Sudan's
Karti &
Ghandour in
DC, Tabit
Rapes
Whitewashed by
Ladsous, HRW
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 5, more
here --
With UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous still
providing few
to no updates
on its UNAMID
mission's
November 9
covering up of
rapes in Tabit
in Darfur,
just as Ladsous
did about mass
rapes in
Minova in the
DR Congo, here,
some soft on
the UN try to
raise the
issue without
blaming those
responsible
for the
cover-up, see
below.
On
February 5,
the US State
Department's
Deputy
Spokesperson
acknowledged
that Sudan's
foreign
minister Ali
Karti "was
invited to the
prayer
breakfast.
Also we can
confirm the
official visit
of senior
Sudanese
Government
official
Ibrahim
Ghandour.
Next week,
he’ll meet
with senior
U.S.
Government
officials.
This visit and
also the
discussions
with Foreign
Minister Karti
are a
continuation
of dialogue on
a number of
issues of
longstanding
concern to the
U.S.
Government,
with the
Government of
Sudan.
It’s part of
the engagement
process where
we raise
concerns,
certainly,
that you are
well aware
of. And
we engage them
in a frank and
frequent
manner to
discuss this
full range of
issues."
So will those
issues include
getting a
second chance
to
investigate,
and no cover
up, the rapes
in Tabit?
In terms of
the UN, there
is a pattern,
and until UN
Peacekeeping's
senior
leadership's
cover up of
these
incidents -
and even
silence on
dead
peacekeepers
for more than
a week --
nothing will
improve.
So why is
Human Rights
Watch, which
alongside its
detailed work
goes out of
its way not
to criticize
the UN and
especially
Ladsous, for
example on
Central
African
Republic,
as Inner City
Press reported
here,
partnering to
hold a
privatized
event on Tabit
-- at the same
time as a
Security
Council meeting
about Yemen --
not in the UN
Press Briefing
Room but among
friends, as
they say?
Any country
can sponsor
such a
briefing in
the UN Press
Briefing Room.
But HRW hides
behind and in
the clubhouse
of the UN
Censorship
Alliance, Board
members of
which in the
past have
ordered
changes to
articles about
Ladsous -
and about
Sri Lanka,
more
here.
Human rights?
Hardly.
Look how Human
Rights Watch's
selectively
distributed
invitation whitewashes
UN
Peacekeeping's
and Ladsous'
role:
"Between
October 30 and
November 1,
2014, Sudanese
government
forces entered
Tabit, North
Darfur, and
carried out
massive abuses
against the
town’s
residents,
including a
mass rape of
women and
girls. Sudan
responded by
denying the
abuses and has
refused to
allow
international peacekeepers
and other
independent
monitors to
investigate
the crimes."
This is misleading
- Ladsous'
UNAMID was in
Tabit on
November 9,
and put out a
press release
whitewashing
the rapes and
saying the
people there
like the
government's
security
forces. This
was shameful.
More
publicly,
Inner City
Press on
January 26 asked
Security
Council
ambassadors
Mark Lyall
Grant of the
UK and
Raimonda
Murmokaite of
Lithuania,
"what happened
with UNAMID
going back for
real
investigation
of rapes in
Tabit?"
Lyall Grant replied,
"We continue
to press DPKO
to encourage
UNAMID to
revert on the
Tabit
allegations."
Murmokaite
added,
"have been
raising the
issue at
consultations,
will
continue."
And
so Inner City
Press at the
January 26 UN
noon briefing
asked
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, video here:
Inner
City
Press: two of
the Security
Council
ambassadors
this morning
said they
continued to
ask DPKO to
ensure that
the Tabit site
of alleged
mass rapes is
revisited. I
want to know
has any action
been taken on
that? Has
there been any
move by
UNAMID?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
The request to
visit Tabit
stands.
There's
nothing to
report.
Nothing
to report?
Back on
January 8
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, video
here:
Inner
City Press:
what has the
UN system done
in order to
get access
again to
Thabit in
Darfur, where
there were
allegedly 200
rapes, and
then the
Government
didn’t allow
any
inspectors.
What have you
done since we
last spoke on
it?
SG
Ban: As for
the first part
of the
question, as
you know, we
tried to have
a thorough
investigation.
This report
might not have
been
sufficient
because of the
lack of full
cooperation of
the
authorities on
the ground.
That has
really
hampered our
authorities to
go into the
field and get
a thorough
investigation.
It is
important that
we have to
have a
thorough
investigation
and as a
matter of
principle,
there should
be a clear
accountability
process and
justice. I am
firm about
this matter.
And we will,
in the course
of time, have
better
information on
this matter.
While
appreciated,
it is widely
recognized
that the more
time goes by,
the more
difficult a
credible rape
investigation
becomes. So
why did UNAMID
issue a
cover-up
November 9
press release?
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