Inner City Press and the Free UN Coalition for Access have also asked about freedom of expression in Bangladesh - and relatedly at the UN.
The UN makes many vague and grandiose statements about its commitment to freedom of the press. But when a journalists who asked questions at its noon briefing about Bangladesh had his family's house in Dhaka visited by the authorities, and his media's website blocked, what did the UN do?
Nothing. Inner City Press and FUNCA asked, first the Office of the Spokesperson (and then beyond). To the Spokesperson:
1) [The journalist] who has been asking questions about Bangladesh at the noon briefing of late and about whom Inner City Press asked on February 27 now says that his media has now been blocked in Bangladesh, and he fears for the safety of his spouse and two children there.
2) please explain the correction today by your office, changing “saddened” to “condemn” -- was any complain received by the UN about the failure to condemn? Was the initial (or second) statement prepared by the Department of Political Affairs?
And only this answer came: "the statement resissue was due clerical error on our part. Nothing more. On the rest we"ll revert."
But there was no reversion. Twenty one hours after the request, nothing on it. Nor from elsewhere in the UN system where it and more was sent. We'll have more on this.
Inner City Press: Press freedom question, both in Bangladesh and about Bangladesh here. One, there was a pretty high-profile hacking to death of a blogger in Bangladesh named Avijit Roy, and I'm wondering whether the UN system, CPJ and others have denounced it for obvious reasons. What does the UN say about that? And also our colleague who's asked a number of questions here about Bangladesh, I tried to ask MALU yesterday whether it was true as reported in Bangladesh that the Government of Bangladesh or mission made some inquiry with the UN trying to essentially question his accreditation or make it so he couldn't ask questions here. And I wanted to know, what's the position of the UN on such inquiries?
Spokesman Dujarric: The UN's position is if somebody meets the accreditation criteria, they are welcome in this room and they are welcome to ask any questions. I may cut them off if the preamble to their question is too long, but that's just my chair's prerogative.
Inner City Press: Is it appropriate for Member States to try to essentially, like, cherry pick what journalists get to ask questions?
Spokesman Dujarric: The point is that once they're in this room, they're allowed to ask whatever they want. Okay? On the attack of the blogger, we spoke to our human rights colleagues who obviously condemned the attack and expressed the hope that the perpetrators will be quickly brought to justice through the due process of law, and they've added that it's obviously very important that the space for freedom of expression in civil society be upheld in Bangladesh.
After the briefing, Inner City Press and FUNCA were informed that the referenced journalist -- not the murdered blogger -- had his media's website blocked in Bangladesh, where there have been arrests for carrying placards, and threats against the Daily Star for publishing photographs of posters. We'll have more on this.
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask, beyond just the arrest warrant against Zia, there's a Mr. Mahmudur Manna has been arrested for trying to stir up the army and he's been arrested by something called the Rapid Action Battalion, RAB. The reason I'm asking is research discovers that Mohammad [UN transcript claims "inaudible" but it is Muhammad Matiur Rahman] of this Rapid Action Battalion named in a filing that was directed to ICC is reportedly about to take up a position within MONUSCO. I've been asking you this a number of times. You'd said that the UN has all these concerns, but given that much of the violence in Bangladesh is allegedly perpetrated by the military that's contributing soldiers, I'm naming this name as a sample case. What does DPKO [Department of Peacekeeping Operations] do to review the people coming in? There are other conflicts…
Spokesman Dujarric: I understand. I've heard your question. I tried to answer to the best of my ability yesterday when you last asked it. You know, I have no specific information on the case that you mention or the people you mention. There are procedures in place in order to ensure that DPKO uniformed personnel meet the requirements that we have and also in terms of human rights. If I have any information on those specific cases, I will share them with you.
But still, nothing, from UN Peacekeeping run by Herve Ladsous.
On February 24 Inner City Press on behalf of the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about the Bangladesh government's threats against the media there, specifically the Daily Star.
Now the these strands have come together, the UN's and UN Peacekeeping's dubious commitment to human rights and a lack of press freedom in Bangladesh -- and in the UN.
The Kaler Kantho newspaper in Bangladesh, saying that questions about human rights and Bangladesh's military should not be asked at the UN's noon briefing, has favorably cited the UN Correspondents Association in its support, reporting (as auto-translated) that ICP
"United Nations Correspondents Association iuenasie) faced investigation. He was threatened with expulsion from the iuenasie was reported that the UK's Guardian newspaper. His reputation for investigative journalism in the United Nations." Click here to view, then translate.
"has been responsible for breaking several stories about the UN, has.. also written stories accusing the UNCA president, Giampaolo Pioli, of a conflict of interest involving Sri Lanka (see here). Lee is regarded as the UN department of public information's least-favourite journalist because he is persistent, is willing to ask uncomfortable questions, and has cultivated an impressive network of sources within the UN. UNCA is a self-governing body and membership is not a prerequisite for obtaining UN press credentials, which are granted by the UN media accreditation and liaison unit (MALU). So Lee's expulsion would not automatically deprive him of UN access. However, it is possible that it might weigh in the balance when he next applies for credentials."
In fact, Inner City Press was never expelled by UNCA -- they didn't have the votes -- but quit the organization in disgust once its term on the board expired, and co-founded the Free UN Coalition for Access.
