IN MESSAGE TO INTERNAL AUDIT REPRESENTATIVES, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS ‘rEASONABLE

HEADWAY’ HAS BEEN MADE ON United Nations MANAGEMENT REFORM

Following is the message by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the thirty-seventh meeting of representatives of Internal Audit Services of United Nations organizations and multilateral financial institutions (RIAS) in Nairobi, delivered today by Ms. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN Office at Nairobi and UN-Habitat:

The reform of UN management -– both its structures and its practices –- has been among my main priorities as Secretary-General.  While far more needs to be done, we have made some reasonable headway over the past decade.

Today, a new Ethics Office is up and running.  New protections for whistle-blowers are in place.  We have increased the number of senior officials required to submit financial disclosure statements.  And to increase transparency, we have introduced a new policy that will provide the public with clearer rules for gaining access to Secretariat documentation, including internal oversight reports, which are now available to Member States upon request.

In the area of accountability, I created a Management Performance Board and a Management Committee.  We are also committed to strengthening the Office of Internal Oversight Services, and more broadly to improving oversight and governance in the entire UN system, drawing on the analysis and recommendations put forward in the recent comprehensive review by the independent steering committee.  As you know, the Member States have already agreed to one concrete measure:  the creation of an Independent Audit Advisory Committee.  The terms of reference for this body are still under debate, but I would hope that it would assist Member States in determining the adequacy and scope of the different oversight coverage, and ensure the operational and budgetary independence of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).

Improving oversight is fully consistent with the proposals made by the recent report of the panel on system-wide coherence.  I hope that those proposals will lead to new ways of doing business, more efficient and effective structures, and greater clarity with respect to responsibilities and reporting lines both at Headquarters and in the field.  All of this will have implications for your efforts; your expertise will also be needed as this process moves ahead.

Indeed, you play a critical role in the functioning of our Organization –- and indeed in the upholding of its very integrity.  You help take our institutional temperature, and propose steps that can assist the United Nations in properly fulfilling the tasks entrusted to it.  I commend your efforts to hold these meetings annually, and encourage you to continue improving coordination among UN oversight bodies.  I also thank you for your support during my tenure, and trust that you will give the same backing to my successor as he continues this vital work.

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For information media • not an official record