US
Power Answers
Press on South
Sudan into 28
States, UNMISS
Reporting
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 2 --
The UN
Security
Council met
about South
Sudan, amid
reports of
ceasefire
violations and
unilateral
moves to
re-divide the
country into
28 new
sub-divisions,
on December 2
and afterward
US Ambassador
Samantha
Power,
president of
the Council
for the month,
emerged to
take
questions.
Inner
City Press
asked Power
about
President
Salva Kiir's
move to
establish 28
states in
South
Sudan.
Power
responded that
the proposal
has given rise
to strong
views in the
country and
said
diplomatically
that it was a
decision that
should be
taken by the
Transitional
Government,
not before. Video here.
From the
US Mission
transcript:
Inner City
Press: I
wanted to ask
on South Sudan
– Mr. Ladsous
mentioned it –
but I wanted
to know I
guess if it
was discussed
in
consultations
and if the
U.S. has a
position on
President
Salva Kiir
proposing to
divide the
country into
28 states,
which some
people have
said would
change the
kind of
balance that
was agreed to.
Does the U.S.
think that
that should be
rolled back?
And also what
is UNMISS’s
role in terms
of reporting
ceasefire
violations?
I’ve seen some
situation
reports where
they’re aware
of things that
they don’t
announce. Is
it up to them
to say when
civilians are
killed or when
the ceasefire
is violated,
or is there
some other
mechanism
that’s not
reporting? On
Friday in
Mundri they
said that 14
people were
killed, they
were going to
check it; and
they never
came back. Was
this discussed
and what do
you think they
should do?
Ambassador
Power: Well we
certainly got
a rundown of
ceasefire
violations
from the
Special
Representative
of the
Secretary-General
in our
briefing just
now. I would
imagine if we
were in Juba
we would be
getting
regular
updates, and
certainly our
team has
constant
communication
with folks on
the ground in
UNMISS but
also through
DPKO here. You
know this is a
very large
country and it
is not an
enormous
peacekeeping
mission – it’s
a larger
mission than
it was when it
first came
into existence
in a very
different set
of
circumstances
– but I
suspect the
reach that
UNMISS has to
be able to
identify
ceasefire
violations,
report them
back, verify
them, et
cetera, is not
exhaustive or
is not
universal. And
this is one
reason, as you
know, that we
have supported
also their
request for
unarmed,
manned
vehicles so
that they’ll
have more
scope to know
what’s going
on in parts of
the country
that they
can’t access –
either because
their access
is being
physically
blocked, or
because of bad
roads or poor
weather
conditions.
Your first
question – oh,
yes. So the
UN’s position
on this –
which you’ve
probably heard
articulated –
is that this
is an issue on
which people
have very
strong views
across the
country.
Clearly
President Kiir
has his own
view. It is
essential that
the
transitional
government –
which now
needs to be
embarking on a
whole series
of executive
decisions and
executive
measures to
bring the
country
together to
try to forge
unity – that
it be involved
in deciding
how the
country is
structured.
Now, that is a
polarizing
issue; it is
an issue,
again, in
which there
will not be
rapid
consensus, but
we think it’s
extremely
important that
the
transitional
government
take up its
position and
that issues
like the
demarcation of
states be
addressed by
the new body,
rather than
having facts
on the ground
prematurely
created by a
government
that is itself
going to be
absorbed into
a transitional
government."
While
Inner City
Press has
repeatedly
asked the UN
Spokesperson's
Office to
confirm from
its podium
ceasefire
violations
which are
confined to
internal UN
Mission
situation
reports that
Inner City
Press obtains,
Power said
that in the
closed
consultations
UN envoy Ellen
Loj had
detailed many
such
violations.
In the
past Loj
spokes in the
open Chamber,
and herself
took questions
at the media
stakeout
afterward.
This time,
only Herve
Ladsous spoke
in the Chamber
- and refused
questions on
the way in and
on the way out
of the Council
- and Loj took
no questions.
Ladsous was
scheduled to
take questions
across the
street from
the UN,
including
about the
Central
African
Republic.
Power began
her stakeout
with words
about the
then-ongoing
shooting
incidents in
California,
and with words
of remembrance
for Sandy
Berger. On
whether the
next meeting
on Syria might
take place in
New York on
December 18,
she said that
the date and
venue were not
yet known. For
now, Periscope
video here.
On December 1
when US
Ambassador
Power held
a press
conference
about the
Council's work
in December,
when she will
be president,
Inner City
Press asked
her about two
items on her
Program of
Work: the use
in Yemen of
troops from
Sudan.
Power
spoke with
passion about
the latter
topic, saying
that during
her recent
trip to India
she devoted a
third of one
of her
speeches to
the topic.
Power said
that the UN
must
repatriate
accused
troops, and
that the troop
contributing
countries,
including
where
applicable the
US, must
investigate
and prosecute
the
allegations as
if they had
taken place in
their own
countries,
against their
own citizens.
The report on
CAR was announced
on June 22
and was
supposed to
take ten
weeks. Then it
was delayed
past the
General
Assembly high
level debate
week into
November, then
delayed again
into December.
Power said the
US would like
it taken up in
the Security
Council,
whether
considered in
connection
with CAR in
the December
program of
work, or in
January if it
is not
released until
then.
