At DR Congo Hearing, Ben Affleck Pitches Chocolate & Meece, Wants MONUSCO Sunset, Russ Feingold on FDLR

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 26 -- While Ben Affleck and Russ Feingold were the two who before testifying to the Senate about the Congo met with UN Secretary of State John Kerry, former UN envoy Roger Meece testified as well.

  When Meece was in charge of the UN Mission MONUSCO, there were questions including raised by Ambassador Susan Rice about failing to protect the victims of the Walikale mass rapes, following by a failed project Inner City Press dubbed "Meece's mills."

  Affleck on February 26 praised Meece's tenure at MONUSCO, perhaps being diplomatic -- but he also called for MONUSCO to sunset, to at long last finish. It's similar to calls in Haiti that the MINUSTAH mission be dissolved and the funds be devoted to combating the cholera the UN brought to the island.

  Russ Feingold called for MONUSCO's Force Intervention Brigade to "soon" neutralize the Hutu FDLR militia, as it did the M23. Affleck talked up a kind of organic chocolate bar -- for sale at Whole Foods, he added -- calling it the "magic of capitalism." This goes over big in the US Senate; Senator Flake called it bipartisan, and both sides (and Affleck) praised Cindy McCain.

  Back on February 25, "Sexual Violence in Conflict" was the topic of US Secretary of State John Kerry and his UK counterpart William Hague. One hoped for an update on or at least mention of the more than 100 rapes by the Congolese Army in Minova in November 2012.

   Instead the news was Kerry saying that there will be no US visas for those who perpetrate or order sexual violence in conflict zones. 

  OK, here's a place to start: the US-trained 391st Battalion of the Congolese Army FARDC, which took part in the mass rape at Minova.

   That was more than 14 months ago, and yet at today's press conference by the UN Mission in the Congo MONUSCO, it was reported that in the already delayed interview of victims in Minova, interviewers spoke with barely a quarter of the more than 200 listed victims. Still no justice. So will there be visas? This is a test case -- for outcome if any of the Affleck - Kerry - Russ Feingold talks as well.

  Yesterday's Kerry - Hague transcript mentioned "DRC" five times, and "Congo" three, but there was nothing on Minova. Instead, the implication is that all the rapes in Eastern Congo are by the M23 -- not the FDLR, much less the Congolese Army, which the US supports.

  In fact the 391st Battalion, one of two charged with the Minova rapes, was trained by the United States. (Click here for comment the US Mission to the UN provided to Inner City Press, which also first reported that Ambassador Samantha Power raised Minova to Joseph Kabila in October.) 

  So maybe a Minova update next time? Or on February 26, when Kerry meets Great Lakes envoy Russ Feingold as well as Ben Affleck? From the February 25 transcript

Secretary of State Kerry: "In the Great Lakes region, we have just – in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where M23 was active, in the Kampala Accord, which Special Envoy Russ Feingold and Mary Robinson from the United Nations and others were engaged in helping to negotiate, we have a section in there that specifically talks about accountability and prevention of rape as a tool of – and holding people accountable in M23 for these acts."

  Back on January 13, after UN envoy Martin Kobler told the Security Council about "the need to address ill-discipline within the [Congolese Army] FARDC and National Police and to pursue all outstanding cases of misconduct," Inner City Press asked him about the FARDC's mass rapes at Minova in November 2012. 

  Kobler acknowledged that the most recent hearing in the Minova case had been postponed, that witness statements have still not been taken. Video here, from Minute 6:32. 

  Given that the UN says it has a Human Rights Due Diligence Policy of not supporting army units engaged in abuses, how much longer will the UN accept this? Thirteen months and counting.

  Perhaps relatedly, after rumors of the death of Rwanda's Paul Kagame were shot down, across the border in the Eastern Congo, a time-stamped photograph was tweeted of a UN truck full of people on the back, captioned "MONUSCO in Goma celebrating the death of Pres Paul Kagame."

  It seemed worth asking the UN mission chief Martin Kobler to comment on or explain the photograph, and Inner City Press sent this, to Kobler and three MONUSCO spokespeople:

"Please comment on / explain this time-stamped photo, which is being described as a UN truck participating in "celebrations" of the rumor of the Rwandan president's death. Do you dispute that the photo was taken on January 10? To whom is the UN giving a ride in this truck / photo? In what context?"

   After a time, UN envoy Kobler replied:

"@innercitypress Ceci apparait de toute évidence comme une utilisation frauduleuse d'un véhicule de la #Monusco. C'est inacceptable"

  Translated: "This appears clearly as a fraudulent use of a vehicle of the #Monusco. This is unacceptable."

