At UN, Portugal Takes On P-5 Favorite Bosnia to Chair Reform Group, Austria's Swan Song

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, December 17 -- The UN Security Council's handing out of chairmanships of its subsidiary bodies is stalled, Inner City Press has learned, by the Permanent Five members' attempts to give the Informal Working Group on Documentation and Procedure to Bosnia, rather than Portugal which wants it.

Portugal ran for the Security Council, beating out Canada, on a platform that included increasing the pace of Security Council reform and transparency. But their request to chair the Working Group on this subject is being opposed. The Permanent Five members -- the US and Russia more vehemently, Inner City Press is informed -- are proposing Bosnia, and a slower pace of reform.

The standoff has delayed the announcement of other Committee and Working Group chairs, including Germany over terrorism alongside South Africa for Resolution 1540 (which outgoing Mexico is giving up), and on Africa.

In terms of Documentation and Procedure, outgoing Council member Thomas Mayr-Harting of Austria on Friday morning praised the reform of the “informal interactive dialogues” of the kind held on Sri Lanka, Chad and the Cheonan incident between the Koreas.

He noted that under current rules, while Switzerland for example chairs the Peacebuilding group on Burundi, they cannot come in to closed door consultations. Therefore all talk in out in the open, unlike for example on Guinea Bissau, on which current Council member Brazil takes the lead.

Not all Council members chair a committee or working group. Gabon, for example, does not have one. “I have a small staff,” the country's Permanent Representative told Inner City Press. He has confirmed dressing down ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo for his talk of genocide in his last appearance. And so it goes at the UN.

Mogadishu in Manhattan, After Cops Called on DPR, TFG Says Controls 55%

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 17 -- Days after a fight in the Somali Mission to the UN in New York, reported exclusively by Inner City Press, the new Somali Minister of Information, Post and Telecommunications Abdulkareem Jama came to the UN to describe the new government he is a part of.

He said that many of the 18 new ministers are from the Somali diaspora. Of former Deputy Permanent Representative Idd Beddel Mohamed, who showed up at the Somali Mission saying that the new foreign minister gave him authorization to return, only to have the police called to throw him out, Abdulkareem Jama said that wasn't yet decided.

The chaos of Mogadishu, then, is echoed in Manhattan.

Abdulkareem Jama put a relentlessly upbeat spin on Somalia, saying that Mogadishu is 55% controlled by the Transitional Federal Government. Inner City Press asked about reports of the TFG and Puntland using private military contractors or mercenaries.

Abdulkareem Jama said that the contractor's work involves training for “VIP protection” and for a coast guard. He did not address whether the arrangement, which is shielded in secrecy, may violate the UN's Somalia sanctions regime.

Inner City Press asked about the memorandum of understanding between the World Food Program and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to deliver food in areas controlled by Al Shabab, which has barred WFP.

Abdulkareem Jama spoke favorably of the deal. But WFP still refuses to provide a copy of the MOU -- Inner City Press has asked -- and even the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says it has not seen the MOU.

Following the Obama administration naming the TFG as a user of child soldiers, Inner City Press asked Abdulkareem Jama for the update. He said that child soldiers have been identified and are being kept in a camp until they reach the age they can decide what they want to do. Video here.

Of once and perhaps future UN official Charles Petrie, whom the UN claimed would be working for the UN in Mogadishu, Abdulkareem Jama said Petrie will be working for the EU or someone else, not the UN.

Of the TFG's deputy minister for water barring work by UNICEF and others and then rescinding the order, Abdulkareem Jama said that the deputy minister had been frustrated but had taken the order back. Again, the chaos of Mogadishu, reflected in Manhattan. We wait to hear from Idd Beddel Mohamed. Watch this site.

Footnote: Somalia's Permanent Representative said that on December 22, the Security Council “will” pass a resolution authorizing 4000 more troops for AMISOM. While technically the resolution is not yet agreed to (or “in blue”) Council sources tell Inner City Press that is the number: 4000. We'll be here.

At UN, Ban Says His Panel Will Travel to Sri Lanka, Extension Still Not Confirmed

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 17 -- Less than a month before its report of war crimes in Sri Lanka is due, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Panel of Experts “is now able to visit Sri Lanka and meet with the Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation,” Ban told the Press on Friday.

While dodging Inner City Press' question of whether he will make public his Panel's report, due on January 15, Ban praised “the flexibility of President [Mahinda] Rajapaska on this issue.”

In fact, Rajapaksa and his ministers have opposed Ban's panel at every turn, getting Ban to expressly limit it advising him on models of accountability. The Panel said it would accept evidence until December 15, but neglected to empty its e-mail in-box, resulting in submissions being refused.