On the
Saudi-led
coalition's
use of troops
from Sudan in
Yemen, Power
said that it
had to be
acknowledged
that Sudan's
military
violated the
laws of war in
South Sudan,
in Southern
Kordofan and
Blue Nile, and
in Darfur. She
said the
Saudi-led
coalition was
asked to be
discerning.
Inner City
Press didn't
have time to
ask, but there
are increasing
reports that
the United
Arab Emirates
is employing
mercenaries
from Colombia
in Yemen.
We'll have
more on this.
For now, below
is a fast
transcription
by InnerCityPro.com:
Inner City
Press: I
wanted to ask
you about two
things. On the
program of
work you have
Yemen, and you
also have
Sudan ICC, so
I wanted to
ask about
something that
brings them
together,
which is, the
use of
Sudanese
troops in
Yemen by the
Saudi-led
coalition.
Some people
have said it’s
sort of
strange, given
their record
and the fact
that the
government of
Sudan is under
ICC
indictment,
for the use of
these troops
in Darfur; it
seems like a
funny part of
the coalition
in Yemen. So I
wanted your
thoughts on
that.
And also,
during the
month of
December, the
long-delayed
report on
sexual abuse
in CAR is
supposed to
come out. Do
you think the
Council, given
the importance
of this issue
of
peacekeepers
and
accountability,
will the
Council take
it up? And
what do you
think, either
personally or
nationally,
should happen?
Ambassador
Power: On the
issue of
sexual abuse
and
exploitation,
I did travel
all the way to
India and did
give a speech,
a third of
which was
dedicated to
that topic
because it is
clear that
whatever the
notional zero
tolerance
policy that
exists here,
the spate of
allegations is
extremely
disturbing and
the loss of
trust that
results when
civilians who
are counting
on the UN for
protection
begin to view
them as
predators,
cannot be
overstated. I
think the
Secretary
General has
taken a series
of steps now
that are aimed
at filling
some of the
gaps that have
existed.
Fundamentally,
if we don’t do
what I sought
to do on my
visit
overseas, and
what we are
now talking
about
bilaterally
around the
world, which
is elevate the
issue of
accountability
in capitals,
every capital,
including if
US personnel
were accused
of carrying
out these
kinds of
abuses. Where
the
accountability
needs to exist
in the first
instance is of
course at the
UN,
individuals
need to be
repatriated
and an
investigation
needs to be
launched. But
fundamentally
it is the
member states
that are going
to need to
take ownership
of what their
troops are
doing in other
countries, as
if it was
happening in
one’s own
country.
I don’t really
have a comment
on CAR. I
don’t yet know
in terms of
how we will
take it up. We
do have, as I
mentioned, a
lot happening
related to
CAR. It’s
possible we
could combine
discussion of
the report. I
think it
depends on the
precise
timing. But if
it isn’t in
this month, it
certainly is
something that
the United
States will
support
discussing at
the earliest
possible
occasion.
On Sudan and
Yemen, first
of all
underscore
that under the
leadership in
Khartoum the
Sudnaese
government has
fought in a
manner,
whether it was
against the
South Sudanese
people for
many many
years, or in
Khordofan or
Blue Nile over
the last
couple of
years, God
knows in
Darfur, the
manner in
which Sudan
has employed
force has
consistently
ignored or
violated
international
humanitarian
law. There’s
just no way
around it. It
is the use of
indiscriminate
weapons of
war, and
seemingly
scant regard
for civilian
life. So we
would be very
concerned that
any units that
were involved
in the kinds
of atrocities
we have seen
in Darfur, on
the ground or
from the air,
or those in
other parts of
Sudan, if they
were involved
elsewhere, and
have
encouraged the
coalition to
be extremely
discerning and
to make every
effort to
ensure that
anything they
are doing in
Yemen is in
compliance
with IHL."
[International
Humanitarian
Law]
On Syria,
Power said
among other
things that
there are
procedures in
place to
adjudge which
groups are
terrorists and
which are not
(State
Department
deputy
spokesperson
Mark Toner
earlier in the
day twice said
that Al Nusra
is a terrorist
group).
On
North Korea,
Power said
that as much
light as
possible
should be shed
from outside
the country.
One wanted to
ask, what
could a trip
by Ban Ki-moon
at this time
accomplish,
but time did
not allow.
Inner City
Press has been
reporting
extensively on
Burundi,
and on this
subject Power
said that a
Security
Council trip
is still in
the planning
stages, but is
unanimously
supported by
the Council's
members.
Yesterday
Inner City
Press
reported,
based on
sources in the
Council, that
Angola
expressed the
position at
least that a
visit in
December might
be too soon.
Power answered
about her trip
to India, and
mentioned her
visit to Sri
Lanka which
came after
that. Inner
City Press
hear from
Lankan sources
that a film
crew
accompanied
Power into
certain
meetings; one
awaits the
broadcast.
On
behalf of the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access,
as it did with
last month's
president
Matthew
Rycroft and
his
predecessors,
Inner City
Press asked
Power to hold
question and
answer
stakeouts
after Council
closed door
consultations,
“so we can
learn what
went on
inside.” Power
quipped that
it is not all
that
interesting,
which may most
of the time be
true. But at
least we can
ask. And we
will. Watch
this site. Follow @innercitypressFollow @FUNCA_info
, 
