As
Congo Army Charged With 11 Murders in Mbandaka,
UN Investigation Uncertain
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April 21 -- The UN, trying to
convince Congolese President
Joseph Kabila to let its MONUC peacekeeping mission stay in his
country, helped Kabila's soldiers to re-take the Mbandaka airport
on
April 5. Now a Congolese human rights group is asserting that in the
re-taking of the airport, 11 civilian were killed.
Inner
City Press
on Wednesday asked UN spokesman Martin Nesirky if the UN is aware of
the human rights groups' reports, and if the UN will investigate
them. Nesirky replied that the UN is aware of the reports, but
cannot confirm them. Video here, from Minute 18:11.
But
since the UN
Security Council has repeatedly given the MONUC mission a mandate to
"protect civilians," isn't this triggered by awareness of
reports that, at a minimum, its partner the Congolese Army may have
killed more than ten civilians?
Nesirky
repeated
the same line, "what I can say is that at the moment we cannot
confirm this." He added, "it doesn’t preclude what you
are saying that it is being looked into." Frankly, very few
things are "precluded" to MONUC. But isn't this mission,
led by scandal
plagued British SRSG Alan Doss, required to take some
action, under its mandate? Watch this site.
UN transports what
it calls FARDC, investigation not shown
From
the UN's April 21 transcript, Inner City Press' questions and OSSG's
Nesirky's responses:
Question:
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the Government re-took
the airport that had been taken by rebels or was ascribed to ethnic
tensions, a Congolese human rights group has said that the Government
killed 11 civilians during its re-taking of the airport. I am
wondering, since the UN has such a, you know, big presence in the
Congo and works with the Government, are they aware of this and are
they going to anything to look into this alleged killing of civilians
by the Government?
Spokesperson:
We’ve heard the report, but we can’t confirm this information.
Question:
But is the UN going to look into it, I guess, is my question. It’s
within its mandate to look into that.
Spokesperson:
At the moment, what I can tell you is that we can’t confirm this
information.
Question:
Does it have, I mean, I know that MONUC -- I’m sorry to -- has a
human rights component and has a mandate to protect civilians. Would
this, would looking into alleged killing of civilians by the host
Government fall within the mandate of protection of civilians?
Spokesperson:
Well, what I can say is that at the moment we cannot confirm this. But
it doesn’t preclude what you are saying that it is being looked
into. But what I can tell you at the moment is what I have told you.
* * *
As
UN's Doss Hit by OIOS, Council Tries to Save MONUC, Rice Defended,
NGOs on Tap
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, April 14 -- The day after the UN's top envoy to the Congo
Alan Doss dodged the Press by canceling a scheduled question and
answer session, it emerged that Doss is named as a wrongdoer in the
long delayed Office of Internal Oversight Services probe of his
e-mail urging the UN Development Program to show him "lee-way"
and give his daughter a job.
Inner
City Press
first published Doss' nepotism e-mail, and reported on the macing and
arrest of the UNDP staffer whose job was given to Rebecca Doss,
Nicola Baroncini. Mr. Baroncini remains waiting for his day in court.
Earlier
this week,
Inner City Press asked chief UN spokesman Martin Nesirky how it could
take nine months to investigate Doss' six line e-mail, and Nesirky
did not explain. Now Nesirky's associate Farhan Haq has said to
Turtle Bay that "There is a draft investigative detail, provided
only to Mr. Doss for his comment before a report is finalized. Once
finalized, the report will be sent to the secretary-general."
Inner
City Press
has in the past asked both Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and his top
Peacekeeper, Alain Leroy, about l'affaire Doss. Now with the Security
Council headed Friday to Kinsasha to try to save the peacekeeping
mission Doss has overseen, the negative finding against Doss hurts
not only him but the UN.
UN's Doss pensive at last stakeout, which he now skips: it's over
On
this trip, the
French mission has said that eight of the Council's 15 members are
sending their top representatives, five are sending "Deputy
Permanent Representatives" and two, only advisors. While the
U.S. seems to qualify for this last designation, since DPR Alejandro
Wolff is not going, it emerged on Wednesday that France was
considering the U.S. Brooke Anderson as a DPR, despite her current
"number four" (at best) status in the U.S. Mission.
While
the Mexicans
and Chinese were targeted by France as only sending advisors, from
these quarters came a cry of double standards, that the U.S. would be
let off the hook. China has no sitting DPR at present, unlike the US.
And Mexican Perm Rep Heller is in fact going to more countries in
Africa at the same time, for the Somalia Sanctions Committee.
Substantively,
Austria has pushed to have Congolese NGOs flown from Goma to Kinshasa
to brief the Council. A US Mission representative, reflexively
defensive of Susan Rice's non attendance on family issues grounds,
nevertheless trashed the Council for not traveling to Goma. But
others asked, if you send your Number Four, who are you to criticize?
Watch this site.
, 
