Staff responsible for billions of dollars in contracts are not scrutinised by a United Nations programme that monitors conflicts of interest, a recent audit from the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS) found.
The loophole is one of many findings included in the audit of the Financial Disclosure Programme, an ethics scheme that requires some staff - but not all - to declare their financial interests to avoid possible conflicts.
The audit found that some staff, across a range of agencies and departments that manage more than $10 billion in contracts and grants, are not mandated to take part in the financial disclosure programme - even if they are directly involved with contracts and are categorised as “high risk” of conflicts of interest.
This loophole includes a majority of staff who approve grants or manage large trust funds with the UN’s humanitarian aid coordination arm, OCHA, and its human rights office, OHCHR, the audit said. In addition, technical experts and contract managers in two other bodies - the Office of Supply Chain Management and the Office of Information and Communications Technology - were not required to participate in the disclosure programme, even though their departments handled some $7.39 billion in active contracts in 2022.
16 сен 2024
