With Somalia on the Brink of Horn-Wide War, UN Avoids Question of Ethiopian
Invasion
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee at the UN
UNITED NATIONS,
August 16 -- With the Horn of Africa teetering on the brink of a region-wide
war, the widely reported incursion of Ethiopian troops into Somalia is either
too inconvenient, too controversial or too unimportant to be inquired into by
the United Nations. Kofi Annan’s envoy for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, came
to New York on Wednesday to brief the Security Council and then the UN press
corps. In response to one of five questions from Inner City Press, Francois
Lonseny Fall said that during the morning’s Security Council consultations, the
issue of Ethiopian troops in Somalia "didn't come up." He added that no member
of the Security Council asked about the issue. Video is at
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/pressbriefing/brief060816.rm
In two
interviews Wednesday with Inner City Press,
Ghana's ambassador who is the president of the Security Council emphasized that
Ethiopia is not the only state violating the Somalia arms embargo. While true,
that does not explain why the UN cannot or will not address or even inquire into
the issue of the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia.
Francois
Lonseny Fall acknowledged that the UN has staff in Baidoa, the seat of the
Transitional Federal Government where numerous eye witnesses and journalists
have spotted Ethiopian troops. He insisted however, that his "office has no
monitoring capability on the ground to confirm these reports."
Francois
Lonseny Fall
Separately, Inner City Press Wednesday asked the UN's humanitarian arm, OCHA,
for a read-out on its assessment mission to Somalia earlier this month. A
spokeswoman for OCHA confirmed the mission, saying it was the first UN airplane
to land in Mogadishu in fourteen years. Asked if assessment mission have been
made to Baidoa she said yes, some months ago.
In May,
the UN issued a report naming as violators of the Somalia arms embargo six
countries: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Yemen, Italy and Saudi Arabia. Eritrea
and Ethiopia are engaged in a border dispute for which Somalia threatens to
become a second front. Since Eritrea has tried to tell the UN which
nationalities must be excluded from its UNMEE peacekeeping force, some wonder if
that is not a partial explanation of the UN's seeming siding with Ethiopia, or
equating Ethiopia's incursion with troops to Eritrea's reported delivery of
weapons, into Mogadishu airport.
On
factual matters, Francois Lonseny Fall confirmed the
defection
of soldiers from the TFG to the Islamic Courts, last month and as recently as
yesterday. Nevertheless he said he supports lifting the arms embargo against the
TFG. Who would use the weapons, one wag was heard to wonder: mercenaries? He
also confirmed the opening of an Islamic court in Puntland, an area that has
claimed independence and has endeavored to sell its mineral rights to
Australia-based Range Resources, Ltd.
Inner
City Press asked for a response to the theory that the UN is so committed to the
Transitional Federal Government that it is turning a blind eye to violations of
the arms embargo on Somalia. Francois Lonseny Fall replied that it is not only
the UN that supports the TFG, but also "others in the international community."
This is not, he said, a green light for meddling in Somalia. But to many, it
seems like a green light has been given. Developing...
In other
UN Headquarters news, Israel's minister for foreign affairs Tzipi Livni
briefed
a roomful of UN reporters on Wednesday. After reading a prepared statement, she
took only five questions, from journalists she and Israeli Ambassador Dan
Gillerman conferred on and selected. At the end, a head-scarfed correspondent
noted, "You didn't choose any Arabic journalists." The entourage left the room.
Power speaks and then is gone.
Feedback: editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A,
UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile
(Saturday): 718-716-3540
In
UN's Lebanon Frenzy, Darfur Is Ignored As Are the Disabled, "If You Crave UNIFIL,
Can't You Make Do With MONUC?"
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee at the UN
UNITED
NATIONS, August 15 -- "We are looking for forces who can be self-deploying."
Thus Tuesday spake a senior UN official in a Lebanon background briefing for
five dozen rapt reporters. In the wake of
Friday's ceasefire resolution,
apparently the entire world craves to know the nitty-gritty of the UN troop
contributions meetings. The senior and bald-pated UN official declined to name
countries with specific soldier numbers. At briefing's end he relented and said,
"on the record," that he hopes that France "could be the backbone" of the
revamped UNIFIL, which some called UNIFIL II.
