After
Geneva Vote,
No Ban Comment
on Silva as UN
Adviser, UK on
Accountability
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
March 22 --
After the UN Human
Rights Council
approved a
resolution on
accountability
in Sri Lanka
Thursday
morning with
24 in
favor and 15
against,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
deputy
spokesman
Eduardo Del
Buey if this
would impact
in
any way Ban's
decision to
say nothing
about General
Shavendra
Silva
becoming a UN
adviser on
peacekeeping.
Video here,
from Minute
7:09.
Del
Buey repeated,
"as we've said
about General
Silva, that is
a matter for
member
states."
Inner
City Press
followed up
that debate
before the
vote referred
to Ban's own
Panel
of Experts
report in
which Silva's
58th Division
is depicted
engaged
in war crimes.
Del
Buey replied
that "as
Secretary
General
himself has
told you, it
was a member
states
decision."
But
Ban, perhaps
at some member
states'
request, at
times tells
member states
what he
thinks. Why
not here, when
it seems he
will have an
alleged war
criminal
advising him?
"It
was a
member states
decision and
that's all we
have to say on
that,"
Del Buey said.
He also read
out a canned
statement that
given the
Panel of
Experts
assessment
that
allegation of
violations of
international
human rights
and and
humanitarian
law were
credible,
Ban shared the
report with
the Human
Rights
Council. He
said the
support of
international
community in
help Sri Lanka
is critical.
Inner
City Press
asked Del Buey
for a copy of
what he had
read, but Del
Buey said it
was "for
internal use
only."
Back
at the
Security
Council
stakeout,
Inner City
Press asked UK
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Philip Parham
about the HRC
decision,
noting that
the
UK has taken
some actions
about
accountability
and Sri Lanka,
even
here in New
York.
Parham
said, "any
step in
enforcing the
principle of
accountability
is a positive
step."
When
Shavendra
Silva was told
that his
attendance at
a Commonwealth
reception with
UK Foreign
Secretary
William J.
Hague was "not
appropriate,"
the reception
was at
Parham's
residence. In
Silva's place,
Permanent
Representative
Palitha Kohona
refused to go,
instead
sending the
Sri
Lankan
Mission's
First
Secretary, the
same one who
called and got
UN
Security to
eject Inner
City Press
from the
Senior
Advisory Group
meeting with
Silva inside
the UN rented
building at
380 Madison
Avenue. Watch
this site.
From
the
UK Mission to
the UN
transcript:
Inner
City
Press: You may
or may not
answer this,
maybe in your
national
capacity. In
Geneva there
was a vote
this morning
on the Sri
Lanka
resolution
that passed 24
to 15 on
accountability
issues, which
I
know is
something that
the UK has
spoken about
and even taken
some
action in some
ways here in
New York. I
know the UK is
not a member
of the Human
Rights
Council, but
do you think
it’s a
positive step?
Is there any
UK response to
that action in
Geneva by the
UN body?”
Amb.
Philip Parham:
Any step which
enforces the
principal of
accountability
is positive
step.
, 
