UN
Won't Confirm Petition of
Hafiz Saeed Nor Explain Lack
of A-Q
Sanctions Ombudsperson
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, Nov
28 – The UN when Inner City
Press asked about Hafiz Saeed
petitioning to be removed from
the Al Qaeda sanctions list on
November 28 declined to confirm
it, even seven hours later. Nor
did the UN explain the failure
by Antonio Guterres to name a
new Al Qaeda sanctions
ombudsperson, nor explain the
process. Why not? From the UN transcript:
Inner City Press: Can you
confirm that Hafiz Saeed, the
Pakistan who… who… recently
released by Pakistan and on the
al-Qaida sanctions list, has
requested to be removed?
It's some controversy in… in
the… South Asia, and I was
trying to find out if there is
an ombudsman or ombudsperson…
this is the bureaucratic part…
appointed by António Guterres to
replace the one who left in
August. Is there?
And, if not, when will there be
one?
Spokesman: I will check on
the ombudsperson's post.
On your first question, that's a
question to be asked of the
relevant Council Sanctions
Committee. Inner City Press: I
think they are supposed to file
with the ombudsman. That's
why I'm asking you as the…
Spokesman: Yeah, but I
think… I'll check. I
think, for some reason, it's a
different ombudsperson. I
think the Council… and I may be
struck down with lightning for
being wrong, but I think the
Council has its own ombudsperson
for sanctions listing separate
from the UN ombudsperson." Then
nothing, seven hours later.
Unreported during the recent
International Court of Justice
battle in which India's Dalveer
Bhandari bested the UK's
Christopher Greenwood, in the
General Assembly and then
overall when Greenwood withdrew,
is the scandal of moonlighting
ICJ judges. While the Statute of
the ICJ bans judges from
engaging “in any other
occupation of a professional
nature," seven sitting judges
have been paid for private
investor - state dispute
settlement cases. IISD reports
that "Greenwood worked as an
arbitrator in at least nine
investment arbitration cases
during his tenure at the ICJ. He
was paid more than USD 400,000
in fees in two of those nine
cases. It did not identify any
cases in which Bhandari worked
as an arbitrator during his
tenure." Inner City Press is
informed that Bhandari, in fact,
doesn't do this type of investor
- state
dispute
settlement
arbitration
work, as a
conscious
choice. But
others do -
we've reported
on this in the
past, here
and here,
and will stay
on the
beat. In
other news, on November 3 Inner
City Press asked Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric, who
had just cut short Inner City
Press' questions about Guterres'
inaction on the killings by the
Cameroon government, these
questions: "is the Secretary
General having a one-on-one
lunch on 38th floor today? is it
with a journalist / editor? is
it on or off the record? why
isn't this lunch on the SG's
public schedule? is it with
Gillian Tett?" Dujarric's and
the UN's answer on this: "I have
nothing to say to the SG’s
schedule that’s not public." Now
Tett's FT interview
belatedly came out, with no
mention of Guterres and his
Deputy's involvement in
corruption scandals, it led with
Guterres complaining about the
quality of his private chef and
wine cellar. Even UN supporters
told Inner City Press it was
distasteful. The interview,
tellingly, had little Africa
where Guterres took 42-year
ruler Paul Biya's golden statue;
he said he is not a professional
tweeter. So who is sending that
pablum out? And why did the FT
go so soft? We'll have more on
this.
***
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-303,
UN, NY 10017 USA
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in
the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-2015 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
for
|
,
