UNDP's Evacuation of Jordan Building Confirmed by UN, Unexplained by UNDP

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undp1jordan100708.html

UNITED NATIONS, October 7 -- The UN Development Program has evacuated its staff from its building in Amman, Jordan due to danger. This information was gleened not from UNDP, which twice declined to confirm it, but rather from UN system Security chief David Veness. Inner City Press approached him Tuesday afternoon in the Economic and Social Council chamber and he acknowledged that UNDP had deemed its building unsafe, and that when UNDP unilaterally pulled out, it led to "noice" and push-back from other UN agencies which felt they had not been consulted.

By contrast to this candor, UNDP's spokesman issued a vague non-non-denial, and then refused to say more. First,

"We are not curtailing operations. The delivery of programmes continues as normal in Jordan. However, we do from time, to take the necessary security precautions but they have not had an impact on our ability to do our work."

Then, after Inner City Press again asked for confirmation and description of the change, and where other agencies were informed, this:

"On Jordan, I will not get into the details of security precautions. There are procedures in place and they are being followed."

Why would UNDP think that that it has or can be more secretive that the chief of all UN Security?

It is anticipated that the so-called accountability report about the bombing of UN premises in Algiers will be released on October 8, and that UNDP and its Designated Officer Marc de Bernis will figure prominently. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undp1jordan100708.html