EU Presidency Statement - SG report on Office of Internal Oversight Services

Mr. Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The acceding countries-Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia-the associated countries-Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey-and the EFTA countries belonging to the European Economic Area-Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway-have aligned themselves with this statement.

Mr. Chairman,

Let me first of all thank the Under-Secretary General, Mr. Dileep Nair, for his presentation and for the work undertaken by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The E.U. is fully supportive of the activity of the OIOS in the framework of its mandate to further enhance the efficiency of the United Nations.

We endorse the annual report of the Office (A/58/364), covering the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. I would like to express our deep appreciation for the wide-ranging and valuable work of the OIOS. Many of the reports on specific issues, which are mentioned in the annual report, have been discussed on previous occasions. Allow me, however, to comment on a few points.

We note with appreciation the investigations conducted by the Office, which have resulted in the recovery of significant amounts of money. However, we are concerned about the large number of OIOS recommendations which have not been implemented, including many critical ones. On the other hand, the implementation of OIOS recommendations in areas such as peacekeeping or the management of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights are leading to significant improvements. These two sectors are priorities for the E.U.

The E.U. welcomes the organizational integrity initiative, launched in May 2003, as a result of cooperation between OIOS and U.N. departments, offices, funds and programmes. The E.U. attaches great importance to good governance and accountability and will follow closely the implementation of this important initiative. We also note with satisfaction the positive evaluation by OIOS on the progress made by the Office of Human Resources Management. We believe that the OIOS recommendations continue to be important guidelines in this respect.

In the area of results-based management, the E.U. fully supports the view expressed by OIOS that senior managers must continuously monitor progress towards planned objectives and the realization of expected accomplishments. The E.U. stresses that the Secretariat's capacity for self-evaluation and self-monitoring should be further enhanced and believes that the OIOS can help programme managers in this regard.

Finally, we note with appreciation that the OIOS has introduced a risk-based work-planning framework. It is our view that this will improve oversight work as well as facilitate cross-disciplinary teamwork. We support the initiatives undertaken by the Office in order to improve its effectiveness, to the benefit of the Organization.

Concerning the report on the audit of the functioning of the Headquarters Committee on Contracts (A/58/294), the E.U. expresses its appreciation for the work made by the OIOS in this area. We note with satisfaction that the management has generally concurred with the recommendations of the OIOS, while noting that one is still under discussion.

Let me finally turn to the OIOS report on the review of the structure and operations of the UN Information Centres (A/57/747). The E.U. supports the rationalization of the public information sector and, in particular, the streamlining and revitalization of the Information Centres. The Department of Public Information has already undertaken the implementation of many of the recommendations contained in the report. Allow me, at this point, to express our belief that the European Union example with closure of 9 UNICS must be followed without delay by likewise measures in other regions. The E.U. will come back to the issue of public information at the time of the introduction of the proposed budget 2004-5.

Thank you Mr. Chairman.

| Top |

• EU Presidency Statement - Review of GA Resolution 48/218B and 54/244 (OIOS) (12/10/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Office of Internal Oversight Services Report (23/10/2003)
• EU Presidency Statement - Office of Internal Oversight Services (1/10/2002)
• EU Presidency Statement - Internal Oversight Services  (15/3/2001)