On S. Sudan, Does Obama's Threat of Sanctions Apply to Uganda?
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, April 3, 2014 -- With the South Sudan talks stalled in Addis
Ababa, US President Obama on April 3 issued an Executive Order threatening
sanctions. The Executive Order has been put online here
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ussouthsudan040314.pdf> , by Inner City
Press.
Obama's Press Secretary Jay Carney said "both the Government of South
Sudan and Riek Machar's rebels must immediately engage in and follow through
on the inclusive peace process led by the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development."
One issue has been that while Uganda intervened on the side of the
government, it is also part of the ostensible mediator, IGAD. Obama's
Executive Order refers to "international security presences" and "other
peacekeeping operations" - does either term encompass the Uganda forces?
Back on March 25, returning from South Sudan and Darfur John Ging, the
Operations Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs and his Emergencies colleague Yasmin Haque spoke movingly of the
need to reduce the number of checkpoints on aid convoys in South Sudan.
Inner City Press asked Ging if this increased checking wasn't a result of
what even the UN has said was a mistake, the trucking rather than flying of
weapons to the Ghanian peacekeepers in Bentiu.
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ssudan1guntrucks030614.html>
Ging acknowledged that this was the government's rationale for the checks
but said, "We do not accept it."
Time did not permit but there is an obvious follow up question: if the UN
wants to put the arms-shipment scandal behind it, shouldn't it be more
transparent? It has said its probe is finished, but no written report has
been made public.
UN Peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, speaking to the Security Council on
March 19, chose instead to complain of a
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/ladsous3censorssudan031914.html>
"vilification of the UN" including in "media articles."
Inner City Press asked Ging and Haque if they had witnessed such
vilification during their trip to South Sudan. No, Ging said, this was not
directed at the UN's humanitarian side. So it's either limited to UN
Peacekeeping of Ladsous and Hilde Johnson, or Ladsous has a lower threshold
of getting angry at media coverage.
At the third question, Inner City Press on behalf of the Free UN Coalition
for Access <
http://www.funca.info> thanked Ging for doing Q&A when he comes
back from trips, and expressed hope that this becomes a trend or
expectation. Ladsous refuses to answer Press questions
<
http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2013/10/meet-matthew-lee
-scourge-united-nations> , video here <
http://youtu.be/rm1V-cY9u40> - but
even Jeff Feltman, back today from Ukraine, is said not to plan any press
availability. Why not?
The first question was given to Pamela Falk of CBS as head of the old UN
Correspondents Association, which rather than push for example for Ladsous
to have to answer has in fact come to his defense, grilling
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/afp1uncensor012914.html> Inner City Press
about an article about Ladsous until Inner City Press quit UNCA (and
co-founded FUNCA).
Now, will Falk with this automatic first question get a story about South
Sudan onto CBS? If not, and even leaving aside UNCA becoming the UN's
Censorship Alliance, how is this automatic first question justified?
Having been given the first question, she left the briefing room while
others were still waiting to ask. There wa a scheduled stakeout by the UN's
Lebanon envoy Plumbley, which Inner City Press and others interested had to
miss. UNmiss.
Inner City Press also asked Ging about Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile; he
said the UN still has no access to opposition held areas. He cited Jebel
Marra in Darfur. Ladsous, in Pakistan, was quoted that the UNAMID mission in
Darfur will shrink.
<
http://www.dawn.com/news/1095424/move-to-downsize-peace-keeping-operations-
to-affect-pakistan>
Inner City Press asked UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq about it and was
told that if Pakistan's number of troops goes does, something will be said.
But that wasn't the question. And while Ladsous was reportedly seeking women
police and peacekeepers in Pakistan, when a woman who served in UNAMID in
Darfur was disciplined for it
<
http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/tamil-nadu-suspends-woman-ips-officer-who
-served-in-un-mission-in-sudan-495423> , UN Peacekeeping has no comment, and
has it seemed done nothing. UNmiss.
The briefing ended with Ms Haque saying that more important than "donor
fatigue" is the fatigue of children without food in South Sudan. Now that,
is true. Watch this site.
Received on Sat Apr 05 2014 - 18:54:04 EDT