|
On NGOs in Khartoum, UN Is Not
Sure, Council to Meet Friday, No Legal Expertise
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, March 5 -- The
situation in Sudan is the UN's main focus, as stated Thursday by its
Spokesperson who declined to take questions on any other subject. But
while
purporting to focus, the UN on Thursday could not answer basic
questions. Inner
City Press asked deputy humanitarian coordinator Catherine Bragg if the
NGOs
described as expelled from Sudan will be able to continue to run
programs in
South Sudan, from offices in Khartoum. "I don't have information on
that,"
Ms. Bragg replied. "I'll have to
check." Video here,
from Minute 20:41.
Seven hours later, no information had been provided.
But at 9 p.m. on
Thursday, the Security Council announced that it will meet on Sudan at
3 p.m. on Friday.
Inner City Press asked Ms. Bragg if the UN
considered Omar al-Bashir's expulsion
order a violation of international humanitarian law. "I'm not a legal
expert," Ms. Bragg replied, "so I can't answer that for you. But the
UN's top lawyer Patricia O'Brien, at an on-camera press conference
earlier in
the week, told Inner City Press she would not answer any questions
except on
the Hariri Tribunal, and would not commit to any further press
availabilities.
UN's Ban and ICC's Ocampo: who will serve
meals in Darfur now?
On March 4, the UN Spokesperson tried to argue that
Ban was not calling
on Sudan to hand Bashir over to the ICC in the Hague because Sudan is
not bound
by the indictment -- a position that ignores the UN Security Council
resolution
calling on Sudan to comply and cooperate with the ICC. Clearly, someone
is
given bad legal advice. But who?
Click here for Inner City
Press' Feb 26 UN debate
Click
here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
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
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
USA
Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and
weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com -
|
