At the UN, Dodging U.S. Bombs and Death of Uighurs, Outliers in UN's Economic Projection

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

UNITED NATIONS, January 10 --  In his seven weekdays on the job, new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has faced a number of questions of law. It began with two positions on the death penalty, and since then has moved to whether actions of the U.S. and China constitute extra-judicial killings, and whether the International Criminal Court's indictments of leaders of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army should be enforced.

            On Wednesday Inner City Press asked the UN spokeswoman for Ban Ki-moon's position on the ICC indictments, which Uganda's Museveni government is calling to be dropped. "It is a judicial process and will continue," said the spokeswoman. "The Secretary-General will not interfere in the process of the tribunal." Video here.

            On extra-judicial killings, the spokeswoman said that more information is needed about the bombings in Somalia by the U.S.. China's recent killing of at least 18 people in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, which Inner City Press asked about on Tuesday, was not addressed or mentioned on Wednesday.

   Also on Somalia, near six p.m. after the Security Council's consultations Inner City Press asked U.S. representative Jackie Sanders to address reports of civilians killed by U.S. bombing in southern Somalia. I am not aware of the numbers, Amb. Sanders said, in what by reporters' count was her second stakeout interview ever.

Somali refugees

   Inner City Press asked Ambassador Sanders for the U.S. position on Kenya having closed its border to Somalis trying to flee the fighting. That issue came up in consultations, Amb. Sanders said. But when Inner City Press asked Council president Churkin, he said he didn't recall Kenya's border closing being raised. He also declined to comment on the U.S. bombing in Somalia. The Transitional Federal Government's charge d'affaires answered Inner City Press' off-camera question about those shooting at Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu by claiming these were not nationalists, just militias in search of money.

            There was other happy talk on Wednesday. Inner City Press asked about the recent quotes from Sudan's president Al-Bashir that "Our experience with U.N. operations in the world is not encouraging... There are sufficient forces in the Sudan from African countries to maintain order and they can provide order. All we need is funding for the African troops."

            The spokeswoman acknowledged seeing this "press report," but cited to Al-Bashir's letter last month which was described as inviting UN troops in, despite that letter's insistence on a structure involving Sudanese veto power. And that letter was before the revelations about UN peacekeepers' sexual abuse in South Sudan, which Al-Bashir clearly referred to in his more recent quote. For two days Inner City Press has asked for a copy of the UN's report to the Sudanese government about sexual abuse, and each time has been told, "We can get that for you." When?

"World Economic Situation and Prospects 2007" -- and Outliers in Azerbaijan and Africa

            Also at Wednesday's UN noon briefing, an economic forecast was released. While this segment of the briefing morphed into a hurried question-and-answer with Jose Antonio Ocampo about current corruption scandals and the ways in which particular countries dominate parts of the UN and UNDP -- click here for that story -- prior to that, the question concerned the report. Inner City Press asked about outliers in the charts in the report: Bosnia with a reported unemployment rate of 46%, and Azerbaijan with a reported annual GDP growth of over 30 percent. How can these be explained? Mr. Ocampo deferred to a staffer, who explained Azerbaijan in terms of oil and the BTC pipeline, saying if one controls for oil and investment in oil infrastructure, "you will see it's not so amazing." After the briefing another staff addressed Bosnia, saying that people over-report their unemployment since they don't want to pay taxes. But why not elsewhere too?

            The chart in the report lists the two fastest-growing countries in Africa as Equatorial Guinea and Chad, and the slowest-growing as Zimbabwe, actually with negative growth. Oil dictatorships and coup-targets at the top, another dictatorship at the bottom, and what democracies there are, in the middle. Staffer Newton Kanhema explained that Africa is looking east, and that GDP growth of 7% would be needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Here's hoping.

            Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday morning attending the hand-over of power of the G-77 group, at which South Africa's ambassador said that Vijay Nambiar is his "inside man on the 38th floor. I tell him, I'm going to report you to Ambassador Singh [of India] if you don't help." All laughed, but what happened with Article 100 of the Charter, that UN staff do not report to their countries of nationality (even if these countries put them in the UN job)? Click here for today's UN reform story, which also deals with some member states' dominance of the UN and its staff and funds.

            South Africa's Ambassador also praised a G-77 staffer as "sitting in the Vienna Cafe smoking a pipe and negotiating," saying that many counter-parties had now also taken up pipe-smoking, presumably at the Vienna Cafe. Beyond that smoking is prohibited at the UN, it has given rise to a wasteful expenditure for a duct ventilation system, which Inner City Press has confirmed will be ripped out and destroyed in less than two years under the Capital Master Plan. Jokes are nice, but it would also be nice to know what UN policy is.