Now, Kaler Kanthro continues after citing UNCA, the UN's Censorship Alliance,, the Bangladesh government is trying to ask the UN - and US State Department - credentials of those who ask questions about human rights abuse and censorship in the country. At the UN, they've found the UN Censorship Alliance. But this time, there's FUNCA.
Inner City Press: On Bangladesh, it seems like the violence is escalating but my question to you is about a statement by current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina where she says a publication, The Daily Star, legal action should be taken for publishing a photograph of a poster campaign of protesters in the street. I’m wondering first if you have any response to that and also if you have anything new. I know there was a request to go. Where do things stand as people seem to be getting disappeared et cetera?
Spokesman Dujarric: I don’t have an update for you on that except obviously to say that we support freedom of expression and the right for newspapers to exist, which is a big part of democracy in any country.
But what about using "peacekeepers" who have been involved in the violence? We noted that we'd have more on Herve Ladsous' failure to vet Bangladesh's "peacekeepers," now as his DPKO won't answer this basic question. Ladsous refuses Press questions: video here and here,Vine here. (UNCA did nothing about this, quite the contrary.)
Inner City Press has raised these questions: is Colonel Imran Ibne A. Rouf serving UN Peacekeeping? A filing addressed to the International Criminal Court says he "abducted seven innocent civilians from a place near Dhaka Central Jail;" they were all killed.
What about Colonel Amin, Director of National Security Intelligence, now reportedly serving in Ladsous' MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic, along with Lt Col Mazid, who was commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion 10?
In Ladsous and Martin Kobler's MONUSCO mission in the DR Congo, where a Cote d'Ivoire diplomat was allowed to sell UN Police positions (clear here for that Inner City Press exclusive), please explain the presence of Lt Col Shiraj , Lt Col Mofazzal and Lt Col Khandakar Mahmud, all three of whom were in the Bangladesh Border Guards?
In Ladsous' mission in Mali, accused like the mission in Haiti of shooting at unarmed demonstrators, please explain the presence of Lt Col Munir, Lt Col Faruq, Lt Col Shamsul Kabir and Lt Col Mustafiz, all of whom were in the Bangladesh Border Guards, and another Maj Mustafiz, from the Directorate-General of Forces Intelligence?
As to Bangladesh this comes after it emerged that Ban Ki-moon sent January 30 letter(s) to the country, even though the government there says they only got the letter much later. What explains the delay?
When on February 5 Inner City Press asked the UN, which uses Bangladesh soldiers as peacekeepers, this ensued:.
So what if anything is the UN doing? Watch this site.
UNITED NATIONS, December 19, more here -- On Kenya's new counter-terrorism law, the US State Department's Spokesperson on December 19 said:
"The U.S. Government is firmly committed to supporting Kenya's efforts to defeat al-Shabaab and to ensure security of all of its citizens. We are disappointed, however, by the very limited time allowed for debate and consultation on the 2014 Security Laws (Amendment) Bill prior to its passage and enactment into law. We are also concerned about several provisions in the legislation, including those that appear to limit freedom of assembly and media, and access to asylum for refugees. As a key partner in the global effort to counter terrorism, we expect the Kenyan Government to ensure that its counter-terrorism efforts live up to Kenya’s international commitments and its own constitution. Protecting Kenya’s constitution and upholding human rights, democracy, and international obligations are among the most effective ways to bolster security.
"The U.S. Government is also seeking further information about the December 16 announcement by the Kenyan NGO Board to deregister hundreds of NGOs for failing to file their audited reports and another 15 for suspected links to terrorism. The 15 NGOs have not been identified. A strong civil society is vital to democracy, security, and prosperity. We urge the Government of Kenya to ensure the regulation of NGOs is transparent, fair, and grounded in clear criteria that do not limit free expression, association, or assembly."
Back on December 9, with the International Criminal Court's Assembly of State Parties meeting in the UN, four non-governmental organizations held a press conference and took questions.
Inner City Press asked then about one of the Court's biggest failures: the continued mass rape and impunity in Sudan long after President Omar al Bashir was indicted for genocide by the ICC.
Since UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous met with ICC indictee Bashir without ever explaining why, and has since played a role in the covering up of attacks in Darfur including some 200 rapes in Tabit, Inner City Press asked the four NGOs what they thought about this, and the rapes.
But it was only the rapes which drew an answer any of the panelists, and then only from one panelist, who said WIGJ her NGO is conducting its own inquiry into the rapes in Tabit (Inner City Press asked to be kept informed.)
Amnesty and FIDH did not answer the Darfur or Ladsous questions. In fairness perhaps this is because these questions where lumped in with three other medias' questions -- because the NGOs, or the moderator from the Coalition for the ICC, set aside the first question for the old UN Correspondents Association, whose outgoing head proceeded to ask four questions, taking up half the question time (it is unclear if any story would come from those four questions).
And this is the UN: as of 10 pm, the 1:30 pm press conference video was not on the UN's website.
On Sudan: ten days after after the UN issued a statement on its internal investigation into charges it covered-up attacks in Darfur, its UNAMID mission there under Herve Ladsous on November 9 issued a statement that "village community leaders reiterated to UNAMID that they coexist peacefully with local military authorities in the area" and that no evidence of rape was found.
