At UN, Phrasing of Concern for Lebanese Shepherd Breaks Logjam, Darfur Still on Hold

By Matthew Russell Lee 
January 10, 2008
The Inner City Press 
Source: http://www.innercitypress.com/sc1shepherd011008.html

UNITED NATIONS, January 10 -- Concern for a single shepherd, and how that concern should be phrased, explains the reading-out at 5:40 p.m. of a press statement on Lebanon by the president of the Security Council for this month, Libya's Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi. The draft prepared by France on January 9 took note of the incident that occurred near the Blue Line in the Halta area on January 7, urging the expeditious marking of the Blue Line to prevent inadvertent violations. The reference was to a shepherd taken into Israeli custody, Lebanon says from Halta on the Lebanese side of the Blue Line, Israel says on their side. That version was did not survive. The final statement says that all Council members expressed their concern for the incident that occurred near the Blue Line in the Halta area on January 7, as referred to in the Lebanese permanent representative's letter dated 8 January. They looked forward to the completion of UNIFIL's investigation. 

The question arises whether the draft Presidential Statement about the attack on UN peacekeepers in Darfur, still being considered behind closed doors by the Council, will contain a similar reference to an investigation, even though now the Sudanese military has acknowledged being responsible for the attack. At 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Inner City Press asked Amb. Ettalhi about the status of the Darfur PRST and was told, Really, it is difficult for me to state now. Video here, from Minute 4:35. Later Thursday night French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told Inner City Press that the Darfur presidential statement has a chance of being passed on Friday. He said that initially Libya's means of negotiation was simply to say no, and no. He added that those questioning the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations' account of the attack included not only Libya, but also Russia, South Africa, Indonesia and Burkina-Faso. He said he feels vindicated, having been the one in the Council on Wednesday to say enough was enough, DPKO had spoken. How Sudan will explain the change of its position is not yet clear.
 
UN patrols Southern Lebanon, shepherd not shown
On the European Union's delayed peacekeeping force slated for  Chad and the Central African Republic, Amb. Ripert confirmed that France is stepping up its commitment and that now the EU deployment can begin. It will be announced in Brussels tomorrow, he said, adding that some details of payments to Chad are still being finalized. He explained some of the negotiations around the UN's MINURCAT mission for Chad and CAR as being attributable to the U.S. Congress wanting less of the resources to come from the main peacekeeping budget, and France wanting more. Similarly, the UK wanted to pay less for the EU force in Chad and CAR, while France wanted more of its costs to be shared. It usually comes down to money, Amb. Ripert said. Click here for today's Inner City Press story about the UN's $250 million no-bid contract with Lockheed Martin for Darfur, now being reviewed by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services.


* * *
These reports are also available through Google News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here for a Reuters AlertNet piece by this correspondent about Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army. Click here for an earlier Reuters AlertNet piece about the Somali National Reconciliation Congress, and the UN's $200,000 contribution from an undefined trust fund.  Video Analysis here
  Because a number of Inner City Press' UN sources go out of their way to express commitment to serving the poor, and while it should be unnecessary, Inner City Press is compelled to conclude this installment in a necessarily-ongoing series by saluting the stated goals of the UN agencies and many of their staff. Keep those cards, letters and emails coming, and phone calls too, we apologize for any phone tag, but please continue trying, and keep the information flowing.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
UN Office: S-453A, UN, NY 10017 USA Tel: 212-963-1439
Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540