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UN Silent on LRA, Short Lists and Sanctions, Bans Iran from Transcripts But Answers on Congo

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 -- The week of UN briefings began with more dodging of questions about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Erasures from BAN's transcripts were defended, and the Spokesperson's justifications of exclusions of the press were themselves excised from Tuesday's transcript, replaced by a bracketed assurance of access which, while false, remains online. The previous process of releasing short-lists of finalists for top UN positions is being discontinued under BAN, with the regional diplomacy center in Turkmenistan only the most recent example. The buck was passed the Council on a British judicial trouncing of the UN's Taliban sanctions, but the Council at least provided answers. A Secretariat official, asked about waste and how money is spent, said "talk to my secretary." On this, we will have more. The week ended with answers about fighting in the Congo, a welcome change of pace which we hope will be continued.

On April 22, Inner City Press asked about reports that

"in recent weeks 350 people have been taken hostage by the Lord’s Resistance Army. They are the ones who are saying that the LRA did it and they call on the surrounding countries and the UN to take all actions to get the people released and to enforce the warrants. What does the UN know about this? Is in fact the LRA doing it, and what is the UN doing? What is the response to this call and to this kidnapping?"

Spokesperson Montas: Well, there is no -- any response will have to come from the Security Council. Any decision to put armies together to attack a camp -- those people would presumably be detained -- would be a decision to be taken by the Security Council.

Inner City Press: I guess in terms of UN fact-finding, I know that in the past the UN had tried to say, well we don't know if it's the LRA, we don’t know who is doing this kidnapping. Has there been any progress in finding out actually who is behind this?

Spokesperson: No. We cannot confirm that. No.

Inner City Press: Is there any update on the peace talks?

Spokesperson: No, we don’t have anything yet on that, but I am sure you read the latest development.

   Yes, that the peace talks came to an end. But what about the abductions, seemingly for a new round of fighting?

   As the UN opens a diplomacy office in Central Asia, it appears that there will be no public or transparent process to name the new director.

In Abidjan, BAN prepares to answer, while questions dodged in NY

   On Thursday Inner City Press asked

There is a report that a Slovak diplomat, Miroslav Jenca, is going to head the Center for Preventive Diplomacy in Turkmenistan.  Can you confirm that?

Deputy Spokesperson Okabe:  No, I can’t confirm an appointment.  I saw the reports just like you did.  But the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) did announce late last year that the office had been set up.

Inner City Press: And in that process, was the procedure sort of a short-list?

Deputy Spokesperson:  We have nothing to announce on this.  All I can say is that we have an office there.

  While the Security Council enacts sanctions, the Secretariat is involved in reporting on and implementing them. But there was no Secretariat answer when Inner City Press asked:

There has been a ruling by a court in the United Kingdom that the Al-Qaida and Taliban sanctions can't be or won't be enforced in the United Kingdom, because they don’t allow due process to the people charged under them... What does the UN say about these sanctions that can't actually be implemented?

Deputy Spokesperson:  You should probably talk to the members of the Sanctions Committee.  All 15 members of this Sanctions Committee met this morning precisely on the subject of the sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

    Inner City Press spoke with Council diplomats, who said there have been problems enforcing the sanctions in, among other, Italy, South Africa and the UK, as well as smaller countries and those with less money, who see the sanctions as a form of unfunded mandate.

   One of the Council's set of sanctions is directed at Iran. Which makes the UN's erasure from the transcript of BAN's last stake out of what he said about Iran all the more troubling. On Monday, Inner City Press asked

I noticed last week when there was a stakeout by the Secretary-General, he made a statement about Iran, and when I read the transcript, it wasn't in the transcript. There was a whole paragraph where he said that he welcomed cooperation by Iranian authorities with the IAEA.

Spokesperson: It was simply that the question was about Iraq and he answered on Iran so on the transcript, we put his answer on Iraq.

Inner City Press: Okay, I guess I am saying, the thing on Iran stands. That is his position on Iran.

Spokesperson: Yes.

Inner City Press: I guess I am wondering, has there been a thought on whether the transcript should be changed in that way?

Spokesperson Montas: No, because he was not asked that question. The transcript is supposed to reflect really the questions asked and the answers that occur at a stakeout or a briefing.

Come again? The week ended with a question actually answered:

Inner City Press:  You may have read out something about the fighting in eastern Congo.

Deputy Spokesperson:  Yes I did.

Inner City Press:  Is there any indication whether General Nkunda's forces are involved?  Who are the forces that are fighting?

Deputy Spokesperson:  Today I would like to refer you to the UNHCR briefing note.  It has quite a lot of detail on the fighting there.  Beyond that, I don't have anything else.

But in fact, the Spokesperson's office did have more information, from the UN Mission in the Congo, MONUC:

Regarding your question on yesterday's fighting in North Kivu, UN Mission sources report that yesterday's firefight resulted when Congolese Patriotic Resistance (PARECO) elements exchanged fire with National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) supporters (the latter are General Nkunda's forces). The MONUC patrol returned fire that was received from PARECO combatants. UN Mission sources report that, according to most recent information obtained, MONUC personnel were mistakenly engaged by participants in yesterday’s firefight at Mushango.

Today, there have been no additional clashes recently reported involving suspected Congolese Patriotic Resistance (PARECO) combatants and National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) elements in North Kivu. Thanks.

Now that is answering a question, a welcome change of pace which we hope will be continued.

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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

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