UN Protection of Civilians Goes Past 10 PM, From Drones to IDPs, Double Standards Everywhere

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, February 12, updated – The Security Council's “Protection of Civilians” debate Tuesday started late, after a session on North Korea, and went past 10 pm, with nearly all Permanent Representatives gone. Inner City Press stayed, through Sri Lanka and the Congo, Turkey and Qatar, all the way through to Bolivia.

Early in the proceeding, France's Gerard Araud praised the UN's use of drones and called for accountability. Some wondered, what about in Cote d'Ivoire, the killings in Duekoue and of Internally Displaced People?

Russia's Vitaly Churkin also praised the UN, or at least its mission in Afghanistan, for systemically counting the number of civilians killed. This might be contrasted, as Inner City Press has, to the UN hiring non-profit Benetech in San Francisco, partially funded by the US State Department, to purport to count the dead in Syria.

Tanzania's Permanent Representative said the international community and the UN failed in Rwanda. Later on, the DR Congo spoke mostly about the M23 rebels, blaming Rwanda. Inner City Press interviewed Rwanda's foreign minister, story here.

The Netherlands' Permanent Representative spoke about accountability, too, leading some to hearken back to the role and inaction of Dutch soldiers or peacekeepings in Srebrenica.

New Zealand stressed that even when the Council is blocked, action should be taken, citing only only Syria but also Sri Lanka.

When Sri Lanka's Palitha Kohona spoke, he railed against media fabrications. Afterward Inner City Press spoke with him, with a story forthcoming (now here).

Brazil's foreign minister Patriota also did a stakeout. Inner City Press asked him about Mali -- he called for action to get under Resolution 2085 as soon as possible, with Africans in the lead -- and Guinea Bissau. On that, Patroita said harmonization and cooperation had been less than ideal, but it should be better under new envoy and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ramos Horta.

Nicaragua's speech put it plainly: Resolution 1973 was used in Libya for the assassination of a head of state.

There were outgoing Ambassadors. India's Hardeep Singh Puri, set to retire from foreign service, criticized double standards in the protection of civilians. Belgium's Permanent Representative, too, is set to retire.

But the debate ended with two rounds of replies between Azerbaijan and Armenia about Nagorno Karabakh. Syria replied to Qatar, which had railed at Assad. Turkey did that but Israel killings in Palestine, too. As he spoke, Inner City Press at the stakeout was asked about it scoop of Palestine seeking a vice chair of the Arms Trade Treaty talks. Who is trying to block it? Watch this site.

On Libya, France Says Weapons Drops Permitted, S. Africa Says They Proliferate

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 27 -- After the UN Security Council put a formal October 31 end to NATO's Resolution 1973 mandate in Libya on Wednesday morning, the Permanent Representatives of Russia, France, the UK, South Africa and the US spoke to the Press.

Russia's Vitaly Churkin, who on October 26 told Inner City Press that reports of Qatar having boots on the ground in Libya during the conflict would be another violation of Resolution 1973, now took a more forward looking approach, saying he hoped Council members had learned their lesson.

Inner City Press asked France's Gerard Araud about his country's weapons drops into the Nafusa Mountains. Araud asserted that Operative Paragraph 4 of Resolution 1973 allowed for the dropping of weapons. The rest, he said, should be left to the historians.

But when South Africa's Baso Sangqu said some had gone "far beyond" Resolution 1973, Inner City Press asked him about Araud's statement. Sangqu replied that these air dropped weapons were now proliferating.

Inner City Press asked UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant about recent moves by the TNC toward shariah. He replied that there are a variety of political actors in Libya and it is up to them.

Just as Inner City Press asked Ian "The Brit" Martin, it asked Lyall Grant: what about moves to strip the citizenship of sub Saharan African who were given it under Gaddafi? Lyall Grant said that it is too early to get into that level of detail.

