UNITED NATIONS, April 21 -- The UN, trying to convince Congolese President Joseph Kabila to let its MONUC peacekeeping mission stay in his country, helped Kabila's soldiers to re-take the Mbandaka airport on April 5. Now a Congolese human rights group is asserting that in the re-taking of the airport, 11 civilian were killed.
Inner City Press on Wednesday asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky if the UN is aware of the human rights groups' reports, and if the UN will investigate them. Nesirky replied that the UN is aware of the reports, but cannot confirm them.
But since the UN Security Council has repeatedly given the MONUC mission a mandate to "protect civilians," isn't this triggered by awareness of reports that, at a minimum, its partner the Congolese Army may have killed more than ten civilians?
Nesirky repeated the same line, "what I can say is that at the moment we cannot confirm this." He added, "it doesn’t preclude what you are saying that it is being looked into." Frankly, very few things are "precluded" to MONUC. But isn't this mission, led by scandal plagued British SRSG Alan Doss, required to take some action, under its mandate? Watch this site.
From the UN's April 21 transcript, Inner City Press' questions and OSSG's Nesirky's responses:
Question: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the Government re-took the airport that had been taken by rebels or was ascribed to ethnic tensions, a Congolese human rights group has said that the Government killed 11 civilians during its re-taking of the airport. I am wondering, since the UN has such a, you know, big presence in the Congo and works with the Government, are they aware of this and are they going to anything to look into this alleged killing of civilians by the Government?
Spokesperson: We’ve heard the report, but we can’t confirm this information.
Question: But is the UN going to look into it, I guess, is my question. It’s within its mandate to look into that.
Spokesperson: At the moment, what I can tell you is that we can’t confirm this information.
Question: Does it have, I mean, I know that MONUC -- I’m sorry to -- has a human rights component and has a mandate to protect civilians. Would this, would looking into alleged killing of civilians by the host Government fall within the mandate of protection of civilians?
Spokesperson: Well, what I can say is that at the moment we cannot confirm this. But it doesn’t preclude what you are saying that it is being looked into. But what I can tell you at the moment is what I have told you.
