UNITED
NATIONS, June
11 -- The UN's
Robert Piper,
who only
recently was
tapped to
coordinate
humanitarian
issues on the
Sahel, told
Inner
City Press on
Tuesday he has
gotten
involved in
the
long delayed
Sahel strategy
report that
Romano Prodi
was put in
charge of back
in
October.
He
said while
there is a
humanitarian
component,
Prodi is
focused on big
picture
infrastructure
projects.
Would that be
solar? Uranium
like in
Niger?
Whatever it
is, has taken
taken too
long. And
meanwhile Prodi
has charged
the UN $1,200
to travel
between
Bologna and
Rome.
Despite
this
waste, Piper's
pitch on
Tuesday was to
raise funds.
Inner City
Press asked
him, if
Cameroon is at
130% of the
amount
requested for
food security,
and Niger at
only 12%,
couldn't the
UN shift the
month? Video
here, from
Minute 20:33.
No,
was the
answer, the
appeals are
country
specific.
Piper said
that
"the money
comes in
earmarked for
particular
appeals in
almost
100% of the
cases... We
naturally try
to influence
the donors to
countries
falling off
the map, and
sectors being
neglected. But
the
money comes
with a
country's name
attached and
even a
sector."
One
might wonder:
why? If Piper
is the
humanitarian
coordinator
for the
Sahel, why
don't they do
an appeal for
the region,
and not
country by
country? Could
that be part
of Prodi's
long delayed
strategy?
On
that, Piper
said it's
"coming to a
close," to be
"discussed
soon in the
Security
Council." He
said, "I have
been part
of the process
in coming into
this job."
Piper,
it seems, lost
his appeal in
or for Nepal:
he left amid calls
that he
be persona non
grata-ed.
That's
not necessarily
a bad thing;
time did
not permit the
question, and
at the noon
briefing that
followed,
Nesirky did
not call on
Inner City
Press to ask
any question.
It was
abbreviated
for the
presentation
of ICTR
prosecutor
Jallow. Inner
City Press ran
out to try to
ask a question
of UK
ambassador
Mark
Lyall Grant,
who did not
take it, video
here at
Minute 5:29,
but
arrived back
in the Press
Briefing Room
while another
was being
allowed a
second
question. But
Piper's in the
job. Watch
this site.
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