Similarly, evidence submitted by the Federal Express overnight mail service was rejected, with no one present to accept packages, even on the deadline.

Inner City Press was told, after it asked and wrote about these rejections of evidence, that there would be an extension. This was said publicly by UN acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq on December 16 -- but 24 hours later, no extension has confirmed, despite the report being due in less than a month.

But the Panel, Ban says, will travel to Sri Lanka, if only to speak with the government's own LLRC. We'll see.

Earlier on December 17, Inner City Press posed questions about Sri Lanka to Austrian Ambassador to the UN Thomas Mayr-Harting, who leaves the UN Security Council in two weeks.

On the topic of accountability for war crimes in Sri Lanka, Mayr-Harting said things “have not moved where it should have moved,” while saying that the Security Council's “informal interactive dialogues” with Sri Lanka were helpful, and led to the same format for Chad and the Cheonan sinking incident between the Koreas.

On December 16, Inner City Press asked the UN's expert on Sexual Violence and Conflict Margot Wallstrom about the new video evidence of women killed by soldiers in the final stages of the conflict.

Wallstrom said such evidence is important and that her office is still deciding on which countries to focus on. She is asking the UN General Assembly for nine posts, but they only want to give seven. Watch this site.

Darfur Seems An Afterthought In Ban Ki-moon's UN, Defense of Gambari, Withholding of Massacre Reports

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 17 -- “Mister Gambari has been working very hard with the Sudanese government,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Press on Friday of his envoy in Darfur.

Inner City Press had asked why the UN peacekeepers under Ibrahim Gambari's UNAMID command did not leave their base when dozens of civilians were murdered in Tabarat in September, and whether Ban would at least make UNAMID's report on the killings public.

“We will have to see,” Ban answered. But UNAMID has answered requests for copies of the report by saying it is up to the Secretary General.

Until the very end of Ban's end of year press conference, run by acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq, there had been no questions or answers about Sudan, where the UN has two $1 billion peacekeeping operations. After a protest, Haq allowed the Sudan question from Inner City Press:

On Darfur, you said it was one of your priorities. As the year ends, the government of Omar al Bashir is attacking the one rebel group it supposed made peace with, the Minni Minawi group, UNAMID has no access to Jebel Marra and ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo says that UNAMID doesn't report attacks on civilians because it is threatened by the government. You summoned Ibrahim Gambari to meet you... about the massacres in Tabarat, after the UN peackeeepers didn't even leave their base in Tawila to do to the site. Even the report on these Tabarat killings is being withheld. What will you do differently in 2011?

To this Darfur question, Ban responded largely about the Southern Sudan referendum. He said, “The situation in Sudan will be one of the top concerns of international community starting January 9... There are sticking issues, to establish a commission in Abyei.” Video here, from Minute 51:31.

After that Ban turned briefing to Darfur, saying that “the security situation in Darfur a serious concern. The recent bombing by the Sudanese government of the north and south boundary of southern sudan... [We are] making demarches that the Sudanese government should be cooperative. This afternooon I meet the Minister for Peace and the CPA for Southern Sudan to discuss this matter.”

Of the so-called Doha process, Ban answered that the “peace negotiation has not been progressing well. Except that government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement LJM have agreed to a negotiation text. That can be done, but without participation of all other rebel movements -- JEM, SLA and Abdel Wahid -- without their participation this negotiation will not be sustainable. Joint mediator Bassole is asserting his best efforts.”

Then Ban defended Ibrahim Gambari, saying that “Mister Gambari has been working very hard with the Sudanese government... to have freedom of movement of UN peacekeepers.”

This implies that the peacekeepers in Tawila for example tried to go to the Tabarat or Tabra site but were stopped by the government. But internal UN communications obtained by Inner City Press show that the UN Peacekeepers told relatives of those being killed and injured that they had come to late, to come back in the morning.

Now the report on the incident is being withheld, with UNAMID saying it is up to the Secretary General, who when asked would not released, instead speaking of “consultations.”

Inner City Press also asked if the report on Sri Lanka war crimes inquiries by Ban's three person Panel of Experts will be made public. Ban did not answer this either. Watch this site.

Footnote: There was widespread dissatisfaction in the UN press corp about how acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq ran the press conference, and about lack of question and answer opportunities with Ban Ki-moon throughout 2010. Ban said he will make an announcement in early 2011 about seeking a second term as S-G. We'll see.

IOM Returns Ethiopian Refugees Blocked by Saudis in Yemen, Calls It Voluntary

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 17 -- When hundreds of refugees from Ethiopia tried to get to Saudi Arabia through Yemen and got stuck in the desert, the International Organization for Migration got involved in returning them to Ethiopia.

