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In the UN Security Council, Speeches and Stasis as Haiti is Forgotten, for a Shebaa Farms Solution?

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN

UNITED NATIONS, August 8, 4:22 p.m. -- For a ceasefire in Lebanon to be enacted by the UN Security Council in 24 or even 48 hours appears less and less likely.

Update of 11:59 p.m., last of day -- Despite and responding to CNN's below-quoted report quoting U.S. Amb. Bolton's spokesman of France breaking from the U.S., the French mission's spokesman emailed the UN press corps Tuesday night, "We totally deny that report, negotiations between France and the U.S. are going on." So disagreeing with CNN or the U.S. mission? Earlier Tuesday, the French spokesman and the U.S. deputy spokesman laughed together, when the latter provided correction of who was in the room, the P5 and "the Arab four." How fast they fall out, or CNN's wrong. We'll see.

Update of 7:45 p.m. -- After multiple stakeout interviews, including French Ambassador de La Sabliere choosing to do it in the dark, not before the UN TV cameras, and John Bolton bolting, the mood on the second floor was dark. On the television over the coffee machine, blaring CNN, Lou Dobbs turned from immigrants to pass on word from Bolton's spokesman that France is breaking from the U.S., and joining Lebanon in demanding that Israel withdraw. Washington was floating a counterproposal, that Lebanon's 15,000 troops be supplement with an international force of roughly similar size. No Israeli pull-out, under this trial lead balloon, but an eventual pull-out more credible.

            "These people couldn't stop a pillow fight," one journalist, visual, said. "They should turn this place into a water park."

            "You sound like Bolton," a fact collector for a television network said.

            "Whatever."

            In the cafeteria, Inner City Press ran into Doctor David Nabarro, the UN's point man on avian influenza.

            "How goes it on bird flu?"

            "Bird flu goes on," Dr. Nabarro said. "It's not big news these days. That's the nature of news -- there's a finite amount." He added that there are in fact worries of bird flu in Lebanon, and that's he'd like to come back to brief about it, once the news is not so... you know. We know...

Update of 5:40 p.m. -- Dozens of reporters press together to hear staffers who refused to be named explain that in the room it's not "P5 plus one" -- and that would be Qatar -- but rather "P5 plus four," including the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile Inner City Press can report that a bomb-sniffing dog, a 3-year old male Labrador who declined to be named, sniffed the coffee cups heading in to the room. So when they drink it...

As Kofi Annan and the afternoon's three speakers, from Qatar, Israel and Lebanon, swept into the Council chambers past 3:30 p.m., staffers of the Permanent Five missions told reporters not to expect immanent action. On the sidelines, Ambassador Mayoral of Argentina was asked to show his identification card to the guard outside the chamber. Photographers rushed up the staircase; Mark Malloch-Brown sat in his sunglasses next to head peacekeeper Jean-Marie Guehenno.

   Meanwhile the air is sucked out of most other issues and regions. A purportedly small but telling detail: the press corps was informed that Edmond Mulet, Kofi Annan's envoy to Haiti, from which Mr. Annan only days ago returned, was to take questions at 4 p.m.. There are questions to be asked, about a slate of kidnappings and murders, and Mr. Mulet's proposal to boost the UN force with a SWAT team of 100.

Haiti, not the Middle East

Meanwhile Carlo Lochard of the Police National d'Haiti is accused of funding his own murderous gang.  But at 4 p.m., with all reporters staring at the television showing Israel's Dan Gillerman's speech before the Council, Mr. Mulet's briefing was unceremoniously cancelled. It was cancelled in the second floor hallway, and not rescheduled. A cameraman told Inner City Press that a sanctions meeting he was slated to be at was cancelled. How long can this go on?

   Long, possibly. Wise minds at the stakeout predict the solution, if there is one, is shifting the word-games toward the Shebaa Farms, so that each side can claim victory how ever Pyrrhic... To be continued.

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On Lebanon, Franco-American Resolution Reviewed at UN in Weekend Security Council Meeting

  UNITED NATIONS, August 5 -- In a rare Saturday afternoon session, the UN Security Council is meeting on a draft resolution on the conflict in Lebanon. The full text of the draft resolution, circulated at the UN at 1 pm Saturday, is placed online below (and has been, since 1:10 pm).  Now updates, in reverse chronological order:

Update of 7:30 pm -- After interviewing a variety of sources in the half-light outside the Security Council, it appears clear that the resolution will not pass, or even be voted on, on Sunday. It's passage is predicted Monday, without Condi Rice, or Tuesday, if a ministerial meeting can be organized. The opposition of Lebanon and Qatar makes such a meeting less likely. And who will do what, in the hours to come, to change the facts on the ground? Developing...

