UN slammed for use of aid money on art

November 17, 2008
The Australian
Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24659859-2703,00.html

LONDON: The UN has been criticised for commissioning a $27.5 million decorative ceiling, partly funded from the Spanish aid budget, for a revamped conference hall in Geneva.
The decision to hire Miquel Barcelo, 51, one of the world's most highly paid abstract artists, has prompted furious protests from campaigners who believe it is an extravagant misuse of development funds. 
Barcelo has said his redesign of a 1300sqm dome aims to create a grotto, with stalactites reflecting infinity and the multiplicity of viewpoints. He has built a honeycomb of aluminium from which to hang resin stalactites up to 90cm long. They are coloured with paint containing pigments from all over the world. 
The work, at the headquarters of the UN Human Rights Council, will be unveiled this week by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero. 
Mr Zapatero's Socialist Government has admitted contributing $13.7 million to the cost of the ceiling. The money includes $960,000 from Spain's African aid budget. 
This is an immoral use of these funds and we will establish whether it is illegal, said Gonzalo Robles, an MP from the opposition Popular Party. 
How many vaccines, how many wells, how many thousands of children in different countries could have been helped with this money? 
But Spain's ambassador to the UN, Javier Garrigues, said the location justified the spending of aid money. Funding the human rights headquarters clearly falls into the category of development aid, he said. 
The Sunday Times