Australia's SC Month Has 7 Stakeouts, Darfur to December With Afghanistan, Syria Aid

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 26 -- When Australian Ambassador Gary Quinlan began his second and last Presidency of the UN Security Council, he said he it was his plan to hold question and answer media stakeouts after Council closed-door consultation.

  November began with a flurry of such stakeouts: November 4, 12 minutes; two on November 5, of nine and 11 minutes; November 10, a full twenty minutes; andNovember 12, four minutes.

Then things fell off a bit, with nothing between a three minute “quickie” on November 18 and an appreciated 19 session, ranging from Syria to Darfur, on November 25, the evening of Australia's End of Presidency reception.

Quinlan's total of seven stakeouts, according to the UN Television website, equals that of Argentina, tops South Korea's three, but is dwarfed for example by fellow Commonwealth member United Kingdom's month of 17 stakeouts.

It has been pointed out to the Free UN Coalition for Access that the number of stakeouts it not entirely up to the Presidency, but rather depends on the news of the month. 

 While true, each Press Statement offers the chance to read the statement out on camera -- in which medium it is presumably more effective, unlike a Press Statement on Darfur rapes which the UN Spokesperson's office never emailed out -- to take questions.

In terms of substance, several issues seemed to slip past November into December -- the program of work of which, as Inner City Press reported with redactions to protect privacy, the Australian mission mistakenly emailed to other Council members with an ill-conceived comment about the Chadians, president for December, (not) understanding Christmas. 

  We all make mistakes, and the Australian mission and Quinlan himself quickly owned up to it, setting them apart from some other Council powers.

  Two Darfur issues, for example, bounced around but are ultimately slipping over into Chad's month: Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report into allegation of cover-up in the UNAMID mission, and UNAMID's related November 9 whitewash of rapes, and community-military relations, in Tabit. 

  Quinlan to his credit circulated to all other Council members a petition from Darfur groups on this topic (click here for that), and twice said that on the cover-up report, the question is finding the right briefer(s). We'll see.

  Quinlan presided, not without humor, over the head-banging exercise of repeated votes with the same results on candidates for judgeship at the International Court of Justice; he covered Ebola in public, and Burkina Faso behind closed doors.

  Australia is interested, along with Luxembourg which like Australia leaves the Council on December 31, and Jordan which does not, in getting a new resolution on humanitarian access in Syria. Australia as pen-holder on Afghanistan also wants a resolution on new security arrangements, which we hear might be more problematic than anticipated. But we'll leave such clashes for another day, or article.

  At Australia's End of Presidency reception on November 25, a classical guitarist played, UN officials, journalists and diplomats mingled, including a recently re-appeared correspondent and the diplomat he rented out of his apartments to. This is mentioned, like the Free UN Coalition for Access push for stakeouts, including byreclusive Under Secretaries General, as a matter of press access and against censorship. That too is a fight for another day, or hour. Watch this site.

   

In UN's One-Candidate Elections, International Court of Justice's Last Day Is Like UN Censorship Alliance's First: No Competition, No Choice

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 18 -- When the UN Security Council and General Assembly voted to select a fifth and final judge for the International Court of Justice on November 17, there was only one candidate on the ballot.

  After two days of contested ballots between candidates from Jamaica and Argentina, with the Jamaican Patrick Lipton Robinson pulling ahead in the General Assembly, on November 12 Argentina withdrew its candidate. Hence the resulting formality of an election with only one candidate.  

  But at least there was competition to begin with: in the voting on November 6, elected were Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, with 15 votes in the Security Council, Joan E. Donoghue of the US and Mohamed Bennouna of Morocco, both with 14, and James Richard Crawford of Australia with 12.

  There was also a debate including about different systems of jurisprudence. In the process for picking the UN Secretary General, there's less philosophical debate. But even for Secretary General, including when Ban Ki-moon was selected, there were other candidates.

  The Permanent Five members used a different color, but their vetoes were not even attributable to them. In this way, the least controversial -- or most servile -- candidate emerged.

