UNITED NATIONS, July 28 (Xinhua) — Angela Kane, the UN under- secretary-general for management, on Wednesday issued a rebuttal in response to attacks on Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s accountability that have emerged due to a scathing report by an outgoing internal oversight official.
Kane asserted that there were “many inaccuracies, misrepresentation, and distortions” in the end-of-assignment report filed by Inga Britt-Ahlenius of Sweden, former UN under- secretary-general for the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the group charged with carrying out internal audits of the UN and rooting out corruption in the global organization.
The rebuttal statement from Kane came as the General Assembly approved Ahlenius’ replacement, Carman Lapointe-Young of Canada on Wednesday. The approval of Lapointe-Young came despite considerable objections from some member states who would have preferred a candidate from the global South.
Kane firmly opposed Ahlenius’ accusations in her incendiary report that the secretary-general undermined her ability to hire her own staff at the most senior level, thus restricting the independence of the OIOS.
“A formal review mechanism, established to ensure the integrity of the recruitment process, found that Ms. Ahlenius did not comply with established UN rules and policies and noted further that she failed to rectify these basic shortcomings despite repeated requests,” Kane said.
The rules and policies that Ahlenius complained of in her report dictate that a female candidate must be on the shortlist for all senior level jobs at the UN in order to achieve “true gender balance” and that senior level hires are subject to a UN review mechanism.
“Review mechanisms and established rules are no end in themselves but key building blocks in the system of Organizational accountability,” Kane stated.
Kane pointed out that despite Ahlenius’ ability to hire lower level staff members for OIOS, Ahlenius left 76 vacant positions at this level when her term ended on July 16.
Kane also refuted another claim by Ahlenius in her report that Ban attempted to create an additional investigative organization that would undermine the authority of the OIOS.
“As part of his reform agenda, the secretary-general is engaging with member states on how to strengthen UN investigations, ” Kane said.
However, she stressed that these efforts do not amount to a takeover of the OIOS and its functions, and that Ban supports bolstering the group’s Investigative Division for the sake of building more accountability and transparency at the UN.
Lapointe-Young, who formerly served as auditor general for the World Bank, will face numerous challenges as Ahlenius’ successor.
“The new chief will be expected to build up the OIOS team, filling vacancies and taking on responsibilities of the department that in recent years have unfortunately gone unmet,” Kane said. ” The staff of OIOS have been working under difficult circumstances and we are all committed to taking action that will help the Office carry out its work.”
Less developed countries, such as members of the diplomatic African Group, approved Lapointe-Young’s appointment in the General Assembly but also voiced their concerns that she was the third out of four under-secretary-generals of OIOS that came from the more developed countries of the “North.”
Egypt, the current chair of the African Group, criticized Ban’s hiring choice at the General Assembly on Wednesday.
“This, in our view does not fulfill the principle of geographical rotation stipulated in the resolution establishing the OIOS in particular and the standing practice in the United Nations at large,” the Egyptian delegate said. “In this regard the African Group, which is underprivileged and underrepresented in the senior positions within the UN, believed to have a strong claim to that position.”
Egypt asked Ban to “look into ways and means to correct the current imbalance in the near future.”