Update of 5:45 pm -- There will be no vote today. An expert briefing began at 5 pm; there will be another one at 10 am on Sunday. Russian Ambassador Churkin emerged and spoke of Lebanon's objections, as did the Ambassador of Qatar. On the sidelines, Inner City Press asked Palestine's permanent observer what would or could be done for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza. "I wish," he said. And then another cameraman, rushing by for an interview of the hall, hit him in the eye with his camera.

            Secretary General Kofi Annan swept in at 4:35 pm, with no words for the press. Photographers joked of his Miami Vice look, fresh in from Santo Domingo. When he swept out, he urged the questioning press to "listen to the Ambassador," in this case from Qatar. The head of UN peacekeeping stood by the elevator whispering to a TV network's operative. Then he too was done, the back-down to Congolese warlord and peacekeeper-kidnapper Peter Karim not addressed, the Lebanese crisis left unresolved yet again, and Gaza not even touched, except by bombs...

Previously, at 4:22 p.m. -- in the media-frenzied space outside the Council chamber, the grumbling about the text began at 3 pm. A U.S. embassy staffer directed the press to Russia as the source of forthcoming delay. Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin came out, but spoke only to "the Russian press," which consisted of three reporters. Amb. Churkin's staffer tried to prohibit the non-Russian media from recording her boss' sotto voce spinnings.

  The ambassador from Qatar asked for a thirty minute delay and got it. The Lebanese envoy was interpreted as against the resolution, though he declined to stop and speak with reporters. The Syrian ambassador strode in, also without stopping. Palestine's permanant observer, ever polite, stopped and took Inner City Press' question; his answer, however, was "Ask Russia," which as described above has yet to be possible.

  French Ambassador de La Sabliere has offered expert briefings to the Council, later Saturday or Sunday. Russia, it's said, has said no. A wise colleague advises that Russia was in the loop, but hearing of Lebanese opposition, decided to join in. Kofi Annan waits in the wings, but there's much reading of the tea leaves as things slide toward five o'clock. Developing.

   In further terms of timing, it appears that not only the television images of dead civilians, broadcast worldwide, but also communications such as that to George Bush by the Egyptian president, of Monday as the absolute deadline before regionalization of the conflict, played a role in the U.S. - French agreement announced to reporters Saturday mid-morning. Inner City Press will be reporting in real time from the Security Council for the rest of Saturday; watch this space.

Amb. de La Sabliere (w. SRSG "Congo-king" Swing, see below)

The text

Draft UNSC resolution

The Security Council,

PP1. Recalling all its previous resolutions on Lebanon, in particular resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982), 1559 (2004), 1655 (2006) and 1680 (2006), as well as the statements of its President on the situation in Lebanon, in particular the statements of 18 June 2000 (S/PRST/2000/21), of 19 October 2004 (S/PRST/2004/36), of 4 May 2005 (S/PRST/2005/17) of 23 January 2006 (S/PRST/2006/3) and of 30 July 2006 (S/PRST/2006/35),

PP2. Expressing its utmost concern at the continuing escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hizbollah’s attack on Israel on 12 July 2006, which has already caused hundreds of deaths and injuries on both sides, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons,

PP3. Emphasizing the need for an end of violence, but at the same time emphasizing the need to address urgently the causes that have given rise to the current crisis, including by the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers,

PP4: Mindful of the sensitivity of the issue of prisoners and encouraging the efforts aimed at settling the issue of the Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel,

OP1. Calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hizbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations;

OP2. Reiterates its strong support for full respect for the Blue Line;

OP3.  Also reiterates its strong support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized borders, as contemplated by the Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement of 23 March 1949;

OP4. Calls on the international community to take immediate steps to extend its financial and humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people, including through facilitating the safe return of displaced persons and, under the authority of the Government of Lebanon, reopening airports and harbours for verifiably and purely civilian purposes, and calls on it also to consider further assistance in the future to contribute to the reconstruction and development of Lebanon;

OP5. Emphasizes the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, for it to exercise its full sovereignty and authority;

OP6. Calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the following principles and elements:

- strict respect by all parties for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Israel and Lebanon;

- full respect for the Blue Line by both parties;

- delineation of the international borders of Lebanon, especially in those areas where the border is disputed or uncertain, including in the Shebaa farms area;

- security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Lebanese armed and security forces and of UN mandated international forces deployed in this area;