On December 16, Inner City Press asked two IOM officials to justify their involvement in what to some seems refoulement, the return of refugees to the very situation they were fleeing. IOM's Permanent Observer at the UN Michelle Klein Solomon replied that IOM only gets involved in “voluntary” repatriation.

But obviously these Ethiopians wanted to get out of their country, which is accused of human rights violations, and only consented to repatriation due to Saudi Arabia blocking their entry, and Yemen providing no sanctuary at all. How can this be called voluntary?

IOM's Washington based spokesperson Niurka Pineiro acknowledged that sometimes “voluntary” means the least bad of two alternatives, or “the only choice.”

Pressed, the IOM representatives claimed that the Organization advocates for human rights, only behind the scenes, never naming or shaming countries. But what leverage does it have?

In fact, other humanitarians expressed to Inner City Press skepticism about IOM, saying that in search of funding the Organization gets involved in work that has little to do with its mandate, and tries to please its main funders. While this may also be true of the UN and its agencies, they at least are subject to more scrutiny. The IOM is a black hole that we intend to explore more. Watch this site.

At UN, Sudan Ignores Finding That It Bombed, Council Largely Ignores Darfur

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- Fighting continued in Darfur on Thursday, as the UN Security Council met about Sudan, mostly South Sudan. The Council issued a press statement about the secession referendum scheduled for January 9, including condemning Khartoum's bombings in Western Bahr al Gazal State.

Outside the Council, Inner City Press asked the Sudanese State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Mutrif Siddiq about the bombings, and his government's fighting with the Minni Minawai faction. It's not with the whole faction, he quickly said, naming a subcommander who he said tried to “collect taxes after the harvest.” Video here.

The fact remains that Minni Minawi, the sole Darfur rebel to sign a deal with Khartoum, has walked away from it. So what does the "Doha process" with the LJM really mean?

Despite UN confirmation of the bombing, Sudanese minister Mutrif Siddiq would only concede that it was under investigation, as if the investigation weren't finished. Inner City Press later asked Council president Susan Rice about this.

She replied, "you heard Under-Secretary- General LeRoy in the Council speak very plainly to that as he also did in consultations."

Southern Sudan's Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth and Pagan Amum, Secretary General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement came to the stakeout. Inner City Press asked about the bombing and Pagan Amum said it had already been condemned. He called for a peace agreement in Darfur. This seems a long way off.

Inner City Press asked about comments attributed to Benjamin Mkapa that “some Southerns” were intimidating other Southerns in the North to not register to vote in the referendum.

Pagan Amum denied that, saying that instead it was the National Congress Party which threatened Southerns with harassment if they voted for secession. Video here.

Inner City Press asked Mkapa himself who he blamed for the low registration in the North. He said that it was understandable if Southerners who have lived in the North for years didn't register. Video here. Then he was gone.

Footnote: The International Organization on Migration gave a press conference on Thursday as well. Inner City Press, along with questions about Sudanese refugees returned from Israel and elsewhere, asked about IOM's role in the Sudan referendum. It's in their law, was the answer. IOM was asked to run the process in North Sudan but declined.

IOM says they didn't choose the sites in the eight diaspora countries. But are they observing for fairness? Watch this site.

On Cote d'Ivoire, UNSC Condemns Violence in Abidjan Not Tiebissou, Exile?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- Following clashes between supporters of Alassane Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo, UN Security Council president Susan Rice read out a Council statement to the Press among other things condemning the violence in Abidjan.

Inner City Press asked if the Council was aware, from the briefing by top UN peacekeeper Alain Le Roy or otherwise, of clashes elsewhere in Cote d'Ivoire beyond Abidjan.

Yes, Ambassador Rice answered, Mr. Le Roy had spoken of fighting “in the town you mentioned, forty miles from Yamoussoukro,” the political capital known for its mega cathedral. The town is Tibeissou.

Some wondered why the Council's statement was limited to Abidjan. A Council member's political coordinator opined that it was because the main stand off is around the Golf Hotel in Abidjan. He wondered aloud at the wisdom of Ouattara sending his supporters to face violence, trying to take the TV and radio station.

Inner City Press asked another Ivorian diplomat, appointed by Gbagbo, what he thought of developments. “Gbagbo has to go,” the diplomat replied, predicting exile in Angola by the end of the week.

Others are not so sure.

France is opposed to including Gbagbo in the sanctions lists to be finalized in Brussels next Monday, reportedly, wanting to keep this “final” card in hand in case Gbagbo continues to refuse to leave. Watch this site.

