UNITED NATIONS, September 13 -- A composite photograph of US President Barack Obama's head atop the emaciated body of an African child, set in a limousine and used in a UN funded website called WeCanEndPoverty.eu, has drawn criticism both from African Ambassadors and Obama supporters.
Inner City Press is told by each camp that the photo is offensive. The wisdom of the UN Development Program -- and the propriety of it funding a dot EU website -- are being questioned in the run up to the Millennium Development Goals summit later this month in New York.
To see the photo, click here, then, placing cursor on the right side of the screen until an arrow appears, scroll three photos to the right.
The photo chosen by the UN: before it come off shine? Shame not shown
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the press on Monday that he will be meeting with Obama during the MDGs summit and after, about such issues as Sudan. Did Obama give his blessing to this photo composite?
Outgoing president of the General Assembly Ali Treki offered tepid praise for Obama later on Monday, questioning the US wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Treki then presided over a GA session in which, in turn, Venezuela, Iran and Cuba denounced the MDGs outcome document as going soft on capitalism, neo-liberalism and the IMF.
The UN Development Program's leadership on the MDGs has already been brought into question, for example by Millennium Project leader Eveline Herfkens taking $7,000 a month from the Dutch government on top of her $200,000 a year UN system salary. Ms. Herfkens said she couldn't live in New York and entertain on a mere $200,000 a year. After she was forced to step down, she remained as a consultant, getting paid on a “per diem” basis.
Who was responsible for the Obama head on top of a child's body?
It was selected in a competition in which the head of the UN's Department of Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka was one of six members. The Partners include the UN and a slew of media companies; the .eu apparently means the UN Regional Information Center for Europe.
The group's “Friends” include Philippe Douste-Blazy, a former French diplomat who has yet to explain the scandal surrounding his “MassiveGood” MDG program, exposed in detail by Inner City Press here. Watch this site.
