By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 7 -- In the run-up to the UK's controversial attendance in Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, minister of state Hugo Swire took questions on Twitter for 45 minutes today.
They focused on Sri Lanka -- lack of accountability for war crimes, killing and disappearance of journalists, torture and authoritarianism -- as well as the Maldives and also Somalia.
Swire answered that "we consistently call for an independent, thorough & credible investigation into allegations of war crimes."
Inner City Press asked what if anything the UK has done about this in the UN Security Council, where it has one of five Permanent seats. Also, since the UK is "running" for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council, Inner City Pressasked what the UK would or will do there on Sri Lanka issues.
The reality is that the UK is running on a "clean slate" with no competition. Like some other "candidates," it will essentially be automatically elected. Perhaps it's for that reason that Swire did not answer the Human Rights Council -- or UN Security Council -- questions.
Also in the UN Security Council, the UK "has the pen" on Somalia. But contrary to what happened when two journalists were killed in Mali this month and the Security Council quickly issued a press statement condemning it, the Council does not do this when Somali journalists are killed. Why not? This question has yet to be answered.
Swire was asked, given the cancellations of elections in Maldives, if they will be seated at the CHOGM. No one, it seems, asked about The Gambia, quitting the Commonwealth (and reportedly being evicted from office space of Commonwealth members in New York).
Like many UK diplomats, Swire has the hashtag #DigitalDiplomacy in his profile. He did answer some questions on Thursday, but it is unclear what will happen with those he chose not to answer. Watch this site.