At UN, As Sri Lanka War Crimes Panel Rejected Evidence, UN Promises Extension

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- The day after the submission deadline of the Sri Lanka war crimes Panel of Experts named by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and after Inner City Press reported and asked about submissions being bounce back and rejected by the Panel, UN acting Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq told the Press that “there will be some extension of the deadline.”

On December 15 at noon, Inner City Press asked and wrote about the e-mail bounce backs. That evening, Inner City Press heard that based on the mounting questions, it was acknowledged that some extension might be required, though perhaps limited to those who could prove their submission was bounced back.

On December 16, Inner City Press asked about another form of rejection by the panel: packages of evidence sent by the Federal Express overnight mail service which were turned back at the listed UN address, on the third floor of the Dag Hammarskjold Library, with “no one to receive them.”

Inner City Press asked, does this reflect the Panel's lack of seriousness?

Haq said that while the Panel's three members “travel” -- though not to Sri Lanka, which they have not even asked to visit -- there is a Secretariat. But why then were e-mails bounced due to a full mail box? Why could Fed Ex packages not be delivered to the Panel?

It is estimated, to Inner City Press, that some 1100 submissions had been received as of the end of November. How many more were rejected or bounced back? Watch this site.

As IMF Position on Maldives Linked to Gitmo Prisoners, Silence on Climate Strongarm

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- Leaked cables link Maldives' push for International Monetary Fund assistance with the country accepting prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay. The IMF has had nothing to say about this, and Thursday's end of year press briefing by IMF spokesperson Carolyn Atkinson was so abbreviated that the even the question could not be asked.

The US also linked $50 million in aid to Maldives supporting the Copenhagen deal on climate change. Inner City Press asked UN official Robert Orr, who was extolling the more recent Cancun conference, about this, but he refused to comment on leaked cables, and called this just the “push and pull” of member states.

But both revelations bring into question how members of the IMF's Executive Board use their voting and other powers with the IMF to accomplish other, unrelated political and economic goals. This will be a topic in 2011. Watch this site.

Inner City Press submitted, during Ms. Atkinson's briefing, the following question which has yet to be answered:

“On Cote d'Ivoire, please describe the IMF's engagement in the past days and weeks: if with the Ouattara government, with whom and how? Any contacts with Gbagbo officials?”

When an answer is received, it will be reported on this site.

As Former Somali Diplomat Is Barred from Mission to UN, Is UNICEF Barred by TFG? WFP Withholds MOU with IOC

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 15 -- As the UN World Food Program continues to withhold its Somalia Memorandum of Understanding with the Organization of the Islamic Conference, even from other UN officials, a once and perhaps future Somali diplomat has reportedly reappeared at the country's Mission to the UN and had the police called on him.

Idd Beddel Mohamed, who Inner City Press interviewed in 2007 as Deputy Permanent Representative denounced UN payments to warlords, recently came back to the Somali Mission, according to sources, saying that the new Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Oomar had authorized him to enter.

But the current Permanent Representative said he'd heard no such thing, the sources say, the police were called to oust Idd Beddel Mohamed.

Meanwhile, after both Mark Bowden, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia and Ms. Kiki Gbeho, Head of the Somalia Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Inner City Press they had not even seen WFP's agreement with the OIC, on December 14 Inner City Press asked OCHA chief Valerie Amos about it.

Ms. Amos answered that OCHA can't compel any UN system agency to “coordinate” with it. Video here.

On December 15, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky if Secretary General Ban Ki-moon thought that UN system agencies should reach and withhold secret deals. Nesirky said he had nothing to add to what Mr. Bowden and Ms. Gbeho had said.

A WFP spokesperson has emailed offering to talk about the MOU and has been asked to provide a copy. He replied "I can't email the MOU to you." Watch this site.

Footnote: at the December 15 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Nesirky about reports that the Somali Transitional Federal Government has ordered UNICEF and other UN agencies to stop their work in Somalia, for missing a meeting about the drought.

Previously, Inner City Press asked UNICEF's spokesman, but he is out of the office for a long time (question have been backing up for the past two weeks). Nesirky said that events have moved on and that the Somali block is not (any longer?) in place. We'll see.

On Darfur, As UNAMID Withholds Tabarat Report, Le Roy Says It's Public

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 15 -- Amid complaints that the UN - African Union Mission in Darfur does not investigate or publicly report the murder of civilians there, top UN Peacekeeper Alain Le Roy on Wednesday told Inner City Press that the problem is Sudan's government granting access.

Le Roy acknowledged continued lack of access to Jebel Marra. He claimed, however, that UNAMID reports on killings like at Kalma Camp and Tabarat, where UNAMID peacekeepers refused to go despite requests from the families of those being slaughtered in September. Le Roy said that the UN's reports, including on Tabra, are public.

