On DRC Amid Massacres in
Kasai and Kabila Breaking Deal, ICP Asks, Now UN
Comment Here
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
May 10 – The UN has spent
billions in the DR Congo and
still spends it, but has
nothing to say about massacres
and the breaking of political
deals. On May 9 Inner City
Press asked the UN's holdover
spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN transcript here:
Inner City Press: I wanted to
ask you about the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
First, whether the UN has any
comment on President [Joseph]
Kabila naming a transitional
Government in seeming
violation of his
agreement. And also,
there are reports of new
massacres in Kasai.
There are witnesses saying
that the army just bas… went
into people's houses and
summarily executed them.
Spokesman: We've seen
the reports in Kasais, which
are, obviously, very
disturbing. And I know
our colleagues in the mission
are looking into it. I
don't have any comment on the
political end at this moment.
No comment?
On May 10, Dujarric returned
with this: "I was asked
yesterday, I think it was you
Matthew, about the formation
on 9 May of a new Government
in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. I can tell
you that the UN continues to
encourage all Congolese
stakeholders to implement the
31 December political
agreement, including the
establishment of transitional
institutions envisaged under
the agreement." Oh, quiet
diplomacy. We'll have more on
this. Back in March two
members of the UN's DR Congo
Panel of Experts were
confirmed by UN Secretary
General Antonio Guterres as
dead. The UN Security Council
issued this Press Statement:
"The members of the Security
Council condemned in the
strongest terms the killing of
two UN experts from the Group
of Experts who were monitoring
the sanctions regime in the
Kasaï Central region of the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo, and expressed concern
over the unknown status of the
four Congolese nationals
accompanying them. The members
of the Security Council
expressed their deepest
sympathy to the families of
the victims, the Governments
of the United States, Chile
and Sweden, as well as to the
Group of Experts on the DRC
and the UN Secretariat.
The members of the
Security Council urged the
Congolese authorities to
continue the search for the
four missing Congolese
nationals.
The members of the Security
Council called on the
Government of the DRC to
swiftly and fully investigate
these crimes and bring the
still unidentified
perpetrators to justice. They
encouraged a UN inquiry into
the matter, as per the
statement by the Secretary
General on 28 March 2017, and
encouraged cooperation from
the government of the DRC in
this regard. The members of
the Security Council
underlined that attacks
targeting civilians, such as
these UN-appointed personnel,
may constitute war crimes
under international law."
US
Ambassador to the UN Nikki
Haley commented: "It is with
great sadness that we received
confirmation today of the
deaths of Michael Sharp and
Zaida Catalan. Michael and
Zaida were killed senselessly
while on a mission working for
the United Nations in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo. My prayers and
heartfelt condolences are with
Michael and Zaida’s families
during this terrible time. It
is always difficult to lose a
brave American dedicated to
service. Michael was working
on the front lines of what we
try to do at the United
Nations every day: find
problems and fix them. He
selflessly put himself in
harm’s way to try to make a
difference in the lives of the
Congolese people. His courage
and desire to serve others is
an example for us all. "
Here was
UNSG Guterres' earlier
statement: "I am deeply
saddened to confirm that the
remains discovered by
peacekeepers from the United
Nations Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo (MONUSCO) on 27 March
outside of the city of Kananga
in the Congolese Kasaï-Central
province are those of Michael
Sharp (United States) and
Zaida Catalan (Sweden),
members of the Group of
Experts on the Democratic
Republic of the Congo missing
since 12 March 2017. I convey
my profound condolences to
Michael's and Zaida's
families, loved ones and
colleagues. Michael and Zaida
lost their lives seeking to
understand the causes of
conflict and insecurity in the
DRC in order to help bring
peace to the country and its
people. We will honor
their memory by continuing to
support the invaluable work of
the Group of Experts and the
whole UN family in the DRC. It
is our hope that the cause of
their deaths will be
determined following a more
thorough examination. I
trust that the Congolese
authorities will conduct a
full investigation into this
incident. The United Nations
will also conduct an inquiry.
In case of criminal acts, the
United Nations will do
everything possible to ensure
that justice is done. I urge
the Congolese authorities to
continue the search for the
four Congolese nationals who
accompanied our colleagues.
The United Nations will
cooperate with the authorities
in the continuing search."