  Two weeks ago a group of civil society organizations wrote a letter to the UN member states in the General Assembly, urging that the process to replace Ban in 2016 be more transparent, be at least to some degree based on merit - which of course involves competition.

  The under-performance of Team Ban, including for example UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, has been enabled and concealed by what has become the UN's Censorship Alliance, formally the United Nations Correspondents Association.

  On November 14 this organization in decline formally announced a slate of six officers -- all without any competition at all. It is a pure rubber stamp, "yes," with the only question being turn-out. The top post is set to be handed (back) to Giampaolo Pioli, who engaged in outright censorship while last using the position. 

  Pioli, who had rented one of his Manhattan apartments to Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka's ambassador, unilaterally granted Kohona's request to use UNCA to screen inside the UN a government film denying war crimes.

  Then Pioli demanded that reporting of these facts must be removed from the Internet (compilation of audio here) or he would use UNCA to try to get Inner City Press thrown out of the UN.  

 Voice of America, then on the UNCA Executive Board, wrote a letter to the UN asking that Inner City Press' accreditation be reviewed; a Freedom of Information Act request showed that VOA said it had the support of Agence France Presse and Reuters (which they tried to censor its anti-Press complaint to the UN by claiming it is copyrighted, here.)

  Now in 2014 Pioli wants to return. Reuters would have on the board its current correspondent as well as its retired UN bureau chief. Agence France Presse, which had been off the UNCA Executive Committee after having used it to complain about Press reporting on Herve Ladsous, wants to return. 

 Only News Agency of Nigeria, which ran in 2013, is not running this time: its UN office space was taken away in 2014, ostensibly due to scarcity when UNCA is given a big room that sits empty and locked most of the time. This is the UN's Censorship Alliance. We'll have more on this.

 As to the Secretary General's race, the reform letter's signatories include Avaaz, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, Equality Now, FEMNET, Forum-Asia, Global Policy Forum, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, Social Watch, Third World Network, Women’s Environment and Development Organization, the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy and the World Federation of United Nations Associations.

The new Free UN Coalition for Access, formed in response to the decline in media access and transparency generally under Ban Ki-moon, heartily agrees with the need to reform and improve the Secretary General selection process. 

 Candidates so far including Helen Clark of UNDP, who virtually never takes press questions while in New York, the headquarters of UNDP, amid untransparent layoffs, and Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO, an agency which on November 3 led an event about journalists at which not a single question from a journalist was taken. There's also among others, in this SG race we will closely cover, a Latina trio, Kristalina Georgieva, Miroslav Lajcak, Kevin Rudd, Dalia Grybauskaite, Vuk Jeremic, Danilo Turk, Jan Kubis - that is, unlike the UN's Censorship Alliance, at least there is some competition.

Tellingly, after September's General Assembly debate week, UNCA's“complaints” to Ban's Secretariat are to ask for fewer events, for a private wi-fi network for in-house UN journalist and not those who cover to cover the week, and a booklet co-signed with Ban.

UN Censorship Alliance lunch, Feb 11, 2014 including Pam Falk and continuing Kahraman Haliscelik, Sylviane Zehil, Erol Avdovic, Bouchra Benyoussef, Seana Magee, Nabil Abi Saab, Evelyn Leopold, Talal Al-Haj, Melissa Kent, Michelle Nichols, Sangwon Yoon, Valeria Robecco, Sherwin Bryce-Pease, Zhenqiu Gu UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Meanwhile, UNCA makes no mention of restrictions of access that week such as the French mission ordering all non-French journalists out of the UN's Press Briefing Room, and UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous physically blocking the Press' camera, Vine here.

  The new Free UN Coalition for Access has raised these issues, publicly, in fliers and in the UN's Press Briefing Room. Tellingly, the UN Secretariat appears ready to limit its "interlocutors" on media access to the very insiders at UNCA who have overseen and promoted the decline in access. It's the UN Censorship Alliance.

