As UN Watches Death & Flies Haroun in Sudan, Calling Darfur Safe, Who's to Blame?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 17, updated Oct 18 -- Who is to blame for the UN's under-performance in Sudan? Civilians and even a UN contractor were killed in front of UN peacekeepers in South Kordofan in June, but nothing has been done.

Now the UN is accused by the SPLM-North of flying Ahmed Haroun, indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, to the disputed town of Talodi, as the UN admits it flew Haroun to Abyei.

Inner City Press asked noted American activist John Prendergast about these on Monday, in advance of a book launch at the UN. After referring to a "confused response," Prendergast urged not to "blame the UN" for these things, but rather then member states.

Obviously it's not either-or. But in the case of flying Haroun, the UN was specifically "demarched" or criticized by member states for its previous flight of Haroun.

The UN nevertheless flew Haroun again. Now in the face of SPLM-N allegation to the UN that it has again flown Haroun, the UN has not responded to Press requests for comment in over 67 hours.

Inner City Press sent the questions in writing to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations on October 14 and, having no substantive response, asked about the SPLM-North letter at the October 17 UN noon briefing, Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky said, you have asked DPKO. Yes, but they have not answered.

Should member states be blamed for that? In that case, perhaps France is to blame since it has controlled DPKO's top post with four Frenchmen in a row, including current occupant Herve Ladsous.

Inner City Press asked asked Prendergast about the claims of UN (and African Union) official Ibrahim Gambari about refugee and IDP returns in West Darfur. Prendergast called the urging of people to return "unrealistic and dangerous," but still said don't blame the UN. So who is Gambari speaking for? Watch this site.

Footnote: the book project will be launched later on Monday and will benefit education in the camps. The press conference was hosted by UNCHR, whose Udo Janz introduced Prendergast as, among other things, the "strategic advisor to Not On Our Watch, the organization founded by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Brad Pitt." Prendergast described a trip to Sudan with Tracy McGrady, leading to the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program.

With all this, Prendergast is in a position to call-out the UN when it under-performs. The fault of states which host Sudanese president and ICC-indictee Omar al Bashir, for example, can be separately addressed. But the lack of accountability within the UN continues when those positioned to at least critique it do not. We will continue on this.

Update of Oct 18, 12:50 pm -- four days after the questions were asked, the UN proffered responses to some but not all of them:

"I have received further information from our liquidation team on the ground in Sudan on this matter. The UNMIS liquidation team has not flown Governor Haroun on its helicopters. The liquidation process continues, in accordance with the timeline agreed with the Government of the Republic of Sudan."

And what about, regarding the murders in Kadugli in June in front of UN peacekeepers -- "Who were the commanders of the Egyptian peacekeepers there that day, and are or will they work again in UN peacekeeping missions?"

Watch this site.

On Darfur, Need for "More Activity from UN," US Envoy Says, France's Chad Support Acknowledged as a Problem

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/usun2darfur061708.html

UNITED NATIONS, June 17 -- The U.S. envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson on Tuesday announced that Khartoum has been asked for permission to open up six additional routes for humanitarian convoys to Darfur. Inner City Press had asked if the UN peacekeepers stationed in El Fasher should rather be deployed to protect at least some of the World Food Program trucks which have been subject to hijacking. Williamson agreed there should be "more activity from the UN." Video here. The non-governmental organizations which stood beside him at the microphone, however, did not speak of what the UN could be doing on the ground, but rather only about obstruction from Khartoum and paralysis by the Security Council, which Mia Farrow and John Prendergast said is due to China, and China alone.

Inner City Press asked if France's unqualified support for the Idriss Deby government of Chad, even as it is accused of supporting attacks on Sudan and recruiting child soldiers, is not at least part of the problem. Prendergast, who has earlier accused Sudan of waging a proxy war against Chad, did not answer this question.

Williamson approached it diplomatically, speaking of "the bleed between Chad and Sudan." He said that the U.S. is "taking an active role" in trying to defuse the "mutual destruction on the border." Apparently referring to France, he said that "some of our friends are taking a more active role as well." But active how? When he led the Security Council delegation in Chad last week, French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert neither delivered nor allowed any criticism of Chad.

Footnote: some of Amb. Ripert's sudden standoffishness with the press during the Council mission became more comprehensible on Tuesday. Sources tell Inner City Press that it was only on the trip that Ripert learned that he would not be getting the job of head of UN Peacekeeping. At the last moment, these sources say, the Ban Ki-moon administration because concerned that Ripert's constant references to Bernard Kouchner might create a problem of split loyalty. And so France was asked for another name, and forwarded that of Alain Le Roy. Who ever takes the job should move quickly to deploy existing UN peacekeepers in Darfur to protect the humanitarian trucks.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/usun2darfur061708.html