UNITED NATIONS, September 2 -- To choose the five new non permanent members of the UN Security Council, one contest is known, another only rumored.
India and South Africa are running unopposed, even though the latter's president Jacob Zuma is now not coming to the UN General Debate in late September. Colombia still maintains it's unopposed, but sources say that the endorsement of the regional group GRULAC is by no means assured, due to opposition from Venezuela and members of the ALBA group.
Inner City Press asked Venezuela's Ambassador Valero about the controversy on the evening of September 1. He acknowledged GRULAC support was being withheld, but said this might change if relations with new Colombian president Santos continued to improve.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's appointment of Alvaro Urbibe to his panel of the assault on the Gaza flotilla continues to chafe the Grupo Alba. Venezuela is slated to head the Group of 77 and China in the coming year, and will act on that appointment at that time.
Skeptical observers link Ban's Uribe appointment not only to a desire to please the U.S. and Israel, but also Colombia, as it would have a vote on Ban's second term. Ban's backtrack on Kashmir is also seen in this light.
The competition between Germany, Canada and Portugal for the two Western Europe and Other Group (WEOG) seats is heating up, with attempts to buy votes. The Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo complained to Inner City Press about Canada flying five African Ambassadors north last weekend, and said he was not going.
Last month outside the General Assembly's session on the floods in Pakistan, Inner City Press asked Canada's foreign minister Lawrence Cannon how the campaign was going. Good, good, he said with a smile.
On the evening of August 30, simultaneous with Russia's End of Security Council Presidency party uptown, Germany held a reception in the UN's North Lawn building, promoting its funding of African border demarcations.
Sources told Inner City Press that Germany behind the scenes was topping Canada by inviting African and other developing world Ambassadors for a European junket.
Inner City Press asked the German mission to “please confirm or deny that Germany recently invited a number of developing world diplomats and their spouses to Germany. Please state how many diplomats and spouses were invited, including how many from Africa and from which countries, to where, and why. Please comment on the relation between these invitations and Germany's run for a Security Council seat 2011-12.”
Six hours later Inner City Press received a response from the German mission to the UN, below.
UN's Ban & Angela Merkel, Gästeprogramm not shown
Subject: Re: press questions
From: .NEWYVN POL-2-6 Eberl, Alexander
To: "Matthew R. Lee" Inner City Press
Date: Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 6:49 PM
Dear Mr. Lee, thank you for your mail... Within the framework of the so-called “Gästeprogramm der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (Visitors Programm of the Federal Republic of Germany) the Federal Government and the German Bundestag jointly and regularly invite different groups of foreign personalities to Germany.
This well-established programme stretches back to the early years of the Federal Republic and has through time covered a wide variety of countries and topics. It is aimed at foreign personalities with an accentuated role in their country, be it in politics, society or culture – or journalism. The programme intends to foster the dialogue between Germany and other countries, societies and cultures. Please note, that spouses are not invited or covered by the programme.
Various groups – among them this year all in all around fifty diplomats from developing countries based in New York – were invited to Germany. They held fruitful meetings and talks both in Berlin as well as in other German places.
The aim of the Visitors Programme has always been to make insights available and thereby improve the understanding of Germany. It goes without saying that Germany – as a keen multilateralist – has an interest to provide decision-makers with opportunities of firsthand information.
Best regards,
Alexander Eberl, Press & Public Relations
Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations
Can Portugal, given its financial problems, keep up? Should UN Security Council seats be for sale? Watch this site.
