As UN's Ladsous Solicits Drones for Mali, UN Won't Explain, Drops Cote d'Ivoire Drone Plan in Advance Copy of Report

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 -- When UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous pushed through his proposal to use drones or “unmanned unarmed aerial vehicles” in Eastern Congo, he said that it was a pilot and that any further use would require another approval.

  One of the places Ladsous said he wanted to use drones was former French colony Cote d'Ivoire.  Now in an advance copy of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report on Ivory Coast, to be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/2014/342, Ban says a Ivorian "government minister advised that the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles in Cote d'Ivoire may no longer be necessary."

  But don't tell Ladsous -- on May 5, Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about Ladsous pitching drones in the Central African Republic -- and now Inner City Press reports that Mali has arisen as well, and "any [UN] peacekeeping mission." 

From the UN's May 5 transcript:

Inner City Press: while Under-Secretary-General Ladsous was in Bangui, he gave a press conference and he discussed the use of unmanned/unarmed aerial vehicles or drones in the CAR ( Central African Republic). So, I wanted to know, is it the UN’s position that the current MINUSCA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic) resolution would permit use of drones or is this something that they would have to come back to the Security Council or some other organ of the United Nations to get approval for?

Deputy Spokesman Haq: I believe that the current resolution does not mention unmanned aerial vehicle, so any further deployment of that would require the Security Council consideration as far as I’m aware.

  But the UN at Ladsous' direction has been soliciting expressions of interest, until today, for drones or UAVs initially for use in northern Mali, where Ladsous' native France has an UNdisclosed letter of assist under which other UN member states will be paying it for airfield services. 

  (Outgoing French Ambassador Gerard Araud in December, his last Council presidency, refused to substantively answer Inner City Press' questions about the letter of assist, and now doesn't answer Press questions at all.)

The question is, if as stated on May 5 any UN use of drones or UAV outside of the Congo requires another approval, why is Ladsous soliciting drones for Mali? 

  In fact, the solicitation which we put online here says "While the initial deployment of UAS is expected to be based in a particular UN Mission future deployment could be in any peacekeeping mission" --

UN/PD is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the provision of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) with multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in support of peace-keeping operations in Mali with the basing of one system at Timbuktu and Gao.

The UAS provider will be an independent contractor who remains in control of the system and aircraft and shall be responsible for operation and maintenance of the aircraft. The flight operating crew and all maintenance personnel shall at all times remain the servant or agent of the contractor. All staff and equipment necessary for the operation of the aircraft are expected to be self-sufficient for all technical and subsistence requirements, although in some locations, accommodation and meals may be provided within UN compound for security of personnel or lack of alternative. The staff of the independent contractor will operate closely with UN aviation and military personnel and interact with the host nation as and when required. The contractor must provide staff to track, control, monitor the UAS and provide analysis of data received, working closely with Mission contacts. While the initial deployment of UAS is expected to be based in a particular UN Mission future deployment could be in any peacekeeping mission.

It is expected that contracts will be for a period of 3 years, extendable at the option of the UN to 4 and 5 years, and will generally apply to a single mission area. UAV capability should provide long endurance and be able to fly long range to a point of interest, loiter on patrol and return to base.

   On May 14, Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric:

Inner City Press: I wanted to ask you about drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). I know that they’ve been used in the eastern Congo, I was told here, I think on 5 May, that approvals will be needed for them to be used in Central African Republic, as Mr. [Hervé] Ladsous was talking about or elsewhere. But now, I’ve found this solicitation that basically… that the procurement division solicited drones for the deployment in northern Mali and any other UN peacekeeping mission, is what it says. So, I wanted to know, why, if approvals are needed, have they been sought or obtained and if now, why is the procurement division procuring drones for Mali?

Spokesman Dujarric: That’s a good question. I will find out.

But a full day later at the May 15 noon briefing, Dujarric abruptly ended the session as Inner City Press asked, no answer on drones? No. How long can this last? Watch this site.

   

On Child Soldiers, New UN Report Chides Afghans, CAR, Sudans, Chad, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Myanmar

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 14 -- When the UN's new report on Children and Armed Conflict was circulated to members of the Security Council on May 14, beyond the three countries that were immediately covered as news by Inner City Press -- Syria, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo --  there were others on the Council's agenda.

  These included Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Iraq, Israel / Palestine, Lebanon , Libya, Mali, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan and even Myanmar.

(There were also situations not on the agenda of the Security Council: Colombia, India, Pakistan, Philippines and parts of Thailand -- these are the one's who most push back against these reports.)

  On Afghanistan, the UN says it “documented the recruitment and use of 97 children (all boys, some as young as eight years old.”

  On CAR, the UN says it “documented the recruitment and use of 171 boys and 17 girls and estimates that several thousand children have been and remain associated with ex-Seleka and the anti-Balaka.”

