Kofi Annan comes to town…. or how the MDGs launched my film career! : Tad Palac

by Tad Palac

Back in early 2004, the DR had been chosen as one of the seven countries for the MDG Needs Assessment Exercise, the initiative involving Prof. Jeffrey Sachs. It was one of the things that persuaded me to apply for the post of Representative in the Dominican Republic (DR). Having worked on UN Reform for several years from within UNICEF and been very involved in many UN Reform and the MDGs matters, I reckoned that the posting would very interesting and challenging: if anything were to happen with the MDGs, then the DR must surely be among the countries where it would happen! Little did I realize that just over two years later it would lead to what ended up being some of the most extraordinary and exciting days of my career in UNICEF.

No pre-visit publicity, please!

The SG visited the DR for just two days in August 2006, in response to a long-standing invitation from President Leonel Fernandez. The focus was to be the country’s work on the MDGs which President Fernandez had highlighted during the Millennium Review. The SG also wanted to bring more attention to the UN’s development agenda, which he himself felt was being somewhat neglected because attention was overwhelmingly given to the crises in the Middle East and elsewhere.

All arrangements for the visit were kept strictly confidential until the last minute; it could have been cancelled or postponed if global events had had to take precedence. The Office of the Resident Coordinator (RC) had been asked to facilitate some aspects of the visit, but the agenda was essentially in the hands of the Executive Office of the SG, the Foreign Ministry, the Presidency and the head of the Presidential Commission for the MDGs (COPDES) - a coordination-cum-advocacy-machine for President Fernandez. Inputs for briefing materials and logistic arrangements were required from the Office of the RC. Because of the apparently unavoidable home-leave of the RC, I ended up being RC a.i. for a substantial time and became directly involved in planning the arrangements. Communications with the SG’s Office were particularly intensive. Circumstances, however, led to a rather unexpected role for the UNICEF Representative during the visit!

We need a native English speaker!

A few weeks prior to the visit, COPDES hired an American filmmaker to produce a film on the MDGs in the DR, to be premiered during the SG’s visit. The content of the film was only vaguely discussed with the UN Team. The head of COPDES (a rather forceful American) and the filmmaker insisted on a native English speaker, preferably from within the UN Country Team, for some of the segments. I was thus inducted into the “cast” by the head of COPDES!

Having been told very little about the actual thrust and script of the film, I spent a few hours being filmed in a local park, answering questions about the MDGs in the DR and the role of the UN, put forward by the head of COPDES and the filmmaker. Several takes were required for some questions and answers, just like in a movie! They also were supposed to film other UNCT members and key ministers and officials, although the UNDP Rep (who also doubled as RC) remained absent on home leave. The producer then rushed off to the US to edit the film for it to be ready in time. This was the last we heard of it until the actual visit of the SG!

The SG finally arrives!

The SG’s delegation was due to arrive in Santo Domingo from Haiti on the evening of 3 August but was delayed because of a tropical storm. Plan B went into effect. Everyone was very nervous about whether the visit would materialize. On the morning of 4 August, the weather was still bad, but the plane managed to take off from Port-au-Prince and arrive in Santo Domingo. The SG and his entourage went straight from the airport to the Palacio Presidencial, albeit somewhat behind schedule. The Palacio was absolutely packed, with many senior Government officials, political and civil society leaders, members of the diplomatic corps, the press, and the UN Country Team present.

The head of COPDES gave a very brief introduction and announced the screening of the video showing how the country had been pursuing poverty eradication and the other MDGs.

The MDGs – the movie!....Starring……

A few minutes into the video, I realised it was not going to be what I had expected! What were supposed to be a few brief comments by a “native English speaker” about what the UN is doing in support of the MDGs had been creatively edited - without my knowledge! - into very regular appearances every few minutes by the UNICEF Representative, basically to illustrate or support a point made by the head of COPDES. I began to get embarrassed. People turned around to look at me and there were a few glares from my UN colleagues, only two of whom had a very brief appearance at the end of the 20-minute film! It had become a piece of propaganda and, frankly, not a very well-made one. It was dominated by the larger-than-life presence and pronouncements of the head of COPDES…..and the numerous comments by the UNICEF Representative! Although I had made every effort to represent the UNCT as a whole and had genuinely tried to avoid making it about UNICEF, I was considered to be “Señor UNICEF”. This was not going to be help inter-agency relations! I could see that some UN colleagues were not happy. I couldn’t wait for the screening to be over – this was not how I wanted UN collaboration to be projected, even if it was good for UNICEF. Towards the end of the film, the UNCT as a whole received a lot of praise for its role in helping the DR move towards the MDGs; but the damage was done: UNICEF was seen as having stolen the limelight!

In response, the SG praised the process by which the Country had tried to meet the MDGs. He expressed satisfaction that the UNCT had been so supportive….and just to make matters worse for my relations with the UN team, spotting me in the distance even said “..and I see the UNICEF Representative over there!” In closing the session, President Fernandez highlighted the role of the whole of the UN as a real partner to the Government and the country.

Aha! The star of the Show!

The dignitaries started to head off, with the SG preparing to visit UN House to meet UN staff, and - we later discovered - make some urgent phone calls. Making his way down the central aisle with Mrs. Annan, the SG recognized me at the end of a row of UN colleagues. “Aha, the star of the show! Pleased to meet you!” I don’t know whether I felt proud, excited or just more embarrassed! Mrs. Annan then said something to the effect: “That was very well done! Have you ever taken acting lessons?” “No”, I said, “…but I do work for UNICEF!” Priceless!

There were more events and meetings, including a meeting with UN staff, a working lunch with the First Lady, and visits by Mrs. Annan which UNICEF had been asked to coordinate, but which were taken over by the First Lady almost at the last minute: instead of a planned visit to a maternity unit in a “barrio” to focus on a key problem in the DR, we had a tour of a hospital that was being made into a state-of-the art children’s hospital. I could fill a small book writing about the SG’s visit!

I was just talking to President Putin….

Before he left two days later for New York to continue his peacemaking (the Lebanon crisis was at a critical point and we later realized much of the crucial Security Council resolution was negotiated by the SG from the DR!), the SG insisted on spending an hour for a private and very personal discussion with the heads of the main agencies. He wanted to hear about our work, but also shared his candid and very personal views on the global issues of the day, including his worries about the situation in Lebanon. We all felt it resembled a meeting with a close and warm-hearted colleague. It was a very special moment for us all and undoubtedly a highlight of my years in UNICEF and the UN. Any resentment by my colleagues about my “starring” role in the video had dissipated with this special encounter with a very special man. After the weeks of intensive preparations and the stress of the visit, we were exhausted but exhilarated!

I retired from UNICEF at the end of 2008. For my sins on behalf of the MDGs, UN Coordination and Reform, I spent my last 12 months in the DR as Acting Resident Coordinator, while UNDP struggled to find someone to fill the gap that had been left by my colleague Niki Fabiancic. Maybe they were looking for someone with real movie-star quality to compete with UNICEF!

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