions.  The UK's Attorney General, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, congratulated African nations for standing unanimous up to Mugabe. Mbeki, not so much. But in the wings waits Jacob Zuma. The world is closing in upon Harare, but the  location of the meeting, in the basement not the chamber, was telling. Perhaps World Vision** was there only as a fig leaf, the rationale for exile from the Chamber. When NGOs brief the Council, it happens in the basement. But if one or more nations opposed addressing Zimbabwe in the chamber, other than as a strictly humanitarian issue, a room in the basement and a sample NGO were matched to move things forward.

Ban Ki-moon and Mugabe talking food in Rome this month, new World Vision not shown

   Condi Rice took just a few questions, the first two on the Middle East. The settlements should not be addressed in the Council, she said -- some muttered this is like some other P-5's position in Myanmar and Zimbabwe -- and yes, for the record, Iraq is a sovereign country.  BBC Afrique, ever intrepid, got to the front and asked if pressure on Mugabe really helps the Zimbabwean people. Mugabe is not helping them, Condi Rice shot back. Then she turned to leave, but a quick-thinking journalist called after the Burkina Faso minister. They returned, complete with translator, to say it's not the time for sanctions.

   As the entourage moved off, two men from World Vision came out. They've called for an end to Mugabe's restrictions on NGOs. Inner City Press asked, what's the status of restrictions in Myanmar. It's gotten much better, was the answer, although the government of Than Shwe is still "overly sensitive about security." Might that be Mugabe's excuse?

* - Costa Rican Ambassador Jorge Urbina later confirmed to Inner City Press that it was only scheduling, he was speaking in the Council and sent his political director, who arrived a bit late. Duly noted.

** -- World Vision notes that it is NGO with the largest program in Zimbabwe, and states that it endeavors to be entirely non-political. Ed.'s note: World Vision has provided detailed factual information about the humanitarian sitution in Zimbabwe, for example on an HIV / AIDS issue.  The "fig leaf" comment was directed at the Security Council dynamics, not at World Vision, just to be clear.

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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

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