  An analogy that some have now made: it's one thing that Kurt Waldheim was UN Secretary General once. But what would it say about the UN if he were to return, after a haitus, for more time atop the organization?

  Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, is appearing in polls as running for president of his native South Korea in 2017. Inner City Press asked Ban's deputy spokesperson about it, who said Ban is “currently” focused on his current job. This has been repeated in South Korea, here. The UN is being used; the UN is in further decline; there are moves afoot to stem the tide of decay. Watch this site.

   

For ICJ, Argentina Pulls Back Its Candidate After Jamaica's Lead Grew in UNGA

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 12 -- Five days after Jamaica's candidate for the International Court of Justice pulled ahead of Argentina's in the UN General Assembly, on November 12 Inner City Press was informed from Buenos Aires that Argentina, with class, had pulled out of the race. It will be confirmed on November 17.

  In the archaic system by which International Court of Justice judges are elected, the UN Security Council and General Assembly voted again and again on November 7. Each body had to select a firth and final judge -- the same judge.

  But while the Security Council stuck on nine for Argentina's Susana Ruiz Cerutti and six for Jamaica's Patrick Lipton Robinson, in the General Assembly Jamaica's Robinson rose in support. Just after noon he received 123 votes, versus only 69 for Argentina's Ruiz Cerutti. 

  As that meeting broke up to reconvene at 3 pm, numerous diplomats stopped to talk to Inner City Press. What sense does it make, one of them asked, for the Security Council to ignore what the full 193 members think? Why are the two bodies given equal weight when "we are all here," meaning in the General Assembly?

 On the other hand, an Argentine argument made to Inner City Press is that this is not about countries about about legal systems: Commonwealth means common law.

  Meanwhile an African diplomat in the General Assembly asked Inner City Press, And if the Jamaican gets a two thirds majority in the GA - what then? What, indeed.

  Winning ICJ judge positions on November 6 were Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, with a perfect 15 votes in the Council's final round of the day, Joan E. Donoghue of the US and Mohamed Bennouna of Morocco, both with 14, and James Richard Crawford of Australia with 12.

 In the Security Council, Argentina's Susana Ruiz Cerutti got just enough votes with nine, and Jamaica's Patrick Lipton Robinson did not, with seven. 

 But in the General Assembly, Jamaica's Robinson with 141 led Argentina's Ruiz Cerutti with 108. The vote, Security Council president Gary Qiunlan said, would continue on November 7.

 In the hall diplomats from the General Assembly continued to talk up Jamaica, saying the African Group has a special relationship with CARICOM, and talking about the Commonwealth. (Want to guess where the UK comes down in this one?) 

Throughout the day, Inner City Press jogged back and forth between the Council and Assembly chambers, as did for example the Jamaican Deputy Permanent Representative, and when the two bodies broke for lunch, the following story emerged.

  A number of African Permanent Representatives said, it should be Jamaica. They asked, But will the Security Council go its own way?

   Inner City Press has heard Susana Ruiz Cerutti speak, and she seems like a good candidate. And Argentina ran a more transparent than usual month atop the Security Council, and has big proposals for example on sovereign debt restructuring. 

  But how will this stand-off be resolved? Why did the candidates from the DR Congo and Madagascar get so few votes? The latter dropped out, the former was urged to. But until the Security Council agrees with the GA, the election is not finished.

Update of 4:10 pm:

On ICJ in GA, again more than five candidates got more than the required 97 votes. But Jamaica's candidate got 141 (up from 135), Argentina's only 116 (down from 134)

Update of 4:50 pm

On ICJ in UNGA, again more than 5 got more than 97. But Jamaica 138 (still up from 136), Argentine 108 (down from 116)

   Inner City Press covered the more than 30 day stand-off in 2011 between candidates from Sierra Leone and Uganda, with the latter winning. At least they are voting - the new Free UN Coalition for Access has noted that the correspondents (or now censors') association UNCA has entirely non-competitive annointments, this time with the return of the censor in chief. Click here for that, and watch this site.

