By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 13 --
In Sri Lanka,
Channel 4 was
blocked from
traveling to
the North to
film. Families
of the
disappeared
were banned
from traveling
south to
Colombo.
In New
York, Inner
City Press
asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesperson
Martin Nesirky
about the
banning of the
survivors of
the
disappeared;
we have no
comment at
this stage, he
replied. Video
here and
embedded
below. When,
then?
Even
the UK's
William Hague
raised the
issues with
Sri Lankan
foreign
minister GL
Peiris. Where
is the UN? And
what does its
"Rights Up
Front" plan,
leaked to
Inner City
Press but
still deemed
"internal" by
the UN, really
mean?
From
the UN's
November 12
noon briefing
transcript:
Inner
City
Press:
yesterday you
said to listen
to what the
Secretary-General
said to Member
States, so I
did and he did
now name this
document of
rights--
Spokesperson
Martin
Nesirky:
Rights Up
Front.
Question:
Rights Up
Front, okay,
so it does
exist. I
wanted to
know, will it
be a formally
public
document?
Earlier the
Deputy
Secretary-General
had said that
it might be
released once
some part of
it had been
implemented, I
just wanted to
know how do…
given that he
said this is
going to go
out through
the system,
what are the
next steps? I
asked you
yesterday
about the
Commonwealth
Heads of
Government
meeting, I
wanted to be
more specific.
There have
been various
complaints
raised in the
run-up of
restrictions
on the press,
there was a
BBC report
about, not
2009, but 2013
abductions and
rapes
committed by
the
Government, so
my question is
what’s the
Secretary-General’s
current
thinking, not
simply about
what he said
about the
study of 2009,
but the
current issues
that are very
much being
raised?
Especially on
press freedom,
can he say
anything?
Thanks, that’s
the question.
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, with
regard to the
second part, I
will come back
to you on
that. I don’t
have anything
specific at
this point. On
the first
question, yes,
you did listen
and you did
hear. And it
is known as
the Rights Up
Front Action
Plan, and this
was the
Secretary-General’s
intention to
explain to
Member States
in a little
bit of detail
what this is
about. And of
course more
detail will be
provided to
Member States
in the near
future. And
likewise, I
would
anticipate
that we will
also be able
to brief the
media in a
little bit
more detail,
but not right
now. And
certainly the
key part of
this is to
ensure that it
is
implemented.
And there has
been a
concerted
effort within
the UN family,
all the
different
parts of the
United Nations
system that
have been
working on
this, to do
precisely
that. And
there is a
clear
commitment
amongst the
senior
leadership to
make that
happen. So the
focus at the
moment is on
what is an
important
internal
process with
external
ramifications;
the focus is
on
implementing.
And certainly,
the intention
is both to
brief Member
States in more
detail and, of
course, in due
course, the
media as well.
When?
Watch this
site.
, 
