Before
Congo Vote, UN
Dismisses
120,000
Duplicates, As
Ban
Meets Moussa
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 8 --
In the run up
to November 28
elections in
the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo, the
UN Security
Council held
more
than two hours
of closed door
consultations
on Tuesday and
emerged
with a
statement to
the Press.
As
Permanent
Representatives
trickled out
throughout the
afternoon,
Inner City
Press asked
them if the
pro-Kabila
duplicate
voting records
scandal
detailed in
leaked report
by Belgian
firm Zetes had
been
discussed. No,
most of them
said.
The
point of the
meeting seemed
to be to
condemn
opposition
candidate
Etienne
Tshisekedi for
threatening
violence and
even declaring
himself the
winner in
advance.
When top UN
envoy to the
DRC Roger
Meece,
formerly
the US
Ambassador to
Kinshasa, came
out to take
questions,
Inner City
Press asked
him about the
Zetes scandal.
Despite
detailed media
reporting on
October 29
quoting long
time Congo
experts
expressing
concern about
the
duplicates,
Meece
minimized the
issue.
Meece
told Inner
City Press
that it only
impacted
120,000
registrations
out of 32
million. Inner
City Press
asked if these
was a double
standard,
having in mind
the fight over
hanging chads
in the Bush -
Gore fight
in Florida.
But worse is
that while
Meece knew
about the
Zetes
report,
apparently the
Ambassadors on
the Council,
and even
usually
well informed
staffers, were
not. What is
the purpose of
such two
hour closed
door meetings?
The
UN has
previously
told Inner
City Press
that the US
military
advisers being
sent to help
track down
Joseph Kony of
the Lord's
Resistance
Army are
NOT
coordinating
with MONUSCO.
Inner City
Press asked
Meece, who
said
he thinks Kony
is in the
Central
African
Republic,
where MONUSCO
cannot go.
Inner City
Press asked if
any
International
Criminal
Court issues
have been
discussed.
The
US fought to
get an ICC
exemption in
the Libya
resolution
earlier this
year. But
the LRA, with
Kony and other
leaders
indicted by
the ICC,
operates in
ICC member
states. Would
the US be
subject to ICC
jurisdiction.
Ask
the US, Meece
said.
The
UN's Sexual
Violence and
Armed Conflict
expert Margot
Wallstrom also
came out to
take
questions.
Inner City
Press asked
her where
Serafim, a
commander
charged with
the Walikali
rapes with
which Meece's
tenure began,
is
now. She said
she did not
know. She did
however
describe some
of the
work of trying
to "name and
shame" such
commanders
through
the DRC
Sanctions
Committee.
Whether
international
travel bans
will
root out the
problem is
another issue.
(c) UN Photo
Wallstrom,
Nambiar &
Ban: Serafim,
Zetes &
Moussa meeting
not shown
An
overarching
problem is the
UN seeming to
take sides in
elections.
Regarding the
upcoming
elections in
Egypt, Inner
City Press on
November 8
asked the
spokesman for
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon to
confirm that
Ban is
meeting with
Egyptian
candidate Amre
Moussa, and
why.
The spokesman
Martin Nesirky
said he didn't
know. When the
Security
Council ended
after six
o'clock, Ban's
spokeperson's
office had
still not
provided Inner
City Press
with any
answer.
But Moussa is
on Ban's
schedule
for November
9. Will Ban
meet with any
other Egyptian
candidates? A
similar
critique can
be made of the
UN's work in
Liberia. Watch
this
site.
Footnote:
Inner City
Press asked
Wallstrom if
she thought
what happened
to Gaddafi
after he was
captured
amounted to
sexual
violence. She
said that it
did, but that
the ICC (and
presumably not
her office)
will be
pursuing the
issue. We'll
see.
, 
