US Faces Isolation on Security Council Over Settlements

A surge in settler violence and increased construction and plans for Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem have again placed the Obama administration in a tough spot at the UN Security Council, where some of its closest allies Tuesday strongly condemned recent Israeli policies and settlement activities.

While American officials have repeatedly said they oppose Israeli settlement expansion as illegitimate and counter-productive to the peace process, the US administration used its first and only Security Council veto back in February to oppose a resolution condemning Israeli settlement expansion in a 14-1 vote. 

US support for Israel is a sensitive political issue for this administration.Republican opponents have already criticized the White House for its strained relationship with the Netanyahu government, and less than a year away from an election, the administration likely won’t change its position, should the issue once again come before the Security Council as was suggested by some countries Tuesday. 

Calls for Security Council involvement in the conflict come at a time when the US is trying to convince other Council members to support resolutions and sanctions targeting the regimes in Syria and Iran. A US veto to block another lopsided vote against settlements could further damage American standing in the Arab world and hurt administration’s efforts at the United Nations.

In a briefing on the latest developments Tuesday, UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco called Israeli actions a violation of its obligations under the international community’s roadmap for peace.

Taranco said there had been an alarming increase in settlement construction in East Jerusalem, the cities of Shilo, Efrat and Beitar Illit and that after a long period of restraint, Israeli authorities had resumed in December the demolition of Palestinian residential structure in Jerusalem.

Taranco also briefed the Council members on renewed reports of settler violence, which he says have become a systematic occurrence and often take place in the context of anticipated government action against illegal settlement construction. He said that over the past month, mosques in the West Bank, Hebron, West Jerusalem and near Ramallah have been fire bombed and desecrated and that six Palestinians including two children had been injured in other attacks by settlers.

Security Council diplomats issued statements on behalf of larger diplomatic groups and individually after the briefing,  with IBSA ( India, Brazil, South Africa), the Non Aligned Movement (Group of 120 countries) ,  the four European Council members ( France, UK, Portugal, Germany) as well as Russia, each condemning the surge in settler construction and violence against Palestinian civilians. 

 The American delegation at the United Nations did not issue a statement.. 

Speaking on behalf on the four European Council members, British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said France, Portugal, Germany and the UK where “dismayed” by the negative developments on the ground, which he said had a devastating effect on the peace process. Lyall Grant urged the Israeli government to reverse course on settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem.

“We believe that Israel’s security and the realization of the Palestinians right to statehood  are not opposing goals. On the contrary, they are mutually reinforcing objectives but they will not be achieved while settlement building and settler violence continues.”

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow was also increasingly concerned and frustrated by recent developments, which he said clearly raised human right concerns but also put in question the feasibility of the two state solution. 

“If you look at the map, you start wondering how, even theoretically, two states can be set up in Gaza and West Bank given this new reality.”

Churkin said his country would favor the Security Council using its leverage on the issue of settlements in hopes to encourage real negotiations.

“You can hear people these days say in other contexts: “The international community must act, the security council must act.” he said. “ Why doesn’t it apply to the Israeli-Palestinian track of our diplomatic and political effort? We think it can be done in a way which is not harming Israeli security and interests at all.”

Russia has of late been sharply criticized by US and European governments for blocking a Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on the Syrian government for its crackdown against protesters, although last week Moscow proposed its own draft resolution on Syria which has since been welcomed by European diplomats as a good starting point for negotiations.

Churkin said Israel’s large political coalition make any discussions about possible concessions a complicated for the Israeli government, and that the country’s leadership may need a “gentle prod” from the international community or Security Council to uphold its international obligations.

Both the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) and IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) statements called on Council members to speak out against violations of international law and uphold Security Council resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

 Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti said ending settlement expansion wasn’t a concession “but an obligation as per various resolution per international law”.

 The Brazilian Ambassador said Security Council involvement was required to settle the conflict.

 “The IBSA countries believe the Security Council has an irreplaceable role to play in the peace process, mainly by condemning violence and calling for a complete halt to settlement activity, calling for the implementation of its own resolutions..”

In his report today assistant secretary-general for political affairs Taranco, also detailed the deteriorating security situation in Gaza and Southern Israel. 

Taranco said Israeli forces carried out 13 airstrikes and 9 incursions in Gaza over the past month, resulting in the death of eight Palestinian militants and injuring 24 civilians. 

He said Palestinian militants responded by firing 45 projectiles into Israel after one of the IDF strikes killed two Islamic jihad militants and injured 10 civilians. Israeli officials say the two Jihadist were preparing an attack. He said there was no reported injuries or damage in Israel from the rocket fire from Gaza.

 In the West Bank IDF forces carried out 237 operations,154 civilians injured including 6 children. The operations also resulted in the arrest of over 200 people.

UN Agency: Iran Still Working Towards A-Bomb

Indications are that Iran has been working on technologies specific to nuclear weaponry, says a long awaited report from the UN Nuclear energy agency.

