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On Sri Lanka, "No Strong
Request" Anymore for Council Meeting, Japan's Mediation Results, N.
Korean Missile
on Horizon?
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, February 18 -- As
meetings begin on the need to reform the UN Security Council, the
disposition
of a member's request for a briefing about the humanitarian
crisis in Sri Lanka
exemplifies flaws in how the body functions.
In
early February, as the pace of
civilian death escalated in northern Sri Lanka, Mexican
Ambassador Claude
Heller asked for a briefing in the Council on the issue. Russian
Ambassador
Vitaly Churkin responded that such a briefing would be improper. Churkin
later
confirmed this to Inner City Press, on camera, adding that while
the issue
could for example be raised in the General Assembly, it is not on the
Security
Council's agenda.
Inner City Press last week asked Mexico's Heller for
the status of his
request. He said that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had sent an envoy,
that the
request was still live, and that he and Mexico believe that Sri Lanka
can be
discussed in the Council.
But later on February 18, this month's Council
president, Japan's Yukio
Takaso, replied to Inner City Press' follow-up question by stating that
"at this moment, there is no strong request for a member." Video
here,
from Minute 5:43. Inner City Press asked, weren't
you tasked to mediate
between Mexico and Russia on this issue? Ambassador Takasu said,
"yes, I
am tasked to coordinate this position, this disagreement, I have been
trying to
narrow differences." By his account, the result of his narrowing has
been
to push the issue of Sri Lanka even further from discussion or briefing
in the
Security Council.
Other Security Council Ambassadors have told Inner
City Press that
Takasu has been very solicitous of Russia, for example apologizing
profusely to
Churkin for not being able to block some uses of the word "Georgia"
with respect to Abkhazia, which Russia, followed only by Nicaragua, has
recognized as independent from that country. (For the record, Takasu is
solicitous of the Press as well, scrupulously takes all questions, at
least as President.) In this scenario, Japan which
wants a permanent seat on the Council is bending over backwards during
the
month of its presidency to please the existing Permanent Five, Russia
included.
Amb. Takasu, taking Press questions, N. Korea
missile and Sri Lanka request not shown
A close observer of Japanese foreign policy,
speaking on condition of
anonymity because of a need to continue to deal with those involved in
the
policy, surmises that since Japan's national position is to keep the
Sri Lanka
issue out of the Council, Takasu's mediation as president was impacted
by the
goals of his nation. Takasu often says, "putting on my chapeau" as
Japanese Ambassador, as opposed to ostensibly non-national Council
president.
But, this close observer said, in the case of Sri Lanka, Japanese
foreign policy may have been implemented in part by its role as monthly
president.
Footnote: In a somewhat similar issue on the
Council's horizon, Inner City Press asked Mr. Takasu if the reports
that North
Korea is moving toward testing a long-range missile have been mentioned
among
Council members, and how the Council might react to such a test. Takasu replied that the issue, which he is
known to be discussing, has not arising in the Council, and that "it is
not
useful to speculate" on the "expected response by the Council." Video here,
from Minute 10:25.
Close observers predict that Japan would
request a Security Council meeting, and even draft a
"product"
for that meeting, rather than simply relying on the framework of the
Six Party
Talks on North Korea. Ironically, since Libya will be Council president
in
March, an implicit position seems to be, if you are going to test the missile,
do it in February...
Click here
for Feb.
12 debate on Sri Lanka http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17772?in=11:33&out=32:56
Click here for Inner City Press' Jan.
16, 2009 debate about Gaza
Click here for Inner City Press'
review-of-2008 UN Top Ten debate
Click here for Inner
City Press' December 24 debate on UN budget, Niger
Click here from Inner City Press'
December 12 debate on UN double standards
Click here for Inner
City Press' November 25 debate on Somalia, politics
Click here for Inner City
Press Nov. 7 debate on the war in Congo
Watch this site, and this Oct. 2 debate, on
UN, bailout, MDGs
and this October 17 debate, on
Security Council and Obama and the UN.
* * *
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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