UNITED NATIONS, June 17 – As the stand-off between Qatar and the GCC and Egypt continues, Inner City Press on June 15 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about Qatar pulling its troops out from between Eritrea and Djiibouti - and Dujarric answered about Ethiopia, see below. On June 17, an expert on Qatar's Al Jazeera said the Moroccan offer to mediate "wasn't taken seriously," which when Inner City Press quoted it, pro-Morocco trolls went crazy. Here's that quote, Vine Camera here, and here's the UN's June 15 transcript(video here): Inner City Press: on Qatar, they've announced that they're pulling out of their role on the border between Djibouti and Eritrea, where they've had… which is something the UN has worked on in the past. And I… they… it seems pretty clearly tied to this standoff with the other Gulf countries. Do you have any comment on that? Do you anticipate Qatar pulling back from the role it's played in Darfur? Is there any interplay between the… the… their… their… these diplomatic initiatives and, in the case of Djibouti and Eritrea, the actual imposition of troops between two belligerents?
Spokesman: No specific comment on the issue between Ethiopia and Eritrea. I mean, I think, as we've said, the Secretary-General has been following this closely. He's been in touch with various parties, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Kuwait, and is very much supportive of Kuwait's diplomatic efforts. I think it's important that the subregion regains its unity. The disunity we're seeing, it serves the purpose… serves no one. Go ahead.
Inner City Press: Djibouti. I just want… I wanted to just be clear. I'm asking about Eritrea.
Spokesman: Eritrea. I'm sorry. I misspoke. Yeah.
The veneer that Al Jazeera was not Qatar state TV has been ripped off, with self serving reports from, for example, Georgetown Doha We'll have more on this.
UNITED NATIONS, June 15 -- The UN Secretariat's bungling of Yemen mediation has become ever more clear, according to multiple sources and documents exclusively seen by Inner City Press, see below.
Now it's gotten worse. While UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at the June 16 briefing at noon in New York said the plane with the Houthis on it had left Djibouti for Geneva, albeit after Ban Ki-moon had left Geneva, ten hours later Inner City Press was exclusively informed by sources that the issues with the Houthis and the other parties was still not resolved.
The bungling envoy Cheik Ahmed, the sources tell Inner City Press, to try to lure the Houthis and other parties to Geneva promised them more than the seven seats previously announced, and put this on a Facebook page he established.
Then, pressured by the Hadi / Saudi side, Cheikh Ahmed reiterated the old seven seat offer on a UN website, in English. Meanwhile in desperation, the sources exclusively tell Inner City Press, he reached out to Oman, asking them to intercede with the Houthis - and for a plane.
The sources say the UN sent more than one plane to Sana'a, but then had to leave. Now those they lured onto the (final?) plane have been in transit for more than 48 hours with no bed to sleep in, becoming concerned they could be rendered to, where else, Saudi Arabia.
This is the UN?
On June 15 in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met the Hadi government and the so-called Group of 16 ambassadors to Yemen - but not the Houthis. Ban said it was a logistical snafu but that now he had to leave. His public schedule at the time of that announcement still stopped at his June 14 Central Asia tour. Here's from what Ban said:
"I have taken part in very constructive meetings with representatives of the Government of Yemen. I have also just briefed the so-called Group of 16-plus Ambassadors to Yemen. As you know, our goal was to have a joint meeting this morning, but logistical issues made this impossible this morning... This is purely a logistical issue that representatives of Houthis and other groupings were not able to arrive yesterday. I am expecting that they will arrive late this afternoon or early this evening, so they will meet with my Special Envoy. Unfortunately, I could not wait for their arrival because of unavoidable engagements."
During the June 15 noon briefing, UN spokesman Dujarric said that the plane with the Houthis on it had belatedly left Djibouti after logistics issued he said involved "refueling." But see above.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has scheduled a meeting of its members' foreign ministers about Yemen on June 16 - while the UN facilitated talks in Geneva are supposed to be taking place. This comes amid reports the the UN plane from Sana'a did not include all participants; typically, the UN has remained silent.
Here is the OIC's June 14 announcement:
"The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has finalized its preparations for the convening of an emergency meeting at the level of foreign ministers on the situation in Yemen, at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Tuesday 16th June 2015.
"The meeting, which is being held pursuant to a request from the Government of Yemen coupled with the approval of a majority of the OIC Member States, will consider the situation in Yemen and ways to ensure the return of security and stability there. It is expected that the meeting will be attended by a large number of OIC Member States Foreign Ministers."
The OIC has told the Press that at 3 pm, after their meeting, there will be a press conference.
Back on June 6, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a new round of talks to start June 14.