But UNAMID, which after Inner City Press' visit to Darfur in October has refused to answer e-mailed questions, has answered another request for its Tabarat report with the following:

"A report on the Tabarat incident was sent to UN Headquarters in the days following the event. This internal document is classified as UN Restricted, thus not for public dissemination. There are no plans, at UNAMID level, to release it.”

Inner City Press asked Le Roy why the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations would refuse to release its report on an incident like Tabarat. Le Roy did not answer, instead claiming that such reports are public. They are not. And this is a problem.

While Le Roy was genial, he also did not answer Inner City Press' request for an update on the plans of UNAMID chief Ibrahim Gambari, exposed by Inner City Press, to hand over to the government of Omar al Bashir five sheikhs in Kalma camp who support Fur rebel Abdel Wahid Nur.

Le Roy did not address what the US has announced as the postponement of any referendum for Abyei, nor the bombings of Southern Sudan by Khartoum's air force.

On December 14, Inner City Press has asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: Scott Gration yesterday said that, apparently after this… after having conferred with both parties, that the Abyei referendum will not take place 9 January. And I am just wondering, I’ve asked you this before, what’s the UN, given its role in… under the… in the process, does it acknowledge the seemingly now conceded fact that the referendum in Abyei will not take place 9 January?

Spokesperson Nesirky: What we’ve said is that there is a commitment by all to adhere to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and to the timetable that is implicit in that. Everybody recognizes the difficulties that there are with regard to particular part of the equation; and nobody is suggesting it is easy. Those who are involved in this from the United Nations side are obviously pushing to help to ensure that things remain on track. As I have said before, and I’ve just repeated just now, no one is suggesting this is easy. It is obvious that there are difficulties there, and I know that many players in this are trying to find a way that this can be tackled so that everything remains on track.

Inner City Press: Also on Sudan, there are these, at least 200 Sudanese refuges being deported by Israel. There’s a number of media outlets who are reporting this today, quoting an unnamed Israeli source confirming what others had said. There seems to be a UN involvement. The UNHCR is quoted as saying as being involved and an unnamed NGO. They are being deported through a third country and back to Sudan since having been in Israel would cause them problems in Sudan. But what I am wondering is, is it the UN system’s position that it’s safe for these people to return to Sudan, and what do they make of what some people are calling, you know, forced or refoulement of Sudanese refugees back to Sudan at this time?

Spokesperson: Well, I have seen the reports, I don’t have anything specific on that. Please do try UNHCR to see if they have anything direct to tell you.

Inner City Press: I guess, because of the Sudan… the DPKO and peacekeeping presence, whether they have a position on the safety of the return of these people.

Spokesperson: Well, Mr. Le Roy will be here tomorrow.

But when Inner City Press on December 15 put the question to Le Roy, first Nesirky cut in to refer the question against to UNHCR. Then Le Roy seemed to say that those returning to Sudan, even from Israel, will not face any harassment. We'll see.

Footnote: While allowing other media questions on two countries, Nesirky pointedly told Inner City Press, one question only. Therefore questions such as DPKO's seeming lack of planning before withdrawing from Birao in the Central African Republic, and other questions about the Cote d'Ivoire mission and about Somalia were not possible. Watch this site.

At UN, Oil for Food Resolution Kept Open by Iraqi Letter Delay, Nuke Doubts by 3

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 15 -- As US Vice President Joe Biden travels to the UN on Wednesday hoping to preside over the passage of three resolution on Iraq in the Security Council, well placed sources have told Inner City Press which of the three resolutions had still not been finalized late Tuesday, and which Council members opposed the other, nuclear resolution.

At 5:30 Tuesday afternoon, a self described “senior US official” told some of the UN press corps that two of the three resolutions were “in blue,” meaning with text to vote on finalized, and a third was still not ready.

The official also argued that despite Iraq's failure to yet ratify the International Atomic Energy Agency additional protocol, a resolution allowing nuclear imports should be adopted Wednesday.

From this, some assumed that it was the nuclear or Weapons of Mass Destruction resolution which was the one outstanding.

But later on Tuesday Inner City Press was informed that “the Oil for Food resolution was delayed, Iraq was supposed to turn in a letter but only turned it in late, let's see if the bureaucratic wheels turn fast enough for Biden to brag about its passage.”

Inner City Press was also informed that opposition in the Council to removing nuclear import restrictions on Iraq began with the United Kingdom, then Austria -- specifically objecting to Council action before Iraq ratifies the IAEA additional protocol -- and then, and perhaps still, China.

