• by A. D. McKenzie (paris)
• Thursday, April 08, 2010
• Inter Press Service

As UNESCO’s executive board meets here in the first of its two sessions per year, behind-the-scenes wrangling could result in a controversial life sciences prize being put on hold indefinitely.

The 300,000 US dollar annual prize is sponsored by Equatorial Guinea through a foundation that bears the name of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, an authoritarian ruler who first came to power following a coup in 1979.

Human rights activists and even some of the UN cultural body’s own member states say that proceeding with the award would give credibility to a regime with an 'abysmal' human rights record. They have intensified their calls for the ‘UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences’ to be cancelled.

'Human rights and other core UNESCO principles are seriously undermined by the continued existence of the prize,' said Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a letter it sent late last month to UNESCO’s director-general Irina Bokova.

The letter, a copy of which was made available to IPS, urged Bokova to take appropriate action to 'ensure that the prize is cancelled without delay.'

'If UNESCO fails to take this step, it risks doing serious damage to its reputation and its ability to fulfill its mission,' Human Right Watch wrote. 'The funds President Obiang provided for the prize should be reinvested into the education system of Equatorial Guinea, where rudimentary educational materials and infrastructure are still badly needed.'

The correspondence was timed to coincide with the current meeting of the executive board that began Mar. 30 and ends Apr. 15. At the official opening of the board’s plenary session on Tuesday, discussion of the prize was not on the official agenda, but Bokova mentioned the controversy in her address in a seemingly last-minute revision of her speech.

'I have myself received criticism about this prize, which I immediately communicated to the board, as decisions about prizes are the prerogative of the member states,' she said. 'I have done my best, as director-general, to fulfill my role, which is to ensure the credibility of the process.'

Bokova said that she had set up a task force to review all the agency’s prizes to 'evaluate their effectiveness and impact', and that recommendations would be announced at the next executive board meeting.

Observers said that Bokova is clearly uncomfortable with the prize, but UNESCO seems unsure on how to move forward, with conflicting information being given on the status of the prize.

Sue Williams, UNESCO’s media chief, told IPS Wednesday that the deadline for the prize has been extended from Dec. 31, 2009, and that applications are still being accepted. She added that only UNESCO’s 58-member executive board could change its decision on the award.

A spokeswoman for Eleonora Mitrofanova, the chairperson of the current executive board meeting, told IPS that the board would not be appraising the prize any further as the task force appointed by Bokova would 'study all sides of the question'.

This unclear position has not satisfied critics, however.

'UNESCO should investigate to make sure they are not accepting tainted funds and should not proceed with the prize,' Lisa Misol, senior researcher for HRW, told IPS.

The Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Foundation for the Preservation of Life has allocated a total of three million dollars for the awarding and administration of the prize over five years — money that should never have been accepted by UNESCO, according to Misol.

The prize was first approved by UNESCO’s executive board in 2008, with the aim being to 'reward projects and activities of an individual, individuals, institutions, other entities or non-governmental organisations for scientific research in the life sciences leading to improving the quality of human life.'

Representatives of several member states, such as the United States, France and Spain, voiced their concerns, as did at least one African country, according to sources. They cited documented reports of human rights violations in the country, including arbitrary detention and torture, a lack of media freedom and gender discrimination.

In January of this year, 25 organisations also called on UNESCO to abandon the award after the procedure to collect nominations had been implemented. UNESCO said then that the prize would be put on hold, pending a review.

But the lack of a clear position on what will happen with the prize is sparking further indignation, especially among some of Equatorial Guinea’s citizens.

'Having seen the lack of facilities for education in my country, I find it appalling that UNESCO would accept money for this international award,' said Tutu Alicante, a U.S.-based human rights lawyer who comes from Equatorial Guinea. 'It just doesn’t make sense.'

Alicante heads a group called EG Justice, which is working to put pressure on the Obiang government to 'improve human rights, the rule of law and transparency,' he told IPS in a telephone interview.

The group has collected some 300 signatures from various professionals, inside and outside Equatorial Guinea, and has sent a petition to UNESCO, recommending that the prize be abolished and the money used for the benefit of the African country.

'UNESCO could suggest to the so-called ‘Obiang Nguema Foundation for the Preservation of Life’ that it dedicate the three million dollar endowment to schools inside the country that sorely need funding for the purchase of books, benches, and other such rudimentary educational materials for their students,' Alicante said.

'We believe that such an allocation would be a more appropriate use of funds that could be of tangible benefit to young learners in Equatorial Guinea, who, like students throughout much of Africa, struggle and yearn for decent educational opportunities,' he said.

Alicante told IPS that he himself has been in 'self-imposed' exile since 2004 because the 'government does not tolerate people speaking out against it'. He said that individuals within Equatorial Guinea who had publicly opposed the prize had shown 'tremendous courage' and he hoped that UNESCO would do the same.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service