UN
Protection of
Civilians Goes
Past 10PM,
From Drones to
IDPs
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 12,
updated – The
Security
Council's
“Protection of
Civilians”
debate Tuesday
started late,
after a
session on
North
Korea, and
went past 10
pm, with
nearly all
Permanent
Representatives
gone. Inner
City Press
stayed,
through Sri
Lanka and the
Congo,
Turkey and
Qatar, all the
way through to
Bolivia.
Early
in the
proceeding,
France's
Gerard Araud
praised the
UN's use of
drones and
called for
accountability.
Some wondered,
what about in
Cote d'Ivoire,
the killings
in Duekoue and
of Internally
Displaced
People?
Russia's
Vitaly
Churkin also
praised the
UN, or at
least its
mission in
Afghanistan,
for
systemically
counting the
number of
civilians
killed. This
might be
contrasted, as
Inner City
Press has, to
the UN
hiring
non-profit
Benetech in
San Francisco,
partially
funded by the
US State
Department, to
purport to
count the dead
in Syria.
Tanzania's
Permanent
Representative
said the
international
community and
the UN
failed in
Rwanda. Later
on, the DR
Congo spoke
mostly about
the M23
rebels,
blaming
Rwanda. Inner
City Press
interviewed
Rwanda's
foreign
minister,
story here.
The
Netherlands'
Permanent
Representative
spoke about
accountability,
too, leading
some to
hearken back
to the role
and inaction
of Dutch
soldiers or
peacekeepings
in Srebrenica.
New
Zealand
stressed that
even when the
Council is
blocked,
action should
be taken,
citing only
only Syria but
also Sri
Lanka.
When
Sri Lanka's
Palitha Kohona
spoke, he
railed against
media
fabrications.
Afterward
Inner City
Press spoke
with him, with
a story
forthcoming (now here).
Brazil's
foreign
minister
Patriota also
did a
stakeout.
Inner City
Press asked
him about Mali
-- he called
for action to
get under
Resolution
2085
as soon as
possible, with
Africans in
the lead --
and Guinea
Bissau.
On that,
Patroita said
harmonization
and
cooperation
had been less
than ideal,
but it should
be better
under new
envoy and
Nobel Peace
Prize winner
Ramos Horta.
Nicaragua's
speech
put it
plainly:
Resolution
1973 was used
in Libya for
the
assassination
of a head of
state.
There
were outgoing
Ambassadors.
India's
Hardeep Singh
Puri, set to
retire
from foreign
service,
criticized
double
standards in
the protection
of civilians.
Belgium's
Permanent
Representative,
too, is set to
retire.
But
the debate
ended with two
rounds of
replies
between
Azerbaijan and
Armenia about
Nagorno
Karabakh.
Syria replied
to Qatar,
which had
railed at
Assad.
Turkey did
that but
Israel
killings in
Palestine,
too. As he
spoke, Inner
City Press at
the stakeout
was asked
about it
scoop of
Palestine
seeking a vice
chair of the
Arms Trade
Treaty
talks. Who is
trying to
block it?
Watch this
site.
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