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Poverty elimination agency becomes independent
There was strong talking at the UNWTO General Assembly as independence was mooted for ST-EP
Delegates from Germany, France and Iran had reservations supporting the proposal during the second plenary session of the 20th Session of the UNWTO general assembly because they were concerned about the funding to the Sustainable Tourism Eliminating Poverty ST-EP Foundation.
ST-EP Foundation was founded in 2003 by the UNWTO with the objective of eradicating poverty among the least developed nations through sustainable tourism.
ST-EP president Francesco Frangialli, a past UNWTO secretary-general, said during the session chaired by Zambia’s tourism minister Sylvia Masebo that he had not transformed the Foundation into a specialised UN agency that would compete with the UNWTO.
He said rather, the proposal by Taleb Rifai and ST-EP Foundation’s board of directors was to give the organisation international visibility and to enable it make autonomous decisions.
Frangialli, who commended the Republic of Korea’s financial support to the ST-EP Foundation, said poor countries like the Maldives and Cape Verde had moved away from the category of least developed countries because of tourism development.
"We have an opportunity, let us seize this opportunity," Frangialli said. "In any case, poverty alleviation remains one of the fundamental missions of the UNWTO."
A delegate from Germany asked if the transformation of ST-EP Foundation would trigger more financial obligations on the UNWTO member states and he also wondered why the ST-EP constitution had not been distributed during the plenary session.
Dr Rifai said "This general assembly is not required to look and comment on the constitution. This is up to the member states that choose to join the organisation," he said. "There are no financial obligations…The only thing I need from you is to ensure that the organisation becomes autonomous."
Another delegate from France also stood up and expressed concern over the issue of added financial obligations.
ST-EP Foundation chairperson Ambassador Dho Young-shim said the people of South Korea knew what poverty was from its experiences 50 years ago, hence her involvement and contribution to the organisation.
"We know poverty and we know how to fight poverty," said Ambassador Dho as the plenary session passed the proposal.
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