UNITED
NATIONS, April
17, updated
-- As the
annual fight
about the UN's
Western Sahara
“peacekeeping”
mission and
whether to
include human
rights
monitoring in
it heats up,
we start with
a simpler
question.
Even
after the UN
ruled that
natural
resource
exploitation
in Western
Sahara without
the residents
consent
violated
international
law, can a
member of the
UN Global
Compact do
just that,
with impunity?
Apparently
yes.
In 2002,
the head of
the UN Office
of Legal
Affairs Hans
Corell wrote
that “if
further
exploration
and
exploitation
activities
were to
proceed in
disregard of
the interests
and wishes of
the people of
Western
Sahara, they
would be in
violation of
the principles
of
international
law applicable
to mineral
resource
activities in
Non-Self-Governing
Territories.”
Click
here for
that.
Now,
the Swedish
firm Atlas
Copco has sold
mining
equipment 2
Pit Viper
PV-275 to Bou
Craa.
Here
is the 2 Pit
Viper PV-275
drill, here.
Atlas
Copco is a member
of the Nordic
UN Global
Compact
and is also
member in the
the steering
group.
But
when asked by a
Swedish
colleague,
Kristen Coco
of the UN
Global Compact
has said that
the “Compact
has discussed
the matter of
foreign
activities in
the Western
Sahara
territory with
the UN Office
of Legal
Affairs. They
advised that
they are not
in a position
to determine
whether the
activities in
Western Sahara
would
contravene
with the
principles of
the Global
Compact. As it
is outside the
mandate of the
Global Compact
to monitor or
measure
participants'
performance,
we are unable
to determine
whether the
company is in
breach of any
legal
opinion.”
The
Global Compact
often says it
does not
“monitor or
measure.” But
here, there is
a UN legal
opinion in
place. Is this
how UN
corporate
“responsibility”
works, under
Ban Ki-moon? Under
current OLA
chief Patricia
O'Brien, who
refuses to
hold press
conference as
now challenged
by the Free UN
Coalition for
Access?
On
another simple
question,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban Ki-moon's
spokesman if
Morocco had
removed its
flags but not
license plates
from the
MINURSO
mission. This
was the
response:
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Tue, Apr
16, 2013 at
3:40 PM
Subject: Re:
question on
MINURSO
"Regarding
your question
on MINURSO,
here is our
answer: Further
to the last
report of the
Secretary-General,
Moroccan
authorities
recently
removed all
the flags, except
one, from
the perimeter
of the MINURSO
compound. Discussions
to find
pragmatic
solutions to
the license
plates issue
are still
on-going."
, 
