After Hurrican, UNSC Moves Out of Chamber for Somalia Vote, Public So Press
By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 31, 2012 -- Among the collateral damage, or effects,
when Hurricane Sandy <
http://www.innercitypress.com/sandy1uncorp102912.html>
hit New York <
https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/262951479311228929>
was the closure of the UN
<
http://www.innercitypress.com/unmute1srisudsyr103112.htmlhttp:/www.innercit
ypress.com/unmute1srisudsyr103112.html> and its Security Council.
But with the legal mandate of its Somalia mission expiring at the end of
the month, the Council had to meet in person, even to adopt a seven-day
rollover of the mission.
With the basement Chamber the Council has been using waterlogged, the
meeting was moved to the UN's Temporary North Lawn Building.
Outside on 47th Street there were downed trees. Inside, two guards tried
to block Inner City Press from covering the meeting. Some had even reported
that it could not be covered. But since votes must happen in meeting that
are not only in-person but also public, reason won out.
From the back row of Conference Room 4, where only last week Israel and
Syria traded insults, the room was barely one quarter full. Along with
delegations from the Security Council's 15 members, diplomats from incoming
Council members Rwanda and South Korea were present. They attend as a form
of training until they fully join in January.
October's Council president Gert Rosenthal began with words for the City
of New York, then regretting that the October 29 debate on Women, Peace and
Security had to be canceled. France had promoted the arrival of its
minister, but for what?
Rosenthal said that a short text to roll-over the Somalia mandate was
ready, but that France had asked for time to check and read -- or translate?
-- it, "to see if they can accompany us." No one Council member seemed to
have such language concerns.
The director of UN Women, Under Secretary General Bachelet, moved up to
the podium for the read-out of the Presidential Statement on Women, Peace
and Security, S/PRST/2012/23. But she did not give a speech.
Finally the seven day Somalia extension was voted on, 15-0. The building
would fall silent again. Watch this site.
Footnote: Again, a supposed improvement to UN Television webcast has made it
so it is not viewable, at least on Android phones (unlike, for example, the
UK House of Commons
<
https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/263255974071136256> ). And this
freeze-out was before Sandy. Will it be fixed?
Update: while the UN has sent to email the plans out, there will be meetings
at the UN on Thursday. There are, Inner City Press is told by multiple
sources, "problems" with the UN Library building where the press corps has
their cubicles and, where applicable, studios. But access must be pushed
for: it's ostensibly a public institution, and these are public meetings.
Watch this site.
Received on Wed Oct 31 2012 - 20:58:54 EDT
