Reinforcing the United Nations ” “” “

Poverty and public-sector aid to development, Islam and respect for human rights, armed conflicts and the role of the United Nations: these are just some of the issues we discussed with Jean Fabre, Assistant Director of UNDP (the UN programme for development), in his office in Geneva, to understand what’s behind the terrorist attacks in the USA and the military response of the Americans in Afghanistan. But, Fabre adds, we should “not forget all the victims of situations of injustice that results in a child dying of poverty every three second”. Because “if we want to solve problems we need to go to their roots: conflicts always have a political and social cause”. Too little is still being done. Even in Europe. “Few countries – says the UNDP representative – have reached the level established by the General Assembly of the UNO for the allocation of state aid to development. Heading the league table, the only countries in the world to contribute over 0.4% of their GDP to aid to development, are Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Holland. Other countries lag far behind, including Italy. We believe that the progress of peace is also a result of this type of commitment. Most conflicts taking place in the world today are ‘implosions’ within countries, due to domestic social problems”. The UN development programme operates on this conviction. “It’s the only universal programme – adds Fabre – of aid to all developing countries at whatever time. We’re present everywhere, throughout the year, and have been for many years. Even in countries like Afghanistan that have been thrown into turmoil for years by wars of occupation or internal wars”. UNDP was present there also during the Taliban regime. “The case of Afghanistan is particularly serious because 70% of the population are living in a state of chronic malnutrition and over half are illiterate. It’s a situation in which it’s difficult to operate and demonstrates the need for a strong commitment to development. But we’re also present in Sierra Leone, Angola, Mozambique and other countries with strong internal tensions, at the side of the suffering people”. “The Charter of Human Rights – emphasizes Fabre – is our basic point of reference. We help each country to reflect how it can best translate this Charter into policies, institutions and civil liberties fundamental for its people. In contrast to certain institutions that arrive on the scene with a ready-made prescription, UNDP plays more the role of a midwife: we help the country to give birth to its own system”. It’s a work of “advice, dialogue, development of skills, in different ways. Then it’s up to the communities themselves to make progress”. “More than half our contributions – explains Fabre – are used to improve the governability of the country, in other words improve its institutions, create a state of law, aid electoral processes, the justice system, the birth of democracy and institutions that help to promote development, the Chamber of Commerce for example. Other interventions are directly aimed at policies for the fight against poverty, the reinforcement of the capacities of the local authorities and also the direct support of civil society. Another series of programmes concerns the environment and energy, the campaign against Aids, the prevention of conflicts or natural disasters, the overcoming of crises, or the management of emergencies, and normal development. These are all fields in which a presence like ours is necessary for a task that a non governmental organization is unable to perform”. So is the UNO still necessary? What role may it have in armed conflicts? “It’s important – replies Fabre – that its role be discussed also at the level of civil society. The problem is to understand how the United Nations should be reformed, so that it may have greater capacity for intervention, not only after the explosion of conflict but also in its prevention through development, and the promotion of human rights. People always speak of this when a war explodes, but no one speaks of all the wars that have been avoided thanks to the presence of the UNO that has ensured a dialogue between States. Thanks to the UN at least a hundred or so wars have been prevented”. Do religious problems lead to war? “Rarely – points out Fabre –, because when a conflict has not been resolved for a long time, religion becomes a means or a context for reaching a solution. Religions are more often the promoters of peace than of war”. Maria Rita Valli¤