On December 4, Inner City Press asked Ladsous, Why did UNAMID not say on November 9 that it was surrounded by soldiers? Video here,and embedded below.
As is his habit, Ladsous did not answer on December 4, even with his UN Peacekeeping under fire for cover ups. It is a pattern with Ladsous. He refused Press questions for months about rapes in Eastern Congo in Minova by DRC Army units his UN Peacekeeping supports: video compilation here;Vine here.
On the morning of December 4 Ladsous claimed to the Security Council that UNAMID's findings were "inconclusive" due to army presence. But his UNAMID's press release whitewashed the situation in Tabit and did not mention the army presence. The covering-up continues, with no credibility, as Ladsous did on the Minova raped by DR Congo Army units his UN Peacekeeping supports.
On November 25, a wide range of groups in Darfur petitioned the UN Security Council about UNAMID's malfeasance. Inner City Press that morning obtained the letter (h/t) and put it online in full here, and below.
While UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, when Inner City Press asked at noon, said he had not seen the letter, by 6 pm when Inner City Press asked November's Security Council president about the letter, he confirmed receipt.
Quinlan said he had circulated the letter to the other 14 Council members -- as of 3 pm, one of them had not yet received it -- and that he expects the issues to be considered when the Security Council takes up UNAMID "next week, under Chad's presidency."
(On November 26, the UK Mission to the UN"s Arran Skinner told Inner City Press, "I can confirm that we received the letter indirectly. In terms of contents, on alleged rape cases, the Security Council issued a press statement calling for a full investigation. The UK initiated the call for a press statement and so agree that this issue needs to be looked at." Another Security Council mission has yet to confirm receipt or comment, but it's expected.)
On Ban Ki-moon's report into UNAMID under-reporting attacks on civilians and even peacekeepers, Inner City Press asked and Quinlan repeated it should be taken up soon, the question is finding the right, credible (or disinterested) briefer. Watch this site for that. Here is the letter:
11/25/2014
Dear Gary Quinlan, Australia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations,President of the United Nations Security Council, November 2014
United Nations
New York, NY
c. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations United Nations
Dear Ambassador Quinlan,
As Darfuris in the diaspora, we have watched with great sorrow and growing anger the plight of our people in this ravaged region of Sudan. Darfur at one time commanded considerable attention in the United Nations, but no longer.
The international community in general has drifted into an acceptance that somehow the UN/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is an adequate means of protecting millions of vulnerable civilians. It is clearly not, and the recent mass sexual assault on women and girls in Tabit, North Darfur, makes this all too clear.
But the disgraceful "investigation" by UNAMID of events in Tabit should be the occasion for our remembering that this is, in fact, a UN-authorized mission; it has UN Chapter 7 authority; it is deployed with a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiated by the UN and African Union (February 2008), even as the agreement is now simply a travesty, violated at will by the Khartoum regime. It is not, however, simply the failing of UNAMID and the African Union that must be reckoned with. It is the Security Council, the Secretariat, and UN Department of Peacekeeping Affairs (UN DPKO) that must accept responsibility for a failing mission; and it is UN DPKO that must do most to explain what it will do in light of this failure.
It is in this context that we demand that the following questions be addressed forthrightly and expeditiously:
[1] UNAMID, even if augmented and re-directed along the lines recently suggested by Secretary Ban Ki-moon, cannot provide adequate security for the people of Darfur. We demand that plans be made immediately for an UN force that can adequately take on the "responsibility to protect" civilians at risk, per the September 2005 UN World Summit Outcome Document (§38, §39).
[2] We demand that the Security Council and UN DPKO confront the Khartoum regime over its countless flagrant violations of the SOFA.
[3] We demand that UN DPKO undertake a full review of UNAMID's performance to date. The context here should be the fact that more than 2 million Darfuris have been newly displaced since UNAMID took up its mandate in January 2008; we would remind you of how closely violence and displacement have correlated over the past decade of conflict. Moreover, insecurity has increased steadily for more than two years—this on top of the insecurity that prevailed so widely in earlie years.
[4] We demand that UN DPKO, in consultation with the Security Council and the Secretariat, formulate plans to provide adequate protection to the civilian population of Darfur. This must include contingency plans for a very rapid acceleration of what is already unacceptable insecurity for civilians and humanitarians.
[5] We demand in particular that UN DPKO ensure that UNAMID is prepared to provide adequate protection to the people of Tabit, especially girls and women, from retaliation by Khartoum for having had the misfortune of making clear to the world just how brutal this regime is.
[6] We further demand that UN DPKO instruct UNAMID to provide all necessary protection to humanitarian efforts to reach Tabit. Many residents have been badly traumatized and injured.
[7] We also demand accountability from those who are responsible for the failures that led to the brutal crimes at Tabit, and so many others over so many years. Accountability must extend to the leadership of UNAMID and the African Union Peace and Security Council, as well as to the UN DPKO. As part of this assigning of responsibility, there must be a full and competent investigation, authorized by the Security Council of how this atrocity crime was essentially white-washed by all parties, most notably UNAMID. But we must emphasize as well that we are deeply troubled by the silence of UN DPKO.
