|
As Thailand Admits Sea-Dump of
Rohingya, UN Hasn't Studied as Trafficking, Costa in Uganda
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, February 12 -- For
weeks, scandal has swirled around Thai's practice of pulling boats of
Rohingya
refugees from Myanmar out to sea and leaving them to the elements. It
widely
reported that some of the flow of Rohingya is attributable to human
trafficking. Thailand's prime minister on Thursday admitted the towing
had
happened. In New York, the head of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime
Antonio
Maria Costa while launching a report on trafficking was asked about the
Rohinya's
plight. We did not look at this, Mr. Costa said. You're not kidding.
Costa was more expansive in his answer to Inner City
Press' question
about the abuse of human trafficking investigations to identify and
deport
undocumented migrants. It is a grey
zone, Costa said. Just as there is a difference between a twelve year
old girl
chained to a bed made to "perform" a hundred times a time, he said,
and a sex worker, so there is a different between an illegal migrant
who wants
to come, and a trafficked person who does not. Laws can be abused, in
short.
But does the UN sound alarms?
Rohingya pulled out to sea by Thais per CNN, UN not shown
Apparently
not. Inner City Press asked
Costa to name the banks which,
he says, have been infused with drug money in
the wake of the financial crisis. We work with governments, Costa said.
We are
not here to criticize governments but to work with them. So what about
Myanmar,
which pushes the Rohingya out, and denied they ever lived there?
After his briefing, Costa told Inner City Press
about his trip to
Uganda, and about his blog.
He appeared looser than before; he had signed a
Compact with Ban Ki-moon. Some say there is trouble at the UN in
Vienna. But on
Thursday, Costa smiled.
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
These
reports are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click
here
for a Reuters
AlertNet piece by this correspondent
about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click
here
for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali
National
Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an
undefined trust fund. Video
Analysis here
Feedback: Editorial
[at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017
USA
Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and
weekends):
718-716-3540
Other,
earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available
in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright
2006-08 Inner City Press, Inc. To request
reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com -
|
