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UN Performance Problems UN Management Accountability Struggles Where is the Rule of Law? Inadequate UN Oversight Recent Developments
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Overview
of IO Watch Archive Quotes III 2005-June 2006 148. "[The
Volcker preliminary report]
has sharply criticized the United Nations
for insufficiently auditing operations [of the oil-for-food program,
especially]
at its New York headquarters.
Oil
contracts were not examined [closely]
despite the fact that UN officials
had contract-approval responsibilities.' Even where
audits of the programme were done, there was often no follow-up.
The UN has
explained many of the programme's problems in terms of political games
between powerful countries, but the audits reveal that the UN secretariat
itself failed to exert necessary oversight. The report
said more comprehensive monitoring could have deterred the surcharge
scheme on Iraqi oil contracts,
as well as undercutting the Iraqi
government's kickback scheme for goods purchases.
" Mark Turner, "UN criticized by Iraq
oil-for-food inquiry", Financial Times (UK), January 11,
2005.
149. "The
resignation of Ruud Lubbers
over allegations of sexually inappropriate
behaviour brought sighs of relief yesterday from UN officials in New
York. After allegations surfaced last
year, Mr. Lubbers mounted a vigorous defence. Mr. Annan chose to issue a stern
warning but take no further action.
Since then, the UN has struggled to convince an increasingly
skeptical audience that it is serious about addressing mismanagement.
{It is clear that]
something of
a revolution is also needed. For a start, [UN senior officials]
believe that the UN can no longer hand out 'jobs for the boys' behind closed doors.
According to [an adviser to Mr.
Annan], the UN faces 'a real crisis
an architectural crisis.' The next seven months will
determine whether the edifice can be refurbished or comes crashing
down." Mark Turner, "UN reformists see opportunity for change as Lubbers leaves", Financial Times (UK), February 22, 2005.
150.
"
There is a culture of secrecy that characterizes not only the World Bank,
but most of the vital international organizations -- including the United
Nations. Unless these public
entities establish independent oversight, external auditing of managerial
and financial controls and safe channels for reporting wrongdoing,
scandalous harm will continue to weaken them and only compound the grief
suffered by the billions of needy people they are mandated to
serve." Melanie Beth Oliviero, "More transparency",
International Herald Tribune, February 26-27, 2005. [Note: Ms. Oliviero is
International Program Director of the Government Accountability Project,
at www.whistleblower.org.]
151. "
The issues raised in the
[Secretary-General's October 2004 report on internal justice] had been
raised by the [ACABQ] as far back as 1985.
The problems alluded to had
persisted over many years
The Committee takes this matter very seriously
as it has a significant impact on staff morale and productivity as well as
[organizational efficiency] and could also have a significant financial
impact.
The Committee regrets that the
[report was late and
unresponsive]
The Committee has consistently
maintained over the years that the problems besetting the administration
of justice
involve much more than a perceived lack of resources; indeed,
at the core of the matter lie
difficulties with administrative processes and procedures and the culture
of staff-management relations. The Committee is once again
prepared to look into this matter comprehensively.
[It trusts that}
information
will also be made available on how
[the General Assembly's 2003 request
to link] the administration of justice and personal responsibility and
accountability [is] being met." "Administration of justice in the Secretariat: Interim report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions", UN document A/59/715 of 28 February 2005, paras. 3-4, 8, 10. [emphasis added]
152.
"The United Nations
has its own ways of dealing
with whistle-blowers. Mostly,
it fires them.
And although a supervisor's retaliation
for whistle-blowing is officially prohibited under U.N. rules, enforcement
comes only in the form of penalties against the offending supervisor
[Note: if at all] -- not job reinstatement for the whistle-blower.
Recent whistle-blowers interviewed
by the National Journal
suffered [the loss of their jobs.]
Would-be U.N. whistle-blowers are
on perilous ground, as they have no legal right to defend themselves. 'All they can do is complain and
say the bully should be punished' said Tom Devine, legal director of the
Government Accountability Project
The United Nations,
Devine says, provides staff with fewer rights to defend themselves than
'any other government agency I've encountered, either on the national or
the international level." Corine Hegland, "Whistle-blowing at the United Nations", National Journal (US), March 12, 2005.
153. "I recall
the day in 1960 when the UN took charge of the Congo
[crisis because
'world opinion' deemed it]
the only body with 'clean hands.' Ideally the UN, foreshadowing a
future world government, ought to be run by a global meritocracy -- rule
by the best. In practice, it
is the opposite. Any state that can be legally defined as one can join the
UN -- it is a club having no rules of probity or morals.