Monday
afternoon, a five-reporter stakeout of Conference Room 5 yielded elusive quotes
from a tall peacekeeping official who reappeared at Tuesday briefing. He said
Germany and France are on board, Turkey "not yet." Press
reports on
Tuesday have Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan awaiting a second UN
resolution before deciding to commit troops.
While
one-step, two-step was the structure of the
initial Franco-American
proposal of ten days ago, it is not clear that if Turkey waits for a second
resolution they will join the initial force. Inner City Press had that question,
and another concerning the meaning of the "offensive military operations" that
Israel must cease, but time and the spokesman's queue did not permit. Instead
the briefing contained a hypnotizing repetition of the word "robust," converted
by the unnamed official into "robustness," as in demonstrating to European
foreign ministers the prospective robustness of the UNIFIL II force.
Looking
for coverage: Darfur
At
Tuesday
noon briefing,
along with the Darfur question related but not answered below, the spokesman
disclosed that Saturday's DPKO meeting included 28 countries, and Monday's had
17 countries, reportedly different. From that reporters collectively calculated
the number 45, as in Colt 45, the beer or the handgun. Mid-briefing the unnamed
UN official confessed, "I am not an expert on military matters." Only on
peacekeeping, apparently. But how robust is that?
Press
accounts have Italy committing up to
3000 troops,
and an Israeli Brigadier General, Yossi Kuperwasser, opining that "it could be a
very short cease-fire."
One reporter asked what UNIFIL would do if it witnesses Hezbollah forces
launching a rocket.
"We could
take action," the senior UN official replied, if they get in the way of our
mandate. But what of Israel? What could constitute an "offensive military
action"? It was neither asked nor answered, despite the media swarm.
The
peacekeeping crew who staffed the packed-room briefing were the same as presided
over a session on the Congo, which four reporters attended. Tuesday one wag
mused that the Congo needs exposure. Perhaps Kofi Annan's envoy William Lacy
Swing should appear at this better-attended session as a kind of movie trailer,
a Coming Attractions as it were.
"If
you craved UNIFIL, you could be satisfied by MONUC," might be the slogan,
referring to the UN's missions in Lebanon and the Congo respectively. A
sharper-edged wag envisioned a movie trailer-like voiceover:
"From the
directors who presided over Rwanda's Arusha Accords... From the producers of
UNISOM and its Black Hawk Down sequel... With a budget taken in part from this
summer's sleeper UNMEE... It's the blockbuster this August has needed, with a
15,000 crew... It's UNIFIL Two, coming into theater before the end of the
month!"
A needed
UN mission that's still sitting on the runway is a peace force for Darfur. At
Tuesday's
noon briefing, Inner City Press asked
Kofi Annan's spokesman for the Secretariat's reaction to a request, the day
before, that senior Sudanese officials including president al Bashir be hit with
UN sanctions for blocking UN entry. "I'm not aware of the request," the
spokesman answered.
Before 1
p.m., the full request, dated August 14, was emailed to the spokesman and one of
his colleagues. Still at 5 p.m. there was no Darfur response. There is UNIFIL
and more UNIFIL, we are filled with UNIFIL. As with Hollywood, the public is
given what it wants. Or is it?
At the UN
this week and next, a new human rights treaty is being negotiated, the proposed
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. At a press conference on Tuesday, the chairman of the Ad Hoc
Committee on the Convention, Don MacKay, said that if current efforts to block
the creation of a treaty monitoring body are successful, the Convention may well
not be enacted. "And that would be shabby treatment," Mr. MacKay said, citing a
long history of societies' discrimination against the disabled.
There were less than a dozen reporters at
the briefing. Mr. MacKay referred to this, to the other "important issues" going
on, while noting that the number of people impacted by this treaty, in the
hundreds of millions, dwarfed those impacted by the current focus on the UN
press corps' attention.
There are however people
watching. Circling this meeting, much as the National Rifle Association circled
the one on Small Arms, are anti-abortion activists. They see, they say, in the
treaty's reference to "reproductive health" a slippery slope toward legalized
abortion. Mr. MacKay, asked by Inner City Press to response, said the argument
has no merit at all. Click
here for
video and
here for
the text of the draft Convention.
