By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 26, updated – Before the pending Sudan draft Presidential Statement was taken up by the UN Security Council on Tuesday afternoon, the UN humanitarian chief of operations John Ging told Inner City Press that despite a “Security Council resolution nine months ago calling for immediate access,” no aid has since gotten into South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. Video here, from Minute 34:17.
After Inner City Press asked about any progress on the so-called Tripartite Agreement to get aid into the two areas, Ging said, “we have to stay focused on results, which have been failure. We have to be honest about prospects are... nil.”
Ging concluded that to keep doing the “same thing, the same way, with the same result” -- failure -- means “as someone famously said, that you're insane.”
But three hours later at the Security Council, a meeting of Deputy Permanent Representatives began on a long pending Presidential Statement on Sudan and South Sudan, including not only Abyei but also the Two Areas.
This followed a briefing last week by Haile Menkerious, after which US Ambassador Susan Rice told Inner City Press the draft PRST would be updated.
Since then, as Iner City Press on February 21 exclusively reported, Sudan dropped what would have been its position atop the humanitarian pillar of ECOSOC, switching for Pakistan's "Coordination" position.
Outside the Council Tuesday afternoon, a non-permanent member said “it's mostly about the oil, neither side will give in because each side thinks they can win.”
But there is less and less focus on this; most talk about Syria or even for now Mali, Ging's lead topic on Tuesday. Sudan has been left behind, the people of the two areas the most. Watch this site.
Footnote: Inner City Press also asked the UN on Tuesday what it was doing to about Sudan's inability to open a bank account in the United States, one of the responsibilities of the US as host country.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesman Eduardo Del Buey told Inner City Press that is up to the host country. But Ban's Controller, months ago, said that “good news” would been announced soon.
“The good news is that I'm here,' Del Buey said with a smile. Indeed. We'll have more on this.
Update of 4:30 pm, Feb 26 - and after Security Council Deputy Permanent Representatives met on Sudan for less than an hour and a half, when they emerged several shook their heads. "Not today, let's say," one told Inner City Press. "Oh we agree on everything," another said sarcastically. The candor was appreciated, but there was none of the seriousness (or posturing) of the Syria issue today, or perhaps of the Sudan issue in the past...
