For
UNSC, Some Say
Too Many
Europeans Now,
Luxembourg as
Dark Horse?
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 11 --
The three way
race for two
UN Security
Council
seats has
entered its
final week.
Thursday
morning
alongside a
lightly
attended
General
Assembly
meeting on its
own long
delayed
revitalization,
the Permanent
Representatives
of the three
--
Australia,
Finland and
Luxembourg --
arrived at the
GA. But they
went
into side
Indonesian
Lounge, not
the GA Hall.
When
Australia's
Permanent
Representative
left, he told
Inner City
Press
with a smile,
"just seven
days left... I
need
revitalization,
too." His good
humor, a
number of
delegates have
told Inner
City
Press, will
serve his
country well.
Finland's
Permanent
Representative
left, telling
Inner City
Press, "We
usually say."
And his
country has
been active in
the committees
in the North
Lawn building.
But leaving as
the
Revitalization
of the
General
Assembly
meeting was
ongoing was no
shame: new
President of
the GA Vuk
Jeremic, after
giving a more
interesting
than usual
speech
citing
Carlyle, left
at 11 am.
Luxembourg
is
something of
the dark horse
in the race,
having
campaigned a
lot
"in the
field," as
well as around
Peacebuilding
within the
UN in New
York.
Not
to put too
much on a
single quote,
but one
African
Permanent
Representative
stopped and
told Inner
City Press
that "some in
the African
Union are
saying there
are already
too much
Europeans on
the Security
Council."
When
Inner City
Press conveyed
this to
another
diplomat, he
replied, "You
got it --
Finland and
Australia."
We'll see.
Meanwhile
as
Inner City
Press reported
yesterday, the
African seat
being given
up by South
Africa still
seems destined
for Rwanda.
"So far it's
still a clean
slate," a
source
observed to
Inner City
Press,
wondering if
another
African
country might
emerge to
challenge
Rwanda. To us,
this still
seems
unlikely.
The
other
contested
race, between
South Korea,
Cambodia and
Bhutan for a
single seat,
spread out to
the other side
of the
otherwise
empty
stakeout where
Inner City
Press covered
entrants and
Webcasts of
meetings on
the North
Lawn, and
Desmond Tutu
and Mary
Robinson in
the
Dag
Hammarskjold
Auditorium.
There was even
an extensive
campaign
pitch made to
Inner City
Press. We will
have more on
this. Watch
this
site.
, 