(Translation not by Google, not only because of NSA spying issues but also acquiescence in Digital Millennium Copyright Act abuse by Reuters UN bureau, click here for that.)

  The question became, now what does Kobler, or those above him in New York, do?  

  Inner City Press on January 10 went to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's press conference, 11 am in New York, to ask this question: "in the DRC this morning, after false rumors of Paul Kagame being dead, a MONUSCO truck was photographed in what some call celebrations and Martin Kobler told me is "unacceptable." What do you think your UN should do about this, in terms of the perception of impartiality or bias by the UN?"

  But Ban's acting deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq did not call on Inner City Press, instead automatically giving the first question to the United Nations Correspondents Association(a/k/a UN's Censorship Alliance), then mostly questions soft on the UN about Syria.

  Next came spin from MONUSCO, e-mailed to the Press:

Fraudulent use of MONUSCO truck in Goma

Kinshasa, 10 January 2014 - MONUSCO is aware of a photo being circulated on the internet showing a MONUSCO truck in Goma during a demonstration.

In reality, the truck was taken over by demonstrators while on a regular mission. The driver was alone and unarmed when the incident happened. MONUSCO condemns this agressivity against its assets.

MONUSCO has launched a full investigation to ascertain the circumstances and the context surrounding the incident. 

  But how does the UN explain, then, this UN jeep or Four by Four in this longer video of the anti-Kagame protests, from Minute 1:04 to 1:54? http://youtu.be/L9EPcUOpT1M

 On January 13, Inner City Press asked Kobler about the two vehicles. He said that both had been taken over, which now seems to mean that the UN drivers remained in the vehicles, carrying the protesters, on the single road from Sake to Munigi, through Goma.

  Kobler said the drivers were unarmed, but even if armed would not have tried to get the demonstrators off, at least not be using force. He said the protesters got off or disappeared out by the Uruguayan peacekeepers' base by the airport. There is more than a little skepticism. But that is what Kobler said: video here, from Minute 6:32.

   Watch this site.
   

As IMF Stops $240M DRC Loan for Opacity, UN Stonewalls, Waits for Drones

By Matthew Russell Lee

 

UNITED NATIONS, January 31 -- The UN has been in the Democratic Republic of Congo for well over a decade, back to Dag Hammarskjold, in fact. And what has come of it?

   On Thursday Inner City Press posed Congo questions to the UN in New York, after the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

   During the IMF's embargoed morning briefing, Inner City Press asked about the IMF's freezing of $240 million in loans to the lack of transparency in the mining industry, which involves ENRC, Glencore and, of course, Freeport-McMoRan.

   An IMF spokesperson responded, before 11 am, "Hi Matthew, On your DRC question, the ECF arrangement expired on December 10, 2012... it was not extended as requested by the authorities because published information related to the transfer of mineral assets by a state-owned enterprise, which was considered necessary to complete the review, was deemed insufficient by the IMF."

   Then at the UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked about the UN's and now the DRC's delayed investigation into 126 rapes in Minova by the Congolese Army in November. UN deputy spokesperson Eduardo Del Buey would not explain by UN Peacekeeping chief Ladsous' statement that the probe would be finished in January is not being abided with. Video here, from Minute 6:54.

   But from what spokesman Del Buey said, it's again clear the UN is relying on and supporting Congo's government, no matter what. Inner City Press asked about two new leaked e-mails from inside MONUSCO, about its patrols on the Rwanda border.

   Del Buey said the UN would not comment on documents "that may or may not have been leaked" to Inner City Press -- despite the UN's MONUSCO mission just the day previous saying that the Press should check with the UN about such documents.  Video here at Minute 13:34. Transparency, anyone?

  Would the IMF lend to its UN family (dysfunctional) sibling UN Secretariat and Department of Peacekeeping Operations?

  Nor, five hours after the briefing, has Del Buey explained why Ladsous' supposedly urgent drone request will not be opened until the second part of March.

   Inner City Press put the same drone question, and one about the failure in Addis Ababa of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's DRC framework, to outgoing Security Council president Masood Khan on Thursday afternoon.  Video here, from Minute 7:27.

  He called the differences in Addis "procedural," and deferred on the drone question. But at least he answered, all month, unlike Ladsous.  For the six minute beta #LADSOUS2013 video, click here. Watch this site.

On DRC, UN Says No "Formal Communication" from Uganda, UNSC Vetted Hege

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 6 -- The UN continued Tuesday to deny it had heard from Uganda about pulling its troops out of peacekeeping missions in Somalia and elsewhere, despite acknowledging a Ugandan delegation meeting with Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson. Inner City Press question, and answer, here from Minute 10:51.

