PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES
Press Briefing
PRESS BRIEFING BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL OVERSIGHT SERVICES
19971030
The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) had become an effective and meaningful component of the United Nations system, Karl Paschke, Under- Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, told a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.
Presenting the third annual report of the OIOS, Mr. Paschke referred correspondents to the report's preface which cited the significant impact of the Office on United Nations management culture. The recommendations of the OIOS had aimed at structural change, better management, more accountability and increased transparency.
"Because of the two aspects of our work and our presence in this Organization -- the deterrent aspect and also the proactive work that we do in partnership with management -- we have indeed increased the fiscal awareness among staff; we have contributed to the streamlining process in this Organization; we have contributed to a stricter observance of rules and regulations; we have promoted more economical solutions; and we have battled irregularities and wrongdoing", he said.
In the third year of its existence, Mr. Paschke said, the Office had saved the United Nations close to $30 million and had seen the implementation rate of its recommendations jump to more than 70 per cent. The $29.3 million saving was a very conservative estimate. It did not take into account the deterrent role of his Office, which prevented the wastage of sums even larger than that saved.
Mr. Paschke said that the creation of the OIOS, by a General Assembly consensus resolution in the summer of 1994, was a significant step in the process of reform that had become the main preoccupation of the United Nations. "My Office is very much a part of what the Secretary-General calls the 'quiet revolution' of the Organization."
He said the OIOS had become more client-oriented in its reporting and that the quality of its reports had improved due to the more stringent internal quality controls that had been developed. However, internal control weaknesses were still prevalent in the United Nations system and would be the focus of future work for his Office.
Turning to more general issues, Mr. Paschke mentioned the problems of fragmentation, which still existed; the issues of decentralization and delegation of authority, which were important in the reform of the United Nations; the rationalization of rules and regulations, which continued to be a heavy problem in the Organization; and the improved situation of horizontal communications.
Oversight Office Briefing - 2 - 30 October 1997
The Under-Secretary-General said that the relationship between his Office and many United Nations funds and programmes had developed in the past 12 months, and that the OIOS had become a partner in the enhancement of their internal oversight mechanisms, particularly of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
He said procurement remained one of the major topics of oversight activities. The OIOS had submitted a comprehensive review of outsourcing this year and had taken a close look at air charter and catering services. Ongoing efforts at procurement reform in the Department of Management had been continuously monitored.
Another priority reflected in the annual report, he said, was the problems faced by the United Nations in establishing new bodies. The most conspicuous of its work in that area were its reviews of the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Asked why the OIOS did not beef up its staff, Mr. Paschke said that could only be done within the limits of budget appropriations. His Office had 12 new posts for the current budget biennium, but had only managed to recruit slowly. However, he was confident that the posts would be filled by the end of the year.
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