UN DEMOCRACY FUND REVIEWS FIRST PROJECT PROPOSALS

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 001493 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID EUN KDEM KUNR PHUM SUBJECT: UN DEMOCRACY FUND REVIEWS FIRST PROJECT PROPOSALS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED (ENTIRE TEXT) BEGIN SUMMARY: 1.(SBU) The second UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) Advisory Board meeting was held in New York on July 18 to consider project proposals from an initial pool of over 1,300 submissions. All 17 Advisory Board members and UNDEF staff were present. Based on democracy building guidelines, the UNDEF Secretariat reduced the initial tranche to 179 projects for Board consideration. As the funds requested for these projects ($70 million) totaled more than the money available in the fund ($49 million),the Secretariat proposed that all 179 projects receive proportionately reduced funding across the board. 2.(SBU) As an alternative to arbitrary-across-the-board reductions, USUN Ambassador Alejandro Wolff advocated for the fast tracking of smaller projects and a further analysis of the remaining projects for additional prioritization. The Secretariat agreed to resubmit a downsized project list to SIPDIS the membership based upon clear criteria for democracy building, aimed especially at countries in transition. The new list of 121 projects has just been released for members' consideration. USUN will work with the Secretariat and other board members to try to fast track some of the programs before the UNGA meets in September. End summary. 3.(SBU) The second Advisory Board meeting took place at UN headquarters on July 18. All board members were present, including Dr. Rima Khalaf-Hunaidi (Chair),Prof. Guillermo O'Donnell, Prof. Michael Doyle, Mr. Amir Dossal (ex-officio), Member States appointed by the SYG (South Africa, Benin, Hungary, Chile, and Indonesia),the six top UNDEF donors (Australia, France, Germany, India, Qatar and the United States),and two NGO members (Civicus and International Commission of Jurists). Ambassador Wolff represented the U.S. PROGRESS OF THE FUND/ PROPOSALS 4.(SBU) Director Amir Dossal announced that Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Mongolia, Spain, Sweden, and the European Commission (EC) had all expressed interest in contributing to the Fund. Dossal asked the Board to consider creating an additional seat for multilateral organizations, such as the European Community, which the U.S. opposed. Deputy UNDEF Director Magdy Martinez-Soliman presented an overview of the project proposals received and the selection process used to create the short list. The UNDEF office plans to present a "lessons learned" paper on the project selection process. Over 1,303 projects were received online, covering all five regions and 130 Member States. 70% came from civil society organizations, 18% from UN entities, and 12% from government and regional organizations. 5.(SBU) The Advisory Board discussed various aspects of the proposal list. Hungary, Germany, France, and South Africa supported the Secretariat's notion to proportionately fund all 179 projects, with an overall budget of $38 million. The U.S. and South Africa requested greater clarification on the criteria used to review projects. Benin recommended the entire list of projects be approved as presented, and that the budgets of the projects subsequently be reviewed and reduced at a later date based on Secretariat recommendations. Chile emphasized the need for gender equity to be explicitly factored into the project approval list, and expressed its concern about the high number of UN-housed projects. Australia expressed concern about the idea of arbitrary cuts and the fact that there had been no recommendation from the Secretariat about what should be cut from budgets of larger SIPDIS projects. Considering that nearly 70% were within $100,000 of the maximum allowed, there were inevitably some budget items that could and should be reduced. 6.(SBU) Ambassador Wolff emphasized that the UN must live within its resources. He noted that in order to approve the short list of 179 projects, the Secretariat had in effect mandated an arbitrary funding cut for all projects, which could jeopardize the effectiveness of some important projects and penalize those applicants that had submitted tightly funded proposals. He suggested that Board fund immediately those meritorious smaller scale proposals under $300,000 as a means to create a positive start for UNDEF and to recognize applicants that had calculated tightly budgeted proposals. He noted the first year of funding would set precedents and discipline was needed at this time. India echoed the concerns of Amb. Wolff, stating that projects located in high-income countries should be a lower priority, there should be fewer UN-housed projects, and that only two-thirds of the UNDEF funds should be spent at this time. Qatar also supported moving ahead on the smaller scale projects, while requesting more information about the other projects. 7.(SBU) Secretariat Chair Rima Khalaf-Hunaidi encouraged Board members to move forward with funding of projects right away and stressed the importance of not delaying a decision for too long through multiple revisions of the list. She supported a proportional reduction for all projects, but stated that Board consensus on the issue clearly did not exist. NEXT STEPS 8.(SBU) Dossal agreed to revise the list of proposals and forward it for reconsideration by members of the board. Written criteria used for selection would also be provided. No more than two-thirds of the total UNDEF budget would be recommended for spending on the projects in order to maintain a strategic reserve. The number of UN-housed projects would be reduced and the Board could continue discussions on-line. 9.(SBU) On July 27 all Board members received the revised list from Dossal's office. Final approval of project concept papers is expected by August 15. 10.(SBU) The U.S. has assessed this revised shortlist and will work with other delegations to garner consensus and move ahead before the UN General Assembly convenes in September. We will recommend fast tracking to demonstrate concrete progress on this key U.S. initiative. BOLTON