The country of Nepal whose Supreme Court ruled in 2007 to ensure broad protections for LGBT people and whose government was revently looking into legalizing same-sex marriage after a Supreme Court decision in 2008. Now 7 year later Justice minister Narahari Acharya of the ruling Nepali Congress is seeking to enact laws to re criminalize gay sex and make it punishable by 3 years in prison an even stricter punishment as the old law. And to make matters even worse the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) actually funded the original two committees that drafted the new anti-gay laws codes but didn’t monuitor them!
Sunil Pant, the country’s first openly gay politician and former member of parliament, told Gay Star News in an email:
‘We are really concerned about this attempt of taking Nepal back to draconian era after so much progress we made. Unbelievable that the government is going all against the Supreme Court decisions on LGBTI rights and other minority and marginalized people’s rights in Nepal,’ he said.
Pant also demands to know why the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is known to be a supporter of LGBT rights worldwide, had provided funding for the original two committees that drafted the anti-gay codes but did not monitor their outcome.
‘Irony is that UNDP funded the original two committees to draft these codes and they said they did not have the clue what was being drafted. At least they should have been more vigilant whether their aid is being abused, misused or used properly.’
Discrimination and hate crimes brought to you by the United Nations. Useless idiots.
While many people who work for the UN, like other organizations, may indeed be useless idiots, the tie between the proposal by the Nepali government and the UNDP is rather tenuous. The Nepali government has received vast amounts of foreign aid – it is one of the poorest countries on earth. But they are not children to be “monitored”. As someone who has worked in criminal defense in Kathmandu, I am well aware it is a two steps forward, one step back kind of situation. Now the Nepali proposing this may himself be a useless idiot…
United Nations Development Program is the nodal agency within the UN system tasked with protection and promotion of LGBT rights!!
THAT IS THE BIGGEST FARCE ONE CAN IMAGINE, at least in South Asia!!
In South Asia, the UNDP is receiving millions of dollars (without any accountability, if one may add) from the GFATM, to do exactly that – protect and promote LGBT rights! In international conferences like the recently held the International AIDS conference, (MSM Pre Conference) the UNDP was asked specifically about what they’re doing with the money that they’re receiving for this.
The two people present, senior functionaries Mandeep Dhaliwal and Edmond Settle, refused to answer the question, and said “we can discuss it bilaterally”!! (incidentally this Gent Mr Settle is/has been responsible for delivering on those S-Asia funds)!!
They do not talk to activists bilaterally, or even unilaterally, and especially not if it’s to account for their deeds, lack-of-deeds, or outright misdeeds (as in this case)!!
Obfuscation to cover for the blatant waste of resources that should go to communities for advocacy on rights is the modus operandii..!! The first phase of the GFATM project is over and done with!! Other than one Jambouree in Kathmandu, there is nothing that has happened that the community is aware of! Their so called “High Level” advocacy is treated as state secret, and anyone who asks questions is threatened outright that all their future findings will be curtailed!
It’s a noxious oligarchy of a few individuals who are so smitten by the power that flows from their control of money, adequately supplied by the GFATM as part of a proposal that was developed by the South Asian Community (I was part of that development, incidentally) that the very community that they are supposed to be serving have now become their playthings! It’s a bloody shame!!
And to top it all, the GFATM has given a go by to all notions of either accountability and/or past-performance of UNDP (one may even say propriety), and saddle this same UNDP with managing the total funds of the South Asia Project in the phase two, in spite of the fact that they wasted the whole money that they received in phase one to do the limited job of advocacy!!
Now in some pervert twist of logic, an Thai NGO has been nominated to run the South Asia Project!! Where are the South Asian Community in this whole scheme of loot and pillage? No one knows, and no one is talking!! They are just advocating “bilateral ism” to shut up questions!! The Thai boys are of course clueless!! A few token and favoured South Asians will be hired and seated in Bangkok to manage South Asian Community interests!! The actual South Asians themselves can of course go to hell!!
And to hell they poor South Asian Community are headed, with the active support and collaboration of the UNDP!! The UNDP has gone ahead and funded now, a committee that is trying to re-criminalise homosexuality in Nepal with quantum of punishment that is even more severe than what was present before their Supreme Court Judgment more than 7 years ago!
That judgment was the result of actual community effort and mobilisation, orchestrated by Blue Diamond Society under the leadership of Sunil Babu Pant. And since then the 7 years of community work in securing the rights of LGBT in Nepal will now go down the drain, thanks to UNDP!!
And a bunch of Thai boys sitting in Bangkok and dancing to the dictates of Mr settle are supposed to set it right!! The community on the ground can of course go to hell!!
But don’t ask questions!! They will throw bilateral-ism at you (whatever that means) and cut you from the funding!!
SHAME..!!
Although I do not agree with Aditya regarding his allegations on Mr Setter- he is an honest person, as a lot of people talk about his honesty but UNDP seem to be losing its respect in many countries including in Bangladesh and Pakistan for its exploitation by people like Mr Qasim, add addict, a blackmailer who was thrown out of USA and who now is gaining millions of money from UNDP through his NGO. He has tactfully disdained UNDP by not allowing them to monitor his NGO. He has also planted some clever people in his NGO on key positions who have linkages with people in UNDP Office in Thailand. While working in government sector on HIVAIDS, I have worked closely with all NGOs but Mr. Qasim’s private business centre called NMHA is churning fake success stories to usurp the money. I continually asked for transparency and stood against nepotism in NMHA but who cares once he has ASHEERVAAD from UNDP APRC. He has benefited his own homosexual friends.
UNDP was required to protect the rights of poor people who are at risk of contracting HIV AIDS or who actually suffer HIV AIDS by giving them opportunities to access and use quality care but UNDP seems to spend a lot on pleasure of Qasim and Co who enjoy luxurious trips abroad.
Come on UNDP….. there are not so many MSM in Pakistan and mind you they can not be called a community for their all unnatural ways of indulgence in anal sex. And also a note of caution. they get salaries in six figures for promotion of homosexuality in a poor country like Pakistan and for what? They exploit you by calling themselves MSM a self proclaimed group at risk.
Can UNDP people dare to answer why it spends so much on bunch of idiots? In other projects UNDP always has a strict policy of screwing the implementers for accountability purpose for the money it grants, but in case of Mr Qasim’s company it seems to be afraid to do so for reasons best known to UNDP only.
I know there will be fiery exchange of arguments and counter arguments but please listen to what I say? I do not have any personal vendetta against Qasim but under the auspices of HIV AIDS prevention one should not promote his own agenda and benefit himself and his company.