Palestine's Flag To Fly at UN, 119 Yes, 45 Abstain, 8 No: US, Israel, Canada, Australia and Four Islands, List of Non-Voters

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 10, updated -- The UN draft resolution to fly the State of Palestine's flag in front of the UN passed on September 10, 119 in favor, 45 abstaining and eight against: the United States, Canada, Israel, Australia, Tuvalu, Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Inner City Press put the UN voting sheet online here.

  There were also countries which didn't vote at all, like Uganda, Haiti, Georgia, Malawi, South Sudan and, strangely, Yemen. Iraq's Permanent Representative said all Arab Group members supported the draft; Yemen's representative was in the building, Inner City Press saw and greeted him. What happened?

Update: Inner City Press went to the UN General Assembly stakeout after the meeting and asked Iraq's Ambassador about Yemen not voting; it was explained as a problem of Yemen being behind on its dues to the UN.

  The resolution states that it is “taking note of the participation of non-member Observer States, which maintain permanent observer missions at United Nations Headquarters, in the sessions and work of the General Assembly, recalling that the State of Palestine became a non-member Observer State at the United Nations on 29 November 2012, and recalling also in this regard its resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012 and previous relevant resolutions.”

   The adopted resolution “decides that the flags of non-member Observer States at the United Nations maintaining permanent observer missions at Headquarters shall be raised at the United Nations Headquarters and Offices following the flags of the Member States of the United Nations and requests the Secretary-General to undertake the necessary measures for the implementation of this resolution during the seventieth session of the General Assembly and within 20 days of the adoption of this resolution.”

 After the vote, for example, Sweden explained why it voted Yes; Netherlands said why it abstained. The two, and Italy, will vie for two WEOG seats on the UN Security Council.

On August 28, the Holy See / Vatican has issued this:

“In accordance with the rules governing the General Assembly no Member or Observer State is entitled to oppose the tabling of a draft resolution by a Member State. In light of this, the Holy See does not object to the tabling of a draft resolution concerning the raising of the flags of Observer States at the UN Headquarters and offices.

“The Holy See, however, notes the long established praxis and tradition of the UN, sing 1945, whereby only flags of member States are displayed at the UN Headquarters and offices and will accept whatever  decision the UN may wish to take in this regard in the future.”

  Got it?

  Staking out the August 27 Arab Group meeting, Inner City Press was told by two major Arab states that the flag will "definitely" go up, and was reliably informed that the flag for Palestine would go after those of ("full") member states, that is near 42nd Street in front of the UN Library building.

  Inner City Press asked an involved delegation if the UN was ready with the flag pole and was told yes, a letter has been sent to that effect.

  Much earlier, anti-flag delegations were pitching the story, which was eventually picked up.

 On both August 27 and again on August 28, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's office of the spokesperson:

"Yesterday, Inner City Press was told in but not by the UN that if the draft resolution on raising the State of Palestine's flag at the UN passes, (1) it would go at the end of Member States, that is, nearest 42nd street and (2) that 'the UN' has written a letter concerning its readiness to install the needed flagpole.

 "I understand you will not comment on what may happen in the GA but I am requesting UN Secretariat (Protocol, OLA and/or DM/FMS) confirmation of where a non-member State's flag WOULD go, and on readiness to install the flagpole including that a letter to that effect has been written and sent."

 The UN has refused to answer that question, for more than 24 hours.

 On August 27, a meeting on the Diplomacy of Pope Francis, scheduled at 4 pm in Conference Room 3, waslisted as "Closed." (There was another 4 pm event upstairs at the UN.)

Back on June 18 after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon decided not to list Israel or Hamas in the annex of his Children and Armed Conflict report -- nor the French troops alleged to have raped children in the Central African Republic -- Ban came to the UN Security Council media stakeout, accompanied by CAAC expert Leila Zerrougui. But he answered no questions.

  On June 24, the UN's Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman addressed the Security Council, saying:

“The Secretary General took note of the release on Monday of the Human Rights Council's independent Commission of Inquiry's report on Gaza. While we do not comment on the substance of such reports, it is our hope that it will contribute to bringing justice to victims of last year's war and encourage the parties to engage in serious and credible examinations of their own behavior." 

  But is that credible? Down in UN Conference Room 3, US, joined only by Canada, voted with Israel against a UN Budget resolution on Lebanon and the attack on Qana; upstairs, the US' representative left the Council with Feltman and got on the same elevator with him. Periscope video here available for 24 hours, after 470 live views. Geneva may well tilt one way, but the Secretariat tilts the other. Watch this site.