Inner City Press asked if the United
States is among the countries opposing any monitoring of countries' performance
under the Convention, similar to the approach the U.S. took in derailing the
Small Arms meeting at the UN earlier this year. Mr. MacKay acknowledged that the
U.S. is among six or seven countries raising such concerns, but stated that the
U.S. position does not seem "doctrinal" or doctrinaire.
On whether the UN's websites,
at least, are accessible, Inner City Press' question was answered by referring
to the meeting's
subsite
which states that "
For this site, and for
future United Nations websites, we have incorporated design elements that allow
navigation by visually-impaired users." Well alright.
Mr. MacKay's co-speaker, not identified
in the Media Alert of the event but referred to by Mr. MacKay as Maria Veronica,
stated that with her wheelchair, she was unable to speak from the podium in the
briefing room 226. Afterwards, Inner City Press was told by another UN office
that there is, in fact, a ramp for the podium in Room 226. A telephone call
placed to the office reportedly in charge of the ramp was not returned by press
time, leaving only this reflection, that the root of the word "podium" is the
same as that for "foot," leaving its relation to feet's replacement "wheelchair"
more than a little unclear.
[Concluding inside joke: The article above is damning enough without even
mentioning Congolese warlord-now-colonel Peter Karim, the negotiations with whom
the senior UN official's been asked about, without substantive response. Okay,
it's not a joke.]
At
the UN, Lebanon Resolution Passes with Loophole, Amb. Gillerman Says It Has All
Been Defensive
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee at the UN
UNITED NATIONS,
August 11 -- At the UN, as of 5:20 p.m., the fix was already in for a unanimous,
vote on the new Franco-American resolution on Lebanon. French Ambassador
Jean-Marc de La Sabliere told reporters, "There's no enforcement," since it is
not under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. "You have to trust," said Amb. de La
Sabliere. But a question left open is the definition of "offense military
operations," which are to be ceased. This is explored below, following these
micro-updates in reverse chronological order.
Update 9:35 p.m. --
As the Security Council meeting broke up, Condi Rice spoke without taking
questions. The Ghanaian Foreign Minister stepped to the microphone and took
questions. Inner City Press asked him if the phrase "cessation by Israel of all
offensive military operations" might not be a loophole. He replied that it is
his understanding of the resolution that it requires the cessation of ALL
military operations.
Later in the
hallway, Israeli Amb. Gillerman was asked about the phrase, and he stated that
everything Israel has done in Lebanon has been defensive.
The loophole
was known before the vote, and may only grow afterwards. 10-4.
Update of 8:55 p.m.
-- As inside the Council chamber the speeches continue, at the stakeout French
Foreign Minister Philippe Douzy-Blazy made four points, then headed down the
hall. Merci for nothing, one journalist muttered. Russian Ambassador Churkin
took questions on the side, from RT Russia Today. "I am just a poor diplomat in
New York," he said. "Please don't ask me to write any dictionaries." Every
electrical outlet at the stakeout was taken, and still the speeches continued...
Update of 8:10 p.m.
-- the UK's Margaret Beckett, before "offering condolences" in view of the rapt
Condoleeza to certain Palestinians, specifically condemned, without quoting,
Iran's president's comments about Israel. She announced the Tony Blair will
travel to the region. Her speech ended with a whimper, with the audience unclear
what would come next. Time to get a punch line...
Update of 7:52 p.m.
-- Following a speech by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar, on
whose website the
most recent speech is from 2004, the Draft Resolution, 1701/2006, has been
adopted unanimously, 15-0. And the post-vote speeches begin, the roster so far
running Greece, UK, Denmark China, Slovakia, Russia and Argentina...
Update of 7:40 p.m.
-- Condoleeza Rice at 7:28, prior to any vote, said that the Council, "with the
passage of this resolution," puts in place "a full cessation of hostilities."
She continued to 7:37, followed by French Foreign Minister Philippe Douzy-Blazy,
speaking of a "sortie de crise," as had Ghana's Foreign Minister at the stakeout
on Wednesday, click here
to view and see below.
Update of 7:20 p.m.
--The debate has begun, chaired by the Foreign Minister of Ghana, which holds
the Security Council presidency this month. As Kofi Annan sings the praises of
UNIFIL, even P5 Ambassadors are excluded from the table, in favor of their
bosses, led by Condoleeza Rice (who, reporters snarked at the stakeout, had
changed outfits and looked troublingly doll-like as she entered).
