By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 9 -- When UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced on June 6 for a second term, he was asked about failing on Darfur, one of his top two stated priorities in his first term. Ban replied that process is accelerating, and credited Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole.
On June 9, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner City Press: if I understood it correctly Mr. Djibril Bassolé was described as stepping down as the joint AU/UN mediator. But he has since been quoted as saying he remains a mediator. And he did go to these Doha talks. So, is he the UN’s mediator or not? It’s unclear. He says that he is, but it was said here that he is not. Which is it?
Spokesperson: I think it was also said here that he has a split role at the moment and will continue to — was continuing, I should say — was continuing to serve as one of the mediators in the run-up to the meeting that you spoke about. But there will be a change in that status, and I think I’ll be able to give you precisely what that change is after this.
Just after the briefing ended, Nesirky said he would look into it. Later this was added to the UN's transcript:
[The Spokesperson’s Office later said that Djibril Bassole’s contract as a United Nations-African Union envoy ended Wednesday, 8 June.]
So Ban's man on Darfur is no longer in the post.
And where do we stand? Rebels supporting Minni Minawai and Abdel Wahid al Nur did not sign onto the recent Doha process. The head of the joint UN - AU peacekeeping mission UNAMID, Ibrahim Gambari, is often in New York, most recently listed as giving a speech in Connecticut on June 4. What is the UN doing in Darfur? It is not clear. Watch this site.
