UN
Tells Gambari
to Avoid
Partying with
Bashir in
Future, After
Week
of Press Qs
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 1 --
After Ibrahim
Gambari, Joint
UN - African
Union envoy to
Darfur, took
pictures with
Omar al-Bashir,
indicted by
the
International
Criminal Court
for genocide
and war
crimes, Inner
City Press published
them and
three times
last week
asked
UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
to state UN
policy for
dealing with
ICC indictees,
and if
Gambari's
actions
complied with
UN policy.
After
Nesirky on
January 26
forwarded only
Gambari's
defense of the
interaction
with
an ICC
indictee,
which cited
"African
traditions,"
on
February 1
Inner City
Press asked
him again.
Nesirky
first
asked if Inner
City Press
wanted to
quote
Gambari's
whole answer,
which is
below, then
answered that
"Mr. Gambari's
attention has
been drawn...
to the need to
avoid such
encounters in
future, how
ever
unintentional
this
particular
encounter may
have been."
It
is unclear
when
and by whom
Gambari's
"attention"
was drawn " to
the
need to avoid
such
encounters in
future." It is
clear, how
ever,
that Nesirky
did not
announce it at
the beginning
of "his"
noon briefing
on Wednesday,
nor inform
Inner City
Press, which
had
three times
asked about
it, before the
briefing.
Inner
City Press
has asked for
Nesirky to
provide the UN
policy on
dealing with
ICC
indictees,
since for
example the UN
has provided
air
transportation
for Bashir's
fellow
indictee Ahmed
Harun, to meet
with the very
type
of militias in
Abyei that he
is accused of
organizing for
war crimes
in Darfur, the
janjaweed.
Nesirky
has yet to
provide the
policy, but
from the
sequence here
it appears to
be to
"limits
interactions
with
individuals
indicted by
international
tribunals to
'what is
strictly
required for
carrying out
UN mandated
activities'"
and
specifically
in Sudan that
"interactions
of a
ceremonial
nature with
President
Al-Bashir
should be
avoided,
including
courtesy
calls,
receptions,
photo
opportunities,
attendance
at national
day
celebrations
and so on."
In
this case, it
was at a
reception to
celebrate the
wedding of
Chad's
president
Idriss Deby
with the
daughter of
janjaweed
leader Musa
Hilal that
Gambari
greeted ICC
indictee
Bashir.
Before
his
belated answer
on February 1,
on January 26
Nesirky told
Inner City
Press that
"the ICC is an
independent
judicial
institution.
And
it needs to be
able to carry
out its work
in an
independent
fashion. And
so I don’t
think that it
is appropriate
to comment
further on
cases that are
being looked
at and in the
judicial
process
already."
Inner
City Press
asked, "can
you see why
the Gambari
photo creates
some
confusion?
Attending a
wedding
ceremony is
hard to
describe as a
humanitarian
gesture."
Later,
Nesirky's
office sent
Inner City
Press the
following:
Subject:
Your
question on
JSR Gambari
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
[at] un.org
Date: Thu, Jan
26, 2012 at
1:02 PM
To: Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
The
Departement
for
Peacekeeping
Operations
(DPKO) advises
the following:
JSR Gambari
attended the
wedding at the
invitation of
President Deby
of Chad, who
is an
important
regional
partner in the
peace process.
JSR Gambari
had no control
over the guest
list and it is
contrary to
basic
diplomatic
courtesy and
African
traditions to
ignore
greeting
other invited
guests.
So
it appeared
that the UN
system's
policy on
engagement
with
individuals
indicted
by the ICC for
genocide has a
"wedding
reception" or
even
"African
traditions"
exception.
It's worth
noting, as the
Sudanese
Mission to the
UN confirmed
to Inner City
Press
apparently
proudly, that
Idriss Deby
wasn't even AT
the reception.
But Gambari
went anyway,
and greeted
Bashir.
The
Enough Project
cited "dogged
reporting
by Inner City
Press" as
"finally
compelling"
the UN's
response.
But should it
have
to be
so
dogged, asking
Ban's
spokesman four
times without
getting any
updates, as on
so many
matters?
Gambari
& Bashir,
UN policy and
updated
answers to
Press not
shown
The
UN's policy on
dealing with
ICC indicted
individuals is
in the purview
of Ban's head
of Legal
Affairs
Patricia
O'Brien, who
has repeatedly
refused to
answer press
questions.
This is Ban's
UN - watch
this site.
Footnote:
it
appears that
the fact that
Gambari
greeted
Bashir, and
that photos
existed, did
not move Ban's
UN, at least
as of January
26. Nesirky
on February 1
answered Inner
City Press
that a letter
was received
from Human
Rights Watch
"last week,"
and was
brought to
Gambari's
attention.
Again, when?
Has Ban
"outsourced"
his
conscience to
HRW, which
declined to
describe or
even summarize
its
meeting with
him last year,
then largely
praised him
last month?
Did
the facts
move Ban, or
the letter
from a group
now apparently
seen by Team
Ban as
friendly?
Some wonder if
HRW will
publicly chime
in on Ban
accepting as
his Senior
Adviser on
Peacekeeping
Operations the
Sri Lankan
General
Shavendra
Silva, named
in Ban's own
Panel of
Experts report
on Sri Lanka
as shelling
hospitals
and playing a
role in the
killing of
those seeking
to surrender?
And why
doesn't Ban's
Spokesperson's
Office provide
updated
answers,
including
prospectively
on this, when
what they
previously
publicly said
is not longer
true?
, 
