US
Position
on Libya Rebels Stalls African Draft, UN Silence on NATO
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June 23 -- The draft
statement on Libya proposed by the
African members of the UN Security Council has been stalled by a
series of proposed amendments including one by the United States that
“The
Members of the Security Council urged Member States to recognize the
Transitional National Council as the legitimate interlocutor for the
Libyan people.”
The
US Mission to the UN did not answer Inner City Press' written
questions about the amendment on June 21. On June 23, Inner City
Press was able to ask US Ambassador Susan Rice:
Inner
City
Press: on the Libya presidential statement that's been pending
for some time, [I] was told that the U.S. had proposed language to
the effect that member states recognized the Transitional National
Council as the legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people. The U.S.
hasn't recognized the TNC. How is it consistent that U.S. would be
proposing that as an amendment and essentially killing this PRST?
Ambassador
Rice:
We have stated, the United States has stated, that we view the
TNC as the legitimate interlocutor of the Libyan people. That has
been our stated policy now. I think the statement was made on or
about June 9th. Now, so there's no discrepancy there. And that is the
basis of U.S policy.
While
the
first draft of the statement was circulated before the African
Union ministerial delegation met with the Security Council on June
15, once that date pass the purpose of the statement was said to be
as a summary and memorialization of the meeting.
Numerous
sources
inside the June 15 “informal interactive dialogue” say that
members, including the US, did not in that meeting “urged Member
States to recognize the Transitional National Council as the
legitimate interlocutor for the Libyan people.”
The
Deputy
Permanent Representative of one of the seven countries fully
supporting the African Libya PRST about the draft and this paragraph.
The DPR, after a shake of the head, said: “They should stick to
what was said in the room... We try to.”
Also
on June 23,
Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman
Martin Nesirky about the UN's coordinator with NATO:
Inner
City
Press: Mr. Gaye, the chief military protocol guy of the United
Nations, Babacar Gaye, met with NATO [North Atlantic Treaty
Organization]. And NATO has put out a press release talking about
operational readiness, how the two worked together. And I just
wondered: did the UN in that meeting raise issues concerning NATO’s
admission that civilians were killed by its bombing Libya, given the
UN’s role or the Secretariat’s role under resolution 1973 (2011)?
Spokesperson:
I’ll ask my colleagues in DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping
Operations], but the Secretary-General is on record repeatedly as
saying that the point of the resolution is to avoid civilian
casualties and he has also made it clear that he has had
conversations with NATO leaders up to, and including, the NATO
Secretary-General on precisely this topic. Next question?
We'll
see. On the
draft Libya PRST, there was supposed to be a discussion on June 23
under “Any Other Business” but it didn't take place. Two
delegation told Inner City Press their versions of “why,” but
we'll wait to hear from the statement's sponsors themselves. Watch
this site.
* * *
On
Libya
and
Sudan, Obama Mission at UN Hits the BRICS
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
21 -- When the African members of the UN Security
Council proposed a Presidential Statement on Libya the day before
last week's closed door meeting with the African Union, the US
Mission to the UN led by Susan Rice said it had been proposed too
late to be issued on June 15.
Then
on June 17,
sources tell Inner City Press, the US Mission
proposed a series of
amendments to the African draft, essentially killing it. While the
purpose of the African draft was to reiterate the contents of the
Council's Resolution 1973, the US has proposed for example a
paragraph that
“The
Members of the Security Council urged Member States to recognize the
Transitional National Council as the legitimate interlocutor for the
Libyan people.”
On
June 21, Inner
City Press asked the Deputy Permanent Representative of one of the
seven countries fully supporting the African Libya PRST about the
draft and this paragraph. The DPR, after a shake of the head, said:
“They should stick to what was said in the room... We try to.”
Inner
City Press
has sought US Mission comment on this, and on their scheduling at 3
pm on Tuesday of a political coordinators meeting on the US draft
Sudan PRST, after the same coordinators had been summoned to a 3:30
consultation on the Libya text.
No response
was received before the
US-called meeting on Sudan, including on the purpose of the Sudan
PRST, and when a resolution for the proposed Ethiopian troops for
Abyei might be forthcoming.
Nor
was an answer
given when Ambassador Susan Rice and her two spokesmen walked into
the General Assembly at 3:15 pm for Ban Ki-moon's second term vote.
Then, Rice was observed chatting with her Russian counterpart. These
are the consultations which count.
Footnote:
Inner City
Press learned that while the US had called for the 3 pm
consultations on Sudan at the political coordinator, the US did not
send its political coordinator but rather an assitant. “Typical,”
one delegation said. But has the US killed the draft Libya statement?
We'll see.
