UN INTERNAL OVERSIGHT OPENS NEW INVESTIGATIONS OFFICE IN VIENNA

UN INTERNAL OVERSIGHT OPENS NEW INVESTIGATIONS OFFICE IN VIENNA

NEW YORK, 15 September (OIOS) -- The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) will open an office of its Investigations Division at the Vienna International Centre today, 15 September.  The opening of the new office will be marked by a ceremony attended by the Foreign Minister of Austria, Benita Ferrero Waldner, and the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Dileep Nair.  The Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Antonio Maria Costa, who is hosting the event, will deliver opening remarks.

“The decision to relocate parts of the Investigations Division, while maintaining a small staff at United Nations Headquarters in New York, was based on strategic considerations as well as on the reality of resource constraints”, Under-Secretary-General Dileep Nair said.  “Among other advantages is the fact that the OIOS’ presence in Vienna enables it to operate in the same or similar time zones as its clients, and the move will allow the OIOS to save travel time and gain substantial cost savings”, he said.  Approximately 90 per cent of cases investigated by the OIOS are located away from United Nations Headquarters.

The choice of Vienna as a location for the Office was also made to achieve enhanced synergies between the work of the Investigations Division and the UNODC, especially in the field of anti-corruption and organized crime.  “I am particularly pleased at the opening of an OIOS office here as it will provide the UNODC with an opportunity to work more closely with OIOS colleagues on areas of common interest –- particularly tackling corruption, organized crime and money laundering”, Director-General Antonio Maria Costa stated.

The OIOS Investigations Office in Vienna will also house one of the two regional hubs (the other being Nairobi) for regional investigators who work on investigative matters in peacekeeping missions.  The two regional hubs were created in June to achieve better operational use of investigative resources.  The Office in Vienna will be headed by Francis Montil, Deputy Director of the Investigations Division, who will be assisted by Mark Gough, Senior Investigator of the Investigations Division.

To learn more about the OIOS, its mission and mandate, visit the Web site at http://www.un.org/depts/oios/index.html

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