  Back on June 18 after Ban read a statement about climate change and then the "controversy" about his report, he said he had to leave. There were some grumbles; Inner City Press asked, about the Central African Republic rapes and cover up, what about the Panel? Ban did not answer. Periscope video for now here.

  Zerrougui stayed, gamely; she declined to answer about the non-inclusion of Israel. Inner City Press asked her about the CAR rapes and cover up. She said while she didn't find out all in time, once she did, she spoke with the government concerned.

  Inner City Press reported exclusively that Zerrougui met French Ambassador Francois Delattre -- his Mission declined to confirm or deny, when asked in writing by Inner City Press - but what has come of it? 

  And what of the CAR rapes by the French troops? They are mentioned in the text of the report, but not in the Annex. Ban said a Panel would be set up- but hasn't yet done it.

 Inner City Press is exclusively informed that concerned member states will meet not with Ban but his Deputy Jan Eliasson on June 19. Some are concerned Ban might even try to put Eliasson on the "independent" panel, despite controversy about an August 8, 2014 email saying Eliasson would be briefed that afternoon about the CAR rapes. (The UN now says Eliasson didn't learn of them until April 2015.)  We'll see.

   

At UN, Tuvalu on Fukushima, UAE on Bahrain, Low Drama From Tableless Booth

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 28 -- Friday night at the UN was high drama. The Security Council passed a resolution on Syria chemical weapons; French foreign minister Laurent Fabius pontificated at the stakeout as John Kerry walked out.

  Saturday the UN returned to earth, hard. The General Assembly Hall felt empty as Tuvalu denounced the nuclear poisoning of the ocean -- that would be Japan's Fukushima -- then the United Arab Emirates claimed that opposition in Bahrain are terrorists.

  Inner City Press ran to the Temporary North Lawn Building, this year's GA hall, to watch the final speech of the night and the rights of reply from what's called the "Print Media Booth." This was established after the Free UN Coalition for Access @FUNCA_info challenged the unprecedented banning of the press from the GA hall.

  But in the Print Media Booth, there is no table, no chairs, no translation. If you sit on the floor to use a laptop, all you see is the ceiling.

  Of rights of reply, there were only three. Serbia shot back at Albania, saying they have not accepted the breakaway of Kosovo. Iran chided the UAE for calling the Persian Gulf the "Arabian Gulf." And the UAE closed it out, in Arabic untranslated in the Print Media Booth, citing the Abu Musa island.

  Outside on First Avenue, the police barricades were removed, the protest pens being disassembled. A longtime UN staffer told Inner City Press she was not impressed by Obama's speech this year, and even less impressed by French-nominated Syrian rebel leader Ahmad al Jarba, a/k/a Jarbucks.

  Inner City Press was interviewed on radio Saturday morning about Jarbucks, and will be again on Monday. It is a classic UN story: rules ignored by the powerful, attempts to censor press question. This is the UN, after all -- when it returns to earth. Watch this site.

   

At UN, Sweden's Hit & Run Human Rights Attack Lambasted by Cuba in UN General Assembly

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, September 29, 2010 -- As this UN General Debate reaches what some call its garbage time stage, when all the heads of state and attendant security are gone and the General Assembly Hall is largely empty, the deep fissures in the international community become apparent.

In a near empty GA on September 28, Sweden delivered a high minded speech, barely mentioning its own country but rather critiquing the human rights records of at least ten countries. The speech followed the more modest plea of Tuvalu, largely devoted to the right of Taiwan to participate in the UN's specialized agencies. A cynical called this Tuvalu “singing for its supper” -- saying what was necessary to keep Taiwanese aid following in, as Burkina Faso also did on Tuesday night.

At the end of the proceedings, new GA President and international man of mystery Joseph Deiss -- what are the outside business interests he mentioned but did not disclose? -- opened the floor for the right to reply. Most interventions were predictable.

Iran replied to the claims about three islands by the United Arab Emirates, a dispute between oil rich and well armed states which never seems to end.

Ethiopia issued a litany of complaint, including on behalf of Djibouti, against Eritrea, which in turn responded that the so called international community never enforced the boundary judgment it won.

Then Cuba, moving beyond the parochial, lambasted Sweden's “arrogant” attack on eight states in the Global South (somehow Cuba missed two). Most compellingly, at least to Inner City Press, Cuba said that the Sweden speaker had been asked to stay and hear Cuba's response, but chose not to. Even at the UN this passes for bad form.

UN Television panned over to the Swedish set of seat, in which two young staffers sat, looking outgunned. Neither of them chose to surreply. One imagined the Swedish speaker out to dinner, having gravlax and thinking big thoughts. But at the UN you have to engage. Score one for Cuba, on these grounds alone. Watch this site.