ICP Asks UN Expert on Cultural Heritage of Saudi Bombing of Yemen, UK & US; N Dakota Pipeline

On October 27, Inner City Press asked the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, about Yemen including the UK's and US' role, and about the Dakoka Access Pipeline. We'll have more, but here's Inner City Press' piece on Yemen earlier in the day: On Yemen, ICP Asks UN Of Envoy's Roadmap, Hadi & Central Bank Move By Matthew Russell Lee UNITED NATIONS, October 27 -- The Saudi led coalition bombed the funeral of the father of Yemen interior minister Jalal al-Roweishan in Sana'a on October 8, the same day the UN Security Council met about airstrikes in Syria. Inner City Press asked Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the UN Abdallah Yahya A. Al-Mouallimi to confirm it was an Saudi strike and explain it. He said, "I am not aware of it." Vine video here. On October 27, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: Wanted to ask you about Yemen. Seems that the Secretary-General's envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has put forward a roadmap which would involve the Vice President, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, stepping down and Mr. [Abd Rabbuh Mansour] Hadi transferring his powers to a new Vice President. I want… I guess I wanted to say… if this is… you'd said that they have the same view. Yesterday, you'd said the envoy and the Secretary-General are as one. So I wanted to know, will the Secretary-General be calling various parties to the conflict, such as Saudi Arabia, to ask them to… to urge them to accept this proposal with the Vice President stepping down and the President [inaudible]… Spokesman: My understanding is that certain documents were leaked that were shared, so we're not going to comment on these leaked documents. I think it's not a surprise that, in any mediation negotiation effort, different plans are put forward, and what we very much hope is that all the parties involved will support and continue to support the work of the Special Envoy. ICP Question: And today, the International Monetary Fund, at its briefing, expressed greater concern about this plan by Mr. Hadi, who may not be long for his powers, to move the Central Bank to Aden, saying it's a very complicated process. I wanted to know, on the humanitarian front, does the UN have any update on steps that have been taken and… and does it have any renewed call that the… the Central Bank not be moved at this [inaudible] time… Spokesman: No specific information on where that plan lies. I think the Special Envoy answered that question that in fact, you had asked him, and I don't see any reason why his opinion has changed in any way. On October 24, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Stephane Dujarric, UN transcript here: Inner City Press: I was, I guess, expecting something on Yemen. What's the status… people are reporting that the airstrikes have resumed or even picked up escalation — the expiration. And there's also some reports that the Saudi-led coalition was targeting what little agricultural land there is in the country, and there are picture… troubling pictures of starving people being brought down from mountains to clinics. So what exactly is the plan of the UN? What's their read on… on how the bombing has resumed? And [inaudible]… Spokesman: It's clear that the bombing has resumed. I think the pause, although very short, gave respite to some Yemenis. It allowed us to start some humanitarian… some humanitarian distribution, though some were blocked, notably some continue to be blocked in terms of entering Taizz. The Special Envoy is in… is in Yemen. He, as you saw over the weekend, has asked for… had asked for an extension and asked for a renewed commitment to the pause. And he will continue… he will continue to advocate for that. ICP Question: Does he consider… does the Secretary-General, who removed the Saudi-led coalition from the children and armed conflict annex on Yemen, consider the intentional bombing of agricultural land to also be something relevant to his consideration before he leaves of putting them back on the list? Spokesman: The… if there was intentional bombing of agricultural land, that would fall under the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure, which is prohibited by international law. Yeah. Yeah - like, what are Ban Ki-moon and his envoy DOING about any of this? While the US took no action on the strike by its ally Saudi Arabia which it support, on October 12 it bragged of Tomahawk missiles at Houthi positions. On October 15 it alluded to a possible radar malfunction while, along with UK Minister Tobias Ellwood, welcoming the Saudis' own self-investigation.