            The most basic of facts are obfuscated. During the push to confirm Josette Sheeran Shiner to succeed Jim Morris as head of the UN World Food Program, it was argued that action under lame-duck Kofi Annan was necessary because Morris wanted to leave on December 31, and would be leaving then. Then Josette Sheeran Shiner did not start on Jan. 1, and Morris stayed on. Inner City Press was then told that the hand-over date had "always" been April, which is not what Inner City Press was previously told by the spokesman's office.  Wednesday it emerged that, following these questions, Morris has now scheduled a going-away party for next week. Can we know when Josette Sheeran Shiner will start? We'll see.

UNHCR Updates on North Koreans in Thailand and Elsewhere and Refugees in Nepal

            Here are two responses from UNHCR in Geneva, on questions of recent days regarding North Koreans in Thailand and protests in Nepal:

In a message dated 1/10/2007 11:47:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, [ at] unhcr.org writes:

Hi Matthew,
On Nepal, there's a peaceful protest by urban refugees outside our office in Kathmandu. We understand that refugees affected by the reduction in their allowances feel the need to make their views clear to UNHCR. Our staff have been speaking to them about their concerns and also again explaining the reasons behind the reduction. We appreciate the fact it's a peaceful demonstration and that we can talk about their situation. In addition to their monthly allowance which is based on the minimum wage level, the refugees are also still receiving dependency allowances for spouse and children. Free medical assistance and discretional assistance for vulnerable individuals with specific needs as well as assistance for the education of children and language training is also still provided by UNHCR. A number of refugees have found stable informal work and some also get support from family members abroad.
On North Koreans in Thailand, the case you referred to dates back to 2005. As a rule we don't comment on individual cases. However, in general North Koreans are a group of concern to UNHCR. It is not necessary for UNHCR to go through the process of refugee status determination for North Koreans because they have a ready solution. They can usually go to South Korea where they have citizenship rights. In other words, they have a country where they have protection, where their rights will be respected and where they have physical security and are given support to integrate. There are of course other major advantages such as they speak the same language and have a common culture and in some cases, can be reunified with their families. UNHCR helps the authorities in countries concerned in South-East Asia, such as Thailand,  to find a humanitarian solution for N. Koreans - aside from a very small number going to third countries (such as US, Japan) most N. Koreans are going to S. Korea.

The US has told UNHCR that refugee status determination is NOT a requirement for North Koreans and that they will take referrals on humanitarian grounds. If a North Korean says they do not want to go to South Korea, then UNHCR can submit a case on humanitarian grounds to a third resettlement country.  It's then up to that country to decide whether or not they will take them according to their own regulations. It's their decision alone. If a case is rejected by the US, the case would still be eligible to go to South Korea.

In Thailand, we are not aware of any North Koreans being pushed back across the border. There have been round ups and detentions which we are very concerned about. We have been working with the Thai authorities to ensure these people are not returned to North Korea or China and can continue their journey to a safe third country, usually South Korea. 

Hope this helps.

  It does. China's treatment of those fleeing North Korea is a topic to be raised.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com

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In the Congo, Kidnapper of UN Peacekeepers Still Shoots So WFP Tip-Toes Around with Food

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

UNITED NATIONS, January 9 -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the success story that the UN most often cites. Tuesday the president of the Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, told reporters that he hoped they would cover the Congo, since it is such a success. Amb. Churkin spoke after a Council meeting in which the head of UN Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, said that "the DRC's achievements will be at risk if the international community, or the Congolese people, repeat some of their past mistakes."

            One of the risks, some say mistakes, has been the attempt to turn warlords and even kidnappers into senior officials in the Congolese army. While not dissimilar to the strategies of other only semi-successful incursions such as those in Afghanistan and now Somalia, in the Congo the integration of warlords into the army has been a strategy promoted by the UN mission, known by its French acronym, Monuc. Even after warlord Peter Karim kidnapped a half-dozen UN peacekeepers from Nepal, Monuc facilitated an offer to Karim of a colonel's position in the Congolese army, the FARDC. The UN announced this deal as a victory, and then declined to take questions on it.

            A footnote to that round of dealings with Peter Karim is that U.S. forces, from the same Djibouti base from which southern Somalia has just been bombed, got involved in the negotiation when they thought Karim was a Muslim. They thought they'd found an Al Qaeda connection. Rather than bomb eastern Congo, they talked. Finding no Al Qaeda link, they moved on.

            But in late 2006, rather than join the Congolese army, Peter Karim went back to war. The fighting began around Fataki, in the Ituri district. On Tuesday Mr. Guehenno summarized:

"In Ituri, a new ceasefire between the FARDC and the National Integrationist Front, the FNI, led by Peter Karim, was agreed upon on 2 January after fighting had broken out near the town of Fataki at the end of December. The situation remains very tense, with the United Nations conducting robust operations in support of Government troops."

