In Geneva, Zeid Cites Abuses from Burundi to Myanmar, Silent on UN Rape Cover Ups, Ladsous

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 14 -- A litany of abuses were rattled off by Prince Zeid as the UN Human Right Council's 30th session began on September 14, but there was little to nothing about the UN itself, even as UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous now publicly linked soldiers' raping to “recreation” and “comfort,” video here.

  Zeid himself played a role in retaliating against the whistleblower Ander Kompass who revealed the French “peacekeeper” rapes in the Central African Republic; Ladsous is listed in UN Dispute Tribunal rulings as having pushed for Kompass to be fired.

Now Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's panel on the cover up has conveniently pushed back its report on the topic into November, conveniently past a September 28 summit on UN Peacekeeping held by US President Obama and Bangladesh's Hasina.

  Zeid said he will release his own delayed report on Sri Lanka, but did not clearly call for an international accountability mechanism. Zeid said that democratic space in Burundi is shrinking; meanwhile, Ban Ki-moon has not even moved to send an envoy, which was called “imminent” a month ago.

  On Ukraine Zeid said that Assistant Secretary General Ivan Simonovic will briefing the Human Rights Council; in New York, his office doles out information in a selective way, excluding those who are critical.

  Zeid said deportations from the Dominican Republic to Haiti should comply with international law; he did not cite the UN having killed over 8,000 people in Haiti by negligently introducing cholera, then having maintained total impunity for it.

  Zeid mentioned Western Sahara, where the UN Peacekeeping mission does not report on human rights; he spoke of the disenfranchisement of the Rohingya, a word which Ban's envoy on Myanmar refuses to use. The UN system is all about espousing good intentions, even as it continues with a head of Peacekeeping who excuses and covers up rapes by soldiers from his own country. We'll have more on this.