The result is failure and
graft. UN officials are not
answerable to bodies like Congress or the U.K.'s Parliament, which would
be sure to track down, expose and punish gross abuses and manifest
failures. No senior UN
official has ever gone to jail.
It's rare for anyone to be sacked or removed. The top brass resist any kind of
investigation, on principle.
The oil-for-food inquiry is unique in that it has taken place at
all and seems to be garnering results. But will any punishment be meted
out? Will any serious reforms
be pushed through? Of course
not." Paul Johnson, "The UN is for talk, not actions," Forbes (US), March 14, 2005. [Note: Mr. Johnson is an eminent British historian and author.]
154. "The United
Nations Human Rights Commission, the UN's principal forum for promoting
human rights, opens its annual six-week session today amid unprecedented
criticism of its competence and credibility. For years human rights groups have
complained of growing politicisation and double standards that have
stifled debate and allowed countries responsible for egregious abuses to
escape condemnation.
The authoritative high-level
panel on UN reform
last December said the reputation of the UN itself
was threatened by the commission's 'legitimacy deficit' and 'eroding
credibility and professionalism.' [One expert]
reckons that about
half the 53 members are there 'not to promote human rights but to
undermine them.'
If there is general agreement that
the commission is broken, there is less accord on how to fix it.
[The expert]
and others argue
that countries with the worst human rights records should not be allowed
to serve on the commission." Frances Williams, "Double standards on human rights 'undermining UN'", Financial Times (UK), March 14, 2005.
155. "The United
Nations controversial peacekeeping operation in eastern Congo has received
a further blow
[An
internal report,]
obtained by the Financial Times, charged that UN
troops had not been tough enough in defending against renegade Congolese
Army commanders
[which] threatened the shaky peace process
Among its
criticisms, the report cited poor leadership, misleading statements by the
mission and the failure of a commander to follow orders
The failure
of the mission to use force during the crisis 'smeared the mission with
the taint of impotence and cowardice', said the internally-commissioned
report, and gave the perception 'that it had again failed the Congolese
people at a critical moment.' Monuc is
the UN's most expensive peacekeeping operation, yet it has been widely
criticized for incompetence, for failing to protect civilians, and
becoming mired in sex scandals." Andrew England, "UN report accuses
peacekeepers of failing the Congolese people", Financial Times
(UK), March 23,
2005.
156. "A U.N.
report on peacekeeper sex abuse released Thursday describes the U.N.
military arm as deeply flawed and recommends withholding salaries of the
guilty and requiring nations to pursue legal action against
perpetrators. [The report] said abuses had been
reported in missions ranging from Bosnia and Kosovo to Cambodia, East
Timor, West Africa and Congo.
While allegations of abuse have dogged peacekeeping missions since
their inception 50 years ago, the issue was thrust into the spotlight
after the United Nations found [renewed problems in the Congo] earlier
this year.
[The Jordanian ambassador and
author of the report]
set 2007 as a target date to complete many of his
recommendations
"Parliaments, and especially those
legislatures of the largest contributors to the U.N. peacekeeping budget,
may feel ill at ease over continuing to extend support to peacekeeping in
the absence of any significant change,' [he]
said." "U.N. report: Peacekeeping ops troubled," Associated Press, March 24, 2005.
157.
"
When I worked in Liberia in the mid-Nineties a new [UN] chief
administrative officer [replaced the previous CAO, who was taking
kickbacks on UN procurement contracts.]
The new CAO [moved aggressively
for]
a 15 percent kickback on everything we
purchased. [He also
tried to force many]
young 'local staff' to sleep with him
I was the
human rights lawyer and these girls would come to my office in tears
[I
wrote many memos. but]
. when I visited the UN [personnel] office in New
York, they laughed at my naοve outrage: 'It happens all the time in the
field', they said. 'There is
nothing we can do.'
That CAO
had been knocking around West Africa for years, always mired in
corruption, never disciplined, always promoted and reassigned
- during
which time the head of personnel was Kofi Annan. [The CAO]
was eventually
indicted by US federal prosecutors in New York for $1.5 million of
fraudulent kickbacks
He has since died.] What kind
of leadership would tolerate this conduct 10 years ago?
Precisely the same leadership
that [has now]
permitted the oil-for-food scandal and the sex-for-food
scandal."
Kenneth Cain,
"How many more must die before Kofi quits?", The Observer (UK),
April 2, 2005.