            In fact, Monuc has reportedly issued yet another ultimatum to Peter Karim. Monday, Inner City Press asked the UN spokesperson's office and the World Food Program about the humanitarian situation in Ituri, and elsewhere in the Congo. Tuesday WFP sent a detailed response, quoted from and annotated below.

Executive Office of National Assembly installed -- without Kabila present

            Inner City Press asked:  "What is WFP's role and program in eastern DRC, and separately, in Ituri and  in the areas controlled by Peter Karim?  Has WFP had any dealings with Karim or others of the warlords in Eastern Congo?"

            WFP answered:

"WFP in the DRC does not deal with the various warlords. When the DRC was still split between various parts back in 2001, authorizations were obtained through the Resident Coordinator and OCHA.  To date, WFP is often part of delegation led by OCHA for the negotiation of humanitarian corridors. However, the interlocutors are always legal authority. WFP also joins OCHA and other UN agencies for the negotiations of access to affected populations in cases of ethnics fighting.  In this case with Peter Karim, the Head of the FARDC (governmental troops) in Ituri district granted the humanitarian corridor; i.e. means that humanitarian could go to Fataki under protection of the governmental army."

   As to activities in Ituri, WFP states:

"Since mid-December 06, violent clashes have occurred between militias of FNI led by Peter Karim and governmental troops. It is part of government process in demilitarizing areas in the east plagued by armed gangs. Clashes take place in areas as near as 110 km north east from Bunia. The United Nations Mission of Observers in the DRC (MONUC) has a military base in the area (Fataki).  Information from what is happening in Fataki is being reported by MONUC. Most of the UN agencies and NGOs are based in Bunia. 

The UN agencies are looking forward to assisting the affected populations, who according to last information counted more than 7700 people gathered in three sites near MONUC camp in Fataki; an additional 2800 households have been reported at 12 km north east from Fataki and more than 2,000 IDPs were reportedly fled to areas at 30/25 km north from Bunia. All these persons are in critical humanitarian conditions. On 2nd January 2007, in an attempt to be granted a humanitarian corridor to the affected populations, OCHA, UNHCR and WFP had a meeting with the head of governmental troops in Bunia.
Once the humanitarian corridor [was] granted, two humanitarian convoys left Bunia: the 1st one on the 5th January and the second one on the 7th January.  WFP released almost 50 metric tons (mt) (maize meal, vegetable oil) of food to the NGO German Agro Action for distribution to the 7726 persons settled in three camps around the MONUC settlements in Fataki. The food represents one month ration. German Agro Action completed the ration with salt.
      During the days to come, WFP’s partners (GAA, Solidarite) have planned to continue to assess the needs of the newly displaced. WFP will provide the food. With the new caseloads, WFP has to face an increase in 20% of the IDPs currently in dire need of food assistance in the Ituri district. However, WFP food stocks in Bunia are low: 677 mt was available on the 31st of December. The quantity in pulses amounted to 1.2 mt, which was not sufficient to cover the needs (13 mt) of the 7,700 IDPs around MONUC camps for one month.

[More generally] In 2006, in areas where peace has been secured (Bunia, Mahagi, Aru), food for work activities were carried out in partnership with:
The FAO for the multiplication of health seeds;
German Agro Action for the rehabilitation of 119 km of feeder tracks. It allowed the moving of agricultural products to markets;
German Agro Action, Lutheran World Federation, Caritas, and Premiere Urgence  for the re-launch of food production by more than 36,300 former displaced persons;

ADRA for the construction of social centers in Aru for demobilized child soldiers; and

The Belgian technical cooperation for the rehabilitation of 19 basic infrastructure (13 schools, 6 health centers and the Bunia general hospital).

            And now it's said that Belgium's King is contemplating a visit to the Congo... Inner City Press also asked WFP, in light of Josette Sheeran Shiner's no-show on January 2 in Rome, " who will represent WFP at its Executive Board meeting in February?" Confining its answer, if it is one, to a gender-specific pronoun, WFP answered that "WFP will be represented by the Executive Director or his designee at the Executive Board meeting in February." We'll see.

