UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Statement by Mr David Dutton, First Secretary, Australian Mission to the United Nations on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand 

Fifth Committee Statement 

Item 119 and 130: Reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services

New York 23 October 2003

Mr Chairman,

I am pleased to speak on behalf of Canada, New Zealand and Australia. This morning, we wish to address four of the five reports introduced under items 119 and 130 of the agenda in a single statement.

First, our thanks go to Under Secretary-General Nair for the introduction of these reports.

In the past year, it has again been evident that OIOS is an indispensible agent for reforming the Organisation. The work of the OIOS is helping to create a culture in the UN that values accountability, responsible management, the effective use of resources, performance and results.

We wish to address three initiatives of the OIOS identified in its annual report (A/58/364).

First, the ‘organisational integrity initiative’ is a welcome innovation. We wholeheartedly agree that high standards of integrity and ethics are crucial ingredients for strengthening the Organisation. We urge the Secretary-General and OIOS to ensure that ethical standards are clearly defined, that all staff receive appropriate training, and that effective systems exist for preventing fraud and misconduct. When problems do arise, there needs to be appropriate means for reporting and investigating allegations, and ensuring accountability.

Second, our delegations welcome the work of the OIOS towards strengthening results-based management. The most important dimension of the results approach, that is steadily evolving in the UN, is the cultural shift from management that focuses on outputs to management that focuses on results. We appreciate the efforts of OIOS to assist programme managers to make this transition and to systematically evaluate the results their programmes achieve.

And, third, we are also impressed with the development of a risk framework that will guide the work programme and resource allocation of OIOS. This seems to be a sensible way of deriving best use from limited resources.
Mr Chairman,

The Committee has considered many reports from the OIOS over the past year that are mentioned in the annual report. However, I wish to draw out a few specific issues.

We are concerned by the observation in paragraph 26 of the report that UNHCR in Nairobi has not yet introduced an effective system for receiving and investigating complaints made by refugees. OIOS also states that the current system of refugee registration remains susceptible to fraud. We would appreciate further information as to this situation.

Our delegations also remain very interested in the UN’s response to General Assembly resolution 57/306 on the sexual exploitation of refugees. The United Nations has special responsibilities to protect vulnerable people within its care from sexual abuse. The recent publication of Secretary-General’s Bulletin 2003/13 is a welcome step. We will return to this issue when the report requested in 57/306 is submitted to the Committee.

We also wish to express our concern at the situations described in paragraphs 117-19 of the report. We would appreciate an explanation from the UN Office at Nairobi as to why the recommendations of OIOS have been rejected. We would also appreciate clarification of the application of the procurement rules in the relevant duty station.

Mr Chairman,

I wish to now turn to the OIOS report on UN information centres (A/57/747). The report shows clearly that the information centres – as presently constituted and operated ˇ– do not produce results commensurate with their costs. We agree fully that there needs to be ‘an urgent rethinking of the concept of the UN information centres in terms of usefulness and continued relevance’.

As the Committee knows, the Department of Public Information has begun to do this. We appreciate his decision to proceed with closing several centres in Western Europe and to open a new regional hub. It makes good sense to start in high-cost, developed countries, which have the most advanced communications technologies.

However, this cannot be the end of the process, since there are serious shortcomings in the whole network of centres. Regionalisation is one model for reforming the centres, and giving them new usefulness and relevance. But, there are other models too, and the OIOS has pointed some out. The essential point for our delegations is that we cannot continue to fund activity that has been shown to be unproductive and outdated. We will return to this issue in discussions on the budget.

Mr Chairman,

Next, I wish to say a few words on the report on duplication and complexity in administrative processes. Our delegations remain concerned about the excessive size and cost of administration in many parts of the Organisation. This report tells us that too many administrative processes are inefficient, that the full advantages of IT investment are not being realised, and that there is scope to use delegation of authority to cut duplication in executive offices.

We urge the Secretary-General to take steps to improve the productivity of administrative functions, including through implementation of the recommendations of the OIOS. We expect IT investment to lead to demonstrable improvements. We will, of course, also return to these issues in the budget discussion.

Mr Chairman,

Finally, allow me to mention the report of the audit of the investment management service of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund. The audit revealed serious weaknesses in the internal control system of the investment management service that expose the Fund – and the staff who rely on the Fund during their retirement – to unwarranted risks.

Our delegations are concerned at the findings of the OIOS, but are pleased that its recommendations have been accepted. We urge the Secretary-General to take steps quickly to remedy the deficiencies identifed by the OIOS. We trust that OIOS will continue to monitor this situation, along with many others.

Thankyou.