The report from the International Atomic Energy Agency outlines four activities allegedly carried out by Iranian regime it says are relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device and comes as Israeli officials continue public musings about possible military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The four activities the agency found evidence for are:  

1)Efforts, some successful, to procure nuclear related and dual use equipment and materials by military related individuals and entities

2)Efforts to develop undeclared pathways for the production of nuclear material

3)The acquisition of nuclear weapons development information and documentation from a clandestine nuclear supply network

4)Work on the development of an indigenous design of a nuclear weapon including the testing of components 

The report findings, which had been expected after excerpts where leaked to various news agencies over the past few days, will likely get wide and repeated use as evidence of Iran’s nuclear aims as US and Europe attempt convince the international community to further isolate the regime in Tehran. 

Iranian authorities deny they are developing their nuclear program for military purposes and allege Western countries are using the issue to push their own political interest. 

Iranian broadcaster Press TV says the country’s government has rejected the report as “unbalanced” and “politically motivated”. 

The Russian Federation has reportedly also criticized the IAEA report. Bloomberg News is reporting that an emailed statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry argues that the IAEA findings are politically dishonest, and that the timing of the reports undermines security in the region. 

The IAEA says information for the report was collected from independent sources, IAEA officials, the Iranian government and from more than 10 other unidentified UN member states. 

UN Panel Wants Iraq to Address Military Contractor Immunity

With the role of security contractors set to increase in Iraq, UN experts want the Iraqi government to settle their legal status once and for all.

Contractor numbers are expected to grow once American troops leave the country at the end of the year. Faiza Patel, head of the UN working group on the use of mercenaries, was at the UN today to present the group’s latest report. 

Patel says the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians in Nisoor Square allegedly carried out by Blackwater security guards, highlighted the legal challenges in holding private security companies accountable for crimes and rights abuses.

“Due to the coalition’s provisional authority grant of immunity to contractors, the alleged Blackwater perpetrators could not be prosecuted in Iraqi courts. “ she told reporters “Prosecution in the United States, the home country of Blackwater, now known as Xe, has also not yet produced satisfactory results. Four years after the incident, the criminal case against the Blackwater guards is still pending in US courts.”

In 2009,  the Iraq-US Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) ended the legal immunity for certain types of contractors. Patel says that while SOFA was an improvement, it was also unclear about which “category” of military contractors were exempt from prosecution in Iraq. 

But with US troops scheduled to withdraw from the country before the end of the year and SOFA no longer expected to be enforced, Patel says the immunity question needs to be addressed.

 “The status of foreign contractors in Iraq is quite unclear and this is a matter to which the working group believes the Iraqi government should pay urgent attention.”

The Obama administration decided to withdraw all US troops when it could not get an agreement on legal immunity from the Iraq government. But that decision will probably push the State department to rely on private security companies, so immunity will continue to be an issue.

Pakistan, Three Others, Win Security Council Seats

A day after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned officials in Islamabad about supporting terrorist networks, the General Assembly voted to elect Pakistan as a new member of the United Nations Security Council. 

Guatemala, Morocco and Togo will also join the UN’s prestigious security body as new non-permanent members in January 2012.

Non-permanent members compete for seats within regional blocks and need to receive at least 2/3 of votes from the General Assembly’s 194 member states.

 Guatemala and Pakistan each secured seats for America and Asia respectively, while Morocco took one of Africa’s two available spots in the the first round of voting.Togo eventually defeated Mauritania in a third round of voting for the other African seat.

Eastern Europe’s spot on the Council has yet to be decided, with both candidates Slovenia and Azerbaijan failing to receive support from a majority of states after nine rounds of voting. Security Council elections are expected to resume Monday morning.

All five eventual choices will be taking over from non-permanent members Lebanon, Brazil, Nigeria, Gabon and Bosnia Herzegovina, whose two year terms are set to expire at the end of 2011.

UN:Tough Road Ahead After Historic Day for Libya

Muammar Gaddafi’s death is a historic moment for Libya, marking “the end of the beginning” of the country’s transition and a chance for all parties in the conflict to lay down their weapons says UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

“Now is the time for all Libyans to come together. Libyans can only realize the promise of the future through national unity and reconciliation. Combatants on all sides must lay down their arms in peace.” Ban said before his opening address at a UN panel on global sustainability. 

Ian Martin, the Secretary General’s special representative for Libya told to reporters via video conference from Tripoli that the formation of an interim government and election preparations are expected to begin once the National Transitional Council formally declares liberation, which NTC officials have reportedly set for Friday.

The NTC has already indicated it wants the UN’s help to create a transitional justice system and national reconciliation initiatives.

 After decades of Gaddafi’s rule and month of civil war marked by forced disappearances and summary executions, the extent to which opposition groups will be able to work together remains unclear. 

“No one should underestimate in this moment of celebration in Libya how great are the challenges that lie ahead.” Martin said.“With the history that Libya is today coming out of, nobody should be surprised when this turns out to be a difficult challenge for its new leaders.”

Martin says considerations of amnesty will not be extended by the NTC or UN to former Gaddafi officials accused of war crimes or other grave offenses. Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Col. Gaddafi, his son Saif and spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi. Several media reports indicate al-Senussi and another Gaddafi son, Mutassim, were killed in the battle for Sirte. Martin was unable to confirm Saif’s whereabouts or if Mutassim and al-Senussi were alive. 

Martin says he has no information about the events surrounding Col. Gaddafi’s death but was expecting to be briefed by the National Transitional Council.