Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1bosco071608.html
UNITED NATIONS, July 16, updated July 17 -- In the eastern Congo, a UN peacekeeper from India has been caught on tape praising and bonding with rebel fighters led by Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda and Jean Bosco Ntaganda, charged for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. The peacekeeper, identified as Colonel Chand Saroha, was told by Nkunda, "You have helped us a great deal." He in turn gushed, "Officially we are not allowed to meet you. But your good conduct... made us feel we were associated with proud people. We are like brothers."
When faced with evidence that other peacekeepers, also from India, had given weapons to Congolese rebels in exchange for gold, the UN denied and, according to the UN auditor initially on the case, whitewashed the evidence. But since the taped talk with Nkunda is harder to controvert, the UN Mission in the Congo has briefed the government in Kinshasa. MONUC Spokesman Kemal Saiki, slated to shift to perhaps an even more difficult job in Darfur, stated "We have launched an investigation. If confirmed ... this would be personal conduct unbecoming a peacekeeper and is a dereliction of duty."
In the other cases of peacekeeper misconduct, all the UN has done is turn over its evidence to the troop contributing country and hope. In many cases, no discipline has been administered. In this case, the UN or Mr. Saiki seem to be implying that the UN has more power, to declare an act unbecoming and a dereliction of duty, a term of arm associated with courts martial.
On July 15 at UN Headquarters, Inner City Press asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesperson Marie Okabe
Inner City Press: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there's a story of this Indian colonel who met with the rebel leader General Nkunda, and he was videotaped saying I support you, you're my brother. It seems that the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has been quoted as saying that, if this is true, it would be personal conduct unbecoming a peacekeeper and a dereliction of duty. Does that mean that MONUC itself would remove the peacekeeper or would all they would do be to turn over this tape to the Indian Government?
Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: I’m not familiar with the report you're referring to, so I'll have to look into it after the briefing.
Video here, from Minute 15:49. Some hours later, Inner City Press was told that
"It is a clear violation of the UN's principle of impartiality. The mission contacted the national authorities to reassure them that the remarks made by the peacekeeper in no way represent an official posture. MONUC has asked OIOS to open and investigation and if the facts are proven, the peacekeeper will be sanctioned in accordance with established procedure."
But what is the "established procedure"? Even in the upheld case of peacekeepers from India illegally trading in gold in the Congo, all the UN did was refer the charges to the Indian government, and all they did was issue a warning, no discipline. So what will happen in this case?
On Wednesday Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Spokesperson to confirm the incursion, and why UNESCO didn't require a joint application or otherwise try to avoid foreseeable conflict. "We'll have to ask UNESCO," the spokesperson said. But twelve hours later, there is no response at all. For now we note that UNESCO blithely listed the Preah Vihear Temple at the top of their July 8 press release announcing "new cultural sites inscribed... on UNESCO's World Heritage List."
Update: 23 hours after the question was asked, this from UNESCO --
"UNESCO is not the body that took the decision to inscribe the Preah Vihear site on the World Heritage List. The decision was taken by the World Heritage Committee, an intergovernmental body composed of twenty one members representing as many countries, elected by the General Assembly of all the States that have ratified the World Heritage Convention. UNESCO, and its World Heritage Centre, only serves as the Secretariat to this Committee. The role of the World Heritage Centre during the nomination process has been to try and assist the Cambodian authorities in the technical aspects -- limited to the scientific, archeological, management, and protection issues -- of their nomination proposal."
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1bosco071608.html
