At UN, Spain Calls Push for Top Women's Post Delicate, Ghana on Oil but not Nigeria

By Matthew Russell Lee
www.innercitypress.com/spain1ghana020310.html

UNITED NATIONS, February 3 -- Ghana and Spain sent officials to brief a total of three journalists about the two week meeting of the 46 members of the Commission on Social Development. Inner City Press asked Ghana's Ambassador Leslie Kojo Christian how his country intends to distribute its new found oil wealthy. Fairly, he said, taking best practices from other countries.

Which countries, Inner City Press asked, Nigeria? Ambassador Christian said he could not talk about other countries. He used to serve on the Security Council, which routinely talks about countries from Sudan to North Korea. But once off, diplomacy returns.

So too with Spain. Inner City Press asked Francisco Moza, Secretary General for Social Policy of Spain's Ministry of Health and Social Policy to explain his country's efforts to get immigrants to go back to Africa, by paying them. Is that social inclusion? He replied that his ministry does not cover immigration; he talked about Spain's historical and linguistic ties to North Africa. Video here.

Is Spain pushing UNIFEM's Ms. Alberdi to take over the UN's forthcoming women's agency, to be started on March 1? Francisco Moza called this "delicate," something that should not be spoken of. One wag in the audience translated this as "yes."

Now with the UN press corps placed over the library on 42nd Street, and meeting like the CSD taking place in the temporary "UN-KIA" building between 46th and 48th Streets, CSD gets even less media coverage than before.

But the Spanish mission came to document its moment in the development spotlight. After the financial crisis, Spain has less money to try to buy good will and posts in the UN. Last time, Spain's Alberdi got a job most involved NGOs said should have gone to a candidate from India. And now? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/spain1ghana020310.html