By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 10 -- When the UK's Mark Lyall Grant walked out of the Security Council's Syria meeting at 4:15 on Thursday, he stopped to tell assembled correspondents that a mere letter, not resolution, would be sufficient for setting up a UN-OPCW chemical weapons mission.
This seemed strange: if it is most like a UN Special Political Mission, and those in Somalia and Libya were set up by formal resolution, why only a letter for this Syria venture?
The letter-only precedent offered is the UN Office on Central Africa. But is that really analogous?
Lyall Grant said the letter could go out within the next 24 hours. He answered questions, as affable as ever, but nearly all from one journalist (for a US State Department run station). One surmises that the powerful on the Council like the idea of a mere letter because it further increases their dominance.
Already Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has separate meetings, first, to the Permanent Five members, on Syria. This will seemingly allow more of that: less rules benefit the powerful.
Lyall Grant left, one wondered if down to the Decolonization Committee in the basement. There, Suriname for UNASUR was denouncing UK colonialism in Malvinas,which the UK calls Falkland Islands. He will speak on Friday, if not before. Watch this site.
