General Assembly Managing change Accountability and oversight 325. In its fifth year of existence, the Office of Internal Oversight Services has continued to
strive for increased management accountability within the Organization. During this period, a
culture of internal oversight has become accepted and strengthened, and the working methods
of the Office have become well established. 326. The Office of Internal Oversight Services has developed a number of mechanisms for
enhancing internal oversight of separately administered organs. It has concluded memoranda
of understanding for the provision of internal audit services with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO
and the United Nations Compensation Commission. Audit services are also provided to the
United Nations International Drug Control Programme and the United Nations Joint Staff
Pension Fund. These arrangements have operated for several years and reflect the
commitment of the Office to promoting sound management and accountability throughout the
United Nations system. 327. The Fifth Committee of the General Assembly and the Committee for Programme and
Coordination have taken an increasing interest in the work of the Office for Internal Oversight
Services. The number of reports published by the Office has increased each year, more than
50 per cent being in response to mandates from the General Assembly. 328. In 1999, the Office for Internal Oversight Services has looked in particular at
peacekeeping operations, humanitarian and other field-related activities, as well as the
progress achieved in the Secretariat and its overseas offices in preparing information
technology systems for the year 2000. Special emphasis was given to monitoring the progress
of implementing United Nations reform, particularly in human resources management and
other support services. Audit and management consulting 329. During the past year, the Audit and Management Consulting Division of the Office for
Internal Oversight Services conducted audits of various Secretariat activities, including
administrative support, peacekeeping missions and technical cooperation projects; the United
Nations Offices at Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna; the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator
in Iraq; the field operation in Rwanda of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights; the United Nations International Drug Control Programme projects in
China, Thailand and the Netherlands Antilles; the Centre for International Crime Prevention
and its International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council; UNEP and its Regional
Office for West Asia and Regional Coordination Unit for East Asian Seas; the Fukuoka and
Rio de Janeiro offices of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat); the
United Nations Compensation Commission; and the International Tribunals for the Former
Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Audits were also conducted at the Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia, the secretariat of the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean and its subregional headquarters for the Caribbean, the Economic
Commission for Africa and the Economic Commission for Europe. 330. Peacekeeping operations and other field activities continued to receive priority. The
Audit and Management Consulting Division conducted audits of peacekeeping missions in
Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eastern Slavonia, Haiti, Israel, Lebanon, and the Syrian
Arab Republic and the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy. In addition, the
Division has assigned resident auditors to the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola and the Office of the
Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq. 331. The UNHCR Section of the Division audited UNHCR field operations in 20 countries.
These audits, which also covered implementing partners, including government agencies and
local and international non-governmental organizations, have contributed to improved
internal controls and financial reporting. The Section paid particular attention to procurement
to ensure that this was fair and transparent, even under emergency conditions. 332. Recognizing the need to make the United Nations computer system Y2K compliant, the
Audit and Management Consulting Division participated as an ex officio member of the
Headquarters year 2000 implementation team. It also conducted a major campaign to raise
awareness at offices outside Headquarters by sending year 2000 questionnaires and follow-up
reports to 22 offices, programmes and regional commissions around the world. The Division
also conducted information technology audits of the United Nations Office at Nairobi and the
International Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, and undertook a special
consultancy to assist the International Computing Centre at Geneva in assessing the adequacy,
timeliness and completeness of its planning and preparations for meeting the year 2000
problem. 333. The Office of Internal Oversight Services submitted the results of several audits and
reviews to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session, including those of the United
Nations health insurance programme, the employment of retirees, the increase in costs of the
development contract for the Integrated Management Information System, and the review of
procurement-related arbitration cases. Evaluation 334. The Office of Internal Oversight Services reviewed the support given by the Department
for Disarmament Affairs to international disarmament bodies, namely, the First Committee of
the General Assembly, the Disarmament Commission and the Conference on Disarmament.