* * *
At
UN
on
Libya, African Council Members Want Statement on Compliance With
Resolution 1973,
US Said to Oppose
By
Matthew
Russell
Lee,
Exclusive
UNITED
NATIONS,
June
14
-- When African Union ministers wanted to come
engage with the UN Security Council about NATO's bombing of Libya,
the United
States
wanted
to keep the meeting behind closed doors, the
UK even suggesting it merely be a lunch, sources told Inner City
Press.
Now
in advance of
the June 15 meeting, which will be a briefing and “interactive
dialogue,” sources tell Inner City Press that the US is opposing an
African proposed Presidential Statement, which would reiterate the
importance of compliance with Council Resolution 1973.
Below is a
copy of the draft, obtained by Inner City Press, which among other
things “reaffirms that
resolution 1973 (2011) explicitly excludes a foreign occupation force
of any form on any part of Libyan territory.”
The
three African
members of the Security Council -- South Africa, Nigeria and Gabon --
are proposing the Statement. The US is apparently saying they cannot
decide on the draft in 24 hours. (Others note that recently on Sudan,
US Ambassador Susan Rice put forward a draft Presidential Statement
at 2 pm and asked for it to be adopted that day.)
The
timing excuse,
some feel, is a ruse: the US is hoping that Gaddafi can be killed and
taken from power before the Security Council issues any further
statement on Libya.
Before
publication
of
this
story, Inner City Press asked US Mission to the UN in writing
to answer three questions, including this one. While the Mission's
spokesman provide an interim answer to one of the three questions,
there was not answer to the request for denial or confirmation and
comment on the US "opposing on Libya a proposed statement reiterating
compliance with Resolution 1973, and why."
Inner
City
Press
spoke
to an anti-Gaddafi member of Libya's Mission to the UN, who
confirmed the African proposed statement and that the US will not
accept it. He said, “the freedom fighters are now within 40
kilometers of Tripoli.”
Neither
Libyan
side,
he
predicted, will speak in the interactive segment of the June
15 meeting. “We don't have credentials,” he said. Previously, the
UN let Ambassadors Shalgam and Dabbashi speak, but no more. Nor does
Gaddafi have a representative at the UN, after Nicaraguan former
president of the General Assembly Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann was
blocked, with Susan Rice saying his tourist visa would be revoked if
he tried to speak for Gaddafi.
Footnote:
No
other
than
Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam has moved to
hold a press conference at the UN. As it happens, it will not be
inside the UN but rather across the street. Watch this site.
Here
is
the
African-proposed
Draft Presidential Statement on Libya
At
the
_____th
meeting
of the Security Council, held on 15 June 2011, in
connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled
“the situation in Libya”, and having received a briefing from a
ministerial delegation of the African Union High-Level Ad-hoc
Committee on Libya, the President of the Security Council made the
following statement on behalf of the Council:
The
Security
Council
expresses
its deep concern over the continuation of
violence in Libya, and reaffirms its commitment to the full
implementation of United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970
(2011) and 1973 (2011) in letter and spirit to ensure protection of
civilians in Libya. The Security Council reaffirms that resolution
1973 (2011) explicitly excludes a foreign occupation force of any
form on any part of Libyan territory.
The
Security
Council
demands
a complete end to violence and all attacks
against and abuses of civilians, perpetrated by all parties and the
establishment of an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. They
stressed the need for such a ceasefire to be credible and verifiable,
and encouraged the African Union and the United Nations, as well as
other stakeholders, to spare no efforts in achieving this objective.
The Security Council further demands a speedy solution to the crisis
which responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people and
tackles the underlying causes of the current crisis.
The
Security
Council
stresses
the need for a political solution to the
conflict in Libya. In this respect, and recalling the provisions of
paragraph 2 of UN Security Council resolution 1973(2011), they
welcome the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for
Libya, Mr. Abdel-Elah Mohamed Al-Khatib, and those of the AU
High-Level ad hoc Committee on Libya in the context of the AU
Roadmap. The Security Council agreed on the need for close
coordination of all efforts in support of the UN and in accordance
with paragraph 2 of Security Council resolution 1973(2011) to find a
solution to the crisis. The Security Council welcomes the joint
effort being undertaken by the UN, AU, LAS, OIC and EU and looks
forward to the outcome of their next meeting to be held in Cairo,
Egypt on 18 June 2011.
The
Security
Council
expresses
its serious concern over the deteriorating
humanitarian situation in the country, and calls for full compliance
with human rights and International Humanitarian Law and the creation
of the required conditions for the delivery of assistance to all
needy populations across Libya, including by guaranteeing appropriate
access to humanitarian organisations. The Security Council stresses
the need to provide necessary support to the African migrant workers
living in Libya, including those seeking to leave the country.
The
Security
Council
reaffirms
its strong commitment to the sovereignty,
independence, territorial integrity and national unity of the Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya.
The
Security
Council
will
remain seized of this matter and will continue
to meet to review the implementation of its resolutions on the
situation in Libya.
, 
