By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 27
-- When South
Sudan
President
Salva Kiir
gave his
speech to the
UN General
Assembly on
September 27,
he said that
UN
Peacekeeping
seemed to
believe it can
protect
civilians just
"by presence."
Kiir said
that's not
true "if they
don't
move."
UN Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous is
under fire,
including by
the UN's own
Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services, for
not protecting
civilians. In
Darfur, it is
charged with
covering up
attacks on
civilians.
But Ladsous as
head of UN
Peacekeeping
refuses to
answer Press
questions on
these topics,
mostly
recently on
September 26
about the
Central African
Republic, video here. (On September 27, Ladsous tried to order Inner City
Press to stop
filming, then
blocked the
camera, video
here.)
Kiir also used
his speech to
trash Riek
Machar. Kiir
said that the
violence from
December 2013
was "plotted
by my former
vice
president."
Machar,
needless to
say, had no
"right of
reply" in the
UN General
Assembly.
On the evening
of September
27, the third
night of this
General
Debate, the first
right of reply
took place,
between Armenia
and
Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan
said Armenia
has
“insolence” to
talk about
human rights,
when it is not
as developed -
or endowed
with hydrocarbons.
Armenia shot
back, mocking
Azerbaijan for
saying 1 in 8
Azerbaijanis
are displaced,
when it is oil
rich.
There are some
other
perennials for
rights of
reply: Iran
and UAE about
islands, the
comfort women
issue between
Japan and the
Koreas, and
more. This
year, one
would expect
more.
Kiir on
September 25
when the UN
and Ladsous
held a "High
Level" event
about South
Sudan did not
even attend.
A
Senior US
State
Department
Official,
speaking on
background,
said that
“there was a
lot of
disappointment
expressed in
the meeting
that Salva
Kiir who is
here in New
York did not
attend the
meeting. He
sent his
Minister of
Foreign
Affairs and
some of his
ministers to
the meeting
and several of
the attendees
made a point
of noting that
Salva Kiir was
not at the
meeting.”
Inner City
Press put
some questions
to the Senior
State Department
Official, on
Ebola and here
on South Sudan:
QUESTION:
Matthew
Russell Lee,
Inner City
Press... On
South Sudan,
one of the
sanctioned –
sanctionees,
Peter Gadet,
is accused of
having shot
down a UN
helicopter.
And I wanted
to know, is
that – the UN
hasn’t really
sort of
confirmed
that. Is the
U.S. concerned
about getting
to the bottom
of that? And
who do you
think did it?
SENIOR STATE
DEPARTMENT
OFFICIAL: We
know – let me
start with
that first. We
know that the
UN is
investigating
and we’re
waiting for
the results of
that
investigation.
But Gadet has
been put on
our sanctions
list even
before that
happened. But
the shooting
down of the UN
helicopter is
evidence of
how difficult
it is to work
in Sudan, but
how committed
the UN and
others are to
provide
humanitarian
assistance.
One of the
commitments
that came out
of the meeting
today with
South Sudan
announced by
the foreign
minister was
that they
would not
stand in the
way of NGOs
and the UN
delivering
humanitarian
assistance.
And we have to
hold them to
that
commitment
because people
are suffering.
Background:
back
on May
6, 2014, when
the US imposed
sanctions on
Gadet,
Inner City
Press asked:
MODERATOR:
Great.
Thank you. Our
next question
is from the
other Matt
Lee, Matthew
Russell Lee of
Inner City
Press. Go
ahead.
QUESTION:
Great.
Thanks a lot,
[Moderator]. I
wanted to ask,
there was a –
it was said
that in
Security
Council
consultations
at the UN that
senior
government
officials were
named in a
radio
broadcast
prior to the
attacks in Bor
on the UN
compound in
killing the
civilians. I
just wonder if
you can say
are these
people – is
that the case?
Do you know
the names of
people that
sort of called
for that
attack, and in
which case,
why aren’t
they on this
list?
And I
also – this
might for
Senior
Administration
Official
Number Two.
Secretary
Kerry was
talking about
a legitimate
force to help
make peace.
And I just
wanted to
know, is the
UN – is the
U.S. thinking
of that as
part of UNMISS
mission or as
the IGAD
force? And if
so, would it
require a
Security
Council
approval?
Thanks.
SENIOR
ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIAL ONE:
On the first,
I mean, we
typically do
not comment on
actors against
whom we are –
we have not
yet – we have
not yet acted,
a clunky way
of saying we
don’t comment
on those who
are not part
of our
designation.
But anyone who
is
contributing
to the
violence,
whether that’s
by directing
violence,
whether that’s
by funding it,
fueling it,
contributing
arms, can be a
subject of
designation in
the future.
And I’ll leave
it to my State
Department
colleague to
answer the
second
question.
SENIOR
ADMINISTRATION
OFFICIAL TWO:
Yeah. On the
question about
the regional
force and on
UNMISS, we –
it is
something that
conversations
and
discussions
are ongoing
between
countries of
IGAD, with New
York, with
ourselves and
others on how
best to create
this
additional
force presence
that we are
working very
much with
UNMISS and see
this as part
of the same
effort. But we
do think it’s
very important
that the
regional
forces are
able to join
this effort in
larger numbers
and appreciate
the efforts
of,
particularly,
the
governments of
Ethiopia and
Kenya, who are
leading the
mediation and
who are
seeking to
work with
UNMISS in this
regard.
, 