(c) MRLee
Amb's Ogwu, Rice & Sangqu, permissibility of weapon drops not shown

US Ambassador Susan Rice, after saying the the votes against the draft resolution on Syria had nothing to do with how the Libya resolutions were implemented, took four questions. Inner City Press asked about the weapons drops. Ambassador Rice said the US didn't drop weapons, but that Resolution 1973 didn't "preclude" it. Some call this provide ground cover for the French.

On proliferation, as alleged by Sangqu, Rice replied only in terms of Gaddafi's arsenal. What about small arms and light weapons?

Footnote: Inner City Press had wanted to ask Ambassador Rice a question about Yemen, the immunity provisions of the Gulf Cooperation Council iniative and the US' role in them, but time did not allow. We will have more on this.

At UN on Libya, NATO Members Might Stay On, Qatari Boast Panned

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, October 26 -- Ending NATO's mandate by October 31 may not mean as such as was thought. At the Security Council on Wednesday, even those pushing to limit NATO's mandate said that at the bilateral request of the Transitional National Council, military forces previously with NATO could stay in Libya.

Meanwhile, Qatar's military chief of staff Maj. Gen. Hamad bin Ali al-Atiya was quoted bragging, "We were among them and the numbers of Qataris on ground were hundreds in every region."

He went further: "Training and communications had been in Qatari hands. Qatar … supervised the rebels' plans because they are civilians and did not have enough military experience. We acted as the link between the rebels and NATO forces."

Inner City Press asked Russian Ambasador Vitaly Churkin about it. "It would be another violation of Resolution 1973," Churkin said.

The chairman of the Libya Sanctions Committee, Portuguese Ambassador Cabral, agreed but said he had not received any formal complaint about it, and that he has no mandate to act on a media report quoting a Qatari official. Things seem to end with a whimper rather than a bang.

A Permanent Representative on the Council told Inner City Press that Qatar's bragging "is outrageous," reflective of Qatar's "billion dollar foreign policy."

A different Permanent Representative, South African's Baso Sangqu, later told Inner City Press that such open violations of Security Council resolutions "cripple international law."

In the morning UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant told Inner City Press there have already been two letters from the National Transitional Council.

After the NTC's Ibrahim Dabbashi spoke, reporter Tim Witcher from AFP which is 41% funded by the French government asked French Ambassador Gerard Araud if what Dabbashi said might mean allowing NATO's mandate to run past October 31. "Good question," Araud said, citing a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Friday. Watch this site.

At UN on Libya, France Dodges on Arming Rebels, Tales of Susan Rice in Her Absence, Bland Ban Ki-moon

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 -- After the UN Security Council's two hour meeting about its Resolution 1973 on Libya, among Council members only France's Gerard Araud came out to speak to the press. France alone has recognized the rebels based in Benghazi as Libya's government.

Inner City Press asked Araud if France believes it is legal under Resolutions 1973 and 1970 to provide weapons to the Benghazi based forces. Araud replied, “We implement the resolution to the letter.”

Of course that doesn't answer the question. Is France arming the rebels? Does it believe that it would be legal? If so, just say it.

Informed Council sources on Thursday described to Inner City Press what Susan Rice of the US said in the run up to adoption, with five abstentions, of Resolution 1973.

Rice said the US needed the “notwithstanding” exemption to the arms embargo if it needed to go into Libya with weapons if, for example, an American pilot were shot down.

But, the Council member told Inner City Press, it was not argued that the language permitted the arming of the rebels. Now France won't answer the question, and Rice is not at the UN.

Several journalists and other observers at the Council on Thursday wondered where Susan Rice was for this important meeting. An Obama administration critic told reporters Rice is “on vacation.”

Inner City Press notes, as for example Andrea Mitchell publicly has, a recent death in Rice's family. But other journalists pointed to a “blizzard” of press statements e-mailed out ostensibly from Rice about human rights in Iran, accompanied by Tweets. Inner City Press replied via Twitter asking for an explanation. If and when one is received, it will be reported -- and re-Tweeted.

