By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, January 28 -- A full week after a UN Peacekeeper from Spain was killed in Lebanon, the UN Security Council finally agreed on a minimalistic Press Statement:
“The members of the Council condemned in the strongest terms the killing of a UNIFIL Spanish Peacekeeper which occurred in the context of fire exchanges along the blue line on January 28.
“The members of the Security Council expressed deepest sympathy to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and the Government of Spain.
“The members of the Security Council look forward to the immediate completion of UNIFIL's full and comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances.”
That's how Inner City Press transcribed it - even a half an hour after it was read out, the UN Spokesperson's Office did not have an official copy, and unlike other Press Statements, Council members weren't tweeting it and putting it on their own Missions' websites.
At 2:29 pm, it went out:
Members
of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the killing of
a UNIFIL Spanish peacekeeper which occurred in the context of fire
exchanges along the Blue Line on 28 January 2015.
The
Members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy to the
family of the fallen peacekeeper and to the Government of Spain.
The Members of the Security Council looked forward to the immediate completion of UNIFIL’s full and comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the incident.
The Members of the Security Council looked forward to the immediate completion of UNIFIL’s full and comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the incident.
(As Inner City Press reported earlier today, UN Peacekeeping left UNmarked the death of three Moroccan peacekeepers in Code d'Ivoire for EIGHT days, click here for that.)
After Security Council president Liu Jieyi read the Press Statement, Inner City Press asked him if there had been a discussion about who was responsible for the killing. Liu Jieyi replied that of course different members had differenct focuses but this was the consensus statement.
This is high stakes. UNIFIL put out a press release earlier on February 4:
The Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL, Major-General Luciano Portolano, today chaired a regular tripartite meeting with senior officers from the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the UN Position at Ras Al Naqoura crossing.
In light of the events of 28th January, much of the discussion centered on ensuring a return to calm and stability in UNIFIL’s area of operations. In addition to the recent incidents, the participants discussed the implementation of relevant provisions of UN Security Council resolution 1701 under UNIFIL’s mandate, including air and ground violations, the ongoing visible marking of the Blue Line and the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northernGhajar.
Major-General Portolano said: “I conveyed the UN Secretary-General message of concern over the serious deterioration of the security situation, to refrain from any action that could undermine the stability of the area and to act responsibly to prevent any escalation in an already tenseregional environment. The Secretary-General urged respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region, and adherence to all relevant Security Council resolutions.
“I was re-assured by both sides of their commitment to using liaison and coordination channels, including the tripartite mechanism to preserve stability and prevent any further escalation of the situation in UNIFIL’s area of operations.”
Major-General Portolano said: “I conveyed the UN Secretary-General message of concern over the serious deterioration of the security situation, to refrain from any action that could undermine the stability of the area and to act responsibly to prevent any escalation in an already tenseregional environment. The Secretary-General urged respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region, and adherence to all relevant Security Council resolutions.
“I was re-assured by both sides of their commitment to using liaison and coordination channels, including the tripartite mechanism to preserve stability and prevent any further escalation of the situation in UNIFIL’s area of operations.”
Bacak on January 28, UN Peacekeeping deputy Edmond Mulet briefed the UN Security Council. Afterward, at least until 9 pm, the only output was "elements to the press," followed by Spanish Permanent Representative Roman Oyurzun Marchesi's first stakeout since joining the Security Council four weeks ago.
Will an internal UN investigation be enough for Spain? The question was not taken or answered, yet.
His answer that it came from the Israeli side, in response to Hezbollah, was widely reported as Spain blaming Israel. But Reuters and France 24, for example, said France asked for the meeting, when the Security Council's president said the request was from the UK.
Reuters said Herve Ladsous would be the briefing - but he was not, rather it was Edmond Mulet.
Mulet told the Press that a UNIFIL "Board of Inquiry" will look into the death, and that its report will be public.
Inner City Press asked Mulet how long it would taken. Mulet said UNIFIL has been asked to expedite the Board of Inquiry.
We note that UNlike the head of UN Peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous, who refuses to answer Press questions (most recent video here) Mulet did his job, answering factual questions about UN Peacekeeping. Maybe he should be in charge. We'll haver more on this.