- full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006) that require the disarmament of all armed groups  in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state;

- deployment of an international force in Lebanon, consistent with paragraph 10 below;

- establishment of an international embargo on the sale or supply of arms and related material to Lebanon except as authorized by its government;

- elimination of foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government;

- provision to the United Nations of remaining maps of land mines in Lebanon in Israel’s possession;

OP7: Invites the Secretary General to support efforts to secure agreements in principle from the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel to the principles and elements for a long-term solution as set forth in paragraph 6 above;

OP8: Requests the Secretary General to develop, in liaison with key international actors and the concerned parties, proposals to implement the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), including disarmament, and for delineation of the international borders of Lebanon, especially in those areas where the border is disputed or uncertain, including by dealing with the Shebaa farms, and to present those proposals to the Security Council within thirty days;

OP9. Calls on all parties to cooperate during this period with the Security Council and to refrain from any action contrary to paragraph 1 above that might adversely affect the search for a long-term solution, humanitarian access to civilian populations, or the safe return of displaced persons, and requests the Secretary General to keep the Council informed in this regard;

OP10. Expresses its intention, upon confirmation to the Security Council that the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel have agreed in principle to the principles and elements for a long-term solution as set forth in paragraph 6 above, and subject to their approval, to authorize in a further resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter the deployment of a UN mandated international force to support the Lebanese armed forces and government in providing a secure environment and contribute to the implementation of a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution;

OP11.  Requests UNIFIL, upon cessation of hostilities, to monitor its implementation and to extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the safe return of displaced persons;

OP12. Calls upon the Government of Lebanon to ensure arms or related materiel are not imported into Lebanon without its consent and requests UNIFIL, conditions permitting, to assist the Government of Lebanon at its request;

OP13. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council within one week on the implementation of this resolution and to provide any relevant information in light of the Council’s intention to adopt, consistent with paragraph 10 above, a further resolution;

OP14. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

UN Knew of Child Soldier Use by Two Warlords Whose Entry into Congo Army the UN Facilitated

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN

UNITED NATIONS, August 4 -- As in the Congo vote counting continues, now with reports of the burning of ballots both used and unused, further information has emerged about the UN system's knowledge of the use of child soldiers by at least two militia leaders offered positions in the Congolese army. Earlier in the week, Kofi Annan's envoy to the Congo, William Lacy Swing, disclaimed his previously UN-reported "welcoming" of the entry into the army of Mathieu Ngudjolo of the Congolese Revolutionary or MRC.

            The UN's own June 13 report on children and armed conflict in the DR Congo alludes to the recruitment of child soldiers by the MRC. In an interview Friday, a well-placed UN official told Inner City Press that Mathieu Ngudjolo will be identified by name as a child soldier user in the follow up to the June 13 report, as will Peter Karim, who after holding seven UN peacekeepers hostage for over 40 days has been offered a colonel's position in the Congolese army. The follow up report name these two individuals will, Inner City Press has been told, be confidential, adding to the scope of impunity.

Ballots and Congolese police

            Last week UN peacekeeping's Dmitry Titov answered Inner City Press' questions about Karim by saying that "justice will come, eventually." The official interviewed Friday similarly implied that as with Thomas Lubanga and Jean Pierre Biyoyo, respectively charged by the International Criminal Court and convicted by a Congolese military court in Bukavu, Ngudjolo and Karim might one day face justice. It is hard to believe that neither warlord brought up issues of amnesty during negotiations. No one yet has wanted to detail the specifics of the negotiations, particularly the degree of UN involvement. Developing.

Zimbabwe Fog, Laws of War Clarified, Tips in the Half-Light (on Lebanon)

            While Kofi Annan is on the island of Hispanola, at his spokesman's noon briefing Inner City Press again asked for the UN's and Mr. Annan's response to the hundreds of Zimbabwean protesters demanding UN action on the UN's report on Operation Murambatsvina or "Clean Out the Trash," in which the Mugabe government evicted at least 700,000 perceived political opponents. Rather than yesterday's cursory reference to Zimbabwe's sovereignty, on Friday UN spokesman Farhan Haq stated that Ben Mkapa, Mugabe's selected envoy, particularly to the UK, will be in charge of addressing and asking on Operation Murambatsvina as detailed in the UN report.  We'll see.

            Also at the noon briefing, Inner City Press asked if the UN agrees with Israel that placing telephone calls to civilians before bombing the neighborhoods they live in brings the bombing in compliance with the laws of war.  After the briefing, the spokesman referred the press corps to a statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour that "while effective advance warning of attacks which may affect the civilian population must be given, this legal obligation does not absolve the parties to the conflict of their other obligations under international law regarding the protection of civilians" and "that international humanitarian law requires all parties to avoid locating military objectives within or near densely populated areas."

