Soft Power of Social Media, from Libya-US & UK to UN Where Bloggers Banned

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 23 -- How could the UN and its Security Council be better covered and informed by social media? Inner City Press asked UK Ambassador Matthew Rycroft this question on September 23, not in the UN but a dozen blocks away at a Digital Diplomacy / “Soft Power” event by Facebook and Portland Communications.#Periscope video here.

   Rycroft told Inner City Press that the best Security Council meetings he's been in have allowed in outside voices; he noted it is still not the custom to tweet from inside consultations, though perhaps it should be.

  Inner City Press asked the US State Department's Moira Whelan about US Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones quitting Twitter back in March, after one of her tweets about bombing of the Tawerga was attacked. Whelan said the State Department wants to support its diplomats when they come under fire; Rycroft said if a diplomat's intentions were good and well-considered, they should be supported even if things go wrong.

   Facebook's Katie Harbath mentioned that India Prime Minister Modi would be meeting with Mark Zuckerberg; an hour later at the Indian delegation's press conference in the Waldorf Astoria's huge Empire room, there was confirmation of this and other tech meetings for Modi. (Inner City Press asked about UN Peacekeeping, whose chief Herve Ladsous recently linked UN rapes to “R&R” on video, here.)

  There was talk of the UN and social media; from Inner City Press' and the new Free UN Coalition for Access' perspective, the UN itself far too infrequently responds and engages, and much of the corporate press corps resents new media coverage of the UN, for example with the old UN Correspondents Association's Valeria Robecco saying multimedia is NOT a photographer to block coverage of the Pope's visit, click here for that. But we will continue: watch this site.
 
   

UNDP Seeks Outside "Security Firms" in Somaliland, While Nicholas Kay Won't Say If UNSOM Will Close and Leave

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 15 -- While one part of the UN, Mogadishu-based Nicholas Kay as new head of the UNSOM, purports to be wooing Somaliland to accept his mission there, another part of the UN is soliciting bids for "professional security firms" to operate in Hareisa and Burao in Somaliland.

  Seeking such services, with bids still open until June 20, is the UN Development Program. 

  This is the same UNDP involved in handing over Somaliland's air space to Somalia, leading to the suspension of some UN flights in and out of the country, as Inner City Press reported. 

  Inner City Press has asked the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and WFP Logistics, What's the status of UN flights into Somaliland?

  Now on the "UN Global Marketplace" UNDP is inviting, until June 20, qualified professional security firms to submit their interest for security guarding services at the United Nations Common Compounds (UNCC) in Hargeisa and UN Facility in Burao." UNDP specifies:

"The UNCC comprises of five blocks and open spaces covering a total of 13,849 sqm and serves as the sub-office for UNDP and other UN agencies. There are approximately 70 staff members in the compound at any one time. Security is also extended to the nearby UN dispensary in Hargeisa and the Joint UN facility in Burao. The Burao facility has 3 self-contained rooms two conference rooms and is enclosed in a perimeter wall.

The proposer will be responsible for enforcing UN rules and regulations governing the access to UN compounds and facilities under UNDPs control. The proposer should have knowledge of safety and security issues including experiences in operation of fire fighting equipment, assessment of potential threats and crime prevention, operating communication equipment, access control, guarding compounds, patrolling, handling incoming suspicious parcels and dealing with crowds."

  To understand these seemingly different approaches from two parts of the UN -- which talk a lot under Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about being "One UN" -- Inner City Press has asked Nick Kay himself, through the Digital Diplomacy social media on which Kay responds for example to UK-based Somalis who claim that even asking about Somaliland makes one a lobbyist for separatism. 

How much of the UK's interest in Somalia is as a matter of domestic politics? 

  Inner City Press asked Kay, did Somaliland's foreign minister tell you UNSOM "should close"? What are the next steps? (One might add, how does this impact the procurement above, including staffing levels?)

  The larger point is, there are long-standing and legitimate claims in Somaliland, but the UN or at least parts of it simply ignore them. Is it a matter of bureaucracy? Of the "love of states"? Is it a double standard when compared to the UN's solicitude to other group's claims? These are questions the UN, in the first instance Nicholas Kay, should answer. Watch this site.

As Somaliland Says UNSOM Can't Function There, UN in Denial, On Facebook

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 13 -- After Somaliland through its foreign minister told UN envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay that his UNSOM mission is not welcome in Somaliland, Inner City Press asked UK ambassador (and UN Security Council President for June) Mark Lyall Grant about it.