Update of 6:25 pm --
Photographers have been allowed in above the Council chamber, the stakeout has
been searched by bomb smelling dogs. The full text of the draft resolution is
now pasted below.
On the lighter
side, an Inner City Press stringer noted the Permanent Observer of Palestine
stop Denmark's Ambassador, then kiss her on both cheeks. Inner City Press asked
him, at the elevator, for the substance of the exchange. "I told her she
deserves to enjoy a round of golf," he answered...
A
question left open is the definition of "offense military operations," which are
to be ceased. More specifically, OP1 of the new draft resolution "calls for a
full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation
by Hizbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all
offensive military operations." In what circumstances would Israel be entitled
to deem its renewed military operations as "defensive"?
Amb. de
la Sabliere left the stakeout before this question could be asked, and Amb.
Bolton took no questions at all, saying that Condoleeza Rice will explain the
U.S. position. In the stakeout half-light at 4:45 p.m., Inner City Press asked
one of Lebanon's counselors, who asked to remain unnamed, who defines "offensive
military operations."
"That's
it," he replied. "We have a problem with OP1, because it would allow Israel to
continue military operations. As long as Israel is in Lebanon, they are an
occupying power, and Hizbollah has the right to oppose them. But OP1 prohibits
Hizbollah from any attacks. We have a problem."
As 5:10 p.m.,
television news reported increased Israel incursions. Yes there may be a
problem.
Still
three Ambassador spoke between four and five p.m., predicting approval by early
evening. Inner City Press
asked Ghana's
Ambassador, the president of the Council, how the often-mentioned rule of
waiting 24-hours from when a draft is "put into blue" before voting on it. Not a
problem, the Ghanaian ambassador replied. "The Council is master of its own
procedures."
Slated
Success' Sudden Parents
Japanese
media asked Inner City Press, what would be the role of the UNIFIL force in
Lebanon? Place-fillers, one might say. There so that Israel pulls out. And is
this Chapter Six-and-a-Half, as some have said? More like Six-and-a-Quarter. To
be continued...
On
Lebanon, Russian Gambit Focuses Franco-American Minds, Short Term Resolution
Goes Blue Amid Flashes of Lightening
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee at the U.N.
UNITED NATIONS,
August 10, 8:20 p.m. -- The ranks of Russian chess masters must now be expanded
beyond Karpov and Kasparov. After 5 p.m. on Thursday, Russia's permanent
representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin emerged from 885 Second Avenue, which
houses the French and UK missions, and spoke to a throng of reporters. He
announced that Russia is putting forth its own resolution on Lebanon, one
calling for a 72 hour cessation of hostilities. He said he intended to "put this
resolution in blue," meaning file it with Security Council Affairs and then
Documents Control, which will prepare the text in the UN's six official
languages, allowing for a Friday vote. Amb. Churkin indicated that Russia would
withdraw its resolution if the French and U.S., who were negotiating upstairs,
came to agreement on changes to their resolution.
The full text
-- only 130 words -- of the Russian draft resolution is below.
Soon
thereafter, just as a thunderstorm began, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton emerged.
He called the Russian resolution an unnecessary diversion, declaring that "we
are not playing games." While heading out onto 47th Street, he said they would
continue working all night. The rain grew harder and a dog began to howl. A side
door opened and gallons of soapy water were swept out onto the pavilion full of
wet journalists. The lion lay with the lamb: a famously Zionist reporter held
the Al Arabia TV microphone as a favor. Upstairs, French Ambassador de La
Sabliere apparently negotiated with himself. It was reported that Margaret
Beckett would arrive from London, if they allowed her on the plane. There were
rumors of Condoleeza Rice in the wings. As one wag -- this one -- put it,
success has many parents, but failure has only the P5 Ambassadors.
Ambassadors
Churkin and Wang, right to left, in drier North Korean times
Back at
UN headquarters, soaking wet, informed sources indicated that to "go blue" the
plumbing involves Security Council Affairs on the 32nd floor, and Document
Control on the 15th. The ascent and descent of elevators was studied. There were
sighting of elusive Documents Control staff. Television journalists headed for
the exits. "If Churkin says it's going blue, that's good enough for us," one
said.