158. "Dileep
Nair [the head of the OIOS]
will be leaving the United Nations, on April
23, ostensibly disgraced. [An interim
Volcker report accused him]
of misusing Oil-for-Food funds and violating
UN staff regulations.
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose own conduct was found to be
'inadequate', issued a charge letter against Nair
Annan said he's
'relieved' he's been 'exonerated' by the ongoing Volcker investigation.
[Further, according to
the
interim Volcker report, UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frιchette]
intervened directly
to stop United Nations auditors from forwarding
their investigations to the UN Security Council.
Frechette does not dispute she
may have intervened because audits are 'a management tool to be used only
by internal managers.'"
Marinka Peschmann, "The hell no I-won't-go
Secretary-General, the accused UN auditor and Louise", Canada Free
Press, 4 April,
2005.
159.
"Anyone who was shocked
by the most recent revelations of sexual misconduct by [UN staff has never
been]
in a U.N.-sponsored refugee camp.
The [UN] and its staff lack
accountability.
I arrived
in Sierra Leone as a legal aid worker in
2003,
one year after
Kofi
Annan issue[d] a
'zero-tolerance' policy
[But] I found abuse of a
sexual nature almost every day
In fact,
injustices of one kind or another were perpetrated by U.N. missions or
their affiliated
[NGOs] every day in the camps I visited. Corruption was the norm, in
particular the embezzlement of food and funds by NGO officials, which
often left camp resources dangerously inadequate.
In West
Africa, most of the sexual misconduct accusations are leveled against
local NGO staff members.
If the UN
is to enjoy
immunity, it
[must] police itself aggressively and
thoroughly. Yet
the message is: Cover your tracks and the United Nations
will obstruct your prosecution. After [a]
2002 report documented sexual abuse, Annan's steely resolve led to exactly
zero criminal prosecutions of U.N. officials for sexual abuse. The United Nations
needs a
housecleaning." Peter Dennis, "The UN: Preying on the weak",
washingtonpost.com,
April 12, 2005.
160. "The General Assembly
"Stressing that the system of
justice in the United Nations as a whole should be independent,
transparent, effective, efficient and fair, Stressing the importance of
increased transparency in decision-making and increased accountability of
managers for the system, Regretting that the present system of
administration of justice in the Secretariat continues to be slow,
cumbersome, and costly, 14. Notes that staff rule 112.3, which
relates to the financial liability of managers, has yet to be
implemented
" "47. Decides that the Secretary-General
shall form a panel of external and independent experts to
consider redesigning the system of administration of
justice; [49.(a)
[and]
propose a new model for resolving staff grievances
that is
independent, transparent, effective, efficient and adequately resourced
and that ensures managerial accountability;
[49c.]
while acknowledging the
uniqueness of the United Nations system, in particular the immunity of
United Nations staff from national laws and thus the lack of recourse to
national courts;
" "Administration of justice at the United Nations", General Assembly resolution 59/283 of 13 April 2005, preambular and Part I, paras. 11-12, 14, and Part IV. [emphasis added] 161. "The Advisory Committee is concerned
about the unevenness in the quality of presentation in the
[Secretary-General's reports on financing peacekeeping.] While [it] recognizes the
difficulties inherent in assembling [field] information
the ultimate
responsibility rests with Headquarters for maintaining standards with
regard to presentation, timeliness of submission, accuracy of figures and
consistency in the definition and application of
policies. The Advisory Committee notes with
concern a tendency
[by the Administration acting through peacekeeping
budgets] to introduce initiatives with policy implications, rather than
first seeking necessary guidance from the General Assembly.
Notable current examples of this
[are]
discussed at greater length below
The Committee strongly cautions
against what appears to be a less than transparent means for changing
policy
" "Report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions", UN document A/59/736 of 22 April 2005, paras. 31-32 and ff. [emphasis added]
162.
"'Unprecedented challenges' faced by the UN have shown that the world body must immediately reform'
[according to]
background information distributed prior to a press briefing by [the UN
Deputy Secretary-General.]
'The UN must take
real action now
particularly in the critical
areas of management, oversight and accountability'
'Perhaps the most obvious shortcomings identified by
the Volcker Inquiry and other crises are in the area of oversight and
accountability. The current 'control' systems for monitoring management
performance and preventing fraud and corruption are insufficient and must
be significantly enhanced,' she said." "Frιchette unveils UN reforms responding to Volcker panel's criticisms", UN News Service,17 May 2005. [emphasis added] 163. "The Famine
Early Warning Systems Network
monitors the threat of mass hunger in some
of the poorest parts of the world. FEWS Net has published an inquiry into
the world's failure to respond to food shortages in Niger and the rest of
the Sahel.