            In the half-light of the Security Council stakeout at 2:50 p.m., the Palestinian Permanent Observer to the UN called over Inner City Press. "Do you want a tip?" he said. Of course. He detailed a group of ambassadors, including from Sudan, Syria, Azerbaijan and Malaysia, slated now to meet with the Council president then with Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch-Brown at 5 p.m.. The spokesman's office, asked by Inner City Press, confirmed the meeting, which ambassadors say will concern more bombing of civilians, although reference to Azerbaijan's representative, for OIC, was not included. As another reporter noted, "the real action is at the U.S. mission."

            At 4 p.m., the president of the Security Council emerged. He apologized for not summarizing the meeting, saying he feels a need to tell the other Council members before telling the press. He mentioned he lived in Westchester and Inner City Press asked, where? New Rochelle. Do you go to New Roc City? With a look of surprise he said yes, "I am a New York boy." More substantively, and full circle for this report, he answered Inner City Press' question about the burning of ballots in Congo by saying he hope for another briefing next week. We'll see.

At the UN, Disinterest in Zimbabwe, Secrecy on Chechnya, Congo Polyanna and Ineptitude on Somalia

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN

UNITED NATIONS, August 3 -- To what demands does the UN respond? Thursday in Zimbabwe, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the UN's building, demanding action on the UN's dormant report on the Mugabe government's mass eviction of 700,000 people in Operation Murambatsvina or "Clean Out the Trash."

   The UN's failure to act on the report, and on the evictions, take place in the context of the Secretary-General having opened deferred to Mr. Mugabe's chosen mediator, Ben Mkapa, and of the UN Development Program working on the Mugabe government's Human Rights Council despite criticism from non-governmental human rights groups in Zimbabwe. In order to get a response from the UN Secretariat, Inner City Press asked Kofi Annan's spokesman's office, along with a question about Darfur and another on Chechnya. With all due respect, the response was unsatisfactory, or telling.

            "We can't respond every time someone demonstrates," a UN spokesman told Inner City Press, adding that the UN can only mediate or act on the evictions report with the consent of the Mugabe government. That the Secretary-General in other circumstances, including last week and this, can when he chooses call on changes in behavior by member states was not addressed. Everything is a choice.  These choices have included devoting the vast majority of each day's noon briefing to events in Lebanon. Thursday's question about Darfur was responded to, outside of the briefing, dismissively. Yes, the Secretary-General is traveling, to Haiti and Santo Domingo.  But when the government of Sudan says openly that it will refuse any UN force in Darfur, and even claims that such a force would be illegal, some would expect a response from the Secretariat.

            Even on Lebanon, the fact are far too loose. Thursday at noon Inner City Press inquired into Tuesday's statement about three hospitals closed for lack of fuel in southern Lebanon. The spokesman's response acknowledged indirectly that fewer had been closed:

From: varmab@un.org

To: matthew.lee [at] innercitypress.com

Sent: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 11:23 AM

Subject: your question on Lebanese hospitals

WHO says the health sector is suffering from lack of supplies and fuel. The fuel shortage has forced Mais Al-Jabal hospital to close down and Marjeion hospital is to close tonight. Ghandour hospital (also in south Lebanon) was bombed while Tyre public hospital is running out of supplies and could close down soon. 

 --Brenden Varma, Office of the Spokesman for the Secretary-General

  Thursday Inner City Press asked again, calling the situation "more complex" but requesting an update. As of press time, none was forthcoming.

            On Chechnya, Inner City Press asked for confirmation that the UN has reduced its danger assessment from "security phase V" or "Evacuation" to "security phase IV," while raising its threat assessment in Kabardino-Balkaria. The official response is that the UN's threat levels are not public, despite the fact that they appear in online OCHA situation reports.  Click here for one such report.

Chechnya

A question concerning reports that Russia intends to deport Uzbek dissidents despite their designation as refugees by UNHCR also went unanswered. Yes there are vacations and sicknesses. But the world, even outside of the Mediterranean's eastern shore, goes on. Ethiopia has invaded Somalia, and the UN Secretariat has said nothing. Many observers conclude that the UN is so committed to the now-collapsing Transitional Government that it is choosing to stay silent as Ethiopia violates the UN Security Council's arms embargo, since the arms are going to the Transitional Federal Government, dozens of whose ministers have now resigned, many to join the Islamic Courts Union. The endgame, some predict, will be the same or worse than in 1993, when the UN openly targeted Aidid, and then had no contacts after that targeting, and the main targeter, ended in failure. If the Transitional Federal Government totally collapses, and the Islamic Courts Union replaces it even in Baidoa, what alliance would the ICU own to the UN? Distraction and corner-cutting leads to larger problems down the road.  The questions will continue.

