On
Rohingya, UN
Didn't Know of
OIC Letter,
Then
Processes, Not
Time to Raise
in UNSC
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 6, updated
-- Violence
against the
Muslim
Rohingyas in
Myanmar has
become an
issue not only
of human
rights, but
increasingly
of religious
rights.
On November 6
Inner City
Press
asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
about a letter
the
Organization
of Islamic
Cooperation
announced it
sent urging
Ban to raise
Myanmar and
the Rohingya
in the
Security
Council, under
the UN
Charter.
Nesirky
replied,
"I'll check
whether a
letter has
been received,
I'm not
aware of one.
I don't think
one needs to
invoke a
charter
provision
in this
instance,
already the
Secretary
General has
been quite
vocal
as has Mr.
Nambiar." Video
here, from
Minute 7:15. And
see update
below.
Without
getting
into Ban's
silence amid
violence in
Rakhine State
from
Thursday,
October 25
into the
middle of the
next week --
Ban was in
South Korea,
and the UN
was silenced
by Super Storm
Sandy --
Ban's
envoy Vijay
Nambiar did
mentioned the
Rohingya in
the UN's Third
Committee on
November 5.
But
there, some
noted, Nambiar
said that the
UN will start
giving more
aid to
non-Muslims in
Rakhine State,
to make sure
it is
perceived as
fair. Then
Nambiar said
the
Secretariat
would like his
Good Offices
mandate to
have "more
elbow room."
It
is in that
context that
OIC has asked
Ban to take
the issue to
the
Security
Council. Inner
City Press
asked Nesirky
to speak
directly to
that, that the
Security
Council has
powers under
Chapter 7 of
the
Charter.
Nesirky
said,
"I do know
what's in the
charter. One
doesn't need
to
invoke it here
and now, given
the Secretary
General has
been quite
vocal on
this... It
would be for
the council to
see whether
they wish
to take this
up."
Presumably
the
OIC, too,
knows what the
UN Charter
says -- while
knowing that
the Security
Council COULD
take Myanmar
up on its own,
the OIC
nevertheless
asked Ban to
raise it to
the Council.
Will he? Will
the
OIC letter
even be
acknowledged?
Update
of 4:40 p.m. -
after
publication of
the above, the
following was
sent and
received:
Subject:
Your question
on Myanmar
From:
UN
Spokesperson -
Do Not Reply
<unspokesperson-donotreply@un.org>
Date: Tue, Nov
6, 2012 at
4:31 PM
To:
Matthew.Lee
[at]
innercitypress.com
In response to
your question
on a letter
from the
Organization
for Islamic
Cooperation to
the
Secretary-General
on Myanmar, we
can confirm
that the
letter was
received and
processed
today to the
Special
Adviser on
Myanmar, Vijay
Nambiar.
, 
