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At UN, 7 Countries Discussed by Ban with 19 US Congress
Members, But Not Somalia
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Muse
UNITED NATIONS,
July 22 -- It was a single line in
the Appointments of the Secretary-General. "11:00 a.m., Mr. Howard L.
Berman, Chairman, US House Committee on Foreign Affairs." It was not
listed in the UN's Media Alert, nor in its Daily Journal. But a sign in
the
basement, by the Vienna Cafe, blocked out Conference Room 6 from 11 to
1 for a
U.S. Congressional Delegation, or "Co-Del," as security officers
called it. Ban Ki-moon and his American aide Robert Orr arrived at
10:59, a
waiting staff member muttering that "there's no one here yet, will he
just
sit here and wait?" This one media outlet there, Orr said, would joke
of
Ban being prompt. Done.
Five
minutes later U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad arrived,
with chairman Howard Berman. After that, more than thirty Congress
people came,
lining up for photos with Ban Ki-moon. The
doors to the meeting were closed. Outside
in the Vienna Cafe, African Ambassadors guessed at the agenda, set out
to tease
it out. "Zimbabwe," they returned with. "There's a request to
refer Mugabe to the International Criminal Court." As unrealistic as
this
seems, in light of the double
veto ten days ago, it was explained as a reaction
to speed-reading news of ICC prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo's request for an
arrest warrant
against Sudan's Omar Al Bashir.
At the
UN's noon briefing, Inner City Press asked about the meeting and its
agenda,
and was told an answer would come later. See below.
From left, Messrs. Orr, Khalilzad, Ban and
Berman, in front of Mr. Kim
When U.S.
Ambassador Khalilzad came to
the microphone outside the Security Council, Inner City Press asked
what the
meeting was about. A range of issues, he
said, the full range --
Inner City Press: The
Congressional Delegation, what issues are they discussing with the
Secretary-General?
Ambassador Khalilzad: I was there
with them with the Secretary-General until I came to do my statement on
the
Middle East. Their interest is broad - anything you can imagine that's
hot on
the plate in terms of issues that you all are paying attention to are
issues
also that they are raising. It’s very good to have them here. They
represent
the people, and they have a role in our foreign policy. We believe that
the
U.S. role in the UN is important, the UN itself is important. Many
challenges
we face require effective multi-lateral action so it’s good for them to
come
and hear not only from us, those of us who represent the United States
here,
but also to talk to the Secretariat. We’re going to have lunch with
them. I've
invited colleagues from P5 to participate in that lunch, and they’ll
have an
opportunity also to engage and interact with them. So I welcome this
visit,
thank you very much.
After
3:30 p.m., when the Security Council's debate on the Middle East
started up
again, the following came through --
Subj: Your question about the
Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
From: unspokesperson-donotreply
[at] un.org
To: Inner City Press
Date: 7/22/2008 3:42:49 P.M.
Eastern Daylight Time
The Secretary-General today
welcomed a group of 19 US Congressional Members, one of the largest
delegations
from the US Congress visiting the UN in recent years. The delegation
was led by
the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Howard
Berman.
The issues covered included the
food crisis, the Millennium Development Goals, climate change, UN
reform and US
funding for the Organization, the Human Rights Council, and visa
authorization
for people living with HIV/AIDS. Countries and regions discussed
included
Darfur, Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Iran, Haiti, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
But nothing
on Nepal,
on that day's agenda, or the Congo, the largest UN mission, or
Somalia,
with a major U.S. role. Host country redux.
Footnote:
Wednesday there'll be a meeting of the UN
Committee on Relations with the Host Country, this time explicitly closed
to
the press and public. What could be so secret? On Somalia, the UN's
envoy is
here, to prepare with this week's debate, while his spokeswoman
shepherds
around ostensible
opposition leaders who have signed on to the Djibouti deal.
Watch this
site. And
this --
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