            At the Security Council stakeout on Thursday, Inner City Press asked this month's Council president Nana Effah-Apenteng about the briefing on DR Congo elections. Did head UN peacekeeper Jean-Marie Guehenno -- who did not come to take questions himself after his briefing -- mention the finished-or-not-finished investigation of the UN's role in the attack on Kazana village in Ituri? And what of the low voter turn-out in Kasai? Amb. Effah-Apenteng  responded to candidate and current vice president Ruberwa's accusation of fraud; apparently, Mr. Guehenno did not mention Kazana, or presumably Peter Karim, the kidnapper of UN peacekeepers later offered a colonel's position in the Congolese army. Developing.

            In the UN's basement on Wednesday, a documentary was screened about a 90-year old survivor of the atomic bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who after the film took questions, remarkable lucidly and insightfully. Inner City Press asked about the North Korean missile tests and subsequent torturously negotiated Security Council resolution. Mr. Yamaguchi was aware of the missile that flew toward Japan and also Hawaii; he closed his eyes and said in both English and Japanese, "No more Hiroshimas!" And no Nagasakis either...

Impunity's in the Air, at the UN in Kinshasa and NY, for Kony and Karim and MONUC for Kazana

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN

  UNITED NATIONS, August 2 -- As in the Congo both vote-counting and vote-spinning continue, UN envoy William Lacy Swing on Wednesday told reporters in New York all irregularities with the election "have been dealt with by the electoral commission."

   This Mr. Swing later modified, saying the irregularities "are being" dealt with. These were not the only word games deployed by Mr. Swing over the video connection. Inner City Press asked Swing to explain why he had applauded the offer of a position in the Congolese army to Mathieu Ngudjolo, a warlord with the Mouvement Revolutionnaire Congolais (MRC) who has previously been quoted justifying the use of child soldiers.

          "I don't think you're quoting me on that," said Mr. Swing. "It's not my business to applaud."

            But a UN press release that was read out at the noon briefing in New York on July 27 states, "William Lacy Swing, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC, welcomed the agreement, signed yesterday in Bunia by the Congolese Government and the MRC in the presence of UN officials, calling it a major step forward for the elections." Perhaps there is some semantic difference between applauding and welcoming. Less semantic is Mr. Swing's and the UN's decision to acquiesce to the offer of a colonel's position in the Congolese army to Peter Karim, who took hostage seven peacekeepers in the UN's MONUC mission "for forty one days," as Mr. Swing emphasized.

            "It was absolutely our top priority to get them released," said Mr. Swing. Last week, the UN's head of Africa peacekeeping Dmitry Titov acknowledged that the offer of a colonel's role to Peter Karim was "as part of the negotiation" to get the peacekeepers released.  Wednesday Mr. Swing reverted to the old, previously abandoned story, that the offer only came about after Peter Karim freed the peacekeepers.

            On the timing of MONUC's self-exoneration, see July 28 report below, Mr. Swing stated that MONUC had last week sent to New York its report, apparently the one page, typo-ridden document handed to Inner City Press Friday in the spokesman's office. Mr. Swing stated that he or his spokesman would provide the date of the report. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday in New York, the date had not been provided.

Counting  

            An update on other UN information not provided yesterday by deadline, but arriving today: at Tuesday's noon briefing, it was said from the podium that three hospitals in South Lebanon had been closed for lack of fuel for generators. Inner City Press asked for the names of the three hospitals, beyond Bint Jbeil.  Wednesday morning, the following arrived:

"WHO says the health sector is suffering from lack of supplies and fuel. The fuel shortage has forced Mais Al-Jabal hospital to close down and Marjeion hospital is to close tonight. Ghandour hospital (also in south Lebanon) was bombed while Tyre public hospital is running out of supplies and could close down soon."

   Without being needlessly contentious, that would be one hospital closed, and one to follow. Facts are facts, and many go unascertained. For example, the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia. While the UN continues to say it is not positioned to confirm the invasion, BBC on Wednesday quoted diplomats that Ethiopian prime minister "Meles had privately acknowledged the presence of Ethiopian troops on Somali soil."