  Meanwhile, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky told Inner City Press that vetting the coordinator of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Group of Experts Steve Hege and his writing about the FDLR militia was and is entirely up to the Security Council.

  On November 5, Inner City Press asked Nesirky

Inner City Press: Uganda has said... a delegation is coming to New York and specifically going to meet with the Secretary-General. I don’t see it on his schedule yet, but is there such a plan for such a meeting and what are the Secretary-General’s thoughts of Uganda saying that it would pull its peacekeepers from Somalia, Central African Republic and I believe one other country in response to the report?

Spokesperson Nesirkry: Well, first of all, I am not aware of any meeting scheduled today of that nature. And we’ve obviously seen the media reports; there have been varying and various media reports — we’ve seen all of them. What I can confirm at this point is that the United Nations has had no official communication from the Government of Uganda in relation to this matter.

This last line was reported. But once Inner City Press was informed that the Ugandan delegation met not with Ban but his Deputy Eliasson, on November 6 Inner City Press asked again.

Nesirky acknowledged the meeting with former Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda, and said "the discussion was about this report of Independent Experts that falls under the Security Council."

He insisted there still had been "no formal notification of the kind we are speaking of... no official communication from the government of Uganda related this matter." The delegation and meeting was official. Perhaps the reference is to not stating the troops will be pulled out?

In Kampala, the government says "don't call our bluff." Rugunda, at the UN even after he left as Permanent Representative, delivered the African Union position on Libya in and after a closed meeting in the UN's North Lawn building.

Inner City Press asked again about Hege, if the Secretariat had vetted, or any "lessons learned." Nesirky said "no, but again, as I've mentioned before, including just a couple of seconds ago, this is under the Security Council."

But Council sources, while acknowledging they could have blocked Hege or tried to, assign a role to the Secretariat. Perhaps Rwanda now taking the Council seat it was elected to last month will help get to the bottom of this. Watch this site.

On UN Report of Peacekeeper Rape in Congo, Ladsous' DPKO Says Nothing

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 7, updated -- Sexual abuse by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, now under Herve Ladsous, has not stopped. 

  Now, however, DPKO cannot even muster up a response to outrageous reports, including one public not for at least four days.

  Inner City Press at the August 7 noon briefing asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky about the study by Dr. Victoria Fontan of the UN-mandated* University for Peace in Costa Rica, finding that

"In February, 2011, two orphans, Gisele, then 14, and her sister Esperance, 15, were attacked by five soldiers, three from MONUSCO and two from the Congo's notoriously undisciplined and brutal army. While the Congolese were beating Gisele, Esperance was gang raped and beaten by the three white MONUSCO soldiers. She was both badly injured and pregnant. Last October, Esperance gave birth by cesarean section. Her son died two days later."

  Nesirky said that UN is of course aware of the report, and that if DPKO or the MONUSCO mission "have anything to say, then we'll let you know." Video here, from Minute 16:20.

  How is this acceptable? DPKO is aware of this report, public for at least four days, of three MONUSCO "peacekeepers" gang raping two underage Congolese girls. And there is a question about whether DPKO under Ladsous will have anything to say?

  Have the three DPKO "peacekeepers" been investigated or are they still out in the field -- perhaps at Hotel Uvira? Inner City Press reported on UN leisure in Uvira while accompanying a Security Council trip to the Kivus and elsewhere. Now it has gotten worse -- under Herve Ladsous.

  Ladsous, as reported, refuses to answer any questions from Inner City Press. Responding to this is, however, his job. Watch this site.

* - Rather than any substantive response from DPKO, the response so far has been to argue that the University of Peace has nothing to do with the UN. But its website says"the United Nations-mandated University for Peace was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the UN General Assembly."

Before Congo Vote, UN Dismissive of 120,000 Duplicates, As Ban Meets Moussa

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 8 -- In the run up to November 28 elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN Security Council held more than two hours of closed door consultations on Tuesday and emerged with a statement to the Press.

As Permanent Representatives trickled out throughout the afternoon, Inner City Press asked them if the pro-Kabila duplicate voting records scandal detailed in leaked report by Belgian firm Zetes had been discussed. No, most of them said.

The point of the meeting seemed to be to condemn opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi for threatening violence and even declaring himself the winner in advance. When top UN envoy to the DRC Roger Meece, formerly the US Ambassador to Kinshasa, came out to take questions, Inner City Press asked him about the Zetes scandal.

Despite detailed media reporting on October 29 quoting long time Congo experts expressing concern about the duplicates, Meece minimized the issue.

Meece told Inner City Press that it only impacted 120,000 registrations out of 32 million. Inner City Press asked if these was a double standard, having in mind the fight over hanging chads in the Bush - Gore fight in Florida.