[8] We demand that UNAMID be guided by the "rules of engagement" for UNAMID in Darfur that have been previously negotiated. UN DPKO must ensure that these "rules of engagement" are widely understood and dictate the actions taken by UNAMID personnel.
[9] We demand that UN DPKO assess the possibility that insecurity is now so great that there will be an exodus of international NGOs providing critical relief aid to Darfuris. Many INGOs have expressed their deep concern for the safety of their workers in Darfur, more than 95 percent of whom are Sudanese nationals. The safety of these workers must not be discounted because they are African and Khartoum permits no news coverage of Darfur and no human rights reporting presence.
Would relief workers similarly threatened in other parts of the world be regarded in the same light as Sudanese relief workers?
[10] We demand that UN DPKO communicate with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in order to ascertain when a continued humanitarian presence by the UN might become impossible for security reasons.
[11] We demand that UN DPKO assess the implications for future UN peacekeeping missions if
UNAMID is allowed to continue to fail so conspicuously. The events at Tabit and the performance of UNAMID investigators bring this question into high relief.
[12] Most generally, we demand that UN DPKO speak forthrightly about its understanding of the limitations and weaknesses of present peacekeeping in Darfur and the provision of civilian security.
We remain troubled by the comments of the Under-Secretary General for DPKO when in spring 2012 he declared that security "conditions on the ground" had improved sufficiently that UNAMID could begin to draw down its forces (a figure of 4,000 personnel was promulgated at the time). This ghastly error in judgment was never acknowledged, even as by July of 2012 we saw a tremendous upsurge in violence, especially in North Darfur. How can we trust statements from UN DPKO when egregious errors are not acknowledged?
[13] We demand that the United Nations collectively develop an effective response to the gross deficiencies of UNAMID in protecting civilians and humanitarians. UN DPKO in particular must develop benchmarks for assessing UNAMID's performance and formulate emergency contingency plans in the event of a massive and precipitous withdrawal of humanitarian personnel.
These are matters of the deepest concern to us; to date, there are far too few answers from UN about why the Darfur genocide continues more than a decade after it began. We demand clear evidence that the people of Darfur will not be further abandoned.
Sincerely,
Darfur People's Association of New York
Darfur People's Association of Maryland
Fur Cultural Revival
Darfur People's Association of Houston
Darfur People's Association of Dallas
Darfur People's Association of Illinois
Darfur Human Rights - USA
Massalit Sons' Association - USA
Darfur Rehabilitation Project
Sudanese Revolutionary Front
Sudanese Opposition Forces- USA
Broad National Front
Justice & Equality Movement - Sudan
Sudan Liberation Movement - MM
Sudan Liberation Movement - Wahid
SPLM-N
Umma Party
Girifna
Sudanese Marginalized Forum - USA
Sudanese National Democratic Forum - California
National Sudanese Alliance - Philadelphia
Peace & Democracy Center - New Jersey
Democratic Alliance, USA
Federal Democratic Alliance
Sudanese Front for Change
Kush Liberation Movement
Democratic Unionist Party
Activists without Borders
Sudanese Congress Party
Darfur People's Association of Boston
Darfur People's Association of Indiana
Darfur People's Association of Utah
Darfur People's Association of Nebraska
Darfur People's Association of Seattle
Darfur Son's Union of Greater Washington DC
Darfur People's Association of Iowa
Darfur People's Association of Arizona
Darfur Women Action Group
Darfur Association of the United States
Darfur Self-reliance Organization - San Francisco, California
Inner City Press on November 21 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric to explain UNAMID's November 9 press release in the context of the internal memorandum, put online here, that UNAMID knew Sudanese security was filming the interviews, had even put together a "committee" of Thabit residents to speak to UNAMID. Video here.
Inner City Press on November 19 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric what the UN would do in the wake of its (cover up) November 9 press release, and about bombing in North Darfur three days earlier.
On November 20, UN Associate Spokesperson Vannina Maestracci was in charge of the UN noon briefing, and read out a statement that UNAMID is trying to verify the reports of bombing on November 16. One has to wonder, are they mishandling this like the rape reports in Thabit?
So Inner City Press asked, what is actually being done to get into Thabit, after the cover-up press release? Inner City Press asked about UNAMID's acting head Abiodun Bashua's reference to "rumors" of rape in Thabit - is that the UN's position? And why hasn't UNAMID accessed the site(s) of the November 16 bombings, four full days later?
On November 21, Dujarric returned with an answer, that UNAMID had in this case done out and had found "craters." But apparently UNAMID drew no conclusions from that.
Inner City Press at the November 17 UN noon briefing asked Ban's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about Sudanese forces having filmed UNAMID's interviews and to confirm the new blockage.
Haq did not comment on UNAMID letting its interviews about rape be filmed by Sudanese authorities; he confirmed the blockage and said to expect a comment from Ban.
And two hours later it came:
"The Secretary-General is deeply troubled about persistent allegations of mass rape in Thabit, North Darfur. The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) visited Thabit on 9 November. However, the heavy presence of military and police in Thabit made a conclusive investigation difficult. UNAMID has since then attempted to gain further access to shed light on what happened.