Then in a statement issued on June 12, the date was pushed back to June 15 --while maintaining a Ban photo op with the Gulf Cooperation Council on June 14. Here's the UN's Note to Correspondents:
"There has been a change in the timing of events related to the Geneva Consultations on Yemen. Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the Yemeni delegations will now arrive in Geneva on Sunday evening, 14 June.
Therefore, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and his Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Chiekh Ahmed, will begin consultations with the Yemeni delegations on Monday morning, 15 June, 2015.
Accordingly, there will not be a press stakeout by the Secretary-General on Sunday evening, as previously announced. That press stakeout will now take place on Monday morning, after the beginning of the Consultations.
Please note that we still expect that there will be two photo-ops on Sunday afternoon, time to be confirmed, with the GCC and the Group of Sixteen. The press corps covering the Consultations are again invited to the planning meeting in Room III on Sunday 14 June at 13:00, when we expect to announce exact times and procedures."
So both the GCC and the Group of 16 will be there. Who else? Watch this site.
On June 9, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric a simple question: which Yemeni political parties have been invited to Geneva? Even this, he refused to answer on June 9. Video here.
But on June 10 he returned with a read-out, which Inner City Pressphotographed and Tweeted it and now reports it in its two-sentence full text here:
“Ismael has now said publicly that seven seats have been allocated for both sides and that he expects representatives of the Houthis and the General People's Congress party, as well as the Socialists, the Nasserites and Islah party
“The government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi will also be represented." We'll have more on this.
On June 3, the UN Security Council got a briefing about Yemen from new UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien. Inner City Press staked-out the meeting and was told that O'Brien would speak. But when he emerged, he begged off.
While perhaps this is because his first week, the Free UN Coalition for Access believes O'Brien should speak on the record, particularly on Yemen at this point (as well as Sudan, Burundi and so forth).
O'Brien did not speak, but Russia's Vitaly Churkin did, including about O'Brien. Churkin said "Mr O’Brien, it’s his first appearance at the Security Council, his account was very graphic, about the humanitarian consequences. Over 2000 people dead, a lot of destruction, the fact that it’s difficult to bring in humanitarian supplies, it’s difficult to bring in commercial supplies. Commercial supplies and the situation in Yemen, it’s also a humanitarian aspect of the whole situation, because it doesn’t include the fuel oil, and without fuel the country cannot function because of electricity and things like that. So, it’s extremely dramatic situation and a strong reason to stop fighting and start seriously to talk, without preconditions, as the statement which we adopted finally last night is pointing out."
On June 2 the UN Security Council has issued a Press Statement calling for the resumption of talks -- on information and belief on June 10 -- in Geneva, without preconditions. Here is the Security Council Press Statement, eights minutes after it was issued:
"The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern about the grave situation in Yemen. In this regard, the members of the Security Council were deeply disappointed that the consultations in Geneva planned for 28 May did not take place. The members of the Security Council urged Yemeni stakeholders to participate in the UN-brokered inclusive political consultations as soon as possible.
The members of the Security Council recalled Security Council resolutions 2014 (2011), 2051 (2012), 2140 (2014), 2201 (2015) and 2216 (2015), emphasizing the need for a peaceful, orderly, inclusive and Yemeni-led transition process. The members of the Security Council reiterated their demand for the full implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions, and reiterated their call from resolution 2216 (2015) on all Yemeni parties to resume and accelerate UN-brokered political inclusive consultations.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their call on Yemeni parties to attend these talks and engage without preconditions and in good faith, including by resolving their differences through dialogue and consultations, rejecting acts of violence to achieve political goals, and refraining from provocation and all unilateral actions to undermine the political transition. The members of the Security Council emphasized that the UN-brokered inclusive political dialogue must be a Yemeni-led process, with the intention of brokering a consensus-based political solution to Yemen’s crisis in accordance with the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue conference, and relevant Security Council resolutions.
The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for the efforts of the United Nations and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Yemen, and further reiterated their request of the Secretary-General to intensify his good offices role in order to enable a resumption of a peaceful, inclusive, orderly, and Yemeni-led political transition process that meets the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Yemeni people.
The members of the Security Council endorsed the UN Secretary General’s call for a further humanitarian pause in order to allow assistance to reach the Yemeni people urgently. The members of the Security Council urged all parties to facilitate the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance, as well as rapid, safe, and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to reach people in need of humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance. The members of the Security Council called upon all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, including taking all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects, including water systems, schools, and hospitals, and to urgently work with the United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations to get assistance to those in need. The members of the Security Council stressed the urgent need for ongoing commercial supplies to enter Yemen because of the heavy dependence of Yemen and its people on imported food and fuel.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen, and its commitment to stand by the people of Yemen."
