By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, May 2 -- On Saturday April 30, the UN Development Program announced it was postponing the presentation of its program for Syria to its Executive Board's June meeting, due to the crisis there.
Inner City Press immediately on April 30 asked UNDP, and published a piece questioning, why UNDP was not similarly postponing programs still on the June agenda for Yemen and Bahrain.
Two days later, UNDP has responded to Inner City Press that the programs in Yemen and Bahrain are also being deferred:
From: Sausan Ghosheh [at] undp.org
Date: Mon, May 2, 2011 at 11:50 AM
Subject: RE: Press Qs on deadline re Bahrain, Yemen, etc
To: Matthew Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com
Hi Matthew, As per your questions below:
UNDP reviews content and submission schedules of country programme documents in the context of development priorities in each country. UNDP has taken the decision to defer the submission of its upcoming five year programme documents for Yemen and Bahrain to the Executive Board pending further review. This is to ensure that the new programmes address the evolving development needs of the people of both countries.
Inner City Press had asked for copy of the program documents, which unlike for other countries were not put on the UNDP website. This and other questions remain pending.
But one Inner City Press question, about seeming conflict of interest, was answered. Inner City Press asked:
On Yemen, please state whether former Saleh minister Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsoswa has recused herself from consideration of Yemen programs Please also state, on deadline, whether Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsoswa or any family member would be covered by the immunity deal negotiated between Saleh and the Gulf Cooperation Council Please provide copies of the program documents for Yemen, Bahrain and the Syria documents, on deadline.
And UNDP answered:
UN staff are all international civil servants who act in accordance with the United Nations’ standards and norms. Ms. Amat Al Alim Alsoswa assumed her post as Assistant Secretary General and Director of the Regional Bureau of Arab State in 2006 after leaving her official functions with the Government of Yemen. Ms. Alsoswa is not part of any political discussion or agreement taking place in or on Yemen.
But how does one head up Arab States for UNDP without taking part in discussions on Yemen? Watch this site.