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Zim Sanctions Draft Adds Two Names, Drops HIV
/ AIDS Issue, Thursday Vote?
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS,
July 9 -- As the draft
Zimbabwe
resolution was finalized in preparation for a vote, late Wednesday
if its sponsors
get their way, the number of people subject to sanctions rose from
twelve to
fourteen, and an expression of strong concern about "the suspension of
medical assistance to HIV / AIDS patients" was dropped from the
resolution.
The new
draft emerged from a closed-door meeting in the UN's basement on
Tuesday
afternoon. Inner City Press asked South Africa's Ambassador Dumisani
Kumalo for
his explanation of the change. "They took it out because it's not
true," he said bluntly.
Non-governmental
organizations operating in Harare tell Inner City Press that the change
relates
to an exemption the Zimbabwe government made to its restrictions on
NGOs, that
they could continue to serve HIV / AIDS patients. But
since the NGOs are not operating in many
of the hospitals at issue, the exemption is less meaningful that it
seemed. It was enough, however, to get
condemnation of "the suspension of medical assistance to HIV / AIDS
patients" removed from the draft resolution.
DSG Migiro briefs on Zimbabwe, torn between
Vietnamese and American Ambassadors
The
Vietnamese president of the Council confirmed that the U.S. has asked
for a
vote on the Zimbabwe resolution "on Wednesday evening." He said that
"some members have asked for more time," and that he is holding
consultations on when the vote will take place. Inner City Press asked
about
the timing to vote on the Georgia
resolution which Russia put forward on
Tuesday. The theory continues to be promoted that Russia is seeking
support for
that draft, which calls on Georgia to commit to non-aggression in
Abkhazia and,
it seems, South Ossetia, in
exchange for not vetoing the Zimbabwe resolution.
Some even suggest that Russia only introduced the Georgia text for this
purpose
-- a suggestion which ignores that real-world bombings that have taken
place in
both breakaway republics.
"There has been no request yet for a vote"
on the Georgia resolution, nor even a request to "go into blue,"
meaning that a vote can be taken within 24 hours. The Zimbabwe draft
"went
blue" on Tuesday night, hence the American request that the vote take
place
"Wednesday evening." Given these Ambassadors social schedules, the
request
may or may not be grandstanding. As he said, the Vietnamese president
of the
Council -- who clearly does not support the sanctions resolution --
will be holding
consultations.
Update 7:30 p.m.
July 9 -- there will be no vote tonight, and the announced Security
Council schedule for Thursday does not include Zimbabwe. Still, it
could be added, and although Amb. Khalilzad will be in Washington, the
resolution's proponents are saying that the vote will be Thursday.
Watch this site. And this --
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