On Palestine, UN Practice Shows Ban Would Have to Decide on ICC, Official Admits, Then Gets Cut Off
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 16 -- The question of whether a move by Palestine, as an Observer State, to join the International Criminal Court could be acted on or stymied by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was Friday asked by Inner City Press and surprisingly answered by Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Chief of the Treaty Section of the UN Office of Legal Affairs.
The day after Ban Ki-moon refused to answer the question, and days after Inner City Press reported that Ban asked OLA chief Patricia O'Brien for a memo empowering him to not act on Palestine's request, Ms. Goettsche-Wanli came to a press briefing about treaties generally.
Inner City Press quoted to her from a 1999 OLA document that she acknowledged is still in force, that "the Secretary General must ascertain whether a state or an organization may become a party to a treaty deposited with him."
Ms. Goettsche-Wanli said this is the case, and that the Secretary General in making his determination will "follow... the General Assembly" -- significantly, not the Security Council, where the US has said it would veto a Palestinian request for UN membership.
So if Palestine requests Observer State status in the General Assembly and as expected wins it, then takes the steps to join the ICC, Ban Ki-moon should "follow... the General Assembly" and deposit the filing, allowing Palestine to join and refer for prosecution for example the situation in Gaza.
But well placed sources in the Secretariat tell Inner City Press Ban has sought and gotten a legal opinion contrary to this from Patricia O'Brien. She has been asked again and again to come and give a briefing, but has refused. In previous years, she and not an underling did the pre-UNGA press conference on treaties. Now she is nowhere to be seen, at least to answer questions.
Footnote: after Inner City Press asked the questions and got the answers above, another journalist asked for the answers "in layman's terms." Ban's Deputy Spokesman Eduardo del Buey cut it off, saying that Ban answered the day previously. The journalist pointed out that Ban had not answered. It is not a hypothetical question. But it is one that Ban and O'Brien do not want to answer. Watch this site.
