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14 January 1997 Dear President,

I am writing to you on behalf of the British staff members in UNIDO as part of an initiative to rally support for UNIDO within the United Kingdom. As you probably aware, in December 1996 the United Kingdom. Mr. Malcolm Rifkind, Foreign Secretary, to the Director-General of UNIDO its intention to withdraw from UNIDO at the end of the statutory one year notice period, although the Director-General was informed that the decision would be reviewed towards the end of 1997.

As a representative group of UNIDO staff, we are in a good position to evaluate the Organization's strengths and weaknesses. Like most international, and indeed national, civil service organizations, UNIDO has faced accusations of undue bureaucracy and top-heavy management. As a result of a very thorough reform process, however, it has achieved what no other UN specialized agency has yet attained: a 30 per cent reduction in staff, a streamlining of administrative and management procedures, without any negative impact on the quality of services provided to the developing countries! We are very proud of UNIDO's thirty year's achievements which have enabled many developing countries to attain a higher level of economic independence and have, through the establishment of sustainable industries, improved the lives of countless millions of the world's poorest people.

The UK decision came as particular surprise since the European Union as a whole has openly recognized the reform efforts of UNIDO. As one the founding members of the United Nations and one of UNIDO's strongest supporters over the years, the

United Kingdom demonstrated a particular interest in the industrial development of the developing countries. It is difficult to believe that this concern has disappeared overnight, and we can only concludcthat the decision was taken for political rather than technical considerations. The UK Government has itself recognized that industry is an engine of growth and that sustainable industrial development brings with it much needed broader social and economic development. The withdrawal of the UK from UNIDO would seriously damage the only UN organization solely focused on the industrialization of the developing world.

As the representative of an international non-governmental organization in consultative status with UNIDO, you have had an opportunity to follow the development of UNIDOT to learn first hand from the developing countries the degree to which they have come to count on UNIDO and to witness yourself the Organization's efforts to adjust to a changing economic order. Through its consultative status with UNIDO, your organization is part of the larger UNIDO family, sharing common objectives and striving to attain common goals. Any support that you can offer at this time would therefore be extremely valuable. While not wishing to prejudge what form such support might take, we are hoping that through personal and official contracts with decisionmakcrs, the press, industrialists and the general public in the United Kingdom, we will be able to show the benefits of the UK's continued participation in UNIDO both for the developing countries and for the United Kingdom itself.