Sudan Owes UN $1 Million But Can Vote, US "Should Not Be Compared"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, January 4 -- After the UN Committee on Contributions left 49 member states out of its Honor Roll of countries who are paid-up on their UN due, Inner City Press on Friday asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson Martin Nesirky about two of the countries, Sudan and the United States.

  Nesirky cut in, "you know very well that the United States works on a different budget cycle. So, I don’t think that you should compare the two."

  Be that as it may, Nesirky told Inner City Press "Let’s check on the contribution list with those who deal with these matters and then we can come back to you."

 Late Friday afternoon, this answer came in about Sudan:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Fri, Jan 4, 2013 at 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: Question on Sudan
To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com

On arrears: At the start of 2012, Sudan was in arrears under the terms of Article 19 of the Charter (loss of vote in the General Assembly). However, sufficient payment was made in 2012 to take Sudan out of Article 19. As of 4 January 2013, Sudan has arrears (amounts due for 2012 and previous years) of approximately $1 million.

  But what about the United States? And the other 47 countries not on the honor role? Watch this site.

Footnotes: Also on Sudan, Inner City Press on Friday asked about "multiple rapes by pro-government militiamen in a place called Karodos in east Jebel Marra," and again for an update on the Department of Peacekeeping Operations' weeks-old investigation (or some say cover up) of 126 Congolese Army rapes committed in Minova in November.

  Nesirky said he would check on the former, and that the Minova rapes are still under "active" investigation.

  Inner City Press also asked, "is there any deadline? Given that there is this human rights due diligence policy to not work with units who were involved in this, in the incidence in Minova, how long can it take to find out and has there been any change in the list of brigades that MONUSCO works with during this now fairly extended investigation?"

  These are the questions that DPKO chief Herve Ladsous has repeatedly refused to answer, going so far as to direct his spokesman to seize the UNTV microphone on December 18, video here. That spokesman was seen in the UN cafeteria on Friday. But where is Ladsous? Watch this site.