Rest in
peace. But what will the UN do
different? After UN
Peacekeeping boss Herve
Ladsous refused to answer the
Press' question about DR Congo
Panel of Experts member
Michael Sharp and his
colleagues, on March 28 Inner
City Press asked UN Spokesman
Farhan Haq, "The father of UN
DRC Panel of Expert member
Michael MJ Sharp has said, "We
have been informed that two
Caucasian bodies have been
found in shallow graves in the
search area, one male and one
female. Since no other
Caucasians have been reported
missing in that region, there
is a high probability that
these are the bodies of MJ and
Zaida” Catalan. Please state
the UN's role, if any, in
finding the bodies, and state
what steps will be taken to
further identify them, and by
whom: the DRC authorities? Any
UN role? What are the UN's /
MONUSCO's / DPKO - DPA's
lessons learned from what has
happened?" In response, Haq
said "We have been getting
many questions about reports
from the Democratic Republic
of the Congo that the bodies
of the members of the Group of
Experts on the DRC have been
found. What I can tell you is
that peacekeepers from the UN
Mission, MONUSCO, have found
remains which are being
examined to determine if they
are indeed those of our
missing colleagues. We cannot
at this moment confirm that
they are the bodies of the
experts. We hope to be able to
provide more information on
this soon. In any case, we
will provide all verified
information first to our
colleagues' families and to
the authorities of Sweden, the
US and the DRC." Watch this
site.
Back on March 21 Inner City
Press asked Francois Delattre
the UN Ambassador of France
about the kidnapping. Video
here. Here's how the
French mission transcribed it:
Inner City Press:
Q: What about the panel of
experts, two of them are
missing and their staff
disappear, what should MONUSCO
be doing, is the Council
concerned, what should be
done?
Amb Delattre: There is a huge
concern of course about these
two experts who disappeared.
It is too early to say what
will be the conclusions of the
enquiry but of course it is a
matter of big concern for all
of us.
Back on
March 16 Inner City Press
asked UN holdover spokesman
Stephane Dujarric how many, if
the government of the DRC was
told, and of complaints from
Kansas. Video
here; UN
Transcript:
Inner City Press:
in the DRC [Democratic
Republic of the Congo], the
two internationals and four… I
think it's four nationals or
can you… do you know how many…
how many Congolese…
Spokesman: My
understanding is that it's two
internationals and [four]
Congolese.
Inner
City Press:
What I wanted to ask is about
a quote by Lambert Mende, a
Spokesman for the
Government. He said: "It
is not normal for people to
come here and start moving
around like this, Mr. Mende
said Tuesday. If the
Government had been informed
of the activities of these
officials, perhaps they would
have had an escort for their
safety. He said he would
raise the issue with the
United Nations." Has the
DRC raised it? But,
also, was the DRC Government
informed of the movement…?
Spokesman: I think… I
will let my colleagues on the
ground answer the Government
of the Democratic Republic of
the Congo as to the
details. I think our
focus now is on our continued
search for two colleagues and
the [four] Congolese that were
travelling with them, and we
continue that search.
And I'll leave it at that.
Inner City Press: elected
representatives from Kansas
have been quoted saying… where
Mr. Michael Sharp comes from,
have been quoted as saying
that they are calling on both
the State Department, and in
particular, the UN to do
more. So…?
Spokesman: I think we…
we completely understand the
anxiety of the families, of
the people involved, and the
people that are close to
them. I can assure you
that the UN is doing
everything it can, has
deployed assets on the ground,
and we continue to look for
them.
Back on
March 13 Inner City Press
asked Dujarric if the UN's
MONUSCO mission had, in fact,
moved troops into the Kasais,
and if the Panel members had
any UN protection. Dujarric
did not answer either
question. He confirmed the two
Panel members, and others, had
"gone missing."
Meanwhile
down in Washington, where 50%
UN budget cuts are being
discussed and opposed by "UN
advocacy group" the Better
World Campaign and advocacy
media which channel
them, State Department
Acting Spokesperson Mark Toner
said, "We’re aware of reports
of a U.S. citizen who was
reported missing in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
I will not be very forthcoming
because we’re still trying to
get more specifics about the
case; so I won’t be mentioning
the individual’s name. I’m
somewhat restrained in what I
can talk about except to say
that we obviously take the
security and welfare of
American citizens abroad very
seriously. We’re watching this
case very closely. We’re
working with local authorities
to try to find out more
information. We’re also in
touch with the UN as
well.. we’re aware of
reports that he’s missing,
this individual’s missing. I
don’t want to lean too far
forward until we’ve really
gotten a better factual basis
to talk about it."
