UN official says developing world must get more aid

Western society will "pay dearly" for its present-day neglect of the problems of the developing world, the head of the United Nations' main development body has warned.

Mr Gus Speth, administrator of the UN Development Programme, said it was a "tragedy" that aid spending was falling just when it was most needed and could be used most effectively. "We have a world situation that demands more of the development assistance community today than ever before. The problems are escalating, not diminishing, whatever the attention span of the industrialised world."

Mr Speth was speaking in Dublin, following a meeting yesterday with the Minister of State for development co-operation, Ms Liz O'Donnell, and her officials.

The level of international aid fell last year, for the fifth straight year, to the "lowest level in history", he pointed out. "This is an extraordinary tragedy, one which will cost us more later in terms of humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, diseases, drugs and terrorism."

Ireland, in contrast, was "a beacon of hope and leadership" for increasing its aid budget "in the face of this neglect".

Mr Speth admitted that the UN was facing a funding crisis, but expressed the hope that other Western countries would follow Ireland's lead and increase their aid budgets.

UNDP enjoys a generally good reputation among observers for avoiding the worst excesses of bureaucracy and lethargy sometimes seen within the UN system. Most of its billion-pound annual budget is focused on the world's poorest countries, and Mr Speth's belief that the right to be free from poverty is a fundamental human right is popular in the developing world.

"One reason for Mary Robinson's success as High Commissioner for Human Rights has been her promotion of a broad concept of human rights which embraces the right to development and is not tied to any Western agenda," Mr Speth said.

He believes that Mrs Robinson has made a "huge" difference. "She has raised the profile of human rights dramatically and been a relentless advocate for all of us." Co-operation between their two organisations has been close, as Mrs Robinson seeks to place human rights at the forefront of all UN activities.

Mr Speth, who qualified as a lawyer, worked for environmental pressure groups before joining UNDP as administrator five years ago. From South Carolina, he was on his first visit to Ireland.

He acknowledges that the UN has frequently been criticised for being fragmented and inefficient, but says that it is overcoming these problems. "It's a real revolution. We're trying to bring the whole UN system together into a common collaborative programme in each country. The aim is to get everyone using common services and premises as much as possible, and to become efficient and cost-effective."

In reality, though, it is only half a revolution, impeded by internal opposition within rival bodies, which has slowed down the reform plans of the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan. Mr Speth admits that there has been "quite a fight" between rival bodies, but says a lot of progress has been made since.