By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 26 -- How low has the UN fallen, in terms of corruption, not stopping rapes, and retaliating against the Press that asks the questions? April 16 eviction here and here. May 14 New York Times here.
On June 2, when Ban Ki-moon did not even mention peacekeepers' rapes in the French organized Security Council debate on sexual violence in conflict, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric, video here, UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask, listening to the Secretary-General's speech on this sexual violence and conflict, and I was sort of waiting for some reference to sexual abuse by peacekeepers themselves or by the Sangaris force. Is there something that I'm missing in kind of the scope of the meeting? Why was this important topic on which he actually had some… some, you know, responsibility and can do something, not mentioned in his speech…?
Spokesman: I think the Secretary-General has been clear in his outrage when violations are committed by peacekeepers or international forces. The focus of the meeting was on those terror groups and others who are deliberately using… using sexual violence as a tool of war, and I don't think in any way, shape or form that applies to peacekeeping.
Question: Well, I mean… no, I guess I'm referring to the Sangaris, the bestiality allegations at a minimum are not… don't seem to be of normal… they seem to be…
Spokesman: I think your… your… I don't agree with your logic. I think you're talking about, on one hand, groups and organisations that pointedly use sexual violence as a tool of war. And what I'm talking about are horrendous acts committed by an extreme minority… criminal acts committed by a minority of peacekeepers or international… international forces that doesn't… obviously, it doesn't reflect the intent of the missions.
Question: Sure. And I guess you may… I've been meaning to ask this for a few days. The Secretary-General's most recent report on children and armed conflict goes through a number of things, but it mentions the attack by the US on the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kunduz, but the US is not listed in the annex. The Saudis are listed for similar attacks, I guess, which you might call unintentional, in Yemen. How is this determination made to list the… the…?
Spokesman: There will be… there is a process, and we go through it every year, and there will be a formal presentation of the report by the Special Representative. So I would ask you to save your questions for that.
On May 26 amid UN Peacekeeping scandals ranging from rapes and sexual exploitation to the “protection of civilians” crisis exemplified by the failure at Malakal in South Sudan, DPKO chief Herve Ladsous and DFS' Atule Khare held a press conference.
Spokesman: I think the Secretary-General has been clear in his outrage when violations are committed by peacekeepers or international forces. The focus of the meeting was on those terror groups and others who are deliberately using… using sexual violence as a tool of war, and I don't think in any way, shape or form that applies to peacekeeping.
Question: Well, I mean… no, I guess I'm referring to the Sangaris, the bestiality allegations at a minimum are not… don't seem to be of normal… they seem to be…
Spokesman: I think your… your… I don't agree with your logic. I think you're talking about, on one hand, groups and organisations that pointedly use sexual violence as a tool of war. And what I'm talking about are horrendous acts committed by an extreme minority… criminal acts committed by a minority of peacekeepers or international… international forces that doesn't… obviously, it doesn't reflect the intent of the missions.
Question: Sure. And I guess you may… I've been meaning to ask this for a few days. The Secretary-General's most recent report on children and armed conflict goes through a number of things, but it mentions the attack by the US on the Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kunduz, but the US is not listed in the annex. The Saudis are listed for similar attacks, I guess, which you might call unintentional, in Yemen. How is this determination made to list the… the…?
Spokesman: There will be… there is a process, and we go through it every year, and there will be a formal presentation of the report by the Special Representative. So I would ask you to save your questions for that.
On May 26 amid UN Peacekeeping scandals ranging from rapes and sexual exploitation to the “protection of civilians” crisis exemplified by the failure at Malakal in South Sudan, DPKO chief Herve Ladsous and DFS' Atule Khare held a press conference.
While Ladsous has engaged in censorship for some time, refusing to answer Press questions, Khare on May 25 indicated he would take a question. But apparently the DPKO-DFS partnership or "brotherhood" is not equal: Ladsous' predilections won out.
Khare spoke of recycling in Darfur, and of the Tanzanian battalion agreeing to paternity tests. When Inner City Press asked, quite audible, for Ladsous to clarify his September 11, 2015 linking of rapes to "R&R," he declined. Nothing on Malakal, either. This is Ban Ki-moon's UN.
After Ladsous refused these audible questions, Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq about Malakal and, again, about the UNIFIL food re-sale scandal exposed by El Pais. Haq said the investigations are ongoing. This too is Ban's UN.
This too: on May 18 the annual meeting between the UN Security Council and DPKO Force Commanders which has always before been open - has gone behind closed doors.
This was particularly inappropriate given the Force Commanders present: rape-central MINUSCA commander Lieutenant General Balla Keïta; Lieutenant General Derick Mbuyiselo Mgwebi (South Africa) of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), Lieutenant General Yohannes Gebremeskel Tesfamariam (Ethiopia) of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and Major General Michael Lollesgaard (Denmark) of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Why is this meeting closed? Why is UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, who linked rapes to R&R, not scheduled for a Q&A Press conference? Even to stakeout the closed meeting, Inner City Press is this year required by DPI's Cristina Gallach and ultimately Ban Ki-moon required to have a UN “minder” as it seeks to speak on background with sources. This is censorship and UN decay.
Still, it seems that at least one member state not on the UNSC this year was asked to leave; others wondered why the meeting was closed, or at least some part of it not left open. Inner City Press said to French Permanent Representative Francois Delattre, apparently NOT on the Security Council's mission to Somalia, "ca doit etre ouvert." He replied, politely, that he wasn't sure.
On May 17, Ban's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced the availability of the UN's own count of sexual abuse and exploitation allegations in 2016, 44. Of this, 29 MINUSCA, 7 MONUSCO, 2 MINUSTAH, one each in UNMISS, UNOCI, MINUSMA, UNISFA, UNSCO and UNSMIL (Libya). Is it credible? When is the UN Peacekeeping Q&A?
After a bill on UN peacekeepers' sexual abuse and exploitation passed the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Inner City Press on April 29 asked the spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon what he thought of the bill, video here, UN transcript here.
On April 20, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric about rapes inside the UN's "protection" camps, UN transcript here.
On April 12 Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about an April 13 hearing in the US House of Representatives about impunity for UN rapes. Just as the UN skipped court hearings on bringing cholera to Haiti, Haq's answer did not say that the UN would attend the hearing. Video here.
Inner City Press live-tweeted the House hearing on April 13, in which Aicha Elbasri described Herve Ladsous' cover up in Darfur, and former OIOS auditor Peter Gallo described how top UN officials just USE the OIOS (as they have to de-link Ban Ki-moon from the Ng Lap Seng scandal). Brett Schaefer said there is a need for US training of other countries' peacekeepers. There's truth in that, but one of the DRC Army units implicated in the mass rapes in Minova was US trained.
Chairman Chris Smith cited the UN's "zero tolerance, zero compliance culture;" in the Senate there were strong argument for reducing the UN's funding.
On April 14, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric, video here, UN transcript here.
