Summary: March 15, 2004: Statement by Ms. Margaret Stanley, Second Secretary, on behalf of the European Union, on Item 119, Strengthening the Investigation Functions of the United Nations (New York)
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 Stabilization and Association Process Countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway,
declare that they align themselves with this statement.
The EU would like to thank Under-Secretary General Dileep Nair for his presentation of the report of the Office of Internal Oversight Services on strengthening the investigation functions in the United Nations.
We are grateful to the OIOS for the valuable and indispensable work they perform and fully recognise how overburdened they are in the field of investigations.
Within the United Nations system an effective and strong investigations function is an important tool to ensure the protection of UN property and staff against misuse and abuse, effective management practices and procedures and the sanctioning of illegal activity and misconduct.
The European Union attaches great importance to the concept of independent investigation in matters of criminal activity, sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct. Disciplinary action and criminal prosecution must be pursued wherever warranted in order to hold individuals accountable and to give a clear message to all staff members that misconduct will not be tolerated.
Transparency about the rules governing staff conduct and a serious commitment to apply appropriate disciplinary procedures or, when necessary, to seek legal prosecution, would in our view be a major deterrent and would in due course lead to a marked decrease in the number of cases that require investigation. Good management practices are key to keeping illegal or improper conduct to a minimum.
The organisational integrity initiative launched in May 2003 is an important step in promoting a culture of integrity and ethics within the UN. Human resources are the Organisation's most valuable asset. It is therefore in the interests of the Organisation and Member States that each member of staff be committed to maintaining high ethical standards.
The EU also attaches importance to resolving differences of opinion where OIOS investigation conclusions are contested by programme managers. Such differences should be resolved by senior management and should not result in a decision to take no action.
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union welcomes the recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, which call for increased basic investigative training for programme managers, for the development of written procedures for the proper conduct of investigations and for the promotion of the independent investigation function within the UN system.
However, the recommendation of the Office of Internal Oversight Services to divide incidents to be investigated into two categories is a point of concern for the European Union.
While category I lists a number of high-risk incidents that require independent investigation, category II encompasses so-called low-risk incidents, which would be investigated internally by the programme manager.
The EU has serious concerns that the interpretation as to which category an alleged offence might fall could be subject to a conflict of interest on the part of the programme manager.
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union therefore suggests to give consideration to setting up a system whereby all suspected cases of illegal or irregular behaviour should be reported to the OIOS and the Human Resources Department, who could then, in consultation t with the programme managers, determine the most appropriate means of investigation according to the nature of the case.
Such a system of mandatory reporting and record-keeping will not only minimise conflicts of interest but will assist in the development of strategies to address patterns of misconduct at a system-wide level.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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