UNITED
NATIONS, April
11 -- Eight
days ago at
the UN, mainly
Deputy
Permanent
Representatives
negotiated
until 8 pm
about paying
for UN
peacekeeping.
Today, with
mainly
Permanent
Representatives,
the
issues remain
the same.
Countries
contributing
mostly money
want to extend
the minimum
deployment to
12
months, saying
this will save
money. But
several troop
contributing
countries,
particularly
in Latin
America, reply
that their
constitutions
ban this,
limiting
deployments to
six months.
The
new idea is to
say that
exemptions to
the 12 month
deployment
minimum
could be given;
that it should
be phased in.
It is noted
that naval
deployments
are not for 12
months.
The
donors want to
not pay for
broken
continent
owned
equipment, and
if
it fails
inspection
twice in a
row, to not
pay the
associated
peacekeepers.
This is
opposed mostly
by TCCs in
Africa.
These
two savings
would go to
increase
peacekeeper
compensation
by some $80
million. The killing
only this week
of five
peacekeepers
from India
while
patrolling
South Sudan
seems to make
this more
urgent.
On
the scene
were, among
others, the
Permanent
Representatives
of major TCCs
like Pakistan
and Morocco,
and of Fiji
for the Group
of 77.
One
well placed
African
Permanent
Representative
told Inner
City Press he
is advising
his peers to
“get this SAG
deal done
now,” not
leave
it for the
next resumed
session with
other
peacekeeping
budgets
“which would
be cut.”
SAG
stands for
Senior
Advisory Group
on
Peacekeeping,
a group on
which
Ban Ki-moon
and
Peacekeeping
chief Herve
Ladsous let
serve
Shavendra
Silva, who is
depicted in
Ban's own
report on Sri
Lanka as
engaged in
war crimes.
Ban
told
Inner City
Press this was
a matter for
member states.
But as
noted
elsewhere
today, this
deference to
member states
is not equally
applied.
Watch this
site.
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