          Wednesday Inner City Press asked Ghana's ambassador, and this month's Security Council president, Nana Effah-Apenteng if and when Somalia will appear on the Council's agenda. "When one member asks for it," he answered. Asked about Uganda's offer of amnesty to the Lord's Resistance Army's Joseph Kony despite his indictment for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, Amb. Nana Effah-Apenteng stated that during the Council's recent consideration of reports on Resolutions 1653 and 1663, the Council decided to "let the Juba process have a chance." He added that he was not ready to express Ghana's view on the offer of amnesty to Kony. Video is here.

   Impunity seems the order of the day.  One reporter, not this one, opined that this is the way of the world, to let bad actors into the army, to keep them from doing even more harm.  Another reporter, also not this one, pointed out that it was under William Lacy Swing that the scandal of UN peacekeepers trading eggs and peanut butter for underaged sex in East Congo took place, but that Mr. Swing was never held accountable, due to his nation's protection. Forgiveness is one thing, impunity's another.

            How does all this make the UN appear? Wednesday Inner City Press asked the panel assembled for the 60th anniversary of the World Federation of United Nations Associations whether they distinguish between the UN and Security Council, as it appears those who looted the UN's building in Beirut did not. "We are constructive critics, replied acting S-G Pera Wells.  Inner City Press asked if WFUNA has a position on such matters as expansion of the Security Council, and granting permanent seats to such nations as India and Brazil, and Japan and Germany. The matters will be discussed at an upcoming Argentine plenary. We'll see.

UN Still Silent on Somalia, Despite Reported Invasion, In Lead-Up to More Congo Spin

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee at the UN

   UNITED NATIONS, August 1 -- When troops of one country invade another, what does the UN do? It depends.

   In the face of widespread reporting of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, Inner City Press has for the last two days asked Kofi Annan's spokesman's office for confirmation and comment on this fact. Monday the response was that the UN "is not in the position" to ascertain whether there are Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia.

  Tuesday the spokeswoman quoted Kofi Annan's envoy to Somalia Francois Lonseny Fall "at the IGAD meeting in Nairobi" on the importance of continuing the "dialogue between the Transitional Federal Government and the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts." Given that the TFG had in the past 24 hours postponed the dialogue in Khartoum for at least 15 days, Inner City Press asked what Mr. Fall was referring to, whether it took into account the postponement and the further defection of ministers from the TFG cabinet.  "He's aware of press reports," the spokesman answered.

            Among the members of the regional group IGAD are Ethiopia and Eritrea. So Inner City Press asked, did Francois Lonseny Fall at least at the meeting ask the Ethiopian representative if his country's troops have cross into Somalia?  "I have his statement," was the answer. And nothing more to say? Apparently not.

In the UN's blind spot

            The next part of the noon briefing, much longer -- one wag said "disproportionate" --  concerned events in Lebanon. It was said that three hospitals in south Lebanan have closed for lack of fuel. Inner City Press asked for the hospitals' names and locations, beyond Bint Jbeil, and asked for more information on the attack on the UN's building in Beirut. The spokesman emphasized that the Lebanese government and Hezbollah both appealed to the crowd to stop the attack. There were no injuries, he said. The staff had been evacuated. The scope and cost of material damage has yet to be assessed.

            And what of the less tangible damage to the United Nations' image? At UN Headquarters Tuesday, the mood was slow and languid. Drifting out from the Security Council were the U.S. Jackie Sanders and the income Council president, the Ambassador of Ghana. Maybe later this week, both in essence said. Maybe.

            What if the Council has a building in Beirut? The operational side of the UN is not paralyzed. The World Food Program is charged with getting fuel into Beirut. Twenty-five WFP staff were in fact in the building in Beirut was it was attacked. Monday's New York Times spoke of the U.S. teetering on the brink of a public relations disaster. But the U.S. has stronger building, further set back from the street. The UN Secretariat brings out the big guns on Lebanon, without as yet effect. On another invasion, and the crisis in Somalia, very little is said or done.

            Monday the spokesman's office referred Inner City Press, on the current question of the TFG's allegation that Egypt, Libya and Iran are supporting the Islamic Courts Union, to a months-old experts report on sanctions violators, S/2006/229. The report describes arms shipment to the warlords and TFG; only Eritrea is presenting at supporting what the report calls militant Islamic fundamentalists. According to the report, Ethiopia drove 10 trucks to Jowhar, including 2000 AK-47s and 100 rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers. Yemen provided the TFG with 15 Toyota Land Cruiser pickup trucks, to be converted into technicals. The report refers to "clandestine third-party involvement in Somalia" in support of the "Alliance for Peace Restoration and Combat Against Terror," APRCT. The report states that the "Monitoring Group did not specify third-country involvement because at the time of the writing of the present report it had not completed its investigation." And now? Francois Lonseny Fall, where are you?