Background: Inner City Press has learned how new UN envoy Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed was viewed during his Sana'a trip as a "tool of the Saudis," and how with the UN having thus marginalized itself, the process has moved beyond it to Oman, with involvement of UN Security Council members which still pay lip service to Ould Cheikh Ahmed's shrunken role.
On Cheikh Ahmed's first day in Sana'a, Inner City Press is told, the Houthis let him wait, and stew. When they met him, he was asked why the previously Yemeni-agreed Peace and Partnership Agreement was being dropped, if he wasn't a "tool of the Saudis."
The answer was not convincing. Cheikh Ahmed was said to be asking the Saudis how much time they want, to continue bombing Yemen. Is this was the UN should be, it was asked.
Even Security Council (Permanent) members who say there is no military solution and pay lip service to Cheikh Ahmed's so far unsuccessful work are now working around the UN, through Oman. We'll have more on this.
On May 26, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric,video here:
Inner City Press: on Yemen, since we're on this topic. I mean that sort of goes to the heart of it. Didn't he say there would be no preconditions? So, if the Riyadh conference that the Houthis didn't attend is somehow involved or a basis of these talks…?
Spokesman: I think… we're talking about getting people around the table. That's what we want to see. I'm not going to start to negotiate from here with the different parties.
Inner City Press: Sure. But how about… okay. One's kind of a strange one. I heard something like the children's parliament has been invited and would be flown in at UN's expense. Is that the case? Is it true that either the Yemeni Government or the Saudi side provided a list of accepting candidates under the categories of youth, civil society and women?
Spokesman: I think… I think all the different sides are engaged in… what could we say… a tussle. I think what we need to see is we need to see all of them… all the parties around the table. I don't have any specific information on the children's parliament.
Question: One more?
Spokesman: I'll come back to you.
Some of the UN's bungling is entirely public. Two days after Inner City Press and others reported that the May 28 talks were postponed or canceled, only on the afternoon of May 26 did Ban confirm the postponement. Here is his announcement:
"The Secretary-General has asked his Special Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to postpone the consultations in Geneva planned for 28 May following a request from the Government of Yemen and other key stakeholders for more time to prepare. The Secretary-General is actively working to convene the talks at the earliest possible time.
The Secretary-General is disappointed that it has not been possible to commence such an important initiative at the soonest possible date and reiterates his call for all parties to engage in United Nations-facilitated consultations in good faith and without pre-conditions. He also reiterates that the only durable resolution to the crisis in Yemen is an inclusive, negotiated political settlement.
The Secretary-General has instructed his Special Envoy to redouble his efforts to consult with the Yemeni Government, Yemen’s political groupings and countries in the region with the aim of producing a comprehensive ceasefire and the resumption of peaceful dialogue and an orderly political transition.
Noting that the conflict has escalated once again following a much-needed five-day humanitarian pause, the Secretary-General urges all parties to be mindful of the suffering of Yemeni civilians, and to support the efforts of the Special Envoy. He is acutely aware that a postponement or delay in a return to the political process will exacerbate a steadily deepening humanitarian crisis.
The Geneva initiative, aimed at bringing together a broad range of Yemeni governmental and other actors, follows extensive consultations by the Special Envoy as well as strong expressions of support by various Security Council resolutions, including 2216 (2015), for a peaceful and Yemeni-led political transition process based on the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference. "
On May 24 Inner City Press was informed that the UN already informed the Houthis and other participants that May 28 was off.
But what were and are the Saudis' demands? Inner City Press is exclusively informed by well placed sources that the Saudis demand that the basis -- and constraints -- of the Geneva meeting be the "Riyadh Declaration," reached without any involvement by the Houthis.
The UN already let the Saudis name individuals who would attend under the heading "women, youth and civil society." The GCC and the G14 were to attend -- the deck was already stacked for the Saudis. But they wanted the Riyadh Declaration as the basis (just as they excluded the September 2014 Peace and Partnership Agreement).
Or, as one well place source put it, the Saudis don't WANT a UN process, "they want to keep bombing, either to eliminate the Houthis" - a la Sri Lanka and the LTTE -- or to "make them capitulate and agree to a final meeting in Riyadh."
The Houthis agreeing to that, ever, seems unlikely. It is the UN of Ban Ki-moon that has capitulated. Watch this site.
First the UN allowed US Secretary of State John Kerry to tell it not to dare hold Yemen talks in Geneva on May 11 as the UN had planned, as Inner City Press exclusively reported on May 6.
Now the May 28 talks in Geneva, conveniently after the Houthi-less talks in Riyadh, will be stacked in ways both pro-Saudi and laughable, sources tell Inner City Press.