  On Chad, the UN cites the “deployment of Chadian groups to” Mali and that “border porosity and weak state authority in the CAR has resulted in the inflow of approximately 80,000 refugees including unaccompanied children into Chad.” 

  Now that Chad's Idriss Deby has closed the border, what is the UN saying? Inner City Press asked UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on May 13, but by the end of May 14, there was still no answer.

This report is set to be "issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/2014/339."

 These advance copies have been known to be changed before "final" release, in a process for which a description, and then proposals for reform, were provided here and then here.

  On Cote d'Ivoire, the UN says that in 2013 it “documented a total of 30 grave violations against children perpetrated by the FRCI. Four cases of recruitment and use of children by the FCRI were documented.”

  On Iraq, the UN documented the most killings of children, 248, since in 2008.

  On Israel / Palestine, the UN report says that “eight Palestinian children (six boys and two girls) were killed and 1,265 injured in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2013.”

  On Lebanon, the UN says in 2013 it documented “56 incidents of violations against children, including the killing of 11 children and injury to 21 others.”

  On Libya, the UN says in 2013 it “documented the killing of 14 children (12 boys and two girls) aged between four and 17 years, and injury to five others.”

  On Mali, the UN among other things said that “despite the signing of a protocol on the release and hand over of children between the government of Mali and the UN on 1 July, nine boys remained detained in Bamako under charges at the time of this writing.”

  On Somalia, the UN report says that “the arbitrary arrest and detention of 1,009 children by the Somali National Army, including during operations against Al Shabaab, remained a grave concern in 2013.”

  On South Sudan, the UN report says “26 new incidents of military use of schools and hospitals by SPKA (19) SSNPS (six) and non-state actors (one) were documented.”

  On Sudan, the UN says it “recorded the recruitment and use of 42 children in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, including two by the SAF.”

  On Myanmar, the UN report says “children used by the Tatmadaw continued to be deployed to the frontline as combatants and in other roles, in particular in Kachin State.” That would be the government. Watch this site.

   

On Free Syrian Army Use of Child Soldiers, New UN Report Gives More Examples, US Waiver from 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 14 -- The UN's new report on Children and Armed Conflict, to be issued as a document of the Security Council under the symbol S/2014/339, has ten paragraphs over three pages about Syria. 

  But it does not clear the Free Syrian Army of earlier charges of child soldier recruitment.

   It names as those "recruiting and using children in Syria... several FSA-affiliated groups" as well as the Kurdish YPG, the al Nusra Front, ISIS and Ahrar al-Sham. There are paragraphs on the government, too.

  As to the Free Syrian Army the new UN report states that "most children associated with the FSA-affiliated group, as young as 14 years, indicated that they had received weapons training and 4,000 to 8,000 Syrian pounds pay per month. 

   Examples are given; "a 17 year-old boy who joined the al-Murabiteen battalion of the Falloujat Houran FSA brigade in Bosra al-Sham, Dara'a Governate, reportedly received a fifteen-day weapons training in al-Lajat valley close to Bosra al-Sham."

  Also, "In June 2013, two brothers, aged 16 and 17, joined the FSA-affiliated Majd al-Islam brigade in Dara'a, where they cleaned weapons and performed security duties."

In the report's final paragraph on Syria Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says his Special Representative "engaged with representatives of the Syrian National Coalition on their commitments in relation to the protection of children in armed conflict." But the SNC is not the FSA, and this is not an "action plan." Inner City Press asked questions at an SNC press conference on May 14, here - but this is not resolved.

These advance copies have been known to be changed before "final" release, in a process for which a description, and then proposals for reform, were provided here and then here.

   Back in late January amid reports that the US already provides or is ready to provide aid to armed groups in Syria like the Free Syrian Army (FSA), on January 29 Inner City Press first highlighted and then on January 30 first asked the US Mission to the UN about a finding in the UN's then-unpublished report on Children and Armed Conflict in Syria:

"Throughout the reporting period, the United Nations received consistent reports of recruitment and use of children by FSA-affiliated groups." (Now final, here, Para 12).

  The US has cited the recruitment and use of child soldiers to suspend US aid to armies of governments which had previously been receiving it.  Inner City Press asked, and continues to ask,  how could the US provide aid to a non-state group which even the UN has found using child soldiers?

  On February 13, Inner City Press was able to put this question to the UN's humanitarian chief Valerie Amos.

   Amos said "in terms of recruiting children into armed groups, we see culpability on all the sides to the conflict, and therefore anyone who has any kind of influence with those groups needs to be making it clear that this is not acceptable." Video here, from Minute 10:11.

  On February 14, the following was received from US Mission deputy spokesperson Tony Deaton:

"We are deeply disturbed by the contents of this report and strongly condemn the mistreatment and torture of children in any conflict. We equally condemn the use of child soldiers in Syria and around the world. The use of children in armed conflict is morally reprehensible, and the United States in no way supports or condones this activity. We vet recipients of our assistance to the moderate opposition and work diligently to prevent assistance from falling into the hands of groups that recruit or use children in combat or employ terror tactics."

