A blog intended to promote thoughtful discussion about the UN.
THE VOLCKER INDEPENDENT INQUIRY Committee
In April 2004, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the formation of a high-level Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) charged with conducting an inquiry into allegations of impropriety in the operation and management of the UN Oil-for-Food Program. The Committee is chaired by the respected former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Paul Volcker. Its other two members are Justice Richard Goldstone of South Africa, who previously served as the Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and Mark Pieth of Switzerland, a Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at the University of Basel with expertise in money-laundering.
Chairman Volcker announced the appointment of the Committee’s senior staff in June 2004. The staff includes a former Canadian deputy foreign minister, a respected Swiss judge, former U.S. prosecutors, attorneys and investigators, all of whom contribute an unparalleled breadth of experience.
To ensure that the Committee can conduct a full and thorough investigation, the following steps have been implemented:
- Unrestricted access to all relevant documents. The Committee has immediate and unrestricted access to all relevant documents under the UN’s control. Because many of the documents and contracts contain confidential information about private companies and to assure the credibility of the investigation, all UN agencies, funds and programs which were involved in Oil-for-Food contracts have been advised not to disclose information to any parties outside of the high-level Committee.
- Agreement on access to records. The Committee has reached an agreement with U.S. and Iraqi authorities with regard to access to OFFP records in Baghdad. The Committee will access the records through the international accounting firm of Ernst and Young LLP, which was retained by the Iraqi and U.S. authorities to organize Iraqi records related to OFFP.
- UN Member States pledge cooperation. Security Council Resolution 1538 was approved on April 21, 2004 with unanimous support pledging the full cooperation of Member States in the investigation.
- UN personnel instructed to cooperate. The Secretary-General instructed all UN staff to cooperate fully with the Committee’s investigation as a condition of employment. The Secretary-General has stated that UN personnel who do not fully cooperate with the Committee will face disciplinary action and possible dismissal.
- Protection for whistleblowers. Whistleblower protection is available to protect officials and personnel, as appropriate, from improper repercussions resulting from their cooperation with the inquiry.
- Funds to begin work. The UN has so far provided the IIC with the funding it has requested for its inquiry. This includes $4 million in start-up costs and $30 million requested for the investigation itself. In light of the longer-than-expected investigation, the IIC on June 29th requested an additional $3 million.
- Interim report and findings. So far, the IIC has issued various
interim reports detailing the progress of the investigation:
- August 9, 2004. The Committee issued a three-month update report detailing the progress it has made on the inquiry.
- October 21, 2004. An update on the status of the inquiry.
- January 9, 2005. A briefing paper with observations on the UN internal audits of OFFP. IIC released all audits to the public.
- February 3, 2005. An interim report detailing findings of the inquiry into the UN's procurement process and management of the program, including findings regarding allegations of wrongdoing by the UN officials in charge of the program.
- March 29, 2005. An interim report on the award of the humanitarian goods inspection contract to Cotecna Inspection S.A. focusing on any violation of established UN financial and procurement regulations, any conflict of interest on the part of the Secretary-General, and/or any improper intervention by persons other than the Secretary-General that might have taken place.
- Future Reports. An additional interim report is expected in July and comprehensive report is due in August. There may also be one in late September 2005 that deals with companies that received contracts under the Program.