It was a
dark and rainy night... Watching the lightening above Turtle Bay, a reporter
turned to
news
analysis, remembering a side comment by Chinese Ambassador Wang, that there
would be repercussions for the U.S.'s obstruction of even a Presidential
Statement on the death by bomb of the four UNIFIL staffers. And where was Amb.
Wang during Thursday's developments? Since a chess master does not move without
thinking several steps ahead, who'd be Amb. Churkin's backers? Developing.
The Russian draft
resolution, distributed to Council members:
Russian Federation:
draft resolution
The
Security Council,
Expressing its gravest concern over the increasing escalation of hostilities in
Lebanon and Israel since 12 July 2006,
Appalled
by large numbers of civilian casualties, extensive damage to civilian
infrastructure and hundreds of thousands internally displaced persons,
Emphasizing the critical need for urgent humanitarian supplies and mindful of
the looming threat of even greater humanitarian catastrophe,
1. Calls for an immediate and full cessation of hostilities for
humanitarian purposes for a period of 72 hours;
2. Urges all parties concerned and the international community to
provide urgently all required humanitarian assistance to civilian population in
Lebanon;
3. Calls for extraordinary diplomatic efforts to arrive without further
delay at a political solution to the crisis;
4. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
On
Lebanon, Franco-American Resolution Reviewed at UN in Weekend Security Council
Meeting
UNITED
NATIONS, August 5 -- In a rare Saturday afternoon session, the UN Security
Council is meeting on a draft resolution on the conflict in Lebanon. The
full text of the draft resolution, circulated at the UN at 1 pm Saturday, is
placed online below (and has been, since 1:10 pm). Now updates, in reverse
chronological order:
Update of 7:30 pm --
After interviewing a variety of sources in the half-light outside the Security
Council, it appears clear that the resolution will not pass, or even be voted
on, on Sunday. It's passage is predicted Monday, without Condi Rice, or Tuesday,
if a ministerial meeting can be organized. The opposition of Lebanon and Qatar
makes such a meeting less likely. And who will do what, in the hours to come, to
change the facts on the ground? Developing...
Update of 5:45 pm --
There will be no vote today. An expert briefing began at 5 pm; there will be
another one at 10 am on Sunday. Russian Ambassador Churkin emerged and spoke of
Lebanon's objections, as did the Ambassador of Qatar. On the sidelines, Inner
City Press asked Palestine's permanent observer what would or could be done for
a cessation of hostilities in Gaza. "I wish," he said. And then another
cameraman, rushing by for an interview of the hall, hit him in the eye with his
camera.
Secretary
General Kofi Annan swept in at 4:35 pm, with no words for the press.
Photographers joked of his Miami Vice look, fresh in from Santo Domingo. When he
swept out, he urged the questioning press to "listen to the Ambassador," in this
case from Qatar. The head of UN peacekeeping stood by the elevator whispering to
a TV network's operative. Then he too was done, the back-down to Congolese
warlord and peacekeeper-kidnapper Peter Karim not addressed, the Lebanese crisis
left unresolved yet again, and Gaza not even touched, except by bombs...
Previously, at 4:22
p.m. -- in the media-frenzied space outside the Council chamber, the grumbling
about the text began at 3 pm. A U.S. embassy staffer directed the press to
Russia as the source of forthcoming delay. Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin
came out, but spoke only to "the Russian press," which consisted of three
reporters. Amb. Churkin's staffer tried to prohibit the non-Russian media from
recording her boss' sotto voce spinnings.
The ambassador
from Qatar asked for a thirty minute delay and got it. The Lebanese envoy was
interpreted as against the resolution, though he declined to stop and speak with
reporters. The Syrian ambassador strode in, also without stopping. Palestine's
permanant observer, ever polite, stopped and took Inner City Press' question;
his answer, however, was "Ask Russia," which as described above has yet to be
possible.
French
Ambassador de La Sabliere has offered expert briefings to the Council, later
Saturday or Sunday. Russia, it's said, has said no. A wise colleague advises
that Russia was in the loop, but hearing of Lebanese opposition, decided to join
in. Kofi Annan waits in the wings, but there's much reading of the tea leaves as
things slide toward five o'clock.