While we will continue to pursue how the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act applies after the FSA finding in the new  UN report, we appreciated the US response and published it in full. 

  On February 4, the UK Mission to the UN provided this response to Inner City Press:

"The UK absolutely condemns the use of child soldiers in all cases, and strongly supports international efforts to stop the use of child soldiers. We urge all parties in the Syrian conflict to release any children held in detention.

"Armed conflict affects millions of lives around the world, and children are among those most vulnerable to the effects of conflict. The only way to secure the long-term future of Syria’s children is to find a political solution to the crisis.

"We have made clear our absolute condemnation of the use of child soldiers. As noted in this report, the use of child soldiers by the opposition is not systematic and is limited to certain elements. We have provided training to the Supreme Military Council of the Syrian opposition on the law of armed conflict, and will continue to work with them to help ensure that they meet their obligations under international law."

    As Inner City Press noted, that might be OK for the United Kingdom -- but what about the US, including in light of the 2008 Child Soldiers Prevention Act, which provides for example:

It is the sense of Congress that— 

 (1) the United States Government should condemn the conscription, forced recruitment, or use of children by governments, paramilitaries, or other organizations; 

 (2) the United States Government should support and, to the extent practicable, lead efforts to establish and uphold international standards designed to end the abuse of human rights described in paragraph (1); 

  There are prohibitions on funding which can only be overridden for formal, public findings in a waiver by the President.

 The earlier report, issued as a document of the UN Security Council under the symbol S/2014/31, went on to recount:

"Boys aged 12 to 17 were trained, armed, and used as combatants or to man checkpoints. For instance, a 15 year-old boy reported being recruited in April 2012 by the FSA in Tall Kalakh (Tartus governate), and participation in military operations.... Also indicative was the case of a 16 year-old boy from Homs who reportedly joined the FSA as a combatant. In March 2013, his family reported to the United Nations that he was still fighting with the group."

  And is this boy still fighting with the FSA? There is more to be said about the new UN report, and the additional specific examples that it gives. What gives? Watch this site.

   

In Abyei, South Sudan's Salva Kiir Didn't Comply & Withdraw SPLA, New UN Report Says - Quietly, Advance Copy

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, May 13 -- The UN's new report on Abyei, to become public under symbol S/2014/336, again mechanically paints a picture of widespread violations by both Sudan and South Sudan, in the shadow of the crisis in the latter.

  To South Sudan, the UN report says UNISFA Commander Tesfamariam and envoy Haile Menkerios went to meet Salva Kiir on February 25. Kiir said his government would take measures to ensure withdrawal from the SPLA and SSNPS forces by March 10.

  The report continues that "on 11 March, with no progress in the withdrawal of the SPLA and SSNPS forces," Tesfamariam again went to Juba. The report does not mention Kiir. 

  There have been more agreements, like the one with Riek Machar in Addis putting off elections for two or three more years, since the March 10 non-withdrawal. But the UN chugs along, with a head of UN Peacekeeping Herve Ladsous who refuses to answer Press questions on any of this. 

  In its previously report the UN's all-Ethiopia UNISFA mission in Abyei "observed the presence around 660 military elements of the SPLA and South Sudan National Police Service... armed with AK-47 rifles and anti-tank rocket propelled grenades; many of them have established military-type settlements, including fire trenches."

  This of course violates the June 2011 agreement; the UN adds that it "poses security risks to Misseriya nomads migrating through the area."

  Sudan, on the other hand, is reported also violate the agreement: "Sudan oil police continued to maintain approximately 120 to 150 personnel inside the Diffra oil complex in northern Abyei... about 30 Sudan oil personnel were observed in the vicinity of the Beer Adrak oil pump station and in Mekines, outside their usual area of deployment in the Diffra oil complex." What now?

  The last time the UN Security Council considered Abyei, back on November 25, 2013, Sudan's and South Sudan's ambassadors traded speeches about Abyei in the Council, and things got personal.

  While the Security Council urged against the unilateral referendum held in Abyei, South Sudan's Francis Deng on Monday praised it. He said the Miseriya had been out of the area "in their own homeland" 125 miles away when the referendum was held.

  Inner City Press has previously reported that Deng's family comes from Abyei, and has questioned if he owns property there. It makes for a more dramatic story.

  Sudan's Permanent Representative Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman took the floor to say Deng's speech was against the current tenor between Khartoum and Juba, and was based on "personal interests" and not the interests of the whole of South Sudan.

  It's rare these days at the UN for arguments to turn personal in this way. Relatedly, some in the Council note that soon after Ambassador Susan Rice was promoted to Washington, there were no more twice a month meetings on Sudan and South Sudan. In fairness we report that others say that's a coincidence. Like Deng's personal story? Both are compelling. 

  Now on February 26, Daffa-Alla has moved on from his posting in New York, and it is reported that Francis Deng has been recalled to Juba. Watch this site.