New Saudi-picked "UN" envoy Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who appeared on the podium in Riyadh, has dropped from the list of documents on which the May 28 talks are based the Peace and Partnership Agreement that all Yemeni political parties agreed to on September 21, 2014.
The reason? Saudi Arabia doesn't like what was agreed to at that time: it created obligations not only for the Houthis but also for Hadi. So it is gone.
Update: and now, at least for now, so is Hadi. Despite the May 28 talks being Saudi dominated, Hadi says he won't go unless Security Council resolution 2216 is "fully implemented." And about about the Peace and Partnership Agreement that he signed but didn't implement? We'll have more on this.
Slated for attendance on May 28 are the Saudi-led Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Gulf Cooperation Council currently headed by Bahrain and GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani - but notably not Iran. The number of seats for the Houthis will be limited.
Who else is slated to go? Causing laughter in diplomatic circle and in Yemen where it is sorely needed, Cheikh Ahmed is angling to fly in the so-called Children's Parliament organized by an NGO in Yemen, as well as their parents and guardians. "Who is paying for this?" one source demanded of Inner City Press.
Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at the UN noon briefing on May 26.
This last step is blamed by the sources on Cheikh Ahmed having little political background. Inner City Press has already reported on his failure while previously in Yemen to protect UN staff -- failure to pick up the armored vehicles from the airport or have the recommended security detail with staff going to the airport, leading to the long kidnapping of a UNICEF staffer.
But even at UNICEF, Cheikh Ahmed was in human resources, not substantive policy. And the Press questions about his fishing business and its funders remain UNanswered. We'll have more on this.
For now, this: Inner City Press is informed that after Cheikh Ahmed's quick visit to Iran, he was summoned back to Riyadh and, highly irregular for the UN, went without his policy "team," not even a note-taker. What might have been discussed?
The UN, we note, routinely refuses to answer Press questions.
Back on April 29, Inner City Press asked the UN's deputy spokesperson to confirm that the UN was considering Geneva as a venue to continue Yemen talks, after its previous envoy Jamal Benomar resigned in protest of Saudi airstrikes and was replaced by a more amenable envoy, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
UNITED NATIONS, June 15 -- The UN Secretariat's bungling of Yemen mediation has become ever more clear, according to multiple sources and documents exclusively seen by Inner City Press, see below.
On June 15 in Geneva, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met the Hadi government and the so-called Group of 16 ambassadors to Yemen - but not the Houthis. Ban said it was a logistical snafu but that now he had to leave. His public schedule at the time of that announcement still stopped at his June 14 Central Asia tour. Here's from what Ban said:
"I have taken part in very constructive meetings with representatives of the Government of Yemen. I have also just briefed the so-called Group of 16-plus Ambassadors to Yemen. As you know, our goal was to have a joint meeting this morning, but logistical issues made this impossible this morning... This is purely a logistical issue that representatives of Houthis and other groupings were not able to arrive yesterday. I am expecting that they will arrive late this afternoon or early this evening, so they will meet with my Special Envoy. Unfortunately, I could not wait for their arrival because of unavoidable engagements."
Now it's reported Egypt - and Sudan - blocked the flight. But during the June 15 noon briefing, UN spokesman Dujarric said that the plane with the Houthis on it had belatedly left Djibouti after logistics issued he said involved "refueling." We'll have more on this.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has scheduled a meeting of its members' foreign ministers about Yemen on June 16 - while the UN facilitated talks in Geneva are supposed to be taking place. This comes amid reports the the UN plane from Sana'a did not include all participants; typically, the UN has remained silent.
Here is the OIC's June 14 announcement:
"The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has finalized its preparations for the convening of an emergency meeting at the level of foreign ministers on the situation in Yemen, at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Tuesday 16th June 2015.
"The meeting, which is being held pursuant to a request from the Government of Yemen coupled with the approval of a majority of the OIC Member States, will consider the situation in Yemen and ways to ensure the return of security and stability there. It is expected that the meeting will be attended by a large number of OIC Member States Foreign Ministers."
The OIC has told the Press that at 3 pm, after their meeting, there will be a press conference.
Back on June 6, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a new round of talks to start June 14.
Then in a statement issued on June 12, the date was pushed back to June 15 --while maintaining a Ban photo op with the Gulf Cooperation Council on June 14. Here's the UN's Note to Correspondents:
"There has been a change in the timing of events related to the Geneva Consultations on Yemen. Due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the Yemeni delegations will now arrive in Geneva on Sunday evening, 14 June.
Therefore, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and his Special Envoy, Ismail Ould Chiekh Ahmed, will begin consultations with the Yemeni delegations on Monday morning, 15 June, 2015.
