Promoting Accountability

One of the most widely supported reforms to the United Nations has been the reconsideration of management and accountability. The scandals that have covered front pages of newspapers around the world have hit too close to home for many, and have fueled increasing criticism.

The mismanagement of the Oil-for-Food program has perhaps garnered the most attention. Questions about oversight by and accountability of senior management, as well as corruption and misconducts, have arisen.

In response to scrutiny, the secretary-general appointed an independent committee, headed by Paul Volcker, which was charged with investigating the allegations made against program administrators. The Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme released a second interim report in February 2005 that addressed mismanagement and made recommendations about how other programs can avoid such indiscretions. The third and final report was released in September 2005. In May the United Nations unveiled a series of potential reforms responding to Volcker's early critiques.

Charges of sexual misconduct have also plagued the United Nations, charges that focus particularly strongly on UN peacekeepers. Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, the Jordanian ambassador to the United Nations led an investigation of these issues and they have been addressed at a Peacekeeping Special Committee meeting. Finding evidence to prove numerous instances of misconduct, the General Assembly is considering a proposal that would grant the United Nations more power to hold peacekeepers accountable for their behavior and create a code of conduct that could be enforced in all peacekeeping missions.

It is an ambitious but necessary agenda. Only by addressing these concerns can governments come together at the United Nations, respect one another, and address security constructively.

Because of the series of indiscretions that have plagued the United Nations, resolving the problems has become a top priority of reform and recommendations are being presented to the General Assembly. Among the suggested reforms: strengthening the Office of Internal Oversight Services, expanding financial disclosure procedures for senior officials, and providing additional resources and powers to the United Nations to investigate accusations.