   

Bolivia's Carlos Mesa Explains Chile International Court of Justice Case at UN, Next Stop OAS

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 6 -- Former Bolivian president Carlos Mesa came to the UN on September 5 to explain his country's International Court of Justice case against Chile for access to the Pacific Ocean. 

  He met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (who also, for example, listens to Argentina about the Malvinas / Falkland Islands), and said he would soon meet with Jimmy Carter.

  Inner City Press asked Mesa about another meeting, with the Organization of American States' Secretary General José Miguel Insulza -- who happens to be from Chile. Recently Inner City Press has inquired into the possible impact of Ban Ki-moon's history as South Korea's foreign minister on (not) commenting on a press freedom case there.

  To Mesa, Inner City Press asked if he thought Insulza's Chilean roots might have any impact.

  Mesa diplomatically said no, and also that Bolivia knows it is up to the ICJ to decide, these meetings are simply to explain the country's position. That Latin America has gone so long without an inter-state war is noteworthy. Bolivia is currently the head of the Group of 77; Latin America could and should have more positions in the international system. Watch this site.

Footnote: The UN News Centre, in Spanish, covered Mesa's press conference -- but apparently did not do so in English. The Free UN Coalition for Access is inquiring into such selectivity at the UN, particularly in the run-up to the the high level week(s).

   

On DR Congo, France Said "Our Own Come First," Rwanda Insisted Civilian Deaths Be In UNSC Statement Too; ICJ Footnote

By Matthew Russell Lee, With exclusive audio

UNITED NATIONS, October 28 -- When the UN Security Council met about Eastern Congo at France's request on Monday afternoon, France proposed a press statement only on the death of a Tanzanian member of the UN's Force Intervention Brigade.

  Rwanda counter-proposed a longer statement but was told those issues could be considered later. Rwanda agreed to that, but held firm that the death of Rwandans by shelling from the DRC should be included.

   Inner City Press is informed that Rwanda directly challenged the idea that the UN Security Council should first and foremost be concerned with "one of our own." Rwanda said that its citizens are people too.

   While it was France which made the proposal, and holds the pen (and more) on DRC, there was an attempt to make this fight one of Rwanda against the Troop Contributing Countries. 

  But Rwanda is one of the largest TCCs, and said they would have no objection, if one of their peacekeepers were killed in Darfur, to including civilians in a press statement. There are no first and second class citizens, Rwanda said.

  It's worth nothing that not all TCCs have UN Peacekeeping missions in or next to their countries.

  Rwanda then suggested that two statement be issued. France, to avoid that, agree to include those killed in Rwanda -- and in the DRC -- in "their" statement, below (along with footnote on the International Court of Justice "private" meeting of Monday.)
condolences for the loss of civilian lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Rwanda following shells landing on its territory."]

    On Friday the UN Security Council expressed concern about renewed hostilities in Eastern Congo, called for "maximum restraint and de-escalation" and for a political solution. Video here.

   Inner City Press asked if the UN Mission MONUSCO was involved in the fighting and was told, by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spokesperson, no.

  On Sunday UN envoy Martin Kobler announced that a member of MONUSCO's Force Intervention Brigade or "FIB" had been killed -- how that happened without being involved remains UNclear. Then Kobler toured land re-taken by the Congolese Army which the UN supports, even in the face of mass rape.

  On Monday in front of the Security Council, French Permanent Representative Gerard Araud told the Press about the weekend's developments in the Eastern Congo, "What is happening is great. It is the collapse of the rebels... The DRC army is restoring the sovereignty of the country. It is exactly what we were hoping for."  Exclusive audio here.

  How is this consistent with the Security Council's calls, agreed to and actually drafted by France which "hold the pen" for the Council on the DRC, for "restraint" and for a political solution through the Kampala talks?

  Or some now ask, were those calls just lies or a diversion, at least for some that agreed to or issued them?

  When the Security Council traveled recently to Eastern Congo, France was allowed to hand-pick which media could go on the UN plane and cover the trip. These scribes, predictably, are not raising or reporting these questions.

