UNITED NATIONS,
September 20 – A fine sounding
initiative of the UN and
European Union was announced
on September 20, without much
detail: the “EU-UN Spotlight
Initiative to eliminate
violence against women and
girls.” They produced a video
that does not explain how or
what will be spotlighted, here. Inner City Press went to
the UN General Assembly media
stakeout to try to find out
more. It was not a normal UN
stakeout: the participants
Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy
Secretary-General and Neven
Mimica, European Commissioner
for International Cooperation
and Development, sat in chairs
and were initially questioned
by the UN's new head of the
Department of Public
Information, former journalist
Alison
Smale. Finally Inner
City Press, without benefit of
the UNTV boom mic, asked the
duo to explain how the money
will be spent, through UN
agencies or NGOs or even
government or prosecutorial
agencies. Video here.
Mimica said that civil society
will be involved; Mohammed
said that the decisions will
be made at the country level.
(There is currently a proposed
reform to put the UN country
teams under DSG Mohammed's
office rather than UNDP.)
Since there had not been a
question and answer stakeout
after the UN's sexual abuse in
peacekeeping meeting earlier
in UNGA week, Inner City Press
asked how this UN-EU
initiative to protect female
victims squares with new
revelation by Code Blue not
only of sexual abuse by
peacekeepers, but failure to
interview or disclose by the
UN itself. Mohammed said this
too was shining a spotlight -
good - then said “it is not a
good thing to say [the UN is]
doing nothing about it.” Maybe
nothing would be going too
far. But many believe that the
UN is not doing enough - and
we will continue to try to
shine a spotlight on that.
Watch this site.
***
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