            Fewer questions exist about William Lacy Swing, at least tomorrow. At 2 p.m. Wednesday in New York, Mr. Swing will appear on a video screen on the 32nd floor of UN Headquarters. With new allegations of fraud in the elections, and outstanding questions about the incorporation of warlords into the Congolese army and the quickly-released and now-apparently-ongoing investigation into the events at the village of Kazana, here's hoping that the video hook-up stays strong.

Other Inner City Press reports are archived on www.InnerCityPress.org

Impunity's in the Air, at the UN in Kinshasa and NY, for Kony and Karim and MONUC for Kazana

UN Still Silent on Somalia, Despite Reported Invasion, In Lead-Up to More Congo Spin

UN's Guehenno Says Congo Warlord Just Needs Training, and Kazana Probe Continues

With Congo Elections Approaching, UN Issues Hasty Self-Exoneration as Annan Is Distracted

In DR Congo, UN Applauds Entry into Army of Child-Soldier Commander Along with Kidnapper

Spinning the Congo, UN Admits Hostage Deal with Warlord That Put Him in Congolese Army

At the UN, Dow Chemical's Invited In, While Teaming Up With Microsoft is Defended

Kofi Annan Questioned about Congolese Colonel Who Kidnapped Seven UN Soldiers

At the UN, Speeches While Gaza Stays Lightless and Insurance Not Yet Paid

At the UN Poorest Nations Discussed, Disgust at DRC Short Shrift, Future UN Justice?

At the UN Wordsmiths Are At Work on Zimbabwe, Kony,  Ivory Coast and Iran

UN Silent As Congolese Kidnapper of UN Peacekeepers Is Made An Army Colonel: News Analysis

At the UN, New Phrase Passes Resolution called Gangster-Like by North Korea; UK Deputy on the Law(less)

UN's Guehenno Speaks of "Political Overstretch" Undermining Peacekeeping in Lower Profile Zones

In Gaza Power Station, the Role of Enron and the U.S. Government's OPIC Revealed by UN Sources

At UN, North Korean Knot Attacked With Fifty Year Old Precedent, Game Continues Into Weekend

UN's Corporate Partnerships Will Be Reviewed, While New Teaming Up with Microsoft, and UNDP Continues

Gaza Resolution Vetoed by U.S., While North Korea Faces Veto and Chechnya Unread

BTC Briefing, Like Pipeline, Skirts Troublespots, Azeri Revelations

Conflicts of Interest in UNHCR Program with SocGen and Pictet Reveal Reform Rifts

At the UN, A Day of Resolutions on Gaza, North Korea and Iran, Georgia as Side Dish

UN Grapples with Somalia, While UNDP Funds Mugabe's Human Rights Unit, Without Explanation

In North Korean War of Words, Abuses in Uganda and Impunity Go Largely Ignored

On North Korea, Blue Words Move to a Saturday Showdown, UNDP Uzbek Stonewall

As the World Turns in Uganda and Korea, the UN Speaks only on Gaza, from Geneva

North Korea in the UN: Large Arms Supplant the Small, and Confusion on Uganda

UN Gives Mugabe Time with His Friendly Mediator, Refugees Abandoned

At the UN, Friday Night's Alright for Fighting; Annan Meets Mugabe

UN Acknowledges Abuse in Uganda, But What Did Donors Know and When? Kazakh Questions

In Uganda, UNDP to Make Belated Announcement of Program Halt, But Questions Remain (and see The New Vision, offsite).

Disarmament Abuse in Uganda Leads UN Agency to Suspend Its Work and Spending

Disarmament Abuse in Uganda Blamed on UNDP, Still Silent on Finance

Alleged Abuse in Disarmament in Uganda Known by UNDP, But Dollar Figures Still Not Given: What Did UN Know and When?

Strong Arm on Small Arms: Rift Within UN About Uganda's Involuntary Disarmament of Karamojong Villages

UN in Denial on Sudan, While Boldly Predicting the Future of Kosovo/a

UN's Selective Vision on Somalia and Wishful Thinking on Uighurs

UN Habitat Predicts The World Is a Ghetto, But Will Finance Be Addressed at Vancouver World Urban Forum?

