It is a time for reflection, “a time for renewal”, as the official motto for this anniversary states. When Secretary-General Kofi Annan took office in 1997, he initiated reforms to adapt to a new era of global affairs. First, he considered institutional changes falling under his direct authority, modified mandates. Then he considered how United Nations (UN) action could be done more efficiently at state level. He thus strengthened the concept of UN resident coordinator.

● <B>Did he define a new policy?</B>

At policy level, Kofi Annan stressed on human rights. He commissioned reports, helped define specific Millenium Development Goals (MDG), a synthesis of the outcome of international conferences on major issues such as the Earth summit in Rio on the environment in 1992, the UN Conference on human rights in Vienna in 1993, the Beijing declaration on women and the Copenhagen summit on social development, both in 1995.

● <B>What does this mean for the common people?</B>

Kofi Annan has given priority to the human being. The common aim in all that has been, is, and has to be achieved is this quest for better life, opportunities for all, regardless of age, sex, cultural background, ethnicity, etc. The link between all those aspects is indeed human rights. In Mauritius, we have a strong concern for vulnerable groups hit by poverty or threatened by Aids/HIV. We also want to promote gender equality and empower women.

● <B>How do you work, in practice?</B>

First of all, the UN system considers specific problems in a participatory way: in terms of policy, in a practical way… We find ways of mobilising resources internationally and locally to address the issues we identify. In the context of dwindling economic resources, our support will increasingly be in the form of promoting new ideas, sharing best practices and lessons learnt, and facilitating access to data and research, to advance the MDGs.

● <B>Unicef Mauritius closed in 2003. Have all childhood problems been solved?</B>

Not at all! When I arrived in Mauritius, the situation seemed nearly ideal with low child mortality and illiteracy. But, if education is widespread, there is also an urgent need for better access to quality education. And, if Unicef has phased out, the observatory of childhood still remains for child protection.

● <B>There are upcoming activities to celebrate UN’s 60th anniversary… Can you say a word about them?</B>

They are not like a flash in a dark sky! If you consider the scientific workshop on natural disaster mitigation in Small Island Developing States, next Thursday, or the workshop on the Mauritius Council of Social Services on November 25, you will find that we target specific groups. The Interactive Roundtable held last Friday was intended for young audiences. These activities are not incidental: the Scientific workshop is a follow-up of the work begun months ago.

● <B>The passage of Hurricane Katrina shocked many. Are the so-called “developing countries” the only ones that need UN help?</B>

UN is also present in developed countries but its action is not the same. There the State can itself fund programmes similar to those in developing countries.

On the other hand, many developing countries have not been able to achieve more than basic goods and are unable to produce value-added goods. So their economy suffers a lot.

● <B>Has foreign aid targeted by the UN from rich countries been efficient over the past years?</B>

Donor governments had promised to spend 0.7% of gross national product on so-called Official Development Assistance at the UN General Assembly in Monterrey in 2002. But scarcely five of them have fulfilled that goal. And the deadline for reaching that target is by 2015 (the year by which the MDGs are supposed to be achieved).

● <B>Are international, and costly, conferences still worthwhile in an era of rapid communication through Internet ?</B>

Conferences act as forums where issues of concern are discussed. We can’t just hastily exchange information, we have also to meet and negociate with people to obtain results. The media focused a lot on the UN meeting in New-York in September but one has to realize that UN officers are going on with their work all the time on all the issues discussed on such occasions.

● <B>You are UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative. What is the difference between the two functions?</B>

UNDP used to be more important in the past. It remains essential for coordinating UN development work. But there is now a better equilibrium between the UN and the UNDP. The latter still remains the funding arm of the organization. But the focus has changed with the strengthening of the UN resident coordinator.

● <B>You are also in charge of the UN representation in the Seychelles?</B>

As resident coordinator for the UN in Mauritius and the Seychelles, I have been a priviledged witness to regional cooperation in the Indian ocean. For instance, the Indian Ocean Commission is bringing its institutional leadership and the UN Joint Programme on HIV/Aids a technical input, promoting together the sustainable development of member states – Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Seychelles and France-Reunion in their fight against this threat. This is effective solidarity.

● <B>What are the limits of UN action?</B>

We work with the governement, civil society and NGOs to identify priorities… The UN is an honest broker, seeking for the possibilities of improving development challenges, to help different partners to work together… Ultimately it is the governments that take sovereign decisions.

● <B>For some people the UN is a technocratic organization that does not communicate well. Do you think the UN message is properly understood?</B>

We have two levels of communication: negociation, where the document’s langage is quite technical, and information. We clearly need to be understood. We try to do so through activities, brochures, publications and web resources. Yet, we also rely a lot on the media, which are at the forefront of this type of mass-communication.

● <B>It was the media which unveiled the “oil-for-food” scandal in Iraq.</B>

One must have in mind that the UN is an organization that is very keen to have a transparent and efficient framework. The “oil-for-food” programme was established in 1995 to provide for the humanitarian needs of Iraqi people after the first Gulf war. There was a failure in the control system. As an immediate result of the scandal, Paul Volcker was entrusted to investigate. Note that the Sec. Gen. specified there would be no cover for those involved. There was no direct blame on Kofi Annan.

<B>Focus on sustainable development </B>

Yesterday saw also the launching of the UNDP regional meeting on Energy and the Environment at Méridien Hotel, Pointe-aux-Piments; At this five-day workshop, UNDP environment experts will discuss ways and means of strengthening its support for sustainable development. Aase Smedler and minister of the Environment Anil Bachoo were both present at the opening. The overriding theme is “integration”. Learning and sharing on climate change adaptation will be on the agenda. A pratical training and learning opportunity on sustainable land management issues will be given on the third day. Constraints and solutions to environmental programmes are on Thursday’s agenda. On the same day, the MBC will record a TV programme focusing on the efforts of Mauritius to achieve the Millenium Development Goals on “environmental sustainability” as well as UNDP’s global support in this respect. Possibilities of individual projects and opportunities to network as well as bilateral meetings will conclude the workshop on Friday.