"The Secretary-General is concerned that after intense consultations with the Government in Khartoum and with local authorities in Darfur, UNAMID was yesterday denied access to Thabit. Only a full investigation by UNAMID will help shed light over these serious allegations. The Secretary-General therefore urges the Government of Sudan to grant UNAMID unfettered access, without further delay, to Thabit and its population so that these reports can be verified."
Ban does not mention that his and Herve Ladsous' mission had this to say, on November 9: "Village community leaders reiterated to UNAMID that they coexist peacefully with local military authorities in the area. None of those interviewed confirmed that any incident of rape took place in Thabit on the day of that media report. The team neither found any evidence nor received any information regarding the media allegations during the period in question.”
Who is going to take action, on whom, about that? Inner City Press and the new Free UN Coalition for Access are asking.
On November 13, Inner City Press again asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq what had been done in the last 48 hours.Video here.
Haq was unable to describe any investigation done without Sudanese military presence; instead, he said that the Force Commander of UNAMID, already charged with cover-ups, spoke with Herve Ladsous, who refused to answer Press questions about 130 rapes by the DR Army in Minova. Video here.
Inner City Press: I wanted to ask again about the allegations of rape in North Darfur. Radio Dabanga there has not only questioned, you know, the UNAMID [African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur] press statement but has interviewed both victims and has quoted a local community leader in Tabit, basically threatening people that if they spoke on the rapes to UNAMID, they would face the consequences. So I wanted to know, now at this remove… yesterday the President of the Council spoke about it, at this remove, what is UNAMID going to do to get to the bottom of it? And also, the reporting to Ms. Aicha Elbasry’s allegations, who would brief the Security Council on that? He said yesterday, the President of the Council, that they are looking to take it up and are looking for the right briefers. Does the Secretariat have in mind either the author of the report or who would be the appropriate briefer? Thanks.
Deputy Spokesman: As the Council President informed you, they'll be looking at briefers, so we'll work that out with them. Regarding your initial question, yes, we've been in touch with the UN-African Union Mission, UNAMID, who have informed us that security personnel were in fact present during UNAMID's mission to Tabit. The African Union-UN Mission in Darfur will continue to look into the rape allegations in the area of Tabit, North Darfur. As reported to the Security Council yesterday, the findings of the UNAMID team, which was granted access to Tabit on 9 November, are inconclusive and need further investigation. UNAMID remains committed to this and it will revert with any additional findings that might shed light on these allegations.
Inner City Press: [Inaudible] I just wanted to ask you again if there's been any reflection again on that line where it says residents… and I'm going to paraphrase it, residents said that they get along fine with the military. Just seemed the line was such a clunker, basically, it was totally inconsistent with other reports…
Deputy Spokesman: I'm not going to second-guess how my colleagues write press releases. Different press releases are written by different people at different times.
Inner City Press: Who wrote this one?
Deputy Spokesman: Someone from the Mission. The point is: you're writing, trying to get all the information out as best you can in the circumstances you have. What I have been able to say right now is that we are aware that security personnel was present during UNAMID's mission there.
We'll have more on this. Later on November 11 Inner City Press asked International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda if she had seen the whole UN report on allegations of cover-ups by UNAMID, or only a summary. She said only the summary, and only the day before. We'll have more on this too.
On November 10, Inner City Press asked UN Security Council president for November Gary Quinlan of Australia about the UNAMID press release, and if and when the Security Council will act on the "cover-up" report, including requesting the full report from the Secretariat, which to date has provided only a summary. Video here. From the Australian transcript:
Inner City Press: Sure, thanks a lot. I wanted to ask on Darfur. Thanks for what you said about what Ms Bangura said. There’s a press release put out by UNAMID that has this line in it: “Village community leaders reiterated to UNAMID that they co-exist peacefully with local military authorities in the area.” The press release doesn’t mention at all the military presence. So I wanted to ask you, one, if you could comment, what do you make of this press release by UNAMID? And two, does the report by the Secretary-General on allegations of covers up by UNAMID of attacks on civilians and on peacekeepers, where does it stand? He said that the, the Spokesperson said that an executive summary of the report went to the Council. Is the Council going to have a meeting on it? Are you going to have a full report? And are you satisfied with UNAMID’s press release on these allegations of rape?
AMBASSADOR QUINLAN: Matthew, on the second part of the question. Members of the Council are very concerned on this whole question of UNAMID and UNAMID reporting, but also what UNAMID is doing. And one of the big issues there is the denial of access and restrictions that are imposed largely by the Government of Sudan, with whom UNAMID has a formal arrangement on access. But also, of course, by armed opposition groups and that is inherently more difficult sometimes to get the access that’s needed.
That report has not yet been discussed by the Council. I expect that it will be over the next couple of weeks. A number of members of the Council are extremely interested in it. We want to be sure that we’ve lined up the briefers from the Secretariat to have a proper discussion of that report.
