By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/unpbf1guineapak110309.html
UNITED NATIONS, November 3 -- As the UN on Tuesday promoted its Peacebuilding Fund, and urged that people buy a Yoko Ono song on i-Tune as a way to support it, Inner City Press asked about the PBF's support to conflict ridden Guinea-Conakry. The chairman of the Peacebuilding Commission, Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, said "we may have had a project in the past." Video here, from Minute 17:41. One of his staffers said that Guinea was approved for eligibility, and the next step is the development of a priority plan.
But the PBF's web site already shows the plan, in April 2009 before the military government killed 150 protests and raped others. The PBF web site says that $6 million for this government was approved, and $100,000 already approved (it doesn't say for what).
Afterwards the staffer said that discussions "on the ground" in Guinea are conducted by the UN Development Program, as agent of the PBF. Inner City Press asked, How much overhead does UNDP charge? Eleven percent, said the staffer.
Inner City Press asked Munoz what UN Peacebuilding could bring to a crisis like Guinea. Munoz answered by switching countries, to Kenya. Inner City Press asked about Honduras, but it seems they have not applied.
Like the Security Council and the ICC, the agency of UN Peacebuilding is top heavy with African countries. Inner City Press asked Munoz why he thought this might be. Video here, from Minute 25:45. Munoz did not answer, except indirectly, that Honduras is being dealt with by a regional organization - the OAS. But Africa has the AU.
Is there some stigma in applying to UN Peacebuilding? An involved diplomat, after the briefing, told Inner City Press that some countries do not want to be among the four now only the Peacebuilding Commission's agenda, thinking it might undermine other funding. The example given was Haiti, which has taken Peacebuilding Fund money, but does not want to be on the agenda.
Footnote: in the final minutes of the briefing and afterwards, the talk turned to Munoz role on the panel investigating Benazir Bhutto's murder. Munoz on camera said he didn't want to answer. Off camera, he said that the UN's Department of Safety and Security has advised him and the panel not to travel there for now.
Inner City Press asked about an article reporting that Munoz panel is finding it difficult to put questions to Pervez Musharraf. Where is that article, Munoz asked. Inner City Press via laptop computer showed it. It's not accurate, Munoz then said. Has he has interviewed Musharraf? Watch this site.
