VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0245 0701409
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111409Z MAR 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6056

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000245 
 
SIPDIS 
 
IO/EDA FOR CCHANG; IO/MPR FOR GABRAHAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID UNICEF UNFPA UNDP ECON
SUBJECT: VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS' COST INFO FOR CONFERENCES 
AND MEETINGS 
 
REF: 08 SECSTATE 134959 
 
¶1. In follow-up to reftel's requests, Mission has emailed to 
IO/MPR George Abrahams and IO/EDA Charles Chang scanned 
copies of the following letters from UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA: 
-- January 19, 2009 letter from UNDP Administrator Kemal 
Dervis to Deputy Permanent Representative Wolff; 
-- January 23, 2009 letter from UNICEF Deputy Executive 
Director Omar Badi to Deputy Permanent Representative Wolff; 
-- March 2, 2009 letter from UNFPA Under Secretary General 
Thoraya Ahmed Obaid to Deputy Permanent Representative Wolff. 
 
¶2. While the letters provide core resource figures for all 
three organizations, they do not provide specific amounts 
each agency spends to travel to and attend and participate in 
international conferences.  UNICEF and UNFPA claimed that 
their accounting systems did not specifically track such 
expenses, and extrapolating them would be cost prohibitive. 
UNDP also noted that it did not track such expenses, but 
promised to try to extrapolate them.  All three agencies 
provided assurances that decisions to send staff to 
international conferences were weighed carefully and based on 
potential gains to the organizations. 
 
¶3.  Mission regrets delays in the completion of this tasker 
but notes that, in spite of repeated reminders, UNFPA only 
recently responded to our January 8 inquiry. Mission POC for 
this issue is Toby Glucksman (GlucksmanTH@state.gov). 
Wolff