Wednesday, November 30, 2011

UNDP SCANDAL: Helen Clark's Chief Lobbyist in Washington earns as much as a Member of US House of Representatives


Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who happens to be also the Chairwoman of Foreign Relation Committee at US House of Representatives, earns almost as much as the Chief Lobbyist of UNDP in Washington DC.

Meanwhile UNDP keeps all accounts of its office in Washington D.C. under total secrecy, so no one knows how much office costs, how many consultancy contracts they award in Washington, who are those hired, etc.

Please click here to visit UNDP's Washington Website and judge for yourself. Good luck trying to locate the detailed budget for the office.

Paolo Galli: Chief Lobbyist of UNDP in Washington

How can a public non-for-profit organization, who is paid by Membership dues afford to have a full Lobbyism Office in Washington D.C. ?






UNDP SCANDAL: - Does UNDP high level officials brake UN rules on Gifts ?

WHAT DOES UNCLE HELEN DO WITH GIFTS
SHE RECEIVES WHILE ON OFFICIAL TRIP?


Helen Clark receiving a Nepali Pashmina Scarf during her recent visit in Nepal

Pls note that Electoral Committee of Nepal is a direct recipient of UN/UNDP funds.


ST/SGB/2009/7 (page 4)



Honours, gifts or remuneration


(j) No staff member shall accept any honour, decoration, favour, gift or remuneration from any Government;


(k) If refusal of an unanticipated honour, decoration, favour or gift from a Government would cause embarrassment to the Organization, the staff member may receive it on behalf of the Organization and then report and entrust it to the Secretary-General, who will either retain it for the Organization or arrange for its disposal for the benefit of the Organization or for a charitable purpose;


(l) No staff member shall accept any honour, decoration, favour, gift or remuneration from any non-governmental source without first obtaining the approval of the Secretary-General;

Asia Talk: How to reform United Nations - a view from Khalid Malik from China

The megalomania of UNDP's Director of Human Development Report - leads him to publish his own blog - but does UNDP endorses its content?


Does UNDP's Helen Clark endorses this Blog content? Does Khalid Malik's statement in this blog reflect those of UNDP's management and its executive board?





Khalid Malik

Khalid Malik

New York, NY, USA

Asking a simple question to Khalid Malik - UNDP's data making king

Why is UNDP's Khalid Malik afraid to engage in public debate about Aurelien Agbenonci's claims that "UNDP's data on Rwanda were manipulated and didn't reflect the reality"?


Khalid Malik

Khalid Malik

New York, NY, USA




undpwatch
says: UNDP's HDR 2011 was misleading and had inaccurate data - what would you say about that?

Mentioned in this Tweet

How many Iranian Government Officials were trained by UN/UNDP (and other UN Agencies) out of Iran, where and who are they?

3,053
Government Officials

were trained by UNDP in various disciplines in the last 10 years outside of Iran (since 2002).

But in Iran, UN (or any specialized agency: ie. UNDP, UNOPS) never had a say in selecting the candidates who were trained. All their nomination came from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign affairs after a scrutinized process of validation and how trustful these officials were for the Iranian regime.

Having no way to verify their credentials, UN/UNDP had to take Iranian Government word and include all the "selected" into the list of officials sent abroad to attend international conferences, regional round-tables, or short-medium term training and exchanges in various countries (in the West but also Region).

Today the United Nations, and its operation arm in Iran (UNDP), are very reluctant to make public the names of all Iranian Officials it trained thru out the past 10 years with the World Tax-payers money. Why?

UNDP's Helen Clark brags about the transparency and accountability of UNDP's programmes, how difficult could be to have the following data published:

Individual Name:
Affiliated State Institution:
Purpose of trip:
Country of Destination:
Duration of trip:

This is the UNDP Iran Website. You can all visit and witness the transparency of data UNDP makes available to outsiders on how it conducts business in Iran.