Secondly, in relation to the UNAMID press release, I think the key is that they’ve indicated that they had access but it was the first time since November 4, when they’d been seeking access. And they had proactively been seeking access to be able to undertake investigations. That’s a long period to have access denied, by the way, in a circumstance like rape. You really do need, as Ms Bangura reminded us, to have access straight away, for obvious reasons. So that’s one point I’d make. The second point is UNAMID has made it extremely clear in its press release that it will conduct further follow-up actions, including possible further investigations and patrols and that they will do that in cooperation with the Government of Sudan and other parties. We have confidence that that will happen. SRSG Bangura is making this a top priority for her and so is the Secretariat itself and we were reassured about that this morning by ASG Mulet. So I think that’s basically it.
We'll continue to follow this -- but how can a peacekeeping mission already accused of covering up for the Sudanese government say, today, that "village community leaders reiterated to UNAMID that they coexist peacefully with local military authorities in the area"? To some, this is shocking - and indicative of problems in today's UN Peacekeeping.
Inner City Press on November 7 asked UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric about the challenges to the UN's statement it couldn't and didn't access the site of mass rapes in Tabit in Darfur. Video here; transcript:
Inner City Press: there are witnesses in Darfur who actually say that the UNAMID investigators, rather than being stopped outside Tabit went inside and interviewed four people and after that they were spoken to by Sudanese military intelligence. And so these are credible people that have been reporting on Darfur for some time and see the reports being issued by UNAMID although as a reaction to the quote “cover up report” as not being accurate. And I wanted to know, can you check with them to be sure that the UNAMID investigators didn't in fact enter Tabit Tuesday at 5 am and whether they were spoken to by Sudanese intelligence and decided to say that they hadn't been able to enter the town?
Spokesman Dujarric: I'm not going to judge the credibility or lack of credibility of people who have been reporting on Darfur. I mean, they report. What I can tell you is the Mission clearly stands by its reporting. They've sent us a bit more detail, said the verification patrol comprising of military police and civilian personnel on Tuesday, 4 November, that it was sent on Tuesday, 4 November, from Shangil Tobaya to Tabit to 14:50 hours, I assume local time. The patrol was denied access at the outskirts of the town at a Sudanese military checkpoint. Attempts to negotiate access to Tabit were unfruitful and the team returned to the base in Shangil Tobaya. We've repeated… the Mission's leadership has repeated its call to the Government to grant the UN, to grant UNAMID unfettered access to the whole of Darfur and obviously especially in areas where we're trying to investigate horrendous reports of mass rape. So that's a longer, a long way of saying that the Mission stands by its reporting.
But if UNAMID and UN Peacekeeping was just outed for under-reporting attacks, how it is now automatically credible? On November 6, Inner City Press asked Dujarric about similar cover-ups in Central African Republic, exposed by an Amnesty International report about that country.
Inner City Press: I'm sure the Secretary-General has seen the Amnesty International's report today about the peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic. They basically, I mean, they say a number of things. Maybe you have some kind of response to it. But, I wanted to especially ask you about the reporting aspect of it they describe a number of killings and attacks that have taken place in Dekoa, Bambari and elsewhere in [the Central African Republic] about, which, at least being here every day, I've heard nothing from this podium. So, I wanted to know both substantively what's the response of UN peacekeeping to not protecting civilians and in terms of communications and transparency the response to what appears to be an underreporting similar to that analogous to that in Darfur?
Spokesman Dujarric: Sure. Obviously, a big part of the Missions' mandate is the protection of civilians. The Mission, its peacekeeping forces, its formed police units, are doing that to the best of their ability. Obviously, it's a very challenging situation. It's a challenging terrain in which they work. And there is, obviously… one could always use more troops and more police. I'm not sure they're up to their mandated force as of yet. As far as reporting goes, you know we report from here whatever we receive from the Mission.
Inner City Press: Because of the Darfur thing, I wanted to ask: Their report is very detailed. The report, it says names of places, number of people killed. Maybe, first of all, does the Mission send it to [the Department of Peacekeeping Operations] in New York and they're supposed to give it to your office? At what point has this information in the Amnesty report, has it reached New York before or is it a surprise to UN?
Spokesman: I can only speak to what I receive from the Mission
Back on October 29, Inner City Press asked if the full Darfur report will be released, at least to the Security Council, and about under-reporting of attacks in the Central African Republic. Video here.
Dujarric said that even before the summary was given to the Security Council members -- so that is apparently all that has been given to them -- UN missions were told to be sure to report attacks. He said he reads out what the missions sent him.
So has the UN mission in CAR, MINUSCA, simply not send in reports about killings in Bambari and elsewhere? We'll see.
Despite a request from Inner City Press and the Free UN Coalition for Access the UN will not release the report. Back on October 29, Inner City Press asked, given that even the sanitized statement says information on attacks was withheld from the media and UN Headquarters - at its request? - who is responsible? Video here.
UNITED NATIONS, July 15 -- After Myanmar condemned five journalists to 10 years in prison each for reporting on a weapons factory, Inner City Press on behalf of the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about it on July 11.
Haq had no specific comment but said he would check.Video here.
In the four days since, Ban's UN has had nothing to say. On July 14, Inner City Press asked again, also about Thailand's proposed refoulement of 100,000 Muslim Rohinga back to Myanmar. No comment.
Now Myanmar has opened criminal cases against 50 more journalists, for protesting the sentencing of their five colleagues. Deputy Inspector Han Tun Aung from Kamayut police station said he had opened cases against 50 reporters, including Thamagga News Journal chief reporter Ma Shwe Hmon.