The Office found that delegations were generally satisfied with the level of support provided
by the Department to multilateral bodies. The evaluation did however identify a number of
shortcomings related to the activities of the regional centres; the United Nations Disarmament
Information Programme; technical information provided to Member States; cooperation with
regional organizations; and development of contacts with specialized agencies, research
bodies and non-governmental institutions. 335. The Office of Internal Oversight Services assessed the achievements of the United
Nations electoral assistance programme from 1992 to 1998. The final report focused on (a)
the role of the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs in the
context of the changing nature of the electoral assistance network, and international norms
and codes of practice; (b) overlapping roles and responsibilities in the area of electoral
assistance among units and organizations of the United Nations system; (c) internal and
external assessments of the Electoral Assistance Division's major activities; and (d) the
adequacy of existing standard operating procedures and lessons learned processes. 336. The Office of Internal Oversight Services also conducted triennial reviews of the
implementation of the recommendations made by the Committee for Programme and
Coordination at its thirty-sixth session on the evaluation of the Department of Public
Information and of the termination phase of peacekeeping operations. The review of the
Department of Public Information found that the Department was acting on a number of the
Committee's recommendations: it was using traditional media, such as radio, and new
electronic media more actively, and it was developing a more effective news-gathering and
delivery system. However, progress was uneven and the effect of measures adopted in 1997
and 1998 -- following the reorientation of United Nations public information activities --
will have to be reviewed again later. 337. The review of peacekeeping operations found that the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations has made significant advances in learning lessons from past experience, in
collaborating with the Department of Public Information on the information aspects of
peacekeeping missions, and in closing down missions. However, there was little progress on
establishing an indexed archive of standard operating procedures developed by completed
missions. The Office will keep this issue under review. Inspection and monitoring 338. In response to concerns raised by the Committee for Programme and Coordination at its
thirty-eighth session on the need to place more emphasis on qualitative analysis in future
programme assessments, the Office prepared a report on ways in which the full
implementation and the quality of mandated programmes and activities could be ensured and
could be better assessed by and reported to Member States. Three options were proposed,
which were considered by the Committee at its thirty-ninth session. The Committee requested
me further to explore ways in which the full implementation of mandates could be ensured
and better assessed, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 53/207, and to report on
this matter to the Committee at its fortieth session. 339. Progress in building up the provision of common services, and improving the efficiency
of support services in New York, Geneva and Vienna in the areas identified in the programme
for reform was also reviewed during the past year. The review revealed that the reform
process had provided new impetus to improve cost-effectiveness through the expansion of
common services. In its inspection report, the Office of Internal Oversight Services
recommended measures to enhance central support services, and to remove barriers to the
expansion of common services, such as distrust, "turf" protection and the lack of
communication among heads of organizations. It also stressed the need for Member States to
support fully the strengthening of common services. Investigations 340. The Investigations Section of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, based in New
York and Nairobi, continued to promote the principle of accountability by recommending that
staff and contractors be held responsible for violations of United Nations rules and criminal
acts perpetrated against the Organization. As provided by its mandate, the Section was
involved in a range of inquiries. In 1999, the Section investigated allegations of corruption,
examined partnerships with the private sector and completed its first investigation at a
regional commission. The Section also worked with national law enforcement agencies to
help bring before the courts those who had committed criminal acts against the Organization.
One case involved the theft of $400,000 worth of United Nations property by a contractor to a
peacekeeping mission. Another involved fraudulent travel expenses in a peacekeeping
mission amounting to an estimated $1.2 million. 341. The Section investigated allegations of corruption in a major programme's field office.
The investigation concluded that the evidence did not support the allegations. However, the
Section recommended that the programme's management establish policies and procedures
for investigating allegations impartially, expeditiously and transparently. This case
represented a major step in the Organization's determination to enforce high ethical and legal
standards in its commercial dealings with outside entities. 342. Following reports of the illegal export and improper retention of intellectual property by
those associated with another programme's project, the Section examined United
Nations/private sector partnerships involving electronic commerce. The investigation
uncovered extensive solicitations of funds and unauthorized commercial agreements between
United Nations staff and private individuals and companies. It also uncovered private sector
interests in a United Nations-sponsored programme providing technical assistance to
economically disadvantaged countries. The Office of Internal Oversight Services made
recommendations to remedy these abuses and for tighter controls on private sector
partnerships. The Senior Management Group has now formally taken up this question. 343. A review, conducted jointly with the Audit and Management Consulting Division, of the
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia disclosed that the three organs of the
Tribunal -- the Chambers, the Office of the Prosecutor, and the Registry -- were generally
managed in an efficient and effective manner. The review recommended improvements in
some key administrative and financial areas, however. A report has been submitted to the
General Assembly. 344. The Investigations Section also conducted proactive investigations throughout the
Organization examining the potential for fraud and made recommendations to combat this.
The investigations focused on staff entitlements, such as education and security grants, which
are susceptible to abuse.
Official Records
Fifty-fourth Session
Supplement No. 1 (A/54/1) Chapter VI