UNDP Admistrator Helen Clark India visit

UNDP's Rebeca Grynspan on Nobel Peace Prize

Helen Clark remarks on Liberia film

Helen Clark: Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness

image
I congratulate our Korean hosts and the OECD for organizing the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness here in Busan.

We are here representing governments, multilateral organisations, civil society, the private sector, parliaments, research institutions, and more. We are a very large and diverse group of development actors.

In that diversity lies opportunity. Experience shows that there are many paths to development, but we come together to signal our shared resolve, across the disciplines, perspectives, and countries we represent, to meet the Millennium Development Goals, thereby empowering people to build better lives and laying strong foundations for sustainable human development.

As we prepare for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development at Rio de Janeiro next year, and as the 2015 target date for achieving the MDGs looms, the task before us is urgent.

That is why Aid effectiveness matters


Evidence suggests that having principles and targets for effective development assistance is important and has worked. More aid is now untied, action is better co-ordinated, and evidence is increasingly being used to gauge success .

From trial and error as well as from concerted efforts such as the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action, we have learned what matters in aid effectiveness.

It matters that development actors work in partnerships which reduce fragmentation, and that aid is transparent, predicable, adequate, and based on mutual accountability.

It matters that developing countries drive their own development with priorities defined by the needs and aspirations of their citizens.


Capacity development support matters a lot too. National authorities managing development assistance need the systems, know-how, and tools to make the best possible use of aid for stimulating inclusive growth, meeting the needs of marginalised groups, advancing human rights and gender equality, and adapting to and mitigating climate change.

In conflict-affected countries, capacity building and development are particularly important. For security and enduring peace, countries need effective national justice and security systems, dispute resolution mechanisms, and the ability to meet the most urgent needs of their citizens.

Through its multi-stakeholder dialogue the UN’s Development Co-operation Forum is helping countries distil and apply best practices. In doing so it is helping to address the “unfinished business” of aid effectiveness, as well as to fulfill our collective commitment to achieve MDG 8 and establish global partnerships for development which address the challenges countries face in a rapidly changing world.


Meeting needs in a changing world

In that world the tremendous progress in many countries, from reducing poverty to improving school enrolment and child health, demonstrates that the MDGs are achievable. Two-thirds of developing countries are on target or close to being on target for all the MDGs.

Yet, the global challenges do make our task more difficult.

The lingering global economic crisis, financial instability, high food prices, climate change, and increasing numbers of natural disasters have left the world’s poor more vulnerable. Increasing inequalities, between and within countries, also create cycles of poverty, violence, and instability.


Aid is not a panacea for overcoming these challenges, but used in catalytic ways, it can help address them. Those ways can include helping to grow capacity to trade, attract investment, levy taxation, and access climate finance and to put those capacities at the service of sustainable human development.

Emerging economies are making ever more significant contributions to global development. Increasing numbers of citizens and civil society groups are making their voices heard, and contributing to the development of their communities.



These trends present us with new optimism, energy, and opportunity. Here in Busan, we need to agree to harness this energy and pursue the opportunities before us. I make three proposals:


1.The gap in the financing needed to meet the MDGs needs to be closed.


In these difficult times, there is more reason than ever to invest in inclusive growth and equitable approaches to development.

2.To maximize the impact of these investments, we need to agree on actions which will improve the quality and reach of development assistance.

From its work supporting development co-operation, the UN has seen how mutual accountability frameworks, with clear targets and regular reviews, can help. In Rwanda, for example, targets have been agreed to assess the government’s efforts to implement its national development strategy, and donors’ efforts to improve aid quality. The framework is embedded in Rwanda’s national aid policy, and is endorsed by all providers.


3.To keep pace with changes in development co-operation, we must shift from a focus on aid effectiveness to development effectiveness.

For development partners that will mean more coherence in their own policies, from trade to agriculture, migration, and development assistance.

For all of us, it means going beyond aid to maximize the use of all available resources of development finance. That also means working through partnerships which bring together diverse actors.