At UN on Sri Lanka War Crimes Panel Deadline, Secretariat on 2 Week Vacation, Ban Ki-moon Silent on Discrimination

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 15 -- On Sri Lanka, today is the deadline set by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Panel of Experts for written submissions. The Panel, through an automatic e-mail from its Secretariat who says he is “out of the office” through the end of the year, states that it “has a limited time for its work and has therefore chosen to request contributions in the written form.”

Thus it appears that the Panel did not speak to anyone, nor did it ever even ask to travel to Sri Lanka. The government of Mahinda Rajapaksa said that visas would be denied. This or inertia seems to have been enough to avoid even a request for visas.

In the days before the deadline, as many submitters sent copies of their e-mails to Inner City Press, they were accompanied by some complaints saying that submissions were being rejected or bounced back. (See footnote below.)

To verify or disprove this, Inner City Press sent in an e-mail which with including some documents and suggestions asked for confirmation of receipt.

This came, along with the troubling disclaimer that “I am out of the Office until December 31, 2010.”

So of the Panel's “limited time,” the Secretariat went on vacation for more than two weeks, at the deadline for submissions until two weeks before the Report is ostensibly due.

It has been impossible to get real answers or transparency from the Panel, or from the UN. Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: on the Secretary-General’s Sri Lanka panel, there is a story on something called News Now Sri Lanka, quoting some type of a release or response by the secretariat of the panel, saying, among other things, that they chose not to speak to anyone orally, but only to take written submissions. One, I wanted you to confirm if this is true that the panel never spoke to anyone, as it seems to say. And two, what’s the process for putting in, for media organizations interested in this topic, putting a request to the secretariat and getting an answer, as apparently News Now Sri Lanka did?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, on the last point, you can ask us at any point. That doesn’t mean that we will necessarily be able to answer, or that the panel will be able to answer, because, as we’ve said from the outset, the panel has a job to do in a certain timeframe, and when they have something to say to the media they will typically do that through us. That’s the first point. On the other point that you raised about the procedure, let me check. I think some of that is available on the web, where they have information about how people can submit material to the panel.

Inner City Press: Because they are quoted now saying an e-mail to News Now Lanka from the secretariat of the panel, saying that they didn’t speak to anyone early. So, that’s why I am wondering…

Spokesperson Nesirky: As I said, I believe, as I understand it, there was an announcement that submissions could be made by anybody. And I think it’s in that context that a reply may have been sent. But let me check.

As has been the case throughout this process, there has been no follow up by the UN Secretariat, no answers provided.

On December 13 Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: in Sri Lanka, the President had a cabinet meeting of ministers, issued a directive that henceforth the national anthem will only be in Sinhala, and that previous allowance of it also being in Tamil would now be eliminated since… so, I just wondered, in light of that May 2009 statement that Ban Ki-moon issued with the President, does he view this as consistent with that statement, the idea that, with the war being over, that it would now be, not just a single language, but that many Tamils are pretty upset about this? Is there any comment from the Secretariat?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, we’re certainly aware of the report, but I don’t have any comment at the moment. If that changes, then we’ll let you know.

Two days later, apparently from the UN Secretary General's Office's perspective, nothing has changed. Others in the UN are spinning that there is no language ban, while pointing to “discriminatory” land actions. But nothing is being done; even the Secretariat in charge of this war crimes Panel of Expert is on a two week vacation. Watch this site.

Footnote: Here is a sample bounce-back notice forwarded to Inner City Press:

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

panelofexpertsregistry@un.org

Technical details of permanent failure:

Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 552 552 Request not completed, exceeded storage allocation (state 18)

Many think this should require an extension of the time to receive evidence. Watch this site.

UN Slow to Act on Douste Blazy Misuse of MassiveGood Funds, Malaria in Myanmar

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 14 -- Former French foreign minister Philippe Douste Blazy's misuse of millions of dollars in funding from UNITAID has yet to be effectively acted on by the UN system, it emerged on December 14.

At a press conference on malaria, Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's special envoy on the topic, Ray Chambers, what has been done since Inner City Press' questions and expose more than five month ago.

We are watching it, Chambers said, adding later that his past work as an investor made him wary of “start ups.” But Douste Blazy presented his Millennium Foundation and its MassiveGood program as nearly a sure thing. He paid Spike Lee $500,000 to make a promotional film that featured Bill Clinton, Paul Auster and others. And then... nothing, or very little.

As Inner City Press showed, the Millennium Foundation was stocked with associates of now former French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, recently fired by Nicolas Sarkozy. Chamber on December 14 said that “to the best of our knowledge,” UNITAID gave some $8 to $10 million to Douste Blazy's Millennium Foundation, which has been hampered by “software problems.” Video here, from Minuyte 37:20

But where is the accountability? To fight malaria is laudable. But who approved this transfer of funds?

