Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1dpamediators030508.html
UNITED NATIONS, March 5 -- "Flexibility is the watch word," said B. Lynn Pascoe, head of the UN Department of Political Affairs on Wednesday, introducing a team of UN mediators who will in fact work for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Norway has committed "most" of one year of funding, and was allowed to "pre-screen" the applicants for the mediator posts, it was said at Wednesday's briefing. Inner City Press asked Mr. Pascoe, in light of reports that DPA turned down as too short-term Singapore's offer to fund a regional center for one year, what is envisioned for this mediation unit, after Norway's year. Pascoe said, "Our hope is it's so successful, everyone agrees it should be extended."
But how? As part of the UN? Or parallel to it?
Bigger picture, Inner City Press asked Pascoe to respond to criticism from the developing countries in the Group of 77 that strengthening of DPA -- that is, increasing its funding -- should be accompanied by increased funds for the UN's development work. Pascoe said that both proposal are "out there," that "maybe some want to link them, but most don't." That's not what Inner City Press hears from the Group of 77. A simply one example, on Tuesday a spokesperson for Ecuador told Inner City Press that the UN's over-focus on DPA and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is misguided, that until development and poverty prevention is taken care of, the UN's other efforts are doomed to fail.
Pascoe is a diplomat, so perhaps he can schmooze the Fifth Committee (Budgetary and Administrative) of the General Assembly. Wednesday he said he'd met with ambassadors in the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77 is settings large and small, and that "many members of NAM are the strongest supporters of DPA strengthening." We'll see.
In the midst of his briefing, Pascoe made reference to the UN's 193 member states. This would involve one extra member of the UN, presumably Kosovo. Called on it, Pascoe said it was designed to keep his audience awake, that he'd heard the 193 figure recently and it had made him pay attention. After the briefing, Inner City Press asked Mediation Support Standby Team leader Joyce Neu about her listed work in Moldova and Georgia, and what impact she thought Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence might have on each. Ms. Neu downplayed her work in Moldova, and when asked how her five expert team members would review the UN's recent handling of Kosovo, she said quickly, that's not what our team is about. Apparently not.
