By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 19 --
At 4 pm on
Friday the UN
Security
Council held
a short
meeting with a
single
speaker,
Council
president Gert
Rosenthal of
Guatemala,
reading out a
12 paragraph
Presidential
Statement on
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo that
was drafted by
France.
Several
Council
members joked
to Inner City
Press that
they were sure
the M23
rebels -- and
the FDLR and
Mayi Mayi, one
said -- were
watching this
Presidential
statement on
UN Television,
"on their
plasma TV
screens," the
other said.
The
statement
expressed
support for
the MONUSCO
mission,
condemned the
M23 mutineers
for setting up
"parallel
structures"
and
warmed
external
actors against
funding or
assisting
them.
Yet
another
Council member
snarked, what
if the Council
issued this
type
of warning
regarding
rebel groups
in other
countries.
After
the statement,
which
mentioned the
Resolution
1533 Sanctions
Committee
Group of
Experts, Inner
City Press
asked
President
Rosenthal to
confirm
receipt of a
filing by
Rwanda about
the Group's
coordinator
Steve Hege.
In
2009 writings
Hege was
dismissive of
the threat
posed by the
FDLR;
once Inner
City Press
identified and
linked to the
writing, it
was
removed from
the Internet
without
explanation.
Rosenthal
said
the filing had
gone to the
Committee but
had not yet
surfaced to
the Security
Council. Since
each Security
Council is
already
represented on
the Sanctions
Committee,
they have
certainly seen
the
filing. What
is the method
for
consideration
and response?
At
Friday's UN
noon briefing,
Inner City
Press asked
MONUSCO and
indirectly
about what is
called the
UN's "human
rights due
diligence
policy" --
Inner
City Press: a
question about
the Democratic
Republic of
the Congo. The
army there,
the FARDC, has
said that it
is bombing the
Virunga
National Park,
that it is in
some fighting,
and I am just
wondering,
given
MONUSCO’s
[United
Nations
Organization
Stabilization
Mission
in the
Democratic
Republic of
the Congo]
role sometimes
in helping
such action,
is this a
military
operation in
which MONUSCO
is
participating?
Spokesperson Nesirky:
I will check.
I don’t have
anything on
that, Matthew,
but I will
check.
Five
hours later by
close of
business and
deadline no
answer was
provided.
Watch this
site.