Amb.
de La Sabliere (w. SRSG "Congo-king" Swing, see below)
UN
Knew of Child Soldier Use by Two Warlords Whose Entry into Congo Army the UN
Facilitated
Byline:
Matthew Russell Lee at the UN
UNITED NATIONS,
August 4 -- As in the Congo vote counting continues, now with
reports of the burning of ballots both
used and unused, further information has emerged about the UN system's knowledge
of the use of child soldiers by at least two militia leaders offered positions
in the Congolese army. Earlier in the week,
Kofi Annan's envoy to the Congo, William
Lacy Swing, disclaimed his
previously UN-reported "welcoming" of the entry into the army of Mathieu
Ngudjolo of the Congolese Revolutionary or MRC.
The UN's
own June 13 report on children and armed conflict in the DR Congo alludes to the
recruitment of child soldiers by the MRC. In an interview Friday, a well-placed
UN official told Inner City Press that Mathieu Ngudjolo will be identified by
name as a child soldier user in the follow up to the June 13 report, as will
Peter Karim, who after holding seven UN peacekeepers hostage for over 40 days
has been offered a colonel's position in the Congolese army. The follow up
report name these two individuals will, Inner City Press has been told, be
confidential, adding to the scope of impunity.
Ballots
and Congolese police
Last week
UN peacekeeping's Dmitry Titov answered Inner City Press' questions about Karim
by saying that "justice will come, eventually." The official interviewed Friday
similarly implied that as with Thomas Lubanga and Jean Pierre Biyoyo,
respectively charged by the International Criminal Court and convicted by a
Congolese military court in Bukavu, Ngudjolo and Karim might one day face
justice. It is hard to believe that neither warlord brought up issues of amnesty
during negotiations. No one yet has wanted to detail the specifics of the
negotiations, particularly the degree of UN involvement. Developing.
Zimbabwe Fog, Laws of
War Clarified, Tips in the Half-Light (on Lebanon)
While
Kofi Annan is on the island of Hispanola, at his spokesman's noon briefing Inner
City Press again asked for the UN's and Mr. Annan's response to the hundreds of
Zimbabwean protesters demanding UN action on
the UN's report on Operation Murambatsvina or "Clean Out the Trash," in which
the Mugabe government evicted at least 700,000 perceived political opponents.
Rather than yesterday's cursory reference to Zimbabwe's sovereignty, on Friday
UN spokesman Farhan Haq stated that Ben Mkapa, Mugabe's selected envoy,
particularly to the UK, will be in charge of addressing and asking on Operation
Murambatsvina as detailed in the UN report. We'll see.
Also at
the noon briefing, Inner City Press asked if the UN agrees with Israel that
placing telephone calls to civilians before bombing the neighborhoods they live
in brings the bombing in compliance with the laws of war. After the briefing,
the spokesman referred the press corps to a
statement by
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour that "while effective
advance warning of attacks which may affect the civilian population must be
given, this legal obligation does not absolve the parties to the conflict of
their other obligations under international law regarding the protection of
civilians" and "that international humanitarian law requires all parties to
avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas."
In the
half-light of the Security Council stakeout at 2:50 p.m., the Palestinian
Permanent Observer to the UN called over Inner City Press. "Do you want a tip?"
he said. Of course. He detailed a group of ambassadors, including from Sudan,
Syria, Azerbaijan and Malaysia, slated now to meet with the Council president
then with Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch-Brown at 5 p.m.. The spokesman's
office, asked by Inner City Press, confirmed the meeting, which ambassadors say
will concern more bombing of civilians, although reference to Azerbaijan's
representative, for OIC, was not included. As another reporter noted, "the real
action is at the U.S. mission."
At 4
p.m., the president of the Security Council emerged. He apologized for not
summarizing the meeting, saying he feels a need to tell the other Council
members before telling the press. He mentioned he lived in Westchester and Inner
City Press asked, where? New Rochelle. Do you go to New Roc City? With a look of
surprise he said yes, "I am a New York boy." More substantively, and full circle
for this report, he answered Inner City Press' question about the burning of
ballots in Congo by saying he hope for another briefing next week. We'll see.