At the UN, a Commando Unit to Quickly Stop Genocide is Proposed, by Diplomatic Sir Brian Urquhart

UN's Annan Concerned About Use of Terror's T-Word to Repress, Wants Freedom of Information

UN  Waffles on Human Rights in Central Asia and China; ICC on Kony and a Hero from Algiers

At the UN, Internal Justice Needs Reform, While in Timor Leste, Has Evidence Gone Missing?

UN & US, Transparency for Finance But Not Foreign Affairs: Somalia, Sovereignty and Senator Tom Coburn

In Bolton's Wake, Silence and Speech at the UN, Congo and Kony, Let the Games Begin

Pro-Poor Talk and a Critique of the World Trade Organization from a WTO Founder: In UN Lull, Ugandan Fog and Montenegrin Mufti

Human Rights Forgotten in UN's War of Words, Bolton versus Mark Malloch Brown: News Analysis

In Praise of Migration, UN Misses the Net and Bangalore While Going Soft on Financial Exclusion

UN Sees Somalia Through a Glass, Darkly, While Chomsky Speaks on Corporations and Everything But Congo

AIDS Ends at the UN? Side Deals on Patents, Side Notes on Japanese Corporations, Salvadoran and Violence in Burundi

On AIDS at the UN, Who Speaks and Who Remains Unseen

Corporate Spin on AIDS, Holbrooke's Kudos to Montenegro and its Independence (May 31, 2006)

Kinshasa Election Nightmares, from Ituri to Kasai. Au Revoir Allan Rock; the UN's Belly-Dancing

Working with Warlords, Insulated by Latrines: Somalia and Pakistan Addressed at the UN

The Silence of the Congo and Naomi Watts; Between Bolivia and the World Bank

Human Rights Council Has Its Own Hanging Chads; Cocky U.S. State Department Spins from SUVs

Child Labor and Cargill and Nestle; Iran, Darfur and WHO's on First with Bird Flu

Press Freedom? Editor Arrested by Congo-Brazzaville, As It Presides Over Security Council

The Place of the Cost-Cut UN in Europe's Torn-Up Heart;
Deafness to Consumers, Even by the Greens

Background Checks at the UN, But Not the Global Compact; Teaching Statistics from Turkmenbashi's Single Book

Ripped Off Worse in the Big Apple, by Citigroup and Chase: High Cost Mortgages Spread in Outer Boroughs in 2005, Study Finds

Burundi: Chaos at Camp for Congolese Refugees, Silence from UNHCR, While Reform's Debated by Forty Until 4 AM

In Liberia, From Nightmare to Challenge; Lack of Generosity to Egeland's CERF, Which China's Asked About

The Chadian Mirage: Beyond French Bombs, Is Exxon In the Cast? Asylum and the Uzbeks, Shadows of Stories to Come

Through the UN's One-Way Mirror, Sustainable Development To Be Discussed by Corporations, Even Nuclear Areva

Racial Disparities Grew Worse in 2005 at Citigroup, HSBC and Other Large Banks

Mine Your Own Business: Explosive Remnants of War and the Great Powers, Amid the Paparazzi

Human Rights Are Lost in the Mail: DR Congo Got the Letter, But the Process is Still Murky

Iraq's Oil to be Metered by Shell, While Basrah Project Remains Less than Clear

At the UN, Dues Threats and Presidents-Elect, Unanswered Greek Mission Questions

Kofi, Kony, Kagame and Coltan: This Moment in the Congo and Kampala

As Operation Swarmer Begins, UN's Qazi Denies It's Civil War and Has No Answers if Iraq's Oil is Being Metered

Cash Crop: In Nepal, Bhutanese Refugees Prohibited from Income Generation Even in their Camps

The Shorted and Shorting in Humanitarian Aid: From Davos to Darfur, the Numbers Don't Add Up

UN Reform: Transparency Later, Not Now -- At Least Not for AXA - WFP Insurance Contract

In Congolese Chaos, Shots Fired at U.N. Helicopter Gunship

In the Sudanese Crisis, Oil Revenue Goes Missing, UN Says

Empty Words on Money Laundering and Narcotics, from the UN and Georgia

What is the Sound of Eleven Uzbeks Disappearing? A Lack of Seats in Tashkent, a Turf War at UN

Kosovo: Of Collective Punishment and Electricity; Lights Out on Privatization of Ferronikeli Mines

Abkhazia: Cleansing and (Money) Laundering, Says Georgia

Post-Tsunami Human Rights Abuses, including by UNDP in the Maldives

Who Pays for the Global Bird Flu Fight? Not the Corporations, So Far - UN

Citigroup Dissembles at United Nations Environmental Conference

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