In the rest of the press conference, from which WHO chief Margaret Chan left without taking any questions, Inner City Press asked about the UN's response to malaria in Pakistan after the floods, and about WHO's involvement in a company's work with genetically modified mosquitoes.

WHO's Doctor Rob Newman, in Chan's absence, acknowledged WHO's engagement with genetically modified mosquitoes. Video here, from Minute 45:07. Inner City Press was not allowed a follow up question about the specifics.

On Pakistan, Newman said that WHO sent a situation assessment team from its Eastern Mediterranean office, and has procured and shipped the “commodities” needed. But how will malaria spread in Pakistan?

How is are resistant strains of malaria spreading along the borders of Thailand with Cambodia and, more recently, Myanmar? Watch this site.

Footnote: WHO's Newman says he wrote to 39 companies to urge stopping production of single drug malaria products, and got only two responses. It seems that these, targeted by African leaders as recounted to his credit by Ray Chambers, are mostly based in India, which is joining the UN Security Council next month.

Notably, as Inner City Press reported last week from India's Mission to the UN, India argues that Myanmar is NOT a threat to international peace and security, and should not be on the Security Council's agenda. But if resistant malaria is spreading, isn't THAT a threat to international peace and security?

As UN Calls Cancun Transparent, Unaware of Climate Bribes, Beating & Exclusions

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 14 -- While the UN on Tuesday claimed the Cancun talks were an unmitigated success, many environmentalists call the outcome merely voluntary and not binding, and say that some smaller countries have been strong armed into the agreement by “bribery” such as a $50 million grant to Maldives, exposed in a WikiLeaked cable.

Inner City Press asked the UN's “global goods” guru Robert Orr what he made of this strong arming, of the another cable in Wikileaks, quoting EU climate negotiator Hedegaard that the commitments so far may be only loan guarantees and not grants. Video here, from Minute 24:45.

Orr said that some “push and pull” between government was no surprise. But isn't it one of the UN's job to speak up when underdogs are pushed around, and can't or won't speak for themselves? What is the UN's role in the climate change process? Apparently, it is to declare victory. Orr said that what he had presented as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's goals for Cancun had all been accomplished.

While the conference was going on, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky about the reported exclusion from the conference by UN security of noted indigenous advocate Tom Goldtooth. Nesirky said he would into it.

On December 14, Inner City Press asked Orr about Tom Goldtooth, and about video footage, available on YouTube, of UN Security beating a Reuters photographer outside the conference. Orr said “I am not at all aware of that case, I haven't even heard about it.” But here is the video.

Orr said that “everyone agrees” the the process in Cancun was “the Holy Grail of transparent, inclusive negotiation.” We'll have more on this.

Footnote: Inner City Press had additional questions for Mr. Orr, but unlike the two other correspondents who asked, was not allowed a second chance at questioning by Spokesman Martin Nesirky. One hope that Mr. Orr takes and answers questions after, for example, the scheduled December 15 press conference at the UN by a major Cancun skeptic. Watch this site.

At UN, Biden Visit to Include 2 or 3 Iraq Resolutions, No Answers on Costs or Security

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 14 -- One of three Security Council resolution which the US would like adopted at the December 15 meeting chaired by Vice President Joe Biden has not yet been finalized for a vote, a self-described senior US official told the press on Tuesday.

Beyond ending the Oil for Food Program, the US would like to removing restrictions on Iraq's import of nuclear material, despite the country not yet having ratified the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Chinese mission to the UN has indicated a preference to await full ratification by Iraq, but late Tuesday the senior US official was still talking about all three resolutions being passed.

The context of the remarks was a conference call. Inner City Press dialed in, and to ask a question pushed Star 1 as directed, giving name and affiliation again. But Inner City Press was never called on, even as the moderator said “it appears there are no more questions.”

Beyond asking for confirmation that it is the Weapons of Mass Destruction or nuclear resolution that is not yet finalized, Inner City Press had wanted ask, as it has the UN Spokesman, who is paying for the alternations in and around the Security Council for Joe Biden's visit.

On December 10, a large US delegation entered the Council chamber talking of Verizon and putting in new communications lines for Wednesday's session. A Council staffer told Inner City Press that Wednesday will be the first time a US Vice President chairs the Security Council since George H.W. Bush, as Reagans' VP, chaired a meeting. On the morning of December 14 new metal detectors were in place. At the noon briefing, Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: for this Wednesday, tomorrow’s Security Council event featuring Vice-President Joe Biden, there have been a lot of, they’ve even installed metal detectors, but on Friday, there was people going into the Council to install new telephone lines. So, it all led me to wonder, who is paying for this? Is it… is it… does the US specifically reimburse the UN for these special security… particularly, let’s say the phone lines, or is it something that the UN absorbs the cost and, if so, what’s the basis of doing it for this meeting and not other similarly vice-presidential meetings?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, you’re making assumptions there before establishing the facts. So, let’s do that.

