On
Sudan, OCHA's
Studying
NGO Ousters,
DPKO Only
Verifies, 4
Days Late
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 19 –
On three
recent
questions
about Sudan,
UN
Peacekeeping
with three
missions
together
costing over
$2 billion a
year answered
four days
later or not
at all; the
smaller UN
Office
for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs
answered the
same day.
Why?
On
February 15
Inner City
Press asked
about widely
reporting
fighting in
Darfur. At the
noon briefing
on February
19, still
having no
answer,
Inner City
Press asked
two questions
about Sudan:
deadly clashes
near
Abyei, and a
move by
Sudan's
military and
intelligence
authorities to
“review” aid
groups in the
country.
The
last of these
was answered
before day's
end:
Subject:
Your
question at
noon today on
Sudan
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do
Not Reply [at]
un.org
Date: Tue, Feb
19, 2013 at
4:45 PM
To:
Matthew
Russell Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
The
Office for the
Coordination
of
Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA)
has read
reports in the
media about
the
announcement
of the
revocation of
licenses of an
unspecified
number of
local
humanitarian
groups in
Sudan by the
Humanitarian
Aid Commission
(HAC). OCHA is
seeking
clarification
with the HAC
on
organizations
affected by
this
announcement
to ascertain
any potential
impact on the
provision of
humanitarian
assistance to
people in
need.
At
least OCHA
reads “reports
in the media.”
While the
header refers
to one
“question at
noon today on
Sudan,” there
were two Sudan
questions, the
second for
DPKO about the
fighting near
Abyei. But by
deadline on
Tuesday it had
not been
answered.
Rather
from DPKO came
this answer to
a question
from four days
earlier:
Subject:
Your
question from
last week on
Darfur
From: UN
Spokesperson -
Do
Not Reply [at]
un.org
Date: Tue, Feb
19, 2013
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
Regarding
your
question from
last week
about fighting
in Darfur, we
have been
informed that
UNAMID is
verifying
reports of
clashes that
took place
on 14 February
between the
Sudanese
Government and
the Sudan
Liberation
Army-Minni
Minnawi forces
near Umm
Goniya (30 km
south of
Nyala, South
Darfur).
So
even four days
later, the
answer is..
that DPKO is
verifying.
Will
that be the
answer to the
Abyei
question,
three days
from now?
When
DPKO chief
Herve Ladsous
said the UN
knows the
identity of
the
perpetrators
in the
Congolese Army
of 126 rapes
at Minova in
November, then
his DPKO said
no action is
being taken
until the
Congolese
investigation
is completed,
a DPKO “rape
grace period”
became
evident.
There
is also a
“response
grace period”
- four days,
and even then,
only an
interim
answer. Watch
this site.
, 
