UNDP denies sponsoring Abu Jihad Tournament, fails to condemn terror glorification

In response to Palestinian Media Watch's exposure of UNDP's sponsorship of a tournament named after terrorist Abu Jihad who was responsible for killing at least 125 people, the UNDP issued a statement the day of PMW's report, denying UNDP's sponsorship:
Regrettably, in its entire statement the UNDP did not condemn the glorification of terrorist Abu Jihad, responsible for years of PLO terror, nor did it condemn its name being associated with the terrorist, nor did it condemn in general the Palestinian practice of glorifying terrorists as role models of Palestinian society.

Indeed, in the whole statement, the UNDP, though clearly responding to PMW's documentation, did not once repeat the name of the "Prince of Martyrs Abu Jihad Football Tournament" that the media reported it had sponsored, but only referred to the Ansar Al-Quds Club that held the tournament. The UNDP was quick to deny its own involvement in the unidentified "activity in question," asserting that "the UNDP logo... was used without any prior authorization" and that "the UNDP is asking the club, with immediate effect, to withdraw the UNDP logo from all public material, and not to use its logo for any events or activities, without its prior, explicit authorization."

UNDP's logo displayed at the tournament that glorified terrorist Abu Jihad [Ma'an, April 27, 2013]

It is unfortunate that the UN openly operates in this environment of continuous terror glorification but does not condemn it, even when the UN's own name is associated with it. Indeed, according to its statement it was UNDP money that funded the club team with "a grant of USD 25,000, to finance the training and equipment of a soccer team for the club."

Is it not a UN condition in its funding of sports clubs, that the clubs not use any part of their budget to glorify terrorists?

UNDP's last part of its statement, in which it assures that "UNDP will continue to make every effort to ensure due diligence on all beneficiaries of grants," is incongruous since it allows the club it funds to glorify terrorists. If UNDP pays for the equipment and the training but quietly looks the other way when terrorists are turned into heroes and role models, its claim of "due diligence on all beneficiaries of grants" seems odd.

In 2011, PMW documented a similar case of association of the UN with terror glorification. The Palestinian youth center Al-Amari named a football tournament after the first Palestinian female suicide bomber, Wafa Idris, who killed one and injured more than 100 in 2002. The announcement included UNRWA's logo as part of the Al-Amari center's logo, suggesting UNRWA's sponsorship. Following PMW's exposure, UNRWA then as well denied that it was involved.

PMW documents terror glorification in the PA.
PMW documents foreign sponsors' involvement in PA terror and hate promotion.

The following is UNDP's official response to the tournament named after terrorist Abu Jihad: