UNITED
NATIONS, June
10 -- The UN
made much of
World Oceans
Day, even as
three shades
of sea were
projected on
the Empire
State Building
in
New York. But
what is the UN
doing for
people fleeing
rising water
in
the Carteret
Islands?
Nothing, or
nothing yet,
Inner City
Press was
told Monday at
the UN.
There
was a press
conference
including the
UN's Senior
Legal Adviser
on the
Law of the Sea
Annebeth
Rosenboom and
an
anthropologist,
Dr Jenny
Newell. Inner
City Press
asked each of
them a
question;
Newell
responded
briefing on
Nauru but then
mentioned the
Carteret
Islands,
people leaving
without
government
support on
supply ships.
Australia
does
not accept
them, does not
accept climate
change
refugees. So
Inner City
Press asked
what the UN is
going to help,
since it talks
so much about
these issues,
climate change
and refugees.
The answer
was a
conference in
Samoa -- next
year. How many
desperate
supply
ships from now
is that?
On
the Somali
government's
statement last
week "calling
'null and
void' the
Memorandum of
Understanding
between the
TFG Minister
of
International
Cooperation
and Kenyan
Minister of
Foreign
Affairs
signed in
Nairobi on
April 7,
2009," the
UN's Senior
Legal
Adviser on the
Law of the Sea
Annebeth
Rosenboom
would say only
that
every "note
verbale"
is put on the
UN's website.
Inner
City Press has closely
covered the
issue,
including a
previous
statement by
the UN --
after being
involved in
the MOU - that
is was
"not
actionable." Inner
City Press
asked if last
week's
Somali
government
statement is
deemed as note
verbale.
No, is the
answer. We
hope to have
more on this.
Footnote:
this
was the first
briefing in
the UN's new
Press Briefing
Room.
Despite
questions that
have arisen
about the
propriety of
the UN
automatically
giving the
first question
to members of
the UN
Correspondents
Association
who pay money
for the
privilege,
UNCA's
2013 president
Pamela Falk of
CBS took the
first
question, "on
behalf of
UNCA."
So
Inner City
Press thanked
the panelists
on behalf of
the new Free
UN
Coalition for
Access,
and tried to
push Ms
Rosenboom to
offer some
answer on her
and the UN's
role on the
Law of the
Sea, with
respect
to the deal
with Kenya
about Somalia
the UN
brokered.
To say that a
background
briefing last
week was the
place to ask
this question
--
background
meaning not
quoting anyone
by name -- is
not
sufficient.
FUNCA will be
pushing on
this.
, 
