By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 12 --
In three
hours, this is
how the UN
works. Until 6
pm on Tuesday,
the UN
Security
Council met
behind closed
doors on the
request by 49
African Union
foreign
ministers for
a 12 month
deferral of
the
International
Criminal Court
proceedings on
Kenya.
Rwanda's
Permanent
Representative
Gasana emerged
and said the
draft
resolution
will be put
"in blue" and
put to a vote
before the end
of the week.
Inner City
Press, after
speaking to
other Council
members, wrote
a story --
then headed to
the ECOSOC
Chamber for a
movie
commemorating
the Rwanda
genocide of
1994.
After
a speech by
the New York
representative
of UNESCO --
whose chief
stands in
waiting as the
next Secretary
General, more
on that anon
-- the lights
went down. Up
on the fourth
floor, the
China Food
Festival was
starting.
It was a
sit-down
affair, with
Permanent
Representatives
ranging from
Kenya through
Luxembourg and
Papua New
Guinea to the
Permanent
Observer of
Palestine
Riyad Mansour.
China's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
Wang was
master of
ceremonies,
introducing
"Excellencies"
and excellent
chefs. Permanent
Representative
Liu Jieyi said
he didn't want
to stand
between people
and their
Chinese
dinner, and so
wisely spoke
only briefly.
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon
spoke at a bit
more length,
then returned
to his seat.
At the next
table, next
to him, were
the Permanent
Representatives
of the
Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea Sin Son
Ho and of
Syria, Bashar
Ja'fari.
Inner City
Press photo
here.
This truly was
a UN moment.
But there was
no wi-fi.
Twenty
minutes later
at a Mission
which at its
request is of
the record,
talk turned
back to "the
Africans'
request" to
defer the
ICC's Kenya
case. Why not
for seven
months? Why
not
compromise? A
major NGO said
no, it could
never agree -
but admitted,
this may hurt
the ICC for
years to come.
Yes, it might.
It is a
classic UN
showdown.
Watch this
site.
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