If UNESCO does not act decisively to reject the Obiang Prize in October, the United States must deny UNESCO’s 2011 budget request for $84 million. Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Operations, played a key role in today’s decision by expressing his concerns about the Obiang prize. Senator Leahy should be ready to go one step further to cancel UNESCO’s funding altogether if the organization continues to entertain the idea of accepting money from one of Africa’s worst dictators.That's from the folks at CGD again. Is there not room for a more pragmatic approach? See my thoughts here.
And what about Obiang himself? Rather than trying to establish legitimacy via UNESCO, he can redeem himself by returning the money he stole from his country, making investments in health, education and infrastructure, and considering direct cash distribution of oil revenues to the impoverished people of Equatorial Guinea.Which he's never going to do unless we use more direct political and economic tools to push him to do so. Neither denying him a prize nor wiping out a decent hunk of UNESCO is going to accomplish this task.