Other Inner City Press reports are available in the ProQuest service and some are archived on www.InnerCityPress.com --

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At the UN, Iran Resolution Goes Blue as Ivory Coast is Traded Away With No Follow-up on Hmung

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In Eastern Congo, Kidnapper of UN Peacekeepers Is Made a Colonel, Clooney And Now Guehenno Might Stay

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At the UN, Positions Are Up For the Grabbing, Sun's Silence on Censorship, Advisor Grabs for Gun

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Spinning the Congo, UN Admits Hostage Deal with Warlord That Put Him in Congolese Army

At the UN, Dow Chemical's Invited In, While Teaming Up With Microsoft is Defended

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Conflicts of Interest in UNHCR Program with SocGen and Pictet Reveal Reform Rifts

UN Grapples with Somalia, While UNDP Funds Mugabe's Human Rights Unit, Without Explanation

UN Gives Mugabe Time with His Friendly Mediator, Refugees Abandoned

At the UN, Friday Night's Alright for Fighting; Annan Meets Mugabe

UN Acknowledges Abuse in Uganda, But What Did Donors Know and When? Kazakh Questions

In Uganda, UNDP to Make Belated Announcement of Program Halt, But Questions Remain (and see The New Vision, offsite).

Disarmament Abuse in Uganda Leads UN Agency to Suspend Its Work and Spending

Disarmament Abuse in Uganda Blamed on UNDP, Still Silent on Finance

Alleged Abuse in Disarmament in Uganda Known by UNDP, But Dollar Figures Still Not Given: What Did UN Know and When?

Strong Arm on Small Arms: Rift Within UN About Uganda's Involuntary Disarmament of Karamojong Villages

UN's Selective Vision on Somalia and Wishful Thinking on Uighurs

UN Habitat Predicts The World Is a Ghetto, But Will Finance Be Addressed at Vancouver World Urban Forum?

UN's Annan Concerned About Use of Terror's T-Word to Repress, Wants Freedom of Information

UN  Waffles on Human Rights in Central Asia and China; ICC on Kony and a Hero from Algiers

UN & US, Transparency for Finance But Not Foreign Affairs: Somalia, Sovereignty and Senator Tom Coburn

Human Rights Forgotten in UN's War of Words, Bolton versus Mark Malloch Brown: News Analysis

In Praise of Migration, UN Misses the Net and Bangalore While Going Soft on Financial Exclusion

UN Sees Somalia Through a Glass, Darkly, While Chomsky Speaks on Corporations and Everything But Congo

Corporate Spin on AIDS, Holbrooke's Kudos to Montenegro and its Independence

The Silence of the Congo and Naomi Watts; Between Bolivia and the World Bank

Human Rights Council Has Its Own Hanging Chads; Cocky U.S. State Department Spins from SUVs

Child Labor and Cargill and Nestle; Iran, Darfur and WHO's on First with Bird Flu

Press Freedom? Editor Arrested by Congo-Brazzaville, As It Presides Over Security Council

The Place of the Cost-Cut UN in Europe's Torn-Up Heart;
Deafness to Consumers, Even by the Greens

Background Checks at the UN, But Not the Global Compact; Teaching Statistics from Turkmenbashi's Single Book

Ripped Off Worse in the Big Apple, by Citigroup and Chase: High Cost Mortgages Spread in Outer Boroughs in 2005, Study Finds

Burundi: Chaos at Camp for Congolese Refugees, Silence from UNHCR, While Reform's Debated by Forty Until 4 AM

The Chadian Mirage: Beyond French Bombs, Is Exxon In the Cast? Asylum and the Uzbeks, Shadows of Stories to Come

Through the UN's One-Way Mirror, Sustainable Development To Be Discussed by Corporations, Even Nuclear Areva

Racial Disparities Grew Worse in 2005 at Citigroup, HSBC and Other Large Banks

Mine Your Own Business: Explosive Remnants of War and the Great Powers, Amid the Paparazzi

Human Rights Are Lost in the Mail: DR Congo Got the Letter, But the Process is Still Murky

Iraq's Oil to be Metered by Shell, While Basrah Project Remains Less than Clear

Kofi, Kony, Kagame and Coltan: This Moment in the Congo and Kampala

As Operation Swarmer Begins, UN's Qazi Denies It's Civil War and Has No Answers if Iraq's Oil is Being Metered

Cash Crop: In Nepal, Bhutanese Refugees Prohibited from Income Generation Even in their Camps

The Shorted and Shorting in Humanitarian Aid: From Davos to Darfur, the Numbers Don't Add Up

UN Reform: Transparency Later, Not Now -- At Least Not for AXA - WFP Insurance Contract

In the Sudanese Crisis, Oil Revenue Goes Missing, UN Says

Empty Words on Money Laundering and Narcotics, from the UN and Georgia

What is the Sound of Eleven Uzbeks Disappearing? A Lack of Seats in Tashkent, a Turf War at UN

Kosovo: Of Collective Punishment and Electricity; Lights Out on Privatization of Ferronikeli Mines

Abkhazia: Cleansing and (Money) Laundering, Says Georgia

Post-Tsunami Human Rights Abuses, including by UNDP in the Maldives

Citigroup Dissembles at United Nations Environmental Conference

Other Inner City Press reports are available in the ProQuest service and some are archived on www.InnerCityPress.com --

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