Accordingly, there will not be a press stakeout by the Secretary-General on Sunday evening, as previously announced. That press stakeout will now take place on Monday morning, after the beginning of the Consultations.
Please note that we still expect that there will be two photo-ops on Sunday afternoon, time to be confirmed, with the GCC and the Group of Sixteen. The press corps covering the Consultations are again invited to the planning meeting in Room III on Sunday 14 June at 13:00, when we expect to announce exact times and procedures."
So both the GCC and the Group of 16 will be there. Who else? Watch this site.
On June 9, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric a simple question: which Yemeni political parties have been invited to Geneva? Even this, he refused to answer on June 9. Video here.
But on June 10 he returned with a read-out, which Inner City Pressphotographed and Tweeted it and now reports it in its two-sentence full text here:
“Ismael has now said publicly that seven seats have been allocated for both sides and that he expects representatives of the Houthis and the General People's Congress party, as well as the Socialists, the Nasserites and Islah party
“The government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi will also be represented." We'll have more on this.
On June 3, the UN Security Council got a briefing about Yemen from new UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien. Inner City Press staked-out the meeting and was told that O'Brien would speak. But when he emerged, he begged off.
While perhaps this is because his first week, the Free UN Coalition for Access believes O'Brien should speak on the record, particularly on Yemen at this point (as well as Sudan, Burundi and so forth).
O'Brien did not speak, but Russia's Vitaly Churkin did, including about O'Brien. Churkin said "Mr O’Brien, it’s his first appearance at the Security Council, his account was very graphic, about the humanitarian consequences. Over 2000 people dead, a lot of destruction, the fact that it’s difficult to bring in humanitarian supplies, it’s difficult to bring in commercial supplies. Commercial supplies and the situation in Yemen, it’s also a humanitarian aspect of the whole situation, because it doesn’t include the fuel oil, and without fuel the country cannot function because of electricity and things like that. So, it’s extremely dramatic situation and a strong reason to stop fighting and start seriously to talk, without preconditions, as the statement which we adopted finally last night is pointing out."
On June 2 the UN Security Council has issued a Press Statement calling for the resumption of talks -- on information and belief on June 10 -- in Geneva, without preconditions. Here is the Security Council Press Statement, eights minutes after it was issued:
"The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern about the grave situation in Yemen. In this regard, the members of the Security Council were deeply disappointed that the consultations in Geneva planned for 28 May did not take place. The members of the Security Council urged Yemeni stakeholders to participate in the UN-brokered inclusive political consultations as soon as possible.
The members of the Security Council recalled Security Council resolutions 2014 (2011), 2051 (2012), 2140 (2014), 2201 (2015) and 2216 (2015), emphasizing the need for a peaceful, orderly, inclusive and Yemeni-led transition process. The members of the Security Council reiterated their demand for the full implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions, and reiterated their call from resolution 2216 (2015) on all Yemeni parties to resume and accelerate UN-brokered political inclusive consultations.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their call on Yemeni parties to attend these talks and engage without preconditions and in good faith, including by resolving their differences through dialogue and consultations, rejecting acts of violence to achieve political goals, and refraining from provocation and all unilateral actions to undermine the political transition. The members of the Security Council emphasized that the UN-brokered inclusive political dialogue must be a Yemeni-led process, with the intention of brokering a consensus-based political solution to Yemen’s crisis in accordance with the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue conference, and relevant Security Council resolutions.
The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for the efforts of the United Nations and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Yemen, and further reiterated their request of the Secretary-General to intensify his good offices role in order to enable a resumption of a peaceful, inclusive, orderly, and Yemeni-led political transition process that meets the legitimate demands and aspirations of the Yemeni people.
The members of the Security Council endorsed the UN Secretary General’s call for a further humanitarian pause in order to allow assistance to reach the Yemeni people urgently. The members of the Security Council urged all parties to facilitate the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance, as well as rapid, safe, and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to reach people in need of humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance. The members of the Security Council called upon all sides to comply with international humanitarian law, including taking all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects, including water systems, schools, and hospitals, and to urgently work with the United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations to get assistance to those in need. The members of the Security Council stressed the urgent need for ongoing commercial supplies to enter Yemen because of the heavy dependence of Yemen and its people on imported food and fuel.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen, and its commitment to stand by the people of Yemen."
Background: Inner City Press has learned how new UN envoy Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed was viewed during his Sana'a trip as a "tool of the Saudis," and how with the UN having thus marginalized itself, the process has moved beyond it to Oman, with involvement of UN Security Council members which still pay lip service to Ould Cheikh Ahmed's shrunken role.
