On Sudan, 3 Meetings, No Outcome, Blind to Ansar Al-Dine in Darfur?
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 8, 2013 - Sudan is the biggest or at least most
frequent item on the agenda of the UN Security Council. Yet after more than
two hours of consultations by the Council on Thursday about three separate
Sudanese issues, there was no outcome, and no summary.
Inner City Press asked UK Deputy Permanent Representative Philip Parham if
there was any progress in getting aid into Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile
states. He said no, "but we keep pushing."
Inner City Press asked a UN official present what on the issue(s) is
happening. "Nothing," he said.
It seems that most of the Sudan and South Sudan issues are on hold, with
the Council deferring or wanting to defer to the African Union. A pro-Juba
source told Inner City Press, "the AU has to prove that its bite is at least
somewhat similar to its bark."
A non-Permanent Security Council member told Inner City Press that there
might, at some later undefined date, be a Council press statement about the
issues discussed Thursday morning, with the exception of Sudan's ongoing
blocking or "blacklisting" of UN sanctions finance expert Schbley.
But the Council couldn't even put out a press statement for the
humanitarian pledging conference on Syria: will it on this?
While February's Council president Kim Sook of South Korea held an
informative February 4 press conference about the month's program of work
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/unsc1feb1rok020413.html> , it is after closed
door consultations like today's that a stakeout by the Council presidency is
particularly useful. This was raised at the February 4 briefing by the Free
UN Coalition for Access <
http://www.funca.info> , as a request for
stakeouts.
Perhaps one will be combined with the afternoon's Yemen consultations.
Repeating a question it asked at the day's noon briefing, Inner City Press
asked French Permanent Representative Gerard Araud about the Ansar Al-Dine
rebels from Mali being seen in Darfur. "I heard the rumor," Araud said.
At the noon briefing, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin
Nesirky answered Inner City Press that there are reports and rumors both
ways, that the Malian rebels are there and that they are not, and the UNAMID
peacekeeping mission has been unable to verify either.
UNAMID spends more than $1 billion a year, and any flight of rebels from
Mali into Sudan would clearly impact on international peace and security.
What are UNAMID and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations doing? Watch
this site.
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Received on Sat Feb 09 2013 - 10:39:22 EST
