UN
Cites Danger
to Alawites,
But Urges Them
Not to Move,
No
Protection
Offered
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 21 --
The UN is
"deeply
concerned"
that
in Syria the
Alawite
minority,
"perceived to
be affiliated
with
the
Government...
could be
subject to
large scale
reprisal
attacks."
The UN's
adviser on the
Prevention of
Genocide Adama
Dieng in
December 20
issued a press
release, and
on Friday took
questions from
journalists at
the UN in New
York.
Inner
City Press
asked Dieng
what the UN
would think
and more
importantly
do if Alawites
began to
relocate to
mountain areas
they could
defend. Dieng
replied that
would be a bad
thing, that
separation is
not
good.
So
Inner City
Press asked if
the UN, whose
Department of
Peacekeeping
Operations has
said it is
involved in
contigency
planning for a
possible
deployment in
Syria, has
been planning
how to protect
minority
groups,
including the
Kurds.
There was no
real answer to
that, except
Dieng saying
that deploying
a peacekeeping
mission is up
to the
Security
Council.
Yes,
but the
Secretary
General -- and
in this case
his head of
peacekeeping
Herve Ladsous
-- make
proposals to
the Security
Council
of what they
think should
and can be
done.
So are they
preparing a
plan to
protect
Alawite, to
take to the
Security
Council if and
when
it become
necessary?
Apparently
not.
Dieng
mentioned the
Responsibility
to Protect,
the office for
which at the
UN has been
headless since
Edward Luck
left. Inner
City Press
asked
if Luck will
be replaced,
and what Dieng
makes of
questioning of
the
R2P mandate,
now in the
UN's Fifth
(Budget)
Committee, by
countries
including
Cuba.
Dieng
said that Luck
will be
replaced, by
another
adviser on a
dollar a
year contract.
He questioned
why Cuba would
have a problem
with this.
It was moving
without
General
Assembly
approval.
This UN bends
the
rules to push
through words,
but claims
powerlessness
when it comes
to actually
offering
protection.
Footnote:
Inner
City Press
thanked Dieng
for the
briefing, the
type that the
Free UN
Coalition for
Access has
been pushing
for from all
Under
Secretaries
General
including the
UN's top
lawyer
Patricia
O'Brien, and
suggested
that he do one
on the Eastern
Congo.
Dieng
was previously
the registrar
at the
International
Criminal
Tribunal
on Rwanda, in
which post
Inner City
Press
mentioned him
as a
candidate to
take the top
post in the
Department of
General
Assembly
and Conference
Management.
He didn't get
that USG post,
but rather
the one on
genocide.
Syria is a
start -- but
he should
speak on more
country
situation,
including for
example the
Tamils in Sri
Lanka on
which the UN
is now on its
third report.
Watch this
site.
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