On Cheikh Ahmed's first day in Sana'a, Inner City Press is told, the Houthis let him wait, and stew. When they met him, he was asked why the previously Yemeni-agreed Peace and Partnership Agreement was being dropped, if he wasn't a "tool of the Saudis."
The answer was not convincing. Cheikh Ahmed was said to be asking the Saudis how much time they want, to continue bombing Yemen. Is this was the UN should be, it was asked.
Even Security Council (Permanent) members who say there is no military solution and pay lip service to Cheikh Ahmed's so far unsuccessful work are now working around the UN, through Oman. We'll have more on this.
On May 26, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric,video here:
Inner City Press: on Yemen, since we're on this topic. I mean that sort of goes to the heart of it. Didn't he say there would be no preconditions? So, if the Riyadh conference that the Houthis didn't attend is somehow involved or a basis of these talks…?
Spokesman: I think… we're talking about getting people around the table. That's what we want to see. I'm not going to start to negotiate from here with the different parties.
Inner City Press: Sure. But how about… okay. One's kind of a strange one. I heard something like the children's parliament has been invited and would be flown in at UN's expense. Is that the case? Is it true that either the Yemeni Government or the Saudi side provided a list of accepting candidates under the categories of youth, civil society and women?
Spokesman: I think… I think all the different sides are engaged in… what could we say… a tussle. I think what we need to see is we need to see all of them… all the parties around the table. I don't have any specific information on the children's parliament.
Question: One more?
Spokesman: I'll come back to you.
Some of the UN's bungling is entirely public. Two days after Inner City Press and others reported that the May 28 talks were postponed or canceled, only on the afternoon of May 26 did Ban confirm the postponement. Here is his announcement:
"The Secretary-General has asked his Special Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, to postpone the consultations in Geneva planned for 28 May following a request from the Government of Yemen and other key stakeholders for more time to prepare. The Secretary-General is actively working to convene the talks at the earliest possible time.
The Secretary-General is disappointed that it has not been possible to commence such an important initiative at the soonest possible date and reiterates his call for all parties to engage in United Nations-facilitated consultations in good faith and without pre-conditions. He also reiterates that the only durable resolution to the crisis in Yemen is an inclusive, negotiated political settlement.
The Secretary-General has instructed his Special Envoy to redouble his efforts to consult with the Yemeni Government, Yemen’s political groupings and countries in the region with the aim of producing a comprehensive ceasefire and the resumption of peaceful dialogue and an orderly political transition.
Noting that the conflict has escalated once again following a much-needed five-day humanitarian pause, the Secretary-General urges all parties to be mindful of the suffering of Yemeni civilians, and to support the efforts of the Special Envoy. He is acutely aware that a postponement or delay in a return to the political process will exacerbate a steadily deepening humanitarian crisis.
The Geneva initiative, aimed at bringing together a broad range of Yemeni governmental and other actors, follows extensive consultations by the Special Envoy as well as strong expressions of support by various Security Council resolutions, including 2216 (2015), for a peaceful and Yemeni-led political transition process based on the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism and the outcomes of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference. "
On May 24 Inner City Press was informed that the UN already informed the Houthis and other participants that May 28 was off.
But what were and are the Saudis' demands? Inner City Press is exclusively informed by well placed sources that the Saudis demand that the basis -- and constraints -- of the Geneva meeting be the "Riyadh Declaration," reached without any involvement by the Houthis.
The UN already let the Saudis name individuals who would attend under the heading "women, youth and civil society." The GCC and the G14 were to attend -- the deck was already stacked for the Saudis. But they wanted the Riyadh Declaration as the basis (just as they excluded the September 2014 Peace and Partnership Agreement).
Or, as one well place source put it, the Saudis don't WANT a UN process, "they want to keep bombing, either to eliminate the Houthis" - a la Sri Lanka and the LTTE -- or to "make them capitulate and agree to a final meeting in Riyadh."
The Houthis agreeing to that, ever, seems unlikely. It is the UN of Ban Ki-moon that has capitulated. Watch this site.
First the UN allowed US Secretary of State John Kerry to tell it not to dare hold Yemen talks in Geneva on May 11 as the UN had planned, as Inner City Press exclusively reported on May 6.
Now the May 28 talks in Geneva, conveniently after the Houthi-less talks in Riyadh, will be stacked in ways both pro-Saudi and laughable, sources tell Inner City Press.
New Saudi-picked "UN" envoy Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed, who appeared on the podium in Riyadh, has dropped from the list of documents on which the May 28 talks are based the Peace and Partnership Agreement that all Yemeni political parties agreed to on September 21, 2014.
The reason? Saudi Arabia doesn't like what was agreed to at that time: it created obligations not only for the Houthis but also for Hadi. So it is gone.