  Inner City Press asked: will Kobler take and at last answer questions? Or has he fully inhabited the character of his boss Herve Ladsous, who refuses Press questions? Video here,UK coverage here. Here is Ladsous' history in the Great Lakes region, for France.

  We note, in real time, a Kobler response to the Press late Monday, that "now the work starts." Inner City Press said "merci" and asked what's the plan to go after the FDLR?

  Here is another question. Araud said, of the weekend's fighting, "It is exactly what we were hoping for." Who is the "we"? The Security Council? UN Peacekeeping under Herve Ladsous? France? Is there any difference between the latter two? Watch this site.

Footnote: In the private meeting on the ICJ, the question was raised why among the 15 judges each of the Permanent Five members always gets one. That is not in the charter. There was no convincing answer. We'll have more on this.

As emailed out by UN past 5 pm:

Security Council Press statement – attacks against MONUSCO

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attacks by M23 rebel group against the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission (MONUSCO) in North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing one Tanzanian peacekeeper.

The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the family of the peacekeeper killed in the attack, as well as to the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and to MONUSCO. They called on the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo swiftly to investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.

They also expressed their condolences for the loss of civilian lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Rwanda following shells landing on its territory.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support for MONUSCO and called on all parties to cooperate fully with the mission.

28 October 2013 

   

At UN, Nicaragua Targeted by Letter from Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica & Panama, with ICJ Case Echo?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- After UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Ban's office issued a read-out including that "President Santos hand-delivered a letter, also signed by Costa Rica, Jamaica and Panama, concerning maritime issues in the Caribbean Sea."

Inner City Press made inquiries, including to Ban's spokesperson's office, a "short and simple question: did President Santos of Colombia give the SG a letter? If so, did it assert that Nicaragua is 'expansionist'?"

Ban's Spokeperson's Office replied,

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Subject: Questions
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Your question on Colombia:

Please see below the readout issued. It is for the Member States mentioned to decide whether they disclose the contents of the letter.

Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, President of the Republic of Colombia

The Secretary-General met with the President of Colombia, Mr Juan Manuel Santos. They discussed the on-going peace process between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

They also discussed Colombia’s progress on the MDG’s as well as its contribution to building a post-2015 development agenda. President Santos hand-delivered a letter, also signed by Costa Rica, Jamaica and Panama, concerning maritime issues in the Caribbean Sea.

23 September 2013

Your question on briefings in Room S-310: please direct your question to UNCA.

Politics, politics. The letter, we surmise, concerns the International Court of Justice case. And on the faux "UN briefing" in UN Room S-310, click here. Watch this site.

   

At UN, Climate Change Debated Behind Closed Doors As Islands Disappear

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 15 – With climate change the topic of a meeting at the UN on Friday morning, many Ambassadors were not even sure where the meeting was being held. There was no sign on the door; it was not in the UN Journal.

   Inner City Press, which wrote about the so-called “Arria formula” meeting on February 11, set up in the hall of the UN's North Lawn building. The Permanent Representative of a small island state came over and complained he was not even allowed to speak in the meeting. “They are trying to minimize it as much as possible.”

  After the meeting, Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition for Access asked Tony deBrum, Minister-in-Assistance to the President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, about the meeting being closed, and about Palau's bid to get an advisory opinion on the issue from the International Court of Justice.

   Tony deBrum said the ICJ case was interesting but not going anywhere fast. He said he'd asked without success to get the press into the meeting, Pakistan and Permanent Member the UK.

   Inner City Press asked UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant about that, and about the meeting. He said it was a “good engagement by PRs,” thought some “emphasized their view that the Security Council is not the right venue for dealing with climate change.”

   Tony deBrum named Guatemala as among these. He said that the Marshall Islands had to go through the Security Council to become a state - but now that it is threatened, some say the Security Council should not be involved.

  He described islands and causeways disappearing under water, and ordnance from World War II becoming uncovered. Security indeed. Watch this site.