From March 13 the
UN
transcript:
Inner City Press:
Can I ask about DRC
[Democratic Republic of the
Congo]? It says two UN
officials, one American and
one Swedish, have been taken
hostage in Kasai. One,
what can you say about
that? And, two, has DPKO
[Department of Peacekeeping
Operations] or MONUSCO [United
Nations Organization
Stabilization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo], in fact, deployed any
personnel to Kasai? I
know there was some discussion
in the Council of that maybe a
week or so ago. I want
to know whether it took place.
Spokesman: We're clearly
looking for these two
people. As you know, two
members of the UN Group of
Experts have gone missing near
the locality of Moyo
Muswila. It's about… in
Kasai. MONUSCO is
actively looking for them at
this point.
Inner
City Press:
But are there MONUSCO
personnel in Kasai? Do
they travel around with no UN
security?
Spokesman: My
understanding is that there
are…
Inner City Press: So,
were they without security?
Spokesman: No, I don't
know the circumstances.
We're still unsure of the
circumstances surrounding the
disappearance of these two
people. We are actively
looking for them.
We'll have
more on this.
The UN
spends more than a billion
dollars a year in public funds
in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, yet when massacres
are documented, even filmed,
the UN does next to nothing.
UN Peacekeeping chief Herve
Ladsous has been responsible
for this inaction, in the DRC
for example covering up the
Army rapes in Minova, as he
covered up and justified his
peacekeepers' rares in the
Central African Republic. What
will also-French replacement
Jean Pierre Lacroix do, on
filmed atrocities?
Inner City Press
on February 20 asked UN deputy
spokesman Farhan Haq about
just such a video, and why the
UN continues to work with the
Congolese Army. From the UN
transcript, text below.
Now, after
the UNSC Presidency declined
to answer Inner City Press on
February 23 and on February
24, French Ambassador Francois
Delattre told Inner City Press
he wasn't sure of the status
of the draft Press Statement
but he would revert (the
Mission didn't), here just out
is the UNSC Press Statement:
"The members of
the Security Council strongly
condemned the violence
witnessed in the Kasaï region
over recent months. They
expressed grave concern at the
recent reports of serious
violations of international
humanitarian law committed by
local militia in that region,
including unlawful recruitment
and use of child soldiers, and
of killings of civilians by
members of the security forces
of the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC), all of which
might constitute war crimes
under international law.
They recalled that the
Government of DRC bears the
primary responsibility to
protect civilians within its
territory and urged the
Government of DRC to
constantly exercise maximum
restraint and proportionate
lawful use of force in its
efforts to restore order. They
called on the Government of
DRC to immediately dispatch a
credible and impartial
investigation and to bring to
justice and hold accountable
all those responsible. They
welcomed the announcement by
the Government of DRC in this
regard. They encouraged the
Stabilization Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo (MONUSCO) to provide
support to the Congolese
authorities, if requested, in
the conduct of this
investigation, developments in
which they will follow very
closely. They further called
on MONUSCO to monitor and
report on violations and
abuses of international human
rights law and violations of
international humanitarian law
and to update its contingency
plans in this regard. In the
longer term, they encouraged
the Government of DRC to
continue its efforts for the
extension of state authority,
ensuring credible governance
with capable institutions,
especially in the security
sector, to prevent and deter
violence.
The members of the Security
Council expressed their
concern at recent incursions
of former M23 combatants in
DRC and recalled the
commitments by all States of
the region under the Peace,
Security and Cooperation (PSC)
framework for the DRC and the
region. They noted with
appreciation the communique of
the third meeting of the
guarantors of the PSC
Framework on 27 January 2017
in that regard and urged them
to continue advancing their
commitments.
The members of the Security
Council reaffirmed their
strong support for the 31
December 2016 political
agreement, and its pursuit of
peaceful, credible, free, fair
and inclusive elections by
December 2017, leading to a
democratic transfer of power.
They expressed their
increasing concern regarding
the continuing lack of
progress in the dialogue among
the political stakeholders in
DRC related to the
implementation modalities of
the agreement. They expressed
concern that, two months after
the signing of the agreement,
the appointment of a Prime
Minister presented by the
Rassemblement coalition, as
well as the installation of a
new transitional government
and of the Comité National de
Suivi de l’Accord (CNSA) have
yet to take place. They
stressed the need to maintain
the political goodwill that
led to the signing of the
agreement in order to avoid
further insecurity in the DRC.