Footnote: Ban Ki-moon spoke only briefly in the Council chamber, and held a highly controlled stakeout afterwards. No question were taken or allowed on whether and why Ban recognized Gaddafi as head of state while granting UN passes to Dabbashi and Shalgam, nor about his envoy Al Khatib being a current Jordanian senator, in presumptive violation of UN Charter and rules. Even so controlled, Ban said very little. There is grumbling. Watch this site.

Due to US Libya ICC Loophole, Qatar, Ukraine & UAE Could Also Be Immune

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 23 -- When the UN Security Council referred the case of Libya to the International Criminal Court in its Resolution 1973, the United States demanded and got an exemption for citizens of countries which are not members of the ICC's Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute.

Inner City Press first reported on this loophole, then asked US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice if it might allow certain possible war crimes to be exempt from the ICC referral. Rice responded that she doubted the ICC would go after “small” mercenaries.

But now, even of the first twelve countries which have provided notice to the UN under Security Council Resolution 1973, several beyond the United States are not ICC members. That is, if they dropped bombs on civilians -- even intentionally -- they would be exempt from any referral to or prosecution by the ICC, thanks to the loophole the US demanded for itself.

Both Arab countries which have provided notice, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are not members of the ICC, and therefore exempt from referral to the ICC. So too with Ukraine, which has provided notice (but see this other story).

The UK has claimed that Kuwait will soon be joining -- but it has not joined the ICC.

And while Turkey has said it will offer humanitarian help without providing UN notice, it is not a member of the ICC either.

What hath the US wrought? Watch this site.

At UN, As Libyan Resolution 1973 Passes With Five Abstentions, Half Answers by Lebanon & Dabbashi, Rice Chats with Sudan

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, March 17 -- The Libya resolution passed the UN Security Council Thursday evening with ten votes in favor and five abstaining: Russia, China, Brazil, Germany and India.

Russia said that its ceasefire proposal had the support of “a number of (Council) members,” and that its questions on the resolution just adopted remained unanswered. What are the limits of the use of force? He said if things go badly, it will be the responsibility of those who use force.

Brazil's Permanent Representative said her country is sensitive to the call of the Arab League for a no fly zone, but that the resolution in Paragraph 4 went beyond it.

Germany's Permanent Representative Wittig also said that military force carries risks that have been under estimated.

India through its Deputy Permanent Representative criticized the whole resolution, saying the Council should have waited for the report of Ban Ki-moon's envoy Al Khatib, and that sanctions may hurt the Libyan people.

After the vote, Inner City Press asked Libyan diplomat Ibrahim Dabbashi to respond to India's statement about the sanctions hurting Libyans. Dabbashi's response was only that the resolution does not allow foreign occupation.

Inner City Press asked Dabbashi about the possibility at some point of UN peacekeeping mission. No, Dabbashi that, not that. He said it's the Libyan people against Gadhafi.

Lebanon's Permanent Representative took questions, and Inner City Press asked him about the critique of some of the abstainers that the resolution went beyond what the Arab League has asked for. He replied that the Arab League only spoke about a no fly zone. Exactly.

Susan Rice took a few questions then it was “last question.” Since she had said Gadhafi had lost legitimacy by attacking his own people, Inner City Press asked, “What about Bahrain... and the crackdowns there?” These have included attacks on hospitals, blatant violations of international law. But Susn Rice was gone.

Footnote: Before she spoke at the stakeout, Susan Rice was speaking with a Sudanese diplomat from Khartoum. Inner City Press is seeking the US read out on the communication, and what the US is going to do, especially at the UN, about the stand off between SPLM and Khartoum on the reports of Khartoum aiding the two renegade generals in and around South Sudan, and on the crackdown on student protesters in Darfur that even UNAMID reported on earlier today. Watch this site.