As
Palestine Joins UNIDO, Some Talk
US Funding Cut, But US Long
Gone, Says Will
Review
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
May 23 – UN official Nickolay
Mladenov announced in the
Security Council on May 23
that "on May 15 Palestine
acceded to the United Nations
Industrial Development Agency
(UNIDO), UNCTAD and the OPCW."
Some quickly said that the
United States would cut
funding, including to UNIDO.
But as Inner City Press
reported, the US left UNIDO
long ago, and France left it
in 2013-14. On May 23, Inner
City Press asked UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric,
UN
transcript here: and below.
Later a US
official said,
"‘Efforts by the
Palestinians to
join international
organizations are
premature and
counterproductive
... We will review
the application of
US legislative
restrictions
related to
Palestinian
membership in
certain UN
agencies and
organizations."
From the UN's
May 23
transcript,
before the UN barred
Inner City Press
and had it
escorted out: Inner
City Press:
the
Secretary-General,
in one of his
meetings with
executives in
Montreaux had
actually… I've seen
the agenda.
The agenda included
this line:
"How to thrive
without US/Western
funding, learn from
the appearance of
UNIDO and UNESCO
[United Nations
Educational,
Scientific and
Cultural
Organization] in
this regard."
And so, I'm just
wondering, it seems
like the UN has some
contingency
plans. Can
you… can you, one,
confirm that there
has been such a
discussion, and two,
is UNIDO… in his
view, is UNIDO
thriving given that
many countries have
withdrawn…?
Spokesman: No,
I'm not able to
confirm the agenda
of that
meeting. And
second, I think
you'd have to ask
UNIDO. As I
said, these are
specialized agencies
who are responsible
for their own
funding. We…
obviously, as a
matter of principle,
we want to see an
active and engaged
United States and
active and engaged
Member States in the
multilateral
system."
Back on September 13, 2013
when Peru's President Ollanta
Humala Tasso and Li Yong, Director
General of the United Nations
Industrial Development
Organization, UNIDO, held a media
stakeout at the UN on Monday, one
expected them to take at least a
few questions.
France
cut funding to and dropped out of
UNIDO in April 2013, following the
UK. What does the agency think of
this? What did Peru
think of it?
But
after each man read out a
statement, there was confusion.
"No questions!" came a call from
the side of the stakeout. Inner
City Press asked anyway, about the
cutting of funding. A spokesperson
came up and said, if you want to
ask a question, give me your card.
Inner City Press did.
But
what is the point of a stakeout,
with the media present, if no
questions are taken? Are the
journalists just extras? This is a
question asked by the Free
UN Coalition for Access, @FUNCA_info.
Ironically under Guterres the
UN's chief executive board
in April 2017 met on, and Inner
City Press
published an
internal list
including, this
Montreux topic:
the UN common
position on the
admission of the
State of
Palestine to UN
Specialized
Agencies,
Programs and
Funds by Sept.
2107, how to
thrive without
UN/Western
funding -
learn from the
experience of
UNIDO and UNESCO
in this regard."
Thriving?
We'll
have more on UNCTAD, and on this.
Watch this site.
***
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