[WSIS CS-Plenary] off topic: a revolting response from the UN Secretariat

[mpazello at oi.com.br]

Dear friends,
2007 begans with the Lords of war working on to make the world an  
horrible place to live... very sad.

The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon's opinion goes against the  
opinion expressed by not few members states. Unfortunately the both  
Koreas are listed as countries that retain the death penalty for  
ordinary crimes. (http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/abret2.html)

Reuters published: "Ban keeps distance from death penalty ban". It  
gives us an idea about the deep changes in the UN after Kofi Annan's  
mandate. Big difference!

Magaly Pazello

-------------------------

>
> New U.N. Chief Defends Death Penalty for Hussein
> By Colum Lynch
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Wednesday, January 3, 2007; A15
>
> UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 -- U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said  
> Tuesday
> that Iraq and other countries have the right to impose the death  
> penalty,
> adding that the world should never forget Saddam Hussein's "heinous
> crimes."
>
> Ban's first public reaction to Hussein's execution signaled a sharp  
> break
> from his predecessor, Kofi Annan, an ardent death-penalty critic who
> opposed U.N. participation in the Iraqi war crimes tribunal that  
> sentenced
> Hussein to die. Human rights advocates expressed concern that Ban's
> comments lend credibility to what they see as a flawed trial of the  
> former
> Iraqi leader, and complained that he could set back efforts to  
> abolish the
> death penalty.
>
> The remarks suggest that the former South Korean foreign minister, who
> began a five- year term on Monday, would defer to the United  
> Nations' 192
> member states on some of the day's most controversial and unsettled
> issues. Nearly 70 countries, including the United States and South  
> Korea,
> retain the death penalty.
>
> "Saddam Hussein was responsible for committing heinous crimes and
> unspeakable atrocities against the Iraqi people," Ban said in his  
> first
> news conference as secretary general. "The issue of capital  
> punishment is
> for each and every member state to decide."
>
> Ban said that although he is "firmly against impunity" for the world's
> despots, he would also urge states to "pay due regard" to  
> international
> humanitarian law in meting out justice to a deposed leader. "The Iraqi
> people and government have taken steps to address their past, and I  
> hope
> that the international community should also understand the stakes  
> and try
> to build the rule of law nationally and internationally," he said.
>
> Ban's remarks came just one day after the top U.N. representative  
> in Iraq,
> Ashraf Qazi, said that the world body "remains opposed to capital
> punishment, even in the case of war crimes, crimes against humanity  
> and
> genocide." But Ban and his spokeswoman, Michele Montas, repeatedly
> declined to say Tuesday whether the U.N. chief agrees with that view.
>
> "The U.N. policy still remains that the organization is not for  
> capital
> punishment," Montas said. Ban thinks "there are some countries that do
> recognize the death penalty. He would like to just leave it open to  
> the
> countries." She characterized Ban's comments as "a nuance on the
> situation, stating that we should think first of the victims and  
> the need
> for justice."
>
> The death penalty debate unfolded as Ban began his first day as  
> secretary
> general by paying homage to U.N. officials who lost their lives in the
> service of the world body, and by dining with employees in the U.N.
> cafeteria.
>
> "My watchword will be meritocracy, with due regard for gender  
> balance and
> geographical representation," he said in his first meeting with  
> U.N. staff
> members.
>
> Behind the scenes, the governments of the United States, Britain,  
> France
> and other countries pressed Ban to appoint their nationals to key  
> senior
> posts in the organization.
>
> Ban will announce on Wednesday the appointment of Britain's former
> ambassador to France, Sir John Holmes, to head the U.N. Office for the
> Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an emergency relief  
> organization,
> according to two Security Council diplomats.
>
> Alicia Barcena Ibarra, a former Mexican official who served as Annan's
> chief of staff, will be named undersecretary for management and
> administration, a position that has traditionally been held by an  
> American
> national, according to senior U.N. officials and diplomats.
>
> A U.S. candidate is being considered for other senior posts,  
> possibly as
> the head of the U.N. Department of Political Affairs or as a senior
> official in the U.N. peacekeeping department, U.S. and French  
> diplomats
> said. The French, who currently hold the top peacekeeping job, are  
> also
> expected to hold a senior position in the peacekeeping department.
>
> Ban plans to appoint a woman from the developing world to serve as his
> deputy. Montas is from Haiti, and his new chief of staff, Vijay  
> Nambiar,
> is a former Indian deputy national security adviser who served as  
> special
> adviser to Annan.
>