UN Development Fund: Pakistan urges raise in allocation

Pakistan has called for a "fair increase" in the allocation for the UN's Development Account set up in 1997 to fund technical co-operation projects for the benefit of developing countries.
Speaking in the General Assembly's budget committee, Pakistan's delegate Bilal Ahmad Virk wondered whether the current level of the account - 67 million dollars realised over five bienniums - justified declaring development as one of the UN's key pillars of activities.
"It becomes stark when compared with over 5 billion dollars that the UN spends on maintenance of peace and security, the crisis which often arise from the 'politics of scarcity', inadequate attention to socio-economic development and poverty eradication," he added.
Virk, who is a member of the National Assembly, was participating in a debate on the financing of the Development Account and construction of additional UN facilities in Addis Ababa and Vienna.
He called for a "quintessential increase" in the Development Account so as it can make a meaningful and significant contribution to member states' national efforts to implement the Millennium Development goals (MDGs) and other internationally recognised targets in the fields of human rights and sustainable development.
The Pakistan delegate said the Account's core objectives were capacity-building via individual economic and technical co-operation projects at the sub-regional, regional, and inter-regional levels, and it was a valuable complement to, and not a substitute for, other development activities.
Virk said it was vital to identify predictable financing, as many projects ended up orphaned. He reiterated that savings should not come at the cost of normal programme activities or result in unnecessary downsizing, although all United Nations departments and offices should continue to enhance efficiency in delivering their mandated programmes and services with the target of $200 million for the Development Account in mind.
He also expressed support for construction of additional office facilities for the Vienna International Centre and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).