Other Inner City Press
reports are archived on
www.InnerCityPress.org -
Impunity's in
the Air, at the UN in Kinshasa and NY, for Kony and Karim and MONUC for
Kazana
UN Still Silent
on Somalia, Despite Reported Invasion, In Lead-Up to More Congo Spin
UN's Guehenno
Says Congo Warlord Just Needs Training, and Kazana Probe Continues
With Congo
Elections Approaching, UN Issues Hasty Self-Exoneration as Annan Is
Distracted
In DR Congo, UN
Applauds Entry into Army of Child-Soldier Commander Along with Kidnapper
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
Kofi Annan
Questioned about Congolese Colonel Who Kidnapped Seven UN Soldiers
At the UN,
Speeches While Gaza Stays Lightless and Insurance Not Yet Paid
At the UN
Poorest Nations Discussed, Disgust at DRC Short Shrift, Future UN
Justice?
At the UN
Wordsmiths Are At Work on Zimbabwe, Kony, Ivory Coast and Iran
UN Silent As
Congolese Kidnapper of UN Peacekeepers Is Made An Army Colonel: News
Analysis
At
the UN, New Phrase Passes Resolution called Gangster-Like by North Korea; UK
Deputy on the Law(less)
UN's Guehenno
Speaks of "Political Overstretch" Undermining Peacekeeping in Lower
Profile Zones
In Gaza Power
Station, the Role of Enron and the U.S. Government's OPIC Revealed by UN
Sources
At UN, North
Korean Knot Attacked With Fifty Year Old Precedent, Game Continues Into
Weekend
UN's Corporate
Partnerships Will Be Reviewed, While New Teaming Up with Microsoft, and
UNDP Continues
Gaza Resolution
Vetoed by U.S., While North Korea Faces Veto and Chechnya Unread
BTC Briefing,
Like Pipeline, Skirts Troublespots, Azeri Revelations
Conflicts of
Interest in UNHCR Program with SocGen and Pictet Reveal Reform Rifts
At the UN, A Day
of Resolutions on Gaza, North Korea and Iran, Georgia as Side Dish
UN Grapples with
Somalia, While UNDP Funds Mugabe's Human Rights Unit, Without
Explanation
In North Korean
War of Words, Abuses in Uganda and Impunity Go Largely Ignored
On North Korea,
Blue Words Move to a Saturday Showdown, UNDP Uzbek Stonewall
As the World
Turns in Uganda and Korea, the UN Speaks only on Gaza, from Geneva
North Korea in
the UN: Large Arms Supplant the Small, and Confusion on Uganda
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 in Denial on
Sudan, While Boldly Predicting the Future of Kosovo/a
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?
At the UN, a
Commando Unit to Quickly Stop Genocide is Proposed, by Diplomatic Sir
Brian Urquhart
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
At the UN,
Internal Justice Needs Reform, While in Timor Leste, Has Evidence Gone
Missing?
UN & US,
Transparency for Finance But Not Foreign Affairs: Somalia, Sovereignty
and Senator Tom Coburn
In Bolton's Wake,
Silence and Speech at the UN, Congo and Kony, Let the Games Begin
Pro-Poor Talk and
a Critique of the World Trade Organization from a WTO Founder: In UN
Lull, Ugandan Fog and Montenegrin Mufti
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
AIDS Ends at the
UN? Side Deals on Patents, Side Notes on Japanese Corporations,
Salvadoran and Violence in Burundi
On AIDS at the
UN, Who Speaks and Who Remains Unseen
Corporate Spin on
AIDS, Holbrooke's Kudos to Montenegro and its Independence (May 31, 2006)
Kinshasa Election
Nightmares, from Ituri to Kasai. Au Revoir Allan Rock; the UN's
Belly-Dancing
Working with
Warlords, Insulated by Latrines: Somalia and Pakistan Addressed at the
UN
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
In Liberia, From
Nightmare to Challenge; Lack of Generosity to Egeland's CERF, Which
China's Asked About
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
At the UN, Dues
Threats and Presidents-Elect, Unanswered Greek Mission Questions
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 Congolese
Chaos, Shots Fired at U.N. Helicopter Gunship
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
Who Pays for the
Global Bird Flu Fight? Not the Corporations, So Far - UN
Citigroup
Dissembles at United Nations Environmental Conference
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