The report is entitled simply: 'What went wrong?" That is the
right question to ask. But what is surprising, and
disconcerting, is that the report was written in 1997, not 2005. This
illustrates two things: Niger's present nightmare is a recurring one; and
whatever went wrong in 1997 was not put right by 2005." "Famine relief:
Starving for the cameras", The Economist, August 20th, 2005, pp. 10-11. 164.
"Vladimir Kuznetsov, a Russian diplomat in charge
of a powerful UN budgetary oversight committee [the Advisory
Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)] was arrested by US authorities Thursday morning on
money laundering charges. The arrest deals
yet another blow to the UN ahead of this month's summit of world
leaders.
It is already braced for sharp criticism in next week's [Volcker]
report
into corruption in the oil for food programme. The [ACABQ]
recommends to the General Assembly how the UN should spend its money. Mr. Kuznetsov is
accused of conspiring with an unnamed procurement officer to
facilitate the secret payment of bribes from foreign companies seeking UN
contracts."
Mark Turner, "UN diplomat on laundering charge", Financial Times (UK), September 4, 2005. [emphasis added] [Note: See, in Google search, "Vladimir Kuznetsov ACABQ" .]
165. "The main conclusions are unambiguous. The [United Nations] requires stronger executive
leadership, thoroughgoing administrative reform, and more reliable
controls and auditing.
There was corruption within the United Nations at a
critical management point. There was exposure of important
administrative and control weaknesses
The consequences? An avoidable
loss of assistance to Iraq's population and a grievous loss of credibility
to the United Nations.
The Committee
believes: first, 'professional disciplines' at the United
Nations are weak and eroded
; second, there appears to be a pervasive culture
of responsibility avoidance and resistance to accountability; third, there
was
an absence of suitable administrative infrastructure; and fourth, there
was an absence of adequate and independent control and auditing
capacity." Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme (the "Volcker panel"), "The Management of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme", September 7, 2005, Volume I, pages 1, 9, 13. [emphasis added] [Note: This and the two following reports are available in full at http://www.iic-offp.org/ .] 166. "Based on the
evidence set forth in Chapters 1 through 5 of Volume III
the Committee finds as follows: As the Chief
Administrative Officer of the United Nations, the Secretary-General
carried oversight and management responsibilities for the entire
Secretariat.
That particularly included auditing and controls functions that had
demonstrable problems
The record amply demonstrates a number of instances
where there was a lack of support for and oversight of the Programme by
the Secretary-General. Some of the problems identified by the
Committee are: (1) [an unclear and inappropriately monitored]
delegation
to Deputy Secretary-General [Louise] Frιchette; (2) an inadequate response to and
investigation of reports of Iraqi abuses and corruption of the Programme,
above all by failing to ensure that reports of Programme violations were
brought to the attention of
the Security Council; (3) a lack of
adequately ensuring that the sanctions objective of the Programme received
appropriate attention; and (4) a failure to provide adequate oversight of
the Executive Director of the Programme, Mr. [Benon] Sevan. In sum, in light of these circumstances, the
cumulative management performance of the Secretary-General fell short of
the standards that the [UN] should strive to
maintain." Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme (the "Volcker inquiry"), "The Management of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme", September 7, 2005, Volume III, p. 185. [emphasis added]
167.
"[Assessment of programme oversight] OIOS did not have
an adequate budget to properly investigate the [Oil-for-Food Programme].
The Committee notes
that on at least three occasions OIOS [Investigations
Division] referred complaints back to
the relevant
departments to conduct their own internal inquiries.
According
to OIOS ID, complaints were regularly referred back to the entity
submitting the complaint due to the limited financial resources.
The Committee finds
several deviations from 'best practices.' [They]
included:
(a) lack of direct reporting to an independent oversight board; (b)
failure to perform risk assessments to professional
standards; and (c)
lack of budgetary independence.
OIOS ID is generally not supported and accepted
across the United Nations by both management and staff. This,
together with a lack of a whistleblower protection policy, prevents OIOS
ID from successfully carrying out its mandate." Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme (the "Volcker inquiry"), "The Management of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme", September 7, 2005, Volume IV, pp.71, 73, 77. [emphasis added] 168.
