For
ICJ
Seat, Ugandan
Presiding at
Sierra Leone
Court Duels
Koroma
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 10 --
After filling
four of five
seats on the
International
Court of
Justice
Thursday
morning, the
Security
Council
and General
Assembly could
not come to an
agreement if
the fifth seat
would go to
Sierra Leone's
incumbent
Abdul Koroma
or Uganda's
Julia
Sebutinde.
As
both bodies
took
a break for
lunch, a
reading of the
c.v.'s shows
that Sebutinde
presides over
the Special
Court for
Sierra Leone.
But she has
been
unable to
garner the
needed nine
votes in the
Security
Council,
despite
getting 109 in
the General
Assembly.
Koroma,
meanwhile,
had 10 votes
in the
Security
Council, but
only 88 in the
General
Assembly, less
than the 97
needed. How a
sitting judge
could fall
below 50%
support in the
General
Assembly is
surprising.
While the
candidates of
Bulgaria and
Senegal
dropped out --
Senegal's
microphone in
the General
Assembly was
not working,
forcing the
announcement
to be made
from Serbia's
seat and mic
-- it was
"Uganda
versus Sierra
Leone for
another
round," as one
diplomat put
it
to Inner City
Press.
The
other winners,
save the
Italian
Georgio Gaja,
were
incumbents,
including the
Slovak
Peter
Tomka
regarding whom
questions were
raised.
The President
of
the ICJ,
Hisashi Owada,
took note of
the complaint,
which for the
record Tomka
denied.
Whether
chicanery in
the upcoming
election of
International
Criminal Court
judges,
including France
offering to
support an
unqualified
candidate in
exchange for
support for
its
Bruno Cathala
- click here
for exclusive
story by
Inner City
Press - will
be treated the
same is not
yet known.
(c) UN Photo
Cabral
in SC, as
President his
votes can't be
seen, script
to be improved
In
the strange
process of
"simultaneous"
Security
Council and
General
Assembly
voting or at
least
announcing, a
concern was
raised about
how
information
from one organ
might reach
another.
Envelope were
carried,
telepathy
attempted -
all to no
avail, at
least as of
1:30 pm.
The Security
Council was to
hear a
briefing about
the situation
between Sudan
and
South Sudan,
including reports
of Sudan
bombing a
refugee camp
in
South Sudan
and killing 12
that Inner
City Press
asked Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
about at
Thursday's
noon briefing,
without
answer.
But the
Council can't
do anything
until the ICJ
voting is
over. Could
(South)
Sudanese be
losers in this
election?
Watch this
site.
Update
of 1:50 pm - a
video screen,
for former
President
Thabo Mbeki to
brief on Sudan
along with
Haile
Menkerios, was
wheeled into
the Council
during its
break. At
least they are
ready for the
briefing.
, 
