By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/dpko1nepal120909.html
UNITED NATIONS, December 9 -- When a peacekeeping serving with the UN is accused of torture and murder, what happens? He or she is sent back to their country.
For a week now Inner City Press has asked the UN about Nepalese Major Niranjan Basnet, serving with the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Chad, accused of the torture and rape of a 15 year old girl. Nepal sent him on the UN mission, for which they get paid, knowing of the allegations against him.
The UN's chief of peacekeeping Alain Le Roy on Wednesday told Inner City Press that Basnet "is being repatriated... in the next 48 hours," that all the remains is to "make the plane ticket." Inner City Press asked how the UN vets such people before sending them out among vulnerable people with the UN's blue helmet and immunity. Video here, from Minute 48:01.
Le Roy said that senior officials are vetted, while for lower level people, the UN relies on the Troop Contributing Country. Inner City Press asked, "how senior?" then what the UN does when a TCC tries to game the system like here: Nepal knew of the allegations against Basnet, and sent him at a lower level to escape scrutiny. Video here, from Minute 51:03
The UN's head of Field Support Susana Malcorra specified that all "individual" deployments, regardless of rank, are vetted by the UN. This appears to be limited to force commanders and their deputies -- even so, the UN let in as deputy in Darfur a Rwandan changed with war crimes. In apparent exchange for not renewing his service, the UN gave Rwanda the higher, Force Commander post, being vacated by Nigerian Martin Luther Agwai.
This led Nigeria to threaten to pull its troops from Darfur unless it got the Special Representative job, which was was just awarded in the form of Ibrahim Gambari, Nigeria's former ambassador to the UN. And so it goes.
On December 3, Inner City Press asked
Inner City Press: Marie, I wanted to know if you can confirm that a Nepalese major serving in MINURCAT, Niranjan Basnet, who was found guilty of both murder and torture in Nepal is being repatriated from the mission and Nepalese media accounts say that the UN only vets senior officials, therefore didn’t vet this major despite the charges that were swirling around him at the time he was deployed. It’s reported that DPKO has decided to send him back. Is that true?
Deputy Spokesperson Okabe: I think we’re waiting for some updates from DPKO on that issue, but I haven’t seen any yet. So if they’re listening, please send it down.
It was the next day, December 4, that the UN read out this:
And in response to another question yesterday about the deployment of a Nepalese officer to the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), DPKO (Department of Peacekeeping Operations) has provided us with the following information:
DPKO vets all senior appointments to its missions. However, with more than 115,000 personnel currently in the field, it is impossible to vet each and every peacekeeper deployed. Therefore, the United Nations relies on its troop- and police-contributing countries -- which ultimately have the mandated responsibility for the good conduct, order and discipline of their forces -- to screen all contingent members nominated to take part in peacekeeping operations in accordance with international norms and standards.
With regard to this specific case, due to the serious nature of the allegations against Major Niranjan Basnet, who was deployed as a member of the Nepalese contingent, a decision has been made to repatriate him immediately.
But five days later, when Inner City Press asked Alain Le Roy, Basnet had still not been repatriated. Watch this site.And see, www.innercitypress.com/dpko1nepal120909.html
