By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, June 1, updated -- Twenty four hours after the US presented a draft Presidential Statement on Sudan asking for Security Council action that same day, the Council remained in negotiations on it, from 11 am Wednesday until Deputy Permanent Representatives began arriving along with a new US draft after 3 pm.
One sticking point was flagged on the margins of Tuesday's Council meeting: whether Khartoum's tanks in Abyei should be called an occupation.
China's Permanent Representative Li Baodong told Inner City Press that the word occupation will not be in the PRST. He said that Sudan is the priority for June, that China has no preference if stability is brought by UN peacekeepers or Ethiopian troops under an African Union banner.
(He added that the AU felt “marginalized” on Libya, and that China welcomes a visit to New York by an AU ministerial delegation in mid June, on which Inner City Press reported on Tuesday, click here.)
The elephant in the (consultations) room is what the future of the UN Mission in Sudan or its successor will be. Ban Ki-moon proposed 7000 peacekeepers, which Southern Sudan said is not enough.
Tuesday evening UNICEF official Hilde Johnson confirmed to Inner City Press its previous report, that she, Ian Martin and at least one other UN official are under consideration to replace Haile Menkerios as head of UNMIS.
Inner City Press can now exclusively report the name of this “other UN official” -- it is Ban Ki-moon's savvy South African adviser on peacekeeping and political affairs Nicolas Haysom. Sources told Inner City Press a week ago that the onus for Haysom's consideration is Ban Ki-moon's on again off again policy of mobility, of no more than five years in a UN job.
Under this policy, for example, Department of Peacekeeping Operations' long time spokesman has been sent out to Somalia.
But others notice that the policy is not being applied to many of those closest to Ban, for example his chief of staff Vijay Nambiar, his (and Kofi Annan's) adviser Robert Orr, and genial DPKO chief Alain Le Roy, of whom more and more sources tell Inner City Press a (French) replacement has been chosen, akin to the proposed Lagarde for DSK switch.
The head of Ban's Department of Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe is said to one close to him to “want out, badly.” But would the UK take his spot? And if so, what of Valerie Amos?
Pascoe, even when he skips the stakout, answers on such topics as Kyrgystan. On Wednesday the Spokesperson's Office took a question for him about the mutinies in Burkina Faso. Watch this site.
Footnote: Menkerios on Tuesday evening told Inner City Press, when asked when he'll come back to New York, "when they call me." On Wednesday, Li Baodong told Inner City Press Menkerios is "experienced" and "knows both sides," and that China hopes he will stay while he is needed. We'll see.
Update of 3:50 pm -- outside the DPR level consultation, a close observer marveled to Inner City Press that the US hadn't given any time for members' experts to even confer with their DPR - the US "just keeps pushing."
Update of 4:13 pm -- the DPR's have left, two telling Inner City Press that the experts' work wasn't done, it was too early to have convened them. On the substance, some point at Southern Sudan having put a claim to own Abyei in its draft constitution a provocation, just like what's now being called the North's "takeover" (not occupation) of Abyei. Susan Rice has done in to meet with Gabon, as storm clouds (literally) gather over the UN.
Update of 4:53 pm -- as US Ambassador Susan Rice left her bilateral meeting with June's Gabonese Security Council president, Inner City Press asked her to confirm that the word “occupation” of Abyei is coming out of the PRST. It doesn't matter, she said. It's just a word.
Sources say that the alternative is “takeover.”
Inner City Press asked Ambassador Rice about the US' just announced “boycott” of the Durban III review conference. Not a boycott, she said. Non-participation.
Another word switch. And so it goes at the UN.
Update of 5:40 pm -- on the US drafted Sudan PRST, the experts meeting has broken up. Inner City Press is told it will be sent to capital, also subject to more negotiations Thursday morning under “Other Matters” alongside the program of work consultations.
This is a substantive text, an expert complained. They only introduced it yesterday afternoon - how can they expect us to just go along? Delegations had problems not only with “occupation” applied to Abyei, but also “ethnic cleansing.” Which words will be traded out? Watch this site.