Lyall Grant said "I think the situation is not 100 percent clear, yet." But it is: Inner City Press has obtained and is putting online the Somaliland letter. It says the UN

"ignores the reality of Somaliland's existence and functioning as an independent state since 1991 and the self-determination rights of our people. Since the purpose of such an office is to extend the remit of the federal government to Somaliland, my government is of the view that a UNSOM'S presences in Hargeisa will not be in the best interest of our country. Therefore, we can not allow UNSOM'S political office to function in Somaliland."

  The UN should not be surprised, though some perhaps are: as Inner City Press reported in April, Somaliland's letter to the Security Council was never distributed to the Council members. Then the UN system gave Somaliland's airspace to Somalia, triggering a ban on UN flights.

  Now UNSOM has put on its Facebook page -- Digital Diplomacy again -- that Nicholas Kay:

"after his meeting with Somaliland Government in Hargeisa and concerns expressed over UNSOM mandate: 'I take very seriously the Somaliland government's concerns as expressed today. This is a complex and sensitive issue and I believe the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, UNSOM, can bring considerable benefits to Somaliland across a range of issues, while fully respecting its particular circumstances. I look forward to continuing the dialogue.'"

Good luck. A joke outside the Security Council on Thursday was that someday soon, quite soon, Nicholas Kay will be called by a Freudian-slipping ambassador Nicholas Cage. Things are getting weird. Watch this site.

Jubaland Reaches UNSC But Not Somalia Kenya Rift in Kismayo, UK Hot & Cold on Syria

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 13 -- Jubaland made it into the UN Security Council on Thursday, when UN Assistant Secretary General Taye-Brook Zerihoun gave a closed door briefing. Afterward UK Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, Security Council president for June, came out and announced that his delegation has circulated a draft press statement expressing concern about tensions there.

  Inner City Press asked Lyall Grant if Kenya would be mentioned in his press statement, given Somalia's complaints including at the recent African Union summit how its parliamentarians were "blocked by Kenya" from entering Kismayo. Video here from Minute 2:38.

  Lyall Grant replied that he didn't think Kenya would be named, but AMISOM would be and Kenya is part of AMISOM. He acknowledged "incidents" in Kismayo and said there should not be distractions from the fight against Al Shabaab.

While Lyall Grant, when reached at the stakeout, is responsive, as is his spokesperson, this stands in contrast still to the UN Mission in Geneva.

  After two days of questions and complaints about the Human Rights Council resolution they tweeted that they had tabled, on Thursday morning when tw-asked for a copy of the resolution, they said it was on the HRC's website. 

  But hours later, after signing in to the "extra-net," the draft resolution wasn't there. And it has still not be received. Ah,Digital Diplomacy. Watch this site.

On Libya, UK Concerned By Isolation Law, Zeidan's Link With Sarkozy, Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 14 -- After the UN Security Council relaxed its arms embargo on Libya, even as the spread of weapons from Libya continues to reverberate from Mali to Syria, UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant came out to take questions.

  Inner City Press asked Lyall Grant what it has already posed, without yet response, to his new “#DigitalDiplomacy"(and as noted by another from way down in Chile, West Ham) twitter account: what the UK's position on the draft Isolation Law.” From the UK Mission's transcript:

Inner City Press: What does the UK think of the proposed Political Isolation Law in Libya and there’s been attacks on the media for reporting on it. Do you think it’s a good idea going forward to bar anyone that had a position in the Gaddafi government from future government service?

Mark Lyall Grant: Obviously that is an issue that we’re watching very closely. It is for the National General Congress to decide what legislation they adopt for the future political dispensation in Libya, but from our point of view, it is very important that this should be an inclusive process, and yes there should be accountability for past crimes, particularly those committed under the Gaddafi regime. But at the same time it is very important that all groups are included in the political dispensation of Libya, so it is fair to say that we do have some concerns about the Isolation Law, in as much of the text that we have seen of it.

Alright, then. Also at the Security Council on Thursday was Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. On Tuesday he was in DC for a private lunch “co-hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding.” The invitation said he “is credited as having played a key role in persuading French President Nicolas Sarkozy to support the anti-Gaddafi forces.”

Now Sarkozy is said to be offered a $500 million hedge fund to run, by Qatar's Sovereign Wealth Fund. One wag asks: is Sarko bullish on jihad? Watch this site.