By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/dpko1armsapcs100609.html
UNITED NATIONS, October 6 -- While the UN speaks about the need to control arms, in the Congo and Sudan for example, it has its own issues in this regard. Recently the Kenyan media reported that weapons and ammunition meant for the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC) went missing or were attempted to be seized while passing through Kenya.
Inner City Press asked about it, but the answer has been a long time coming. The UN has been faster in releasing its critique of the armored personnel carriers the Nigerian contingent is trying to take into Darfur.
Meanwhile, the chief of MONUC's office in South Africa, Pakistani military man Mujahid Alam, Tuesday at the UN proposed that the Security Council impose a pilot arms trade treaty or embargo on the Congo and Great Lakes.
Alam summarized his 16 page written proposal to a lunchtime crowd in the UN's basement, many of whom had come to here Norway's deputy permanent representative Mona Juul, suddenly famous at the UN for her hard hitting UN critique leaked and much discussed. Her remarks Tuesday were bland, while Alam's presentation includes even a reference to uranium "secured" in the Congo.
The function of MONUC's office in South Africa is not entirely clear. There is also the irony that one of MONUC's low points came at Kazana, where long expired ordnance fired by the South African contingent landed on Congolese army troops, who in anger torched a village.
Then MONUC chief William Lacy Swing attacked those who reported on the snafu. His successor Alan Doss has yet to be made to answer for his request that UNDP bends or break its rules and give his daughter a job, and other irregularities that DPKO -- or Alan Doss' MONUC -- delays day after day in answering.
DPKO has been faster in answering Inner City Press' Monday question about "Nigeria APCs for UNAMID called substandard, questions about medical preparations... do these two reported UN diagnoses of the Nigerian contingent have any effect on deployment in Darfur?" This followed up on Inner City Press' series of stories about the Nepali APCs meant for Darfur, click here for that. On the Nigerian APCs, a mere thirty hours later:
We have been working with the Government of Nigeria to update equipment for their troops deployed to Darfur. The pre-deployment visit to Nigeria was planned in consultation with Nigerian authorities in New York and consisted of UN, AU, and Nigerian representatives.
Contrary to the media report, the PDV concluded that Nigerian APCs met UN standards.
The PDV also indicates that it would take some time to assemble all requisite COE and self-sustainment capabilities for the Nigerian troops, including medical facilities and vehicles.
We will continue to work with the Government of Nigeria to ensure that the troops deployed to Darfur have the necessary equipment to work in the difficult environment.
Still working on the Doss question (I didn't forget and will continue to follow up with the Mission).
The (very simple) "Doss question" has been pending for five days.
Meanwhile, an update on the MONUC weapons in Kenya:
There was some sort of occurrence involving a convoy of trucks carrying ammunition and military equipment – all contingent-owned equipment for MONUC’s Bangladesh Infantry Battalion - on early Sunday, 13 September, near Kenya's border with Uganda.
However, MONUC has confirmed that no weapons are missing as a result of the incident and that Kenyan authorities launched an investigation and MONUC and the Department of Field Support are assisting them with this matter. We will keep you posted on any further developments.
Please do -- we've heard that at a minimum, some ammunition is missing. Perhaps MONUC's Mujahid Alam should take notice. Watch this site.