But five hours later, no answer had been given. Similarly, last month Inner City Press asked Nesirky's Office to confirm that the UN in Iraq, including SRSG Ad Melkert, is accepting security from the US forces. The UN refused to confirm it, despite a New Orleans Times Picayune report that:

“The soldiers of Alpha Battery, 1/141, started out providing armed troops and armored vehicles to protect the supply convoys. They now act as the quick reaction force, which includes providing ground medical evacuation to area helicopters that cannot reach and secure landing zones, Fernandez said. They also staff entries to the United Nations Villa, a compound where UN workers live, and specifically guard the residence for the special representative for the UN secretary-general in Iraq. While the UN officials have personal security personnel, they also are shadowed by Alpha Battery when they travel. “They’re not allowed to move without us,” Fernandez said. “They don’t want to move without us.”

Perhaps the US Mission to the UN or State Department will have an answer.

At UN, Copts Protest Killings to Egyptian Mission, No Party Time in Giza

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 14 -- A crowd of Egyptic Christians gathered Tuesday in front of the UN, and the the Egyptian Mission on 44th Street, demanding an end to legal and violent targeting in that country.

Two representatives were allowed into the Egyptian Mission to deliver a “Letter of Demands to Maged Abdelaziz,” the country's Permanent Representative to the UN (who, UN sources say, has been seeking a job from and AT the UN).

When the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning attacks on Christians in Iraq, Inner City Press asked if the Council had discussed the related situation in Egypt. No, was the answer.

Tuesday in Dag Hammarskjold Park the demonstrators “outside PR” man, Robert Miller of New Jersey based Kessler Communications told Inner City Press that his clients absolutely would like the Council to consider their issues, which include the November 24, 2010 attack on a church in Giza and what he called “Nuremberg like laws” under which “it is a crime to build, repair or renovate a church without a special permit issuedc by the office of the President,” Hosni Mubarek.

An Egyptian expert at the UN told Inner City Press, “those Copts are screwed. No one will support them, because of Mubarak's relations with the West. Obama, for example -- he says nothing.”

Cops and Copts by Egption Mission, Dec 14, 2010 (c) MRLee

While around the UN's margin there has been talk of irregularities in the parliamentary election in Egypt, the UN has made no comment. Meanwhile on the evening of December 10, the Egyptian Mission hosted a much talked about holiday party. One wag on Tuesday suggested that “the Copts should have targeted that.”

On Somalia, UN Looks Away from Mercenaries & Funder, Withholds MOU

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 13 -- As not only Puntland but the Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu move to use mercenaries, the UN is in denial even as its Security Council's sanctions regime is being violated.

On December 6 Inner City Press asked UN Spokesman Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: there is a former US official, Pierre Prosper, who has said that Puntland, the portion of Somalia, has hired a private military contractor, Saracen, to do anti-piracy work — that it’s being all funded by a Muslim nation that he wouldn’t name. So what I wonder is whether, given Mr. [Augustine] Mahiga or anyone in the UN, given both the prohibitions against mercenaries and also the 1992 sanctions on Somalia, what does the UN say to Puntland pretty openly, or at least as acknowledged by a former US official, hiring a mercenary firm to patrol the coast of Somalia, and what’s the UN going to do in light of this report?

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, thanks for the question, Matthew, and let’s see what we can find out. I don’t have anything at the moment.

A full week later, the UN Spokesperson's Office has not provided any information. But on December 10, Inner City Press asked the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden about mercenaries. Despite reports that the TFG is moving forward, Bowden said that there's been a step back. Video here, from Minute 13:55.

Inner City Press asked if the UN knows the identify of the country funding the mercenaries. Bowden did not answer, but said that the funder should contact the UN Somalia Monitoring Group, or they might be in violation of the sanctions. But the country has indicated it will not identify itself, ostensibly to not suffer attacks. Is there a loophole in the sanctions regime for this?

On the UN World Food Program's confidential Memorandum of Understanding with the OIC, Inner City Press asked what it says about paying to deliver service.

Ms. Kiki Gbeho, Head of the Somalia Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs replied that she “hopes” it has prohibitions, adding that the UN “in principle does not pay to deliver... perhaps it has happened, but it is the policy not to pay.”

But neither she nor Bowden have seen the WFP agreement. What does it mean, then, to be a UN Humanitarian “Coordinator” or OCHA Head of Country office? What is WFP doing? Watch this site.