By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, September 4 -- Questions about the UN's forthcoming report on chemical weapons in Syria were raised Wednesday to the incoming president of the UN Security Council, Gary Quinlan of Australia.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that UN member states should share their evidence with his team, led by Ake Sellstrom. (Inner City Press has twice asked, and it seems that the US has NOT shared the evidence it showed Senators behind closed doors.)
Inner City Press asked Quilan if as Security Council president in the month the UN report will be finished he wants there to be a Security Council process on the report, or if it will simultaneously go to all 193 UN member states while, it appears, the UN goes forward disregarding the UN report.
Quinlan answered that "on the Sellstrom report all I can say is the expectation of the Council is it will come to Council as soon as possible after it is complete."
He said the Secretary General "has indicated the UN has been using a number of creative ways to expedite the scientific analysis, using more people and laboratories."
Quinland said, there is "confidentiality associated with that," but that Ban has a "sense of urgency" -- which we have been dubbing the Race for Relevance.
Referring to the meeting Inner City Press covered yesterday afternoon, Quinlan said there was a briefing "yesterday as you know by Kane to the group of member states who signed the letter" requesting the investigation of the August 21 use of chemical weapons. He said Australia was among the requesters, and "that group has a high level of interest to get the report."
The meeting with Kane was not listed in the UN Journal, and the sign outside Conference Room 6 said briefing by the High Representative for Disarmament. But as Inner City Press' YouTube showed, Syria's Bashar Ja'afari was inside.
In fact, it may be that any member state could attend -- and that any member state can get the Sellstrom report. (A Permanent Representative who is part of the ACT group on Security Council report told Inner City Press, yes, all 193.)
We'll see. When called on, Inner City Press thanked Quinlan for the briefing and on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access @FUNCA_info requested that he does question and answer stakeout after each closed-door consultation of the Council in his month. Watch this site.