Update: and now, at least for now, so is Hadi. Despite the May 28 talks being Saudi dominated, Hadi says he won't go unless Security Council resolution 2216 is "fully implemented." And about about the Peace and Partnership Agreement that he signed but didn't implement? We'll have more on this.
Slated for attendance on May 28 are the Saudi-led Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Gulf Cooperation Council currently headed by Bahrain and GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani - but notably not Iran. The number of seats for the Houthis will be limited.
Who else is slated to go? Causing laughter in diplomatic circle and in Yemen where it is sorely needed, Cheikh Ahmed is angling to fly in the so-called Children's Parliament organized by an NGO in Yemen, as well as their parents and guardians. "Who is paying for this?" one source demanded of Inner City Press.
Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at the UN noon briefing on May 26.
This last step is blamed by the sources on Cheikh Ahmed having little political background. Inner City Press has already reported on his failure while previously in Yemen to protect UN staff -- failure to pick up the armored vehicles from the airport or have the recommended security detail with staff going to the airport, leading to the long kidnapping of a UNICEF staffer.
But even at UNICEF, Cheikh Ahmed was in human resources, not substantive policy. And the Press questions about his fishing business and its funders remain UNanswered. We'll have more on this.
For now, this: Inner City Press is informed that after Cheikh Ahmed's quick visit to Iran, he was summoned back to Riyadh and, highly irregular for the UN, went without his policy "team," not even a note-taker. What might have been discussed?
The UN, we note, routinely refuses to answer Press questions.
Back on April 29, Inner City Press asked the UN's deputy spokesperson to confirm that the UN was considering Geneva as a venue to continue Yemen talks, after its previous envoy Jamal Benomar resigned in protest of Saudi airstrikes and was replaced by a more amenable envoy, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
UNITED NATIONS, November 14 -- The night before the scheduled November 15 showdown in the Security Council on the African Union's request that the Council defer for one year the International Criminal Court's Kenya proceedings, another vote on November 18 gave rise to more retail politics.
In the first floor of Uganda House on 45th Street, Togo sponsored a reception for Koffi Kumelio A. Afande, candidate to be a permanent judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
Earlier in the week Inner City Press was told there were either five or six candidates for this single position; one Permanent Representative (not Togo's Kodjo Menan) told Inner City Press that "the Westerners are standing in the way of an African judge on the ICTY."
This, combined with descriptions of Friday's Security Council vote as one for or against Africa, added spice to Thursday evening's reception, along with the Togolese food, stews of two different colors and three kinds of rice.
In attendance were Permanent Representatives ranging from New Zealand to Cameroon, Somalia, Djibouti, Egypt and others; two representatives from the US Mission; a hard-working Gulf state election officers. "They're all qualified," was a complaint, "I'm glad the capital will made the decision."
As from the Human Rights Council race, Jordan dropped out ("all in" for the Security Council, it was observed). In the audience were candidates from Estonia and Australia - this is not to ignore them, it is a sketch of a quintessentially UN event, a campaign speech with spicy food and open bar.
As photographs were taken and hands shaken, Inner City Press received a complaint that France had "played cheap" with the peacekeeping mission in Somalia, that things now depend on pledging and will "go slow." The question arises: how then would Central African Republic get done?
But first, the campaigning, the retail politics. Kodjo Menan made the introduction, going back two years to give thanks for election to the Security Council, where Togo's term ends next month. Koffi Kumelio A. Afande pointed out that he is the consensus candidate, speaks French and English and knows all the applicable law.
He said that while Togo has given peacekeepers and police for some time, to Mali it send medical personnel as well, and now offers legal expertise.
He greeted the two other candidates in attendance but closed with the hope that every one makes the right decision on Monday. We may have more before then -- but first, Friday's Kenya ICC vote in the Security Council. Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, August 19 -- As the UN marked the tenth anniversary of the bombing of its Iraq headquarters at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, there were many uncomfortable questions either not raised or not answered.
There was talk of impartiality, but the UN is taking sides even more now than ten years ago, for example with its "Force Intervention Brigade" which UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous says will "neutralize" groups disliked by Joseph Kabila - with the support of drones.
The Vice-President of the Staff-Management Committee, Ian Richards, spoke and delivered a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's office. Inner City Press has obtained the letter. It says
Families of our deceased colleagues should not be left behind. Surviving family members need a better defined package of care. Children should receive medical and educational support as an official entitlement, not as an act of charity.
The UN needs an independent judicial coroner to get a fair and honest answer for bereaved relatives about why a spouse, parent, son or daughter dies in the field.
