Amid Bombs in Southern Kordofan, UN Refuses to Report, Polio Vaccination Banned: Rights Up Front?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 20 -- Amid reports of bombings in South Kordofan, with the government bombing areas held by the SPLM-North rebels, and this group shelling regional capital Kadugli, Inner City Press on Wednesday asked UN spokesperson Farhan Haq what the UN can say about this, including in light of its announced polio vaccination plans.

  Haq said the UN has no presence in Southern Kordofan.

  Inner City Press pointed out, as it has before, that UN Peacekeeping's Abyei mission UNISFA has an office in Kadugli. There is also presumably a wider UN presence, given the statement that the UN stands ready to vaccinate throughout Southern Kordofan.

  But Haq insisted that since the UN Peacekeeping office in Kadugli is part of UNISFA whose area of action is in neighboring Abyei, the UN cannot or will not speak about bombings in Southern Kordofan.

  But Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently described to the General Assembly his new "Rights Up Front" plan, meant to address the failures shown by UN inaction in Sri Lanka in 2009 when 40,000 civilians were killed. It claims the UN will from now on proactively look out for abuses and report them.

So why not in Southern Kordofan? What does "Rights Up Front" mean?

Later on Wednesday, Haq's office sent a response not from UN Peacekeeping, whose chief Herve Ladsous has been allowed to refuse all Press questions (video here, UK coverage here), but rather from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

Subject: Your question on South Kordofan
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 3:30 PM
To: Matthew.Lee [at] innercitypress.com

Regarding your question at today’s Noon briefing, we have the following from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

“The UN remains deeply concerned that the polio vaccination campaign has still not gone ahead in SPLM-N areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Cessation of hostilities is essential before the vaccination campaign can go ahead. The UN continues to call on the parties to cease hostilities and agree on outstanding logistical issues to allow this purely humanitarian initiative to go ahead.

The UN stands ready to implement the vaccination campaign at short notice as soon as the parties agree to a cessation of hostilities, provide security assurances and resolve outstanding logistical questions.”

  It will be hard to get "security assurances" amid government bombing, and rebel shelling of Kadugli -- especially if the UN refuses to look at or report on these, despite Ban's supposed "Rights Up Front" plan. Watch this site.

   

In Philippines, UN Won't Work With Parties to Conflict - DRC, AU Contradiction?

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 15 -- In responding in the Philippines to the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the UN according to its humanitarian operations chief John Ging has accepted help from the militaries of the US, Malaysia, UK, Israel, Australia, Japan and Sweden.

  Inner City Press asked Ging about concerns he has elsewhere acknowledged about the blurring of lines between humanitarian and military action. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, UN Peacekeeping has become a party to armed conflict but still blends in with aid work.

  Ging said the rule is to not work with a party to a conflict, under the Oslo Principles being applied in the Philippines. But what about the DRC, where now supposedly UN Peacekeeping will be going after the FDLR militia?

  Inner City Press asked Ging about the following online paragraph: "The U.S. Marines were reportedly instructed not to let Philippine government officials and politicians touch the relief goods that will arrive in Samar. Five C130 panes are scheduled to arrive, carrying relief goods from the United Nations."

  Ging said not to read too much into that; his co-panelist, UNICEF's Ted Chaiban, added that the Philippines has been working well with the UN.

  More was said in the briefing, but the UN insisted on beginning in even as three African Union Permanent Representatives spoke at the Security Council stakeout. Back in September, the UN delayed the noon briefing while the prime minister of Israel spoke, then started it during Iran's right of reply.

  When Inner City Press asked why, the spokesperson said that all journalists who cover hard news understood why this was done. But why talk-over the African Union ambassadors, while saying later in the briefing how much the UN values Africa?

  (There also seemed to be surprise, not from Ging, when Inner City Press asked for an update on getting polio vaccines into Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Ging said Sudan has shown flexibility, agreeing to a meeting even the UN said was unnecessary.)

It was the Free UN Coalition for Access which asked that Friday's noon briefing be delayed. UNCA's Pamela Falk of CBS, rather than protest, rushed in to thank Ging (and use the name of UNCA). Inner City Press did not say FUNCA, but said the two events should have been coordinated. We will continue to push on this. Watch this site.

   

On Sudan and Polio, SPLM-North Wanted Meeting That UN Found UNnecessary, Ladsous No Answers on Abyei (Nor DRC or Lebanon)

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, November 11 -- Why did the planned polio vaccination in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states not take place? Inner City Press on Monday asked UN Humanitarian operations chief John Ging if the SPLM-North rebels were as reported requesting not to deal with Sudanese officials. Video here, from Minute 15:35.

  Ging replied that the "technical agreements" for the vaccination were in place, and that the UN had agreed with Khartoum that no more meetings were needed. But the SPLM-North felt differently, and said so. When Sudan did not show up for the final meeting, the vaccination campaign was off.

  Inner City Press asked November's Security Council president Liu Jieyi about any "allocation of blame" between Sudan and the rebels. Video here, from Minute 2:28.

  He replied that the Council is working right now on a way to enable the vaccination. Will this mean a press statement or presidential statement?

  UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous also briefed the Security Council behind closed doors, but unlike his predecessors -- and unlike Ging, and in the past Haile Menkerios -- provided no information on the topics, including Abyei, the referendum and the his still not released report on the UN's failure to protect the Dinka Ngok Paramount Chief there.

  This lack of transparency of UN Peacekeeping under Ladsous is becoming more and more pronounced. At Monday's UN noon briefing, Inner City Press said it it had questions about the Democratic Republic of the Congo and about Lebanon. (UN Peacekeeping has missions in both places.)

  Spokesperson Martin Nesirky said, Choose one. But on Inner City Press' question of what Ladsous' MONUSCO mission is doing about reports of arrests and even robbery of civilians in Kiwanja and Bunagana, Nesirky had nothing. Still the Lebanon question, about spying, could not be asked. This is the UN, and Ladsous' UN Peacekeeping. Watch this site.