As
Ladsous Said
It's Up to
Sudans Where
Jau Is, No
Visit or
Answer from
UNMISS
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 14 --
Despite heavy
fighting
in and around
Jau,
with South
Sudan says is
in its
territory, the
UN Mission in
South
Sudan has not
gone to Jau to
try to
safeguard the
remaining
residents
or even count
the dead.
Since
this seems
like either
dereliction of
UNMISS'
mandate, which
includes
protection
of civilians,
or an indirect
admission that
the UN or at
least its
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations
thinks Jau is
in North
Sudan,
Inner City
Press has
repeatedly
asked the UN
where Jau is,
and why it
has not gone.
DPKO
boss Herve
Ladsous,
unlike other
Under
Secretaries
General, did
not speak to
the
press or do a
stakeout
Q&A
when he left
the Security
Council
session with
Sudan and
South Sudan.
Questions to
spokespeople,
including
about Ladsous'
previous claim
that a Status
of Forces
Agreement with
Sudan about
the UNISFA
mission in
Abyei have
gone
unanswered.
(Susan
Malcorra, for
now USG of the
Department of
Field
Support, on
December 13
gave Inner
City Press an
update about
discussion in
Addis Ababa.)
Now
Inner City
Press has
learned that
in closed door
Council
consultation,
what
Ladsous said
about Jau's
location was
that it is up
to the parties
to
decide. (We'll
have more on
Ladsous,
spotting
wandering
around on
December 13.)
Jau is not on
the list of
five
disputed
towns; for the
UN to punt and
give Khartoum
a veto, and
decline to
even ask to go
to where
civilians are
being harmed,
seems
to be a new
low.
(c) UN photo
Ladsous in
South Sudan,
Hilde visit to
Jau and
answers not
seen
There
is a
conference in
Washington for
the next two
days about
South Sudan,
including in
its first day
a panel
moderated by
UNMISS chief
Hilde
Johnson. The
question of
Jau and why
UNMISS hasn't
gone has be
put
to her
directly, at
least
electronically
as suggested,
without any
answer;
Ladsous' DPKO
in New York
either has no
answer or says
it is
up to the
parties,
giving a veto
to Khartoum on
protection of
civilians.
So
Johnson will
be
in Washington,
at the
conference on
South Sudan.
One wonders if
she
will address
this question,
and if the
event will be
web-cast.
We've
asked. Watch
this site.
, 