Does the UN's silence encourage such a crackdown?
Back on July 3, amid more attacks on Muslims in Myanmar, Inner City Press asked lead UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric:
Inner City Press: In Myanmar, there has been a curfew declared in Mandalay after violence between Buddhists and Muslims, and I wondered, one, whether Mr. [Vijay] Nambiar and his good offices have any comment on this, and two, whether the UN country team there is in any way affected by the curfew? What is its knowledge? Do they think the Government’s reaction is appropriate?
Spokesman Dujarric: I have not seen anything from Mr. Nambiar’s office. I haven’t seen those reports, so I will look into those.
While often Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office does not return with an answer, even to correct a misleading statment, or even inserts the transcript an answer different than the erroneous one given, in this case on July 4 the UN provided, and Inner City Press tweeted and publishes in full:
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply[at] un.org Date: Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 4:50 PM Subject: On Myanmar. To: Matthew Russell Lee [at] innercitypress.com Cc: Stephane Dujarric Farhan Haq
From Special Adviser Vijay Nambiar:
"Special Adviser Vijay Nambiar is deeply concerned by the reported loss of life and public disorder resulting from the latest flare-up of communal tension in Mandalay caused by the deliberate rumour-mongering and incitement of tension among communities that have lived together peacefully so far. While expressing sorrow at the deaths in the latest wave of violence, he noted the prompt and effective initial response of the authorities to prevent a deterioration of the situation and protect civilians.
The Special Adviser called on religious and community leaders to help the authorities restore calm in Mandalay and avert any spread of tension to other parts of the country. Those responsible for the violence should be brought to justice. He urged the inhabitants of Mandalay as well as the people of Myanmar generally not be provoked or manipulated by vested interests but to promote harmony, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence between all communities in the country."
"On the curfew in Mandalay:
There are two UN offices in Mandalay, and UN staff members are observing the curfew, which has had a negligible impact on their work."
When Inner City Press first published these answers, there was reader feedback recalling Nambiar's role in Sri Lanka. On those two countries, Inner City Press on June 20 asked the US State Department's Ambassador Luis CdeBaca of the US Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,click here for State Department transcript:
OPERATOR: All right. We did have one final question from Matthew Russell Lee at Inner City Press. Please go ahead.
INNER CITY PRESS: Sure. Thanks a lot, and thanks for taking the question. I was looking at Myanmar – Burma – and also at Sri Lanka. And in both cases, it seems to say – the report seems to say that that government is either, in the case of Burma, directly involved in trafficking in coercion; or in the case of Sri Lanka, suspected of complicity in it. So in those two cases, I wondered as the U.S. sort of re-engages with Myanmar or Burma, how does this issue get raised and how is it going to be resolved? And the same in the case of Sri Lanka where there’s this human rights inquiry. Is this – what can be done in terms of actual government complicity in trafficking?
AMBASSADOR CDEBACA: Well, it’s interesting. Let me start with Burma. We – this is one of the first things that we re-engaged on. I was in Burma within I think about three weeks or a month after Secretary Clinton took her first historic trip there, and when I met with Aung San Suu Kyi, one of the things that was very interesting to me was that she recommended to me that I needed to talk to her jailor. And I asked her, “What do you mean?” And she said, “The guy from the secret police who was assigned to me to be my warden all of these years would bring me articles on human trafficking off of the Internet, and we would talk into the night about how we would work together to help end human trafficking and slavery for our people if things ever changed.” A lot of people forget that she spent her Nobel Prize money while she was in prison. She sent it World Vision, an NGO, to provide food and shelter for about 200 Burmese trafficking victims in Thailand. The first place that she went after she was able to travel was to the shrimp-packing sheds in Thailand where so many Burmese are affected by this crime.
So it was interesting to see not only her, but then eventually what came true is the new head of the anti-trafficking unit – the central body against trafficking in persons for the Burmese Government in the new era – is the very person who she recommended to me that we should work with. He’s written a book on trafficking; he’s gone to other parts of the region. I think there’s a real desire on the part of the Burmese Government to engage and to bring on some of these modern approaches.
And to that end, they even passed a law abolishing the 1907 Villages and Towns Act, which is what gave them the legal ability to enslave their own people. So the notion of giving that up as part of the process of opening up to the outside world. I think that, as with every country, there’s a long way to go, and we’ll continue to work with them. We have an established and formal dialogue with them that was agreed to by both presidents during President Obama’s visit a year and a half ago, and it’s something that I’ve been to Burma for that dialogue and will be, I think, going again in the fall for the second round of that. So we’re – in that situation, I think that we’ve got a formal way to work with them.
Sri Lanka on the other hand, I think that that’s a bit of a work in progress. We don’t see – first of all, we’re not digging out of the years of exclusion from the international community that we had seen with the Burmese Government, but we’ve got this notion of three years in a row the trafficking statute that they have, which is a pretty good one – it prohibits all forms of trafficking, which not every SAARC country, not every country in the region has laws that prevent forced labor as well as sex trafficking – and yet three years in a row without any convictions, no services really for male trafficking victims, sex trafficking victims punished, and the folks who come home from overseas, no real way to screen for or help them the way that other source countries like the Indonesians and the Filipinos have.
