Dear friends, looking forward to the discussion on UN reform that Baquer
and Richard and others are convening.In light of UN reform questions: there are always mixed news from the UN
- good to hear that Guterres has been extended and that Rebeca Greenspan
will be heading UNCTAD.
One among many countries that makes us worried, angry, and sad is
Myanmar. Here we have excellent statements from Michelle Bachelet, and
best-he-can (given Security Council constraints) from Antonio Guterres.
And as far as one can tell from afar heroic work continuing by the UN
agencies on the ground, including from UNICEF in Myanmar and in
Bangladesh. UNDP's crisis office was helpful in getting a German company
to discontinue their work with the Myanmar central bank.
But then a sobering process at e.g. UN DESA: in the review of countries'
SDG performance at the forthcoming HLPF, Myanmar's report has been
published un-commented, DESA feeling they have no choice. I am aghast,
and attaching my piece on this, hoping someone at UN NY will step in.
Dear Gabriel,
ReplyDeleteGrateful for your eagle eyes in detecting this Mynamar VNR being presented to the HLPF.
Not many people outside the UN staff, delegates, some NGOs and academics pay any attention to the VNR or HLPF.
But surely the UN agencies based in Yangon, particularly UNRC, must have seen this report in draft or final form.
The fact that UN DESA processed and published the report as it is, probably means that either some junior staff member without much political acumen processed it in a routine, unquestioning manner, or some mid to senior-level staff wanted to play it safe and be deferential to process whatever is received officially from the government.
But I wonder if the decision to publish such a flawed report may have something to do with the fact that the current Under Secretary-General of UN DESA is a Chinese diplomat named Mr. Liu Zhenmin. And we all know China's position on Myanmar.
Most of us who join the UN take an oath to be loyal only to the UN and not to take instructions from any governments (including our own), but as we know, in reality, high-level officials from many countries continue to be loyal to their own governments, especially if they were nominated to the UN post by their government.
In any case, it is a pathetic situation. I hope that the Myanmar VNR will actually be questioned by delegates or civil society participants although that rarely happens in the sanitized atmosphere of the UN conference rooms.
======================
Kul Chandra Gautam
Dear Gabriel
ReplyDeleteI join Kul in expressing admiration for your searching eyes.
As time goes on one expects the tide of democratic change to overtake dictatorships. But it seems that the corona pandemic has emboldened human rights violators to continue to oppress their own people with obscene impunity. That is why many of us are seeking UN reform to prevent this entity from being constrained by unethical political considerations. Hence the need also to have a powerful independent people based forum giving voice to citizen victims of oppression.
Power to you and all friends sharing information transparently on human rights violations. Hopefully, such efforts will generate the political will to practice what many powerful westerns countries are preaching
Warm regards
Baquer
Thanks Gabriele for your message on Burma. I read the Voluntary National Report on Myanmar. It took me a while to realise that it was actually a VNR! It is a surprise that the UNDESA accepted this report, which lacks any facts and figures to supplement the few statements made in this brief monologue. It is difficult to say when this report was prepared and how it was prepared. According to the VNR, the report was prepared by Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry. All I know is that in the current governance structure there is no Ministry of Planning. The Ministry of Finance is now a separate entity.
ReplyDeleteThe UN in Myanmar has remained dysfunctional for a long time. The UNRC has been away for a long time (medical leave for almost a year, I think). The current R.C a.i. was someone with an iNGO in Burma for more than decade and suddenly joined the UN. He was one of the critiques of the UN. Surprise surprise, now he is an acting R.C a.i.
I am also puzzled that UNICEF reassigned UNICEF Representative (June Kunugi) during this time of crisis. She left Yangon on 9 April and has not been replaced yet. I understand the new Rep will join in October. At the moment someone from the Regional Office is in Yangon as OIC.
What can we expect from the UN for Myanmar? I am not sure. Given the polarisation within the UN system and given US’s priority in dealing with China and Russia we should not bet anything that would help Myanmar people anytime soon. US will continue to mobilise all resources including the UN to deal with China and Russia. Myanmar will be on the backburner.
The market prices have doubled on all essential supplies and supplies are shrinking in the markets. The in-country transportation network is also being affected which affects movement of goods and supplies.
The long-term solution can come only from a flexible and inclusive NLD (being the largest and most popular political party). At the moment the majority support for NLD has blinded the NLD leadership as if there is no tomorrow. NLD must not ignore the plight of 30% of the Myanmar ethnic minority population. There are 94 ethnic based political parties in Myanmar (indeed, there are just too many fragmented political parties in the country which is also a problem). Many of these parties did not participate in the last general election (some excluded for security reasons). NLD sent written messages to 48 ethnic political parties citing the need for ethnic unity for Myanmar as a nation, etc.
Anyways, I hope the Burmese diaspora which includes well educated professionals belonging to all ethnic groups living in western countries and Asia Pacific countries could come together to form an alliance to challenge the regime.
Have a good evening
Ramesh