"Tomorrow's summit of world leaders teetered on the brink of fiasco
as substantive reforms promoting human rights and overhauling the UN's
top management risked being killed off by a group of developing countries
fearful of western intervention.
Diplomats said
Russia, China and some
developing countries had emasculated calls for a
smaller, more effective human rights council
Meanwhile, India
was objecting to the establishment of a new international legal principle,
the 'responsibility to protect'
and tougher language on tackling
terrorism was bogged down as some countries insisted [on a balancing
statement] asserting the right of oppressed peoples to self-determination,
a formulation that some saw as a get-out clause.
Hopes the summit
would agree to expand the Security Council died this summer when would-be
new members failed to agree a common position on such reform." Mark Turner, "UN summit faces fiasco amid threat to reforms", Financial Times (UK), September 13, 2005.
169. "This week, on
the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, world leaders met to endorse a
new statement of common aims. The main aim? To help
humanity speak with one voice. Fixing the UN
itself has been a top agenda item for years. But finding a consensus among
191 members has become vexing as more demands are made on an out-of-date
system for global group action. A move away from a
single global body to shifting networks of permanent and temporary
alliances may better reflect the historic globalizing forces in the 21st
century.
The United Nations remains ossified in the world of 1945 and the
Cold War.
It still has its uses, and another round of reform is needed. But barring
that, the alternatives to the UN are looking better and better." "Fixing the United Nations", Boston Globe, in the International Herald Tribune, September 17-18, 2005.
170. "The Fifth
Committee (Administrative and Budgetary)
[continued to discuss] the
report of the International Civil Service Commission
and the proposed
framework on new contractual arrangements within the United Nations.
Jamaica's
representative, speaking on behalf of the 'Group of 77' developing
countries and China
stated that the Group was prepared to consider the
proposed system of continuing, fixed-term and temporary contracts
but
also emphasized the importance of job security for staff members, saying
that it was vital to ensure impartiality, independence and integrity of
the staff." "UN pay and benefits review, new contract framework among issues, as budget committee debates ", UN document GA/AB/3693 of 21 October 2005.
171. "As the Fifth Committee (Administrative and
Budgetary) today continued its general debate on the budget
proposal for 2006-2007 following its introduction by Secretary-General
Kofi Annan yesterday, several speakers expressed concern over increasing extrabudgetary
funding of United Nations activity
While the budget
proposal
amounts to $3.6 billion, it
is expected that some $5.6 billion in
extrabudgetary resources will be utilized for a variety of activities
[also the regular
budget did not include]
the cost of United Nations peacekeeping
operations [nearly $8 billion from 1
July 2004 to June 30 2006, and international tribunals]
Speakers also noted
that most of the 3,019 'ineffective, obsolete and marginally useful'
outputs proposed for termination during the biennium were related to
development activities. China's
representative said that all resource appropriations
must be accompanied by reasonable justification. The Organization should
match resources with actual requirements, rein in resource growth, improve
management and use resources effectively." "Concern expressed over increasing extrabudgetary funding of UN activities ", UN document GA/AB/ 3698 of 26 October 2005, pp. 1-2. [emphasis added]
172. "[A report by Deloitte Consulting LLP, a global
accounting and consulting firm, found that] unless addressed soon, serious
oversight and safeguard deficiencies leave the United Nations procurement
system open to fraud
The report found
'a significant reliance on people [which] leaves the UN extremely
vulnerable to potential fraudulent or corrupt activity, and limits the
Organization's means to either prevent or detect such actions.' The assessment also
found weaknesses in ethics and integrity training, which were not
supported by management, along with a 'lack of urgency in response to
adverse audit findings, and unclear lines of authority and
accountability.' The report
recommends remedies for each of the adverse conditions
" "Report on UN procurement calls for better safeguard and oversight systems", UN News Service, 6 December 2005. [emphasis added] [Note: Available, at Google Search, under "Deloitte Consulting UN procurement" .] 173.
"[Secretary-General Kofi Annan at his year-end press
conference said]
The year about to end has been a
really difficult one -- from the tsunami to events in Lebanon and Darfur
and beyond.
Let us look forward to what we can and must do next year.
I hope [Member
States]
. will agree on a package of management reforms that I shall put
before them in February.
If
there's one thing I would like to hand over to my successor when I leave
office next year, it is that it should be a UN that is fit for the many
varied tasks and challenges that we are asked to take on
today." 'Transcript of press
conference by [the Secretary-General", UN document SG/SM/10280 of 21 December
2005.
