By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/drc1nochamsf111309.html
UNITED NATIONS, November 13 -- In Masisi in the Congo four weeks ago, Congolese army forces attacked civilians who had gathered for vaccination by MSF Doctors without Borders. MSF subsequently put out a public statement and, the group told the Press on November 13, informed the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs both in New York and the Congo.
Still, the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC) has neither said or done anything about the involved units of the Congolese Army. On November 13, Inner City Press asked OCHA chief John Holmes why the UN system's reaction has been so slow.
Holmes said "I saw the allegations" of MSF and have "no reason to disbelieve" them. Still, he said, "I don't know enough about what happened to comment on your specific point." But why not? Who in OHCA, or the wider UN, is responsible to acting on a group of MSF's description of atrocities by a one of MONUC's partners?
Holmes said that perhaps Ross Mountain, back from the Congo for a week and retiring that day, would address it. But on November 12 when Inner City Press asked Mountain, he said he didn't know much about it. He's only been in New York for a week. And if he doesn't know about it, who in the UN system does?
Finally Holmes said "it's easy to criticize," and that the Congolese Army might be worse if MONUC stopped working with it, leaving it "without any restraining influence." But by that logic, one might argue the UN should assist, in order to restraint, a group like the Lord's Resistance Army.
Holmes noted that Alain Le Roy "announced very quickly" that MONUC wouldn't assist some units of the Congolese Army, that MONUC "immediately" said it would withdraw support.
But that belated withdrawal is from units alleged to have killed month ago in May, unconnected with the MSF or Philip Alston allegations. Does MONUC give a six month grace period after atrocities, to continue receiving UN support? Is this what due process, or face saving, has become?
After Holmes' answer -- Mountain did not take a second bite at the apple -- the UN representative of MSF added that this was "the first time since the 1990s" when MSF concluded "our presence was used to kill people." Inner City Press has asked MSF for more information. It would seem the UN would take this seriously, four weeks after the incident and at least a week after a very public report. But apparently not.
What is wrong with MONUC? Another participant in the event, held at the International Peace Institute, put the blame on the UN's Congo envoy Alan Doss. "Things have gotten worse under Doss," Henri Boshoff of the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa told Inner City Press. But where is the accountability? To be continued.
Footnote: we would really like to write a less critical retirement piece on Ross Mountain. The November 13 press conference, at which whistleblower allegations where also blown off, did not allow for it. Nor did the November 14 IPI appearance. There is apparently at least one more UN Mountain event, at which Holmes said he will praise Mountain. Watch this site.
