On Sri Lanka, UN's Nambiar Resists Briefing the Council on His "Confidential" Trip: Is a USG Subpoena Needed?

On Sri Lanka, UN's Nambiar Resists Briefing the Council on His "Confidential" Trip: Is a USG Subpoena Needed?

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis

UNITED NATIONS, April 21 -- Despite having been sent as the UN's envoy to the "bloodbath on the beach" in Sri Lanka, Ban Ki-moon's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar is now reluctant to give the Security Council even a closed door briefing on the crisis, sources told Inner City Press late Tuesday.

One well-placed Council diplomat said that despite all 15 members, including China and Russia, agreeing to an "informal interactive dialogue" with Mr. Nambiar, who has just returned via India from three days in Sri Lanka, they were told that Nambiar views the matter as "too sensitive" even for discussion behind closed doors. Nambiar argued that as a "mediator," what he discussed with Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers was "confidential," even from the Security Council.

One Permanent Five member of the Council, in this account, has protested Nambiar's refusal, which will be transmitted to Nambiar and the Secretariat by Council President Claude Heller on Mexico. At press time late Tuesday, the projected Wednesday afternoon briefing of the Council, at least by Nambiar, is in doubt. Nambiar has argued that "it is mostly a humanitarian and not a political situation," as Council source, and China before that, have put it.


UN's Nambiar at right re Myanmar, reluctance to brief not shown

Thus, Nambiar argues, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs should give the briefing, not him. But it is Nambiar who with such fanfare flew to Colombo. And OCHA chief John Holmes, who has not been in Sri Lanka for weeks, is now in China. The only other option would be Hitoki Den, below director level in the UN Department of Political Affairs, who accompanied Nambiar on his trip.

Even regarding Myanmar, Under Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari briefs the Council, and then takes questions from the media.

Council and other UN sources expressed amazement that in this Sri Lanka case a UN Under Secretary General would attempt to rebuff a request to brief the Council, on one of his few pieces of public work during Ban Ki-moon's administration. Perhaps the Security Council needs to serve Nambiar a subpoena... Watch this site.

Footnote: We continue to wait for the UK's formal answer to the first of the two questions which Inner City Press asked the UK Mission to the UN two questions on Sri Lanka early on April 15:

Does the UK believe that international law and the rights of UN humanitarian staff are being violated by the now-acknowledged detention of UN staff in the Sri Lankan government's “IDP” camps?

It has been reported this morning that Sri Lanka's “minister also told the British Foreign Secretary that there was concern that the LTTE would continue to consolidate its fortification of the No-Fire Zone.” Please confirm the accuracy of that, and of this and if so, does the UK interpret it as saying that an offensive on the No-Fire Zone and the civilians in it will begin? What did the UK Foreign Secretary say?
As of this press time more than six and a half days later, the formal answer has been referral to Minister Miliband's April 12 statement, and this. Now, the same question has been posed to another Permanent Five member's Permanent Representative. As more answers arrive or are released we will report them on this site.

Click here for an Inner City Press YouTube channel video, mostly UN Headquarters footage, about civilian deaths in Sri Lanka.