174. "[A year after the South Asian tsunami disaster ]
pledges of transparency and accountability for the UN's [$1.1 billion
'flash appeal']
appear a long way from being realised. This is
primarily blamed on dueling UN bureaucracies and accounting methods plus
what in many cases appears to be institutional paranoia about disclosure
[Broad totals
exist, but]
what is harder to determine is how that money has actually
been spent, according to a two-month
investigation by the Financial Times.
The only way to
[get details on some $100 million projects] is to approach each of the 39
agencies listed in the appeal, UN officials say.
[An NGO financing
expert says, for instance] that no international standards exist for
reasonable overhead costs. And what is disclosed by aid agencies
is often 'meaningless.'
After a year spent
pledging transparency, it appears the disaster relief world has a long way
to go before it catches up with the private sector." Shawn Donnan, "Little clarity on how aid gets spent", Financial Times (UK), December 23, 2005. [emphasis added]
175. "Tasked by
world leaders at the largest summit in United Nations history with giving
new momentum to global development goals and strengthening the 60-year-old
body, the General Assembly wrapped up its 2005 substantive session
agreeing on two landmark decisions: to establish a new Peacebuilding
Commission
and to launch a new standby relief fund that will provide
instant cash in the wake of natural disasters.
Those decisions
cap what Secretary-General Kofi Annan has described as a 'difficult year'
for the United Nations
Left pending,
however, were the more nettlesome Summit proposals, with decisions on the
creation of an upgraded Human Rights Council, completion of negotiations
on an anti-terrorism convention and a plan to increase oversight of United
Nations activities, all delayed, so far, until next year. The Assembly
also pledged to continue the search for
[an expanded] Security Council
" " 60th General Assembly takes first steps toward major UN reform ", UN document GA/10444 of 27 December 2005.
176. "On the first
anniversary of the
[South Asian tsunami, the media emphasized that]
we
are powerless in the face of natural disasters.
[However,]
governments and international organizations should start paying serious
attention to
disaster preparedness.
Disaster prevention
programs might seem to be luxuries for impoverished countries. But
according to the Tearfund, a British development group,
every dollar
spent on prevention
[can save] a further $4 to $10 on relief and
reconstruction. Developing
countries are by far the hardest hit
Of more than two million people
killed in natural disasters in the last 20 years, 98 percent were from
poor countries.
[An Earth Institute
expert recently wrote that]
"With natural hazard cycles repeating
themselves every few years, developing countries find themselves in a
vicious cycle of loss and recovery
The international community [should]
manage disaster risk as an integral part of development planning rather
than only as a humanitarian issue. What are we waiting
for?" Anders Wijkman, "We can
minimize natural disasters", International Herald
Tribune, December 31, 2005-January 1, 2006. 177. "The United Nations is conducting some 200
investigations into its procurement activities and has placed eight
officials on special leave
[The UN's top
manager] said a just-completed report of the UN's internal watchdog [the
OIOS] raised 'a number of serious allegations and concerns' about UN
procurement.
He outlined steps
the Organization has taken to improve its procurement practices, including
providing more resources to OIOS so that it can undertake a wider
investigation of the UN's spending on supplies and services.
He repeatedly
thanked 'the courageous men and women of the United Nations who have
continued to come forward to report fraud.'
'We are
ferreting out corruption and fraud where it existed and where it exists,'
he stated.
[Audit excerpts] described systemic failures 'The design
and maintenance of controls
were insufficient'
'Important
controls were lacking while existing ones were often
bypassed.'" "UN announces over 200 procurement investigations and puts 8 staff on leave", UN Secretariat News Service, 23 January 2006. [emphasis added]
178. "In a sense, the alleged irregularities in peacekeeping
procurement [recently reported], involving possible waste and fraud of up
to $300 [million], do more damage to the UN's reputation than the larger
abuse of the UN oil-for-food programme for Iraq.
The UN
Secretariat could rightly put some of the blame on the Security Council
[in oil-for-food]
The secretariat has no such plausible scapegoat in its
mismanagement of peacekeeping procurement." "UNcovering waste: The world's peacekeeping requires better bookkeeping", Financial Times (UK), January 26, 2006. [emphasis added] [Note: Many other articles are emerging on this topic, see under Google Search, "UN procurement scandal".]
179.
"Governments are violating the human rights of their own citizens
as tsunami survivors endure discrimination, inadequate housing and
assaults one year after the tragedy swept through Southeast Asia, [says] a
study released today
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