The UN Secretary General’s ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ initiative is a good example of bringing a wide range of stakeholders together with its alliance of traditional donors, multilateral organisations, emerging economies, the private sector, and grassroots organizations.

To keep pace with a changing world, we need to make forward looking and principled changes in the ways we work.

Through its convening power, the UN offers a platform for the wide range of development actors to learn continually from best practices, and improve on our collective efforts to achieve a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future. A bold and practical agreement in Busan can bring us all a step closer to reaching the goals we share. Over the next three days, the United Nations development actors present look forward to working with you to take best practice in development co-operation forward.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

UNDP: Durban - What is at stake for Africa?

At its most fundamental, climate threatens to negate the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and hinder positive movement in the areas directly related to UNDP’s mandate. Ensuring that developing countries are best able to tackle the many dimensions of climate change is therefore core business for our organization. The mechanisms established by the Cancun Agreements provide new opportunities for countries to develop, finance and deliver climate change programming. UNDP's role will be to help them to make the most of the emerging mechanisms.

Why is the current round of climate negotiations important for Africa?

The current round of climate negotiations, known as 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will take place in Durban. It is hoped that Africa will be better represented than in the past. As a region, Africa is the least responsible for climate change but it will be most affected. The region has been speaking with one voice but is struggling to be heard. For Africa, the requirements are the same as in previous years. First, countries from the region are asking that global warming be kept below a 1.5 degrees temperature increase by the end of the century – which is almost impossible now given the current trends in emissions. Secondly, African countries are asking that developed and emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, etc.) agree to massively reduce their emissions. The third requirement is for the international community to help Africa adapt to the impact of climate change because its economies are fragile, like their agriculture which is often rain-fed.

What should be the most important message for developed countries?

Developed countries must fulfill their previous commitments. The Bali Roadmap had created opportunities in the area of technology transfers, adaptation, mitigation and financing. On financing, developed countries had estimated the needs at USD 30 billion by 2012 and 100 billion annually by 2020. But the current economic downturn has made it much more difficult to confirm these commitments. Today, some Northern countries are proposing that we should include private sector investments in these global commitments. Africa is calling for new and additional financial commitments.

What are the most important mechanisms which will be discussed in Durban?

In Cancún, one of the agreements was to establish a Green Climate Fund. Since then, a few great ideas have emerged, such as the adoption of an international currency tax to feed that fund. The Adaptation Fund will also be on the agenda, currently financed by a 2 percent levy on all carbon credits, which allow Northern countries to reduce emissions in Southern countries by purchasing emissions permits. The future of the fund will obviously be uncertain if the Kyoto Protocol is not extended. Another issue in Durban will be technology transfers, including the creation of a center and a network devoted to the issue. There is already a consensus and this point will probably constitute a real step forward in the negotiations. Durban will also see further progress on REDD, which allows developing countries to finance their reductions in carbon emissions by protecting their forests.

What is the role of UNDP and can you provide some examples of our work on the ground?

In general terms, UNDP aims to build the capacities of developing countries, particularly in the climate change negotiations. In addition, UNDP assists them in accessing the funds that are being gradually established, helping them to define strategies for developing low- carbon and climate resilient economies.

Another example is our “Boots on the Ground” programme, through which we mobilized 26 climate change focal points from UNDP in the Least Developed Countries, including 14 African countries. This initiative aims to support African decision-makers in their approach and understanding of the problem. Climate change cannot be the sole jurisdiction of Environment Ministries – all government departments must be involved. Tackling climate change involves designing policies on land use, agriculture, the economy, energy, etc. UNDP is also following countries in their application for direct access to international funds, which will allow for more flexibility and better responses to their requests. So far, international funds were available through implementing agencies. Now, we are helping them to meet the fiduciary requirements for direct access. Thus, Senegal became the first African country to identify a national agency that will have direct access to financing from the Adaptation Fund.

Additional information

http://www.undp.org.za/cop17-information/416