More must be done to protect colleagues whose mental health has suffered as a result of witnessing or being the victim of malicious attacks. Sick leave, disability and selection policies need to be reviewed so that we aren't unfairly terminated or find that our contracts aren't renewed on health grounds.
Training is also required to ensure we can understand these challenges and do our best to reintegrate affected colleagues.
There should an annual, internationally-recognized memorial day for fallen staff. A permanent memorial should be established and a list kept of all colleagues who have died or been affected by malicious acts against them whilst working for the United Nations.
Strict criteria must be developed for situations where we may be deployed to the 103 member states that have not ratified the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel or the 165 countries that have not signed the 2005 Optional Protocol to the Convention.
There are still many ways we are vulnerable and face ongoing risks in our working lives a decade on from the Baghdad bombing. In 2012 alone, for instance, 200 United Nations colleagues were detained and arrested by national authorities and some 30 were abducted, in many cases leading to hostage situations.
We believe that union rights save UN lives. In order to help ensure the safety of colleagues who serve in the field, a credible negotiating framework between representatives of staff and management is essential. Without the ability to challenge decisions that may prove to be harmful to them or even to speak up for themselves, our colleagues are helpless. Far-reaching institutional change has become a necessity.
We call on you to reopen the channels of communications with your staff unions which you closed down in June, so that we might work together to ensure a safer future for UN staff. Whilst it is commendable that you will honour the lives of our fallen colleagues today, by refusing to meet with your staff to negotiate their rights and working conditions, the lives of those who work selflessly on the front line every day are needlessly jeopardized further.
Inner City Press exclusively wrote about this "break down" in June 2013, here. Answers are few and far between - and now Ban Ki-moon's "press encounter" at 12:30 is downgraded to a "press stakeout." But the questions, including by the Free UN Coalition for Access, @FUNCA_info, will continue. Watch this site.
Footnote: the above-quoted letter was also signd by:
Dorani Salah Omar, Chairperson of the Staff Council, UNHCR Djibouti Ahmed Abdullahi Farah, UNHCR staff representative in Somalia Assadullah Amin, SC-Field Office in Gardez, Afghanistan Abdul Basir Sediqyar, SC-Filed Unit Maimana, Afghanistan Hamed Mardan, Protection Associate and staff representative, Sub Office Herat, Afghanistan Mohammad Azim Naqibullah, SC-UNHCR FO Bamyan, Afghanistan All staff representatives of the Staff Council of UNHCR Malaysia Ahmad Suhail Akbari, UNHCR SO, Mazar-i-Sharif Jackline Lollis, Staff Association Chairperson, UNHCR South Sudan Samuel Francis Paul, former field staff member, UNHCR South Sudan Abid Wadid Mufti, staff representative at UNHCR Peshawar Tanveer ul Haq, staff representative at UNHCR Peshawar Wajiha Afzal, staff representative at UNHCR Peshawar
As to France, the recent report says that "according to civil aviation records, the Government of France operated three military cargo flights to Somalia in October 2012, and one in February 2013, plus two military helicopter flights in August and December 2012 from Djibouti to Hargeisa. On 24 October 2012, the Monitoring Group witnessed at Mogadishu airport a large quantity of cargo, including large wooden boxes, being offloaded by unidentified French personnel, with the assistance of AMISOM military personnel, from a French military Transall registered 61-ZA.
"The Monitoring Group is unaware of any notification by France to the Committee concerning military flights to Somalia, except the one approved by the Committee in December 2012. On 17 April 2013, the Monitoring Group sent a letter to the Government of France requesting clarification and additional information. In a letter dated 30 April 2013, the French Government confirmed to the Committee that such flights were conducted in order to transport support and assistance to Somali security sector institutions."
As to the United States, and as may relate to Bax and UNMAS, the report states that "between 14 September 2010 and 30 March 2013, the Monitoring Group counted 236 flights to Somalia operated by Prescott Support Co. and RAM Air Services, mostly originating from Djibouti and bound for Bosaso and Galkayo, and sometimes Mogadishu.. These two U.S.-based private air companies operate flights to Somalia on behalf of the U.S. Government in support of Somali security sector institutions.
"On one occasion, the Monitoring Group received uncorroborated information about the boarding at Galkayo airport of a handcuffed and blindfolded passenger, accompanied by several other individuals. However, the United States Government has not replied to date to the Monitoring Group’s request for additional information, including the passenger list, flight plan and cargo manifest, concerning that flight."
And yet the UN (and US) demand compliance by others.
As to the UN, the report states flatly that since January 2012, since January 2012, the UN "has provided Somali security forces with vehicles,and police and communication equipment, in technical violation of the arms embargo on Somalia." Now what? Watch this site.
