UNITED NATIONS, June 17 -- Building the capacity of governments, even dictatorships and military regimes, is the approach taken the UN Development Program. Thursday Inner City Press asked UNDP Administrator Helen Clark to explain what she meant that because "'political factors' restrict what the UNDP can do in Myanmar.. 'it's not so easy to make progress there at this time' on the Millennium Development Goals.
Ms. Clark backtracked, saying that it's not UNDP's restricted action in Myanmar that's to blame, its the politics of aid donors-- apparently meaning, sanctions. Clark emphasized that Myanmar gets the least development aid per capita of any country, including North Korea. "Politics," she said, "has been a complicating factor." Video here, from Minute 32:28.
Well, yes. The government of General Than Shwe has dissolved the NLD party of Aung San Suu Kyi, and has stacked the upcoming election for military connected candidates. Is this the government whose capacity UNDP seeks to build?
UK Ambassador Lyall Grant jumped in to say that the sanctions only "target the regime" in what he called Burma.
The UN's Children and Armed Conflict envoy Radhika Coomaraswamy has said that Myanmar entirely stopped working toward an action plan on child soldiers, in the run up to the election. Inner City Press stopped Myanmar's Ambassador to the UN outside the Security Council on June 16 and asked why the country has stopped. The Ambassador insisted that his government works closely with Ms. Coomaraswamy, and wants to be take off her list of recruiters. Perhaps UNDP would support this?
Inner City Press also asked Ms. Clark about UNDP's role in the security sector in Somalia, where the government has been exposed as using 20% child soldiers. "We do not train soldiers," Clark answered. "We are nowhere near that one." Not so fast. UNDP has provided funds for training TFG security; the dispute has been how much they spend. We aim to have more on this.
Footnote: When UNDP re-opened its North Korea program and website, it listed Mr. Vijay Thapa as International Finance Officer. A whistleblower asks, isn't this a conflict of interest since Mr. Thapa has been Finance Officer in DPR Korea since 2003, therefore four years before the discovery of counterfeit? Mr Thapa is among those UNDP Staff of DPR Korea whom declined to talk to US Southern District Attorney on counterfeit and he is part of the "old cast" of UNDP DPRK management responsible for the wrong doings. One wonders, was the appointment of Mr. Thapa a request from DPR Korean Government ? Is this more capacity building?