But worse is that while Meece knew about the Zetes report, apparently the Ambassadors on the Council, and even usually well informed staffers, were not. What is the purpose of such two hour closed door meetings?

The UN has previously told Inner City Press that the US military advisers being sent to help track down Joseph Kony of the Lord's Resistance Army are NOT coordinating with MONUSCO.

Inner City Press asked Meece, who said he thinks Kony is in the Central African Republic, where MONUSCO cannot go. Inner City Press asked if any International Criminal Court issues have been discussed.

The US fought to get an ICC exemption in the Libya resolution earlier this year. But the LRA, with Kony and other leaders indicted by the ICC, operates in ICC member states. Would the US be subject to ICC jurisdiction. Ask the US, Meece said.

The UN's Sexual Violence and Armed Conflict expert Margot Wallstrom also came out to take questions. Inner City Press asked her where Serafim, a commander charged with the Walikali rapes with which Meece's tenure began, is now. She said she did not know. She did however describe some of the work of trying to "name and shame" such commanders through the DRC Sanctions Committee. Whether international travel bans will root out the problem is another issue.

An overarching problem is the UN seeming to take sides in elections. Regarding the upcoming elections in Egypt, Inner City Press on November 8 asked the spokesman for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to confirm that Ban is meeting with Egyptian candidate Amre Moussa, and why.

The spokesman Martin Nesirky said he didn't know. When the Security Council ended after six o'clock, Ban's spokeperson's office had still not provided Inner City Press with any answer.

But Moussa is on Ban's schedule for November 9. Will Ban meet with any other Egyptian candidates? A similar critique can be made of the UN's work in Liberia. Watch this site.

Footnote: Inner City Press asked Wallstrom if she thought what happened to Gaddafi after he was captured amounted to sexual violence. She said that it did, but that the ICC (and presumably not her office) will be pursuing the issue. We'll see.

At UN, Amid Congo Vote Delays, Ban's Shadowy Meetings, Of Rape & Swedish Tweeting

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- With elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo scheduled for November, on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's schedule for June 24 at 9:15 am appeared candidate Etienne Tshisekedi.

When Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesman Farhan Haq for a readout or summary of the meeting, and if the UN believes the elections are on track to be held in November, Haq would not answer either question. He said that the UN doesn't give readouts of meetings like this.

Nor does the UN appear to give notice. The Permanent Representative of the DRC Atoki Ileka complained to Inner City Press that he was never told that Ban was meeting with DRC candidate Tshisekedi, nor the topic of the meeting.

It has emerged that in order to hold the elections in November, the voters register would have had to be completed by May. But it has still not been completed, bills about it still stalled in the parliament.

When Roger Meece, the head of the UN Mission in the Congo MONSCO, was recently in New York, he spoke about the elections without giving notice of this delay. He painted a happy picture, including rejecting calls that the UN more closely track human rights violations related to the upcoming elections.

Some also found Meece's presentations in New York “a little light,” as one observer put it, on the issue of sexual violence and rape.

Amb. Ileka in UNSC with Araud of France, Nov election not shown

Now on June 23 the UN announced at its noon briefing that

We have received several worrying reports about incidents of an unknown number of alleged rapes and looting committed in the Nyakiele area in South Kivu, some 40 kilometres north of Fizi town, between 9 and 12 June. Investigations to confirm these reports are ongoing in consultation with local authorities. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and partners are dispatching an assessment team to Nyakiele, a remote village located 8 hours by foot from the nearest UN military base. The humanitarian NGO [non-governmental organization] Médecins Sans Frontières has separately reported treating over 100 victims of rape and other forms of trauma since accessing this small village on 21 June.

As Inner City Press reported earlier this year, from the previous mass rape scandal that confronted Meece from his first days atop MONUSCO, only Mayele is still in jail, and even he may be released. Now what?

Ban Ki-moon's representative on sexual violence and conflict Margot Wallstrom, was Tweeting during this period. Here are four in a row:

Swedish speaker? Read "Viagra vapen i Libyen" in today's Dagens Nyheter @ http://t.co/4NXELgG. Monday, June 20, 2011 10:30:44 AM via web

More for Swedish speakers: "Viagra är Gaddafis vapen", op-ed in today's NSD @ http://t.co/xDDXd6Y. Monday, June 20, 2011 11:13:28 AM via web

Attending the ceremony for the appointment of Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General of the UN for a second term. Tuesday, June 21, 2011 4:04:28 PM via web

I condemn in the strongest possible terms the mass rape of over 150 civilians, mainly women and girls, in the area of Minembwe, South Kivu about 19 hours ago via web

And so it goes at the UN. Watch this site.