By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 20 -- Even after five countries on the UN Security Council raised doubts about the proposal by Department of Peacekeeping Operations chief Herve Ladsous to use drones, the head of DPKO in the Democratic Republic of Congo Roger Meece is now quoted that drone use should move ahead "rapidly."
On June 16 Meece asserted to Le Congolais newspaper that things should move quick because, Meece said, "the proposition was well received by SEVERAL members of the Security Council" ("la proposition a été bien reçue par plusieurs membres du Conseil de sécurité.")
This is a dubious proposition, that only the support of "several members" -- including Ladsous' France and Meece's United States -- is necessary.
As Inner City Press reported after Ladsous' closed door pitch to the Council, Russia, China, Azerbaijan, Rwanda and Guatemala all raised questions.
The questions include who would get the information feeds from UN drones -- all 193 member states? Just the Permanent Five members of the Security Council? Just Ladsous' France, and Meece's United States?
After reporting on those questions as a follow up to its March 2012 expose on Ladsous' badly received drones pitch to the C-34, Inner City Press asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky to state which approvals Ladsous acknowledged he would have to get before deploying drones.
Nesirky said all necessary steps would be taken, but has not stated what those steps would be.
Inner City Press asked if it were possible, under the reign of Ladsous, that one day it would just be the fact that DPKO was using drones. That, too, has not been answered.
Ladsous has openly refused to answer any Press questions. See stakeouts of November 27, December 7 and December 18, 2012, when Ladsous had his spokesman seize the UNTV microphone to avoid Inner City Press' questions about the DRC.
Now, with Meece's statement, what will happen? Watch this site.
