From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Fri Aug 15 2008 - 10:57:26 EDT
http://www.innercitypress.com/uk1sudan081408.html
Expelled from Sudan, UN Peacekeeper Mops Up in Eritrea, As UNIFIL Pays
for Ships
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED NATIONS, August 14 -- Brig. Patrick Davidson-Houston of the UK is
a peacekeeper with bad luck. How else to explain his expulsion by Sudan
earlier this year, and reassignment by the UN to the mission in Ethiopia
and Eritrea, just before it was shut down by the Security Council? On
Thursday, Inner City Press asked him whether the UN had checked with
Khartoum before assigning him to the Darfur mission, and whether he had
any insights into the conflict this summer between Eritrea and Djibouti.
Video here, from Minute 49:16.
Davidson-Houston said he was deeply disappointed by the Sudanese
government ordering, and the UN taking, him out of Darfur. He said he
was selected to work with the AMIS force in early 2007, but this was
delayed once the Security Council decided in July 2007 to put the UN in
the Darfur mission with the African Union. First he was reviewd by the
African Union, then by the UN, for a total of five months. As luck would
have it, after this he only served six months before Sudan ordered him
out.
This is explained as a product of Sudan's antipathy to the UK,
stretching back to the time of the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium of the
Sudan. We believe current UK - Sudan relations are, in fact, more
complex, but on Thursday Davidson-Houston painted a simple picture. It
was similar to UNAMID force commander Martin Agwai's statement on
Tuesday that no-bid contractor Lockheed Martin failed because Sudan
doesn't like the U.S.. The question in each case is, what changed?
How could Lockheed Martin in April 2007 have been, as Jane Holl Lute
said, the only and best company for the job in Darfur, then face as an
American company face so much resistance from Sudan that they were worst
or most burdened company?
For Davidson-Houston, why was he acceptable in November 2007, but not
so six months later? This, he did not answer. Nor did he have answers
about Djibouti, except to say that those that Ban Ki-moon sent to the
region were not allowed into Asmara.
Appearing alongside Davidson-Houston was the UN's force commander in
Lebanon, Claudio Graziano. Inner City Press asked him about the the
roadside bombs that killed six Spanish peacekeepers and injured others:
what has been done to obtain "risk mitigation" equipment? Video here,
from Minute 29:45. The UN itself procures some, Graziano said, for
troop contributing countries with fewer resources, which he would not
name. Inner City Press also asked him who UNIFIL's naval component gets
paid, having heard of Germany overcharging for its ships. Video here,
from Minute 39:11.
"It's a good piece of money," he said, adding, "I am not an
expert in naval compensation." But who is? Because otherwise, countries
that could and should go peacekeepin at cost are, in fact, makin money.
DPKO has been asked, too, about its currency exchange practices and
losses.
Footnote: coming full circle to the UK and Sudan, on Thursday the UK
Mission to the UN provided Inner City Press with an answer, such as it
is, to a request for comment:
John [Sawers] is away at present, but we don't have any comment on the
special prosecutor for Darfur.
We don't have any comment on your question about Warren Sach, this is a
matter for the UN.
David Veness was an outstanding UN staff member and his resignation is a
loss to the UN system. As and when the Secretariat chooses to recruit a
successor, the successful candidate should be appointed on merit.
Which is how Brig. Davidson-Houston thought things worked...
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