In this context, the members
of the Security Council called
on all stakeholders in the
DRC, including President
Kabila, the presidential
majority and the opposition,
to redouble, in good faith,
their efforts towards a speedy
conclusion of the ongoing
talks on the “arrangements
particuliers” of the
agreement, in order to
urgently nominate a Prime
Minister presented by the
Rassemblement, as per the 31
December agreement, to put in
place the CNSA and to fully
implement confidence building
measures. They recalled that
security issues should not
delay the implementation of
the agreement, and that the
rapid implementation of the
agreement is important for
ensuring peace and security in
the DRC.
The members of the Security
Council reiterated their full
support to the mediation led
by Conférence épiscopale
nationale du Congo (CENCO),
and reaffirmed the need for
all parties to support and
participate constructively in
these mediation efforts. They
recalled that that full and
timely implementation of the
31 December agreement, in
accordance with the Congolese
Constitution and in line with
UN Security Council
Resolution 2277 (2016), is
critical in upholding the
legitimacy of the transitional
institutions until elections.
The members of the Security
Council stressed the
importance of the Government
of the DRC and its national
partners taking all necessary
steps to accelerate
preparations for the
elections, without further
delays, and to ensure an
environment conducive to the
peaceful and inclusive conduct
of political activities. They
further stressed the
importance of the inclusion of
women in the follow up and
implementation of the
agreement.
The members of the Security
Council further called for the
assistance of DRC’s
development partners and
regional States to support the
efforts of relevant Congolese
authorities to implement the
31 December agreement and the
electoral process, as well as
the establishment of
sustainable peace and security
in the country.
Noting that the effective and
swift implementation of the 31
December agreement is critical
to the peace and stability of
DRC, the members of the
Security Council reiterated
their commitment to support
the implementation of the
agreement, in close
cooperation with the African
Union and regional mechanisms,
and their determination to
continue to closely follow the
situation in the DRC, in
particular the respect of
human rights, the security
conditions on the ground and
the efforts to successfully
conclude a credible electoral
process, and, in particular
regarding all Congolese actors
whose actions and statement
impede the implementation of
the agreement and the
organization of the elections,
to act accordingly.
The members of the Security
Council reiterated their
strong commitment to the
sovereignty, independence,
unity and territorial
integrity of the DRC.
The members of the Security
Council reiterated their full
support to MONUSCO and the
Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo."
From the
UN's Feb
20 transcript:
Inner City Press:
I wanted to ask you about this
DRC video of summary
executions by the army of
civilians, including women and
children. A number of
countries have spoken out, but
I’m wondering, particularly
given since the UN does joint
operations with the… the… the
DRC authorities, what steps is
the UN taking to investigate
the… the murders shown on the
video and to see whether it,
in fact, supports and works
with any of the units
involved?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
first of all, we don’t provide
any support to the Congolese
Armed Forces in the Kasais,
which is where this video
applies. All current
cooperation with the Armed
Forces of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo is
focused on efforts to
neutralize armed groups in the
Eastern DRC according to the
established procedures under
the Human Rights Due Diligence
Policy.
The Mission has requested from
the DRC authorities a credible
and independent investigation
into the actions of the
Congolese Armed Forces in the
Kasais. MONUSCO has also
deployed a mobile monitoring
response team in the area to
investigate and document human
rights violations and has
reinforced its civilian,
police and military engagement
at all levels with the
Congolese authorities to
address the situation.
Inner City Press: I
guess one question I have
about this is… I mean, I
understand that the units are
broken down by geography, but
the way… the… the… the… it
seems to reflect so badly on
the army as a whole, the fact
this would… that unarmed
people would be shot in this
way and that it would be
filmed and circulated in the
way that it was that I’m
wondering, at what point is…
is the… is the human rights
due diligence only triggered
by the specific unit that does
something, or is there, in
fact, command responsibility
given, like, could there be
commanders in Kinshasa in
charge of not only the units
in Kasais but also, to some
degree, the units in the east
and their failure to… to… to
train, investigate, or
discipline would… would
trigger loss of support?
Deputy Spokesman: Well,
as I just mentioned, that’s
why we requested… even though
we don’t cooperate with the
Congolese Armed Forces in the
Kasais, we have requested from
the DRC authorities a credible
and independent investigation
into the Congolese Armed
Forces’ overall action in the
Kasais.
Regarding the video,
obviously, it shows very
shocking footage of killings
and executions of civilians by
uniformed personnel. The
Mission is looking into
verifying the source of the
video and identifying whether
it is linked to the recent
events in the Kasais.
This video is one piece of
information among many that
we’re looking into in
connection to the spate of
incidents that have taken
place in Kananga in the past
days.
We'll have
more on this.
***
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