So I think that there’s a long way to go, but they have this inter-ministerial structure that they have now adopted, and I think that for us both here in Washington and at the Embassy in Colombo it provides us some interlocutors who we hope that we’ll be able to work with going forward.
QUESTION: Just one follow-up on Burma. Do you see this issue of the Rohingyas, is it – does it make them susceptible to trafficking, this kind of stateless status? And how – do you have more – do you see this – do you see it through the light of trafficking, or is it a separate issue?
AMBASSADOR CDEBACA: Well, I think that we see with any displaced and vulnerable communities that are suffering from social exclusion, and I think that the plight of the Rohingyas has pretty been – has been pretty well documented. That is the type of population in which we often see in this type of situation.
Now, I mean, obviously, we remain concerned about all of the humanitarian issues that are around the Rohingya and other vulnerable ethnic and religious communities. We actually shed some – a little bit of light on this both in the Burma narrative but also, frankly, in the Thai narrative as we’re looking at the exploitation and even alleged sale of Rohingya refugees once they get to their destinations as they’re moving for all these different reasons.
INNER CITY PRESS: Thanks.
Here is the report on Thailand:
“There continued to be reports that corrupt Thai civilian and military officials profited from the smuggling of Rohingya asylum seekers from Burma and Bangladesh (who transit through Thailand in order to reach Malaysia or Indonesia) and were complicit in their sale into forced labor on fishing vessels. Thai navy and marine officials allegedly diverted to Thailand boats carrying Rohingya asylum seekers en route to Malaysia and facilitated the transfer of some migrants to smugglers and brokers who sold some Rohingya into forced labor on fishing vessels.”
Will Thailand try to sue the US State Department? Here's from the Department's report on Sri Lanka:
“The Sri Lankan government made very limited law enforcement efforts to address human trafficking. Sri Lanka prohibits all forms of both sex and labor trafficking through Article 360(c) of its penal code, although the law also covers non-trafficking offenses, such as selling children. The law prescribes punishments of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offenses, such as rape. The government investigated 20 new cases of trafficking in 2013, compared to 44 in 2012. Authorities prosecuted one case under Article 360(c), an increase from zero cases in 2012 and 2011, though it was a case of baby-selling. Authorities also prosecuted ten potential sex trafficking cases under Sri Lanka’s procurement statute, which prescribes lesser penalties than Article 360(c). As in 2012 and 2011, Sri Lankan courts did not convict any traffickers under Article 360(c) in 2013, though one court convicted three defendants under Article 360(c) for baby-selling. Authorities also convicted 12 traffickers under the procurement statute; all but one of them received a suspended sentence. The government’s reliance on procurement charges, and the absence of prosecutions under the trafficking statute, resulted from an inability or unwillingness on the part of police to thoroughly investigate potential human trafficking cases for elements of force, fraud, or coercion.”
That's by no means the only crimes, and war crime, the Sri Lankan government is unwilling to investigate. Watch this site.
Now it is not to be: Audibert is leaving his Quay d'Orsay post, including on the Iran P5+1, to become Francois Hollande's “G7 and G8 sherpa.” This will leave Araud in place, at least for now.
Since December when he was asked for France to be transparent about how much it is charging the UN under a “Letter of Assist” for air field services in northern Mali, Araud has resisted Press questions. He threatened to sue about an article using an NYPD document on which his mission had been asked to comment in advance, but chose instead to try to intimidate against publication by saying it would be a “hostile act” and access would cease.
So what will Araud remaining at the UN mean? There's more here. Watch this site.
Footnote: For the upcoming G7 (not G8) in Paris, Hollande is slated to dine with US President Barack Obama on June 5 -- and, as pointed out, to also dine with Putin. US Ben Rhodes hastened to say there will be no “trilateral” dinner, maybe Hollande dines more than once. We'll see.
UNITED NATIONS, May 8 -- Yemen is cited by the UN and its Security Council as one of their success, which between South Sudan, Haiti and the Central African Republic are increasingly rare.
So when the government in Sana'a deported journalist Adam Baron, what did the UN do or say? So far, nothing.
Instead, the Yemeni government bragged of being praised by the UN, even as it is the only country, according to Under Secretary General for Management Yukio Takasu, which has been banned from voting in the General Assembly due to a failure to pay dues.
State media SABA on May 7 reported:
SANA'A, May 07 (Saba) - Interior Minister Abdo al-Tarib met here on Wednesday with Under Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security Kevin Kennedy.
During the meeting, al-Tarib and Kennedy discussed the possible means to enhance mutual security cooperation Yemen and the UN. The Minister underlined the Interior Ministry's adherence to strengthen the cooperation relations with the UN in the security field.
For his part, Kennedy praised the great successes achieved by the security services in cracking down on terrorists, stressing the UN's willingness to strengthen cooperation with Yemen.
So what about deporting journalists? When Inner City Press on behalf of the new Free UN Coalition for Access asked the UN Secretariat for comment on the jailing by Ethiopia of journalists including the Zone 9 bloggers, no comment came. The UN has a big office in Addis. What of its success story in Yemen? Watch this site.
