At UN
Charter
Debate, ICP
Asks Venezuela
FM About
Yemen, W
Sahara,
Eritrea
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 15 --
When the UN
Charter was
debated in the
Security
Council,
chaired by
Venezuela's
Foreign
Minister Delcy
Rodriguez, she
brought up
Syria, the
State of
Palestine and
eight armed
conflicts in
Africa.
Inner City
Press, when
she did a
question and
answer
stakeout,
asked her
about Yemen as
well, a
conflict
decidedly less
spoken about
in the
Security
Council amid
continuing
airstrikes. Video here.
Inside the
Chamber,
Spain's
Ignacio Ybanez
brought up
Burundi, as
did France's
Ambassador
Francois
Delattre
(along with
CAR and Mali,
North Korea,
Syria, Libya
and yes,
Yemen) - but
what has been
done about
Burundi?
New
Zealand's
Ambassador
Gerard van
Bohemen said
the delay of
the Council's
visit to
Burundi by six
months blunted
its impact.
The Free
UN Coalition
for Access
would add, and
the lack
of
transparency.
Russia's
speech went
old school,
back to the UK
bombing Yemen
in 1964, the
US in Grenada
and Nicaragua.
It was unclear
if the US
would invoke a
right of
reply: 68
countries were
signed up to
speak. Number
65 was Turkey,
as signs
across from
the UN said
“Turkey, ISIS,
Stop Killing
Kurds!”
India's
Permanent
Representative
said that
peacekeeping
Troop
Contributing
Countries are
not consulted
enough, and
criticized
that there
must be
consensus to
list groups as
terrorist.
Eritrea's
Permanent
Representative
criticized the
sanctions
against it as
illegitimate.
Israel called
out Malaysia
and Venezuela,
by name.
There
will be
more...
On
February 12, when
Venezuela's
Permanent
Representative
Rafael Ramirez
held a
breakfast
Q&A, Inner
City Press
asked him
about Yemen,
Western
Sahara, the
next UN
Secretary
General, Haiti
and UNSC
transparency.
On Yemen,
Ramirez said
there is a
need for more
open meeting,
citing
February 16
and 17 and the
request for
weekly
meetings going
forward. He
said the media
doesn't cover
Yemen anything
like Syria.
On
Western Sahara
Ramirez told
Inner City
Press that Ban
Ki-moon and
his envoy Ross
should be able
to visit
before April.
When Inner
City Press
asked about
the so-called
"Group of
Friends on
Western
Sahara" which,
without any
African
members,
drafts the
UNSC's
resolutions on
the topic, he
said, "I don't
now what kind
of friends are
these."
Ramirez
said he was
next meeting
with the
President of
the General
Assembly
Mogens
Lykketoft,
that the UNSC
should propose
more than one
candidate to
the GA. Inner
City Press
asked for his
view on
possible
candidate
Susana
Malcorra; he
said running
is a personal
decision.
On Haiti,
Ramirez said
he is worried
about the
parliamentary
coup, citing
the example of
Honduras; he
said he would
wait to see
what CELAC
could
accomplish.
Inner
City Press for
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access
suggested that
Presidents of
the UNSC,
starting with
Ramirez,
should publish
online their
daily schedule
of meetings.
Ramirez to his
credit said it
is a good
idea. We will
be following
this.
, 
