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UN Defensive on
Sudan's Abyei, Silent on Georgia and Somalia,
Mauritania Coup Snafu
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, August 18 -- As
the UN Security Council met on Monday morning, the lack of progress on
any
resolution about Georgia was striking. Western diplomats summarized the
day's
known agenda: South Sudan, maybe a belated Presidential Statement on
the coup
in Mauritania, on which they said Panama was putting up objections
(explanation below).
And Georgia? The resolution is still being worked on. The West,
at least the biggest Western power, is urging Ban Ki-moon to become
more active
in Georgia, on refugee and humanitarian issues, even (at least some)
human
rights. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes is on vacation, the Western
diplomats
said his deputy Catherine Bragg will brief member states Monday
afternoon on
the situation in Georgia.
A report from late last week, that Sudan would seek
a General Assembly
resolution in September concerning the International Criminal Court
proceedings
against President Omar Al Bashir, was categorically denied to Inner
City Press
by the Sudanese Mission to the UN.
Panama's
objections to the draft Presidential Statement deploring the coup in
Mauritania have to do with "working methods" -- the Council has not
even gotten a briefing about the coup, and now they are being asked to
approve a Presidential Statement. Last week Inner City Press asked UN
Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq to confirm or deny talked by the UN
Development Program with the coup leaders. Haq responded by the UN's
Said Djinnit had traveled to the country. But why no briefing to the
Council?
Ambassadors Wang and Sawers,
Mauritania briefing and Georgia resolution not shown
Meanwhile inside the Council, UN Mission in Sudan
envoy Ashraf Qazi
defended his mission's failure to protect civilians in Abyei in May.
Qazi
portrayed it as "protection of civilian property," and commended
"the report titled 'Security Council Action under Chapter VII: Myths
and
reality.'" Always a good idea,
praising Council reports while reporting the Council.
In light of the killing of civilians over the
weekend in Somalia,
including by the Ethiopian forces as the Council is set to approve
extension of
AMISOM on Tuesday, Inner City Press formalized a request for comment
from the UN
Political Office on Somalia:
Hi
-- does the SRSG have any comment on or reaction to http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7565417.stm
?
and,
to follow up on a question I asked during the Security Council visit to
the
Djibouti talks in June, can you state which countries paid for the
Djibouti
talks, what and for whom they paid for and how much?
And so it
goes at the UN.
Watch
this
site. And this (on
South Ossetia), and
this --
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