March 31, 2005
U.N. Reveals Accusations Against Official
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 


Filed at 7:46 p.m. ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations launched disciplinary action Thursday against the U.N. official responsible for upholding the integrity of the world body after he was accused of violating regulations that cover integrity and competence, a U.N. spokesman said Thursday.
The allegations against Dileep Nair, head of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, were first detailed in a report released Tuesday by an independent committee probing allegations of misconduct in the now-defunct oil-for-food program in Iraq.
The report found that Nair had paid an employee with money from the $64 billion program although the staffer's work was not directly involved in the troubled plan that allowed Iraq to sell oil and use the proceeds to buy food and other humanitarian goods.
The U.N. accusations were filed Wednesday and Nair has seven days to respond, spokesman Fred Eckhard said. He could face discipline within the United Nations, but no criminal punishment.
Nair refused to discuss the charges Thursday and referred all questions to Eckhard's office. On Tuesday, he had denied the allegations, claiming he had approval for the hiring move from the U.N. controller.
Nair also claimed then that it was ``factually incorrect'' to say the employee, Tay Keong Tan, did little work on oil-for-food.
Nair is the third U.N. official to be accused of violating staff rules in connection with the oil-for-food investigation, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Former oil-for-food chief Benon Sevan and Joseph Stephanides, head of the U.N. Security Council Affairs Division, have also been accused.
Volcker's interim report released Tuesday was his second in the investigation. It also faulted Secretary-General Kofi Annan for mismanagement in not sufficiently investigating possible conflicts of interest in a U.N. contract that was awarded to his son's Swiss employer. But it did not accuse him of violating staff rules.
The latest charges come at a bad time for the United Nations. As well as the scandal over oil-for-food, the world body has been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct by its peacekeepers as well as new claims of sexual and professional harassment -- and the possible misuse of money -- in the U.N. office that assists elections around the world.
The attention given to those controversies have overwhelmed an ambitious reform plan Annan unveiled last week.
Annan plans to meet with U.N. staff next Tuesday to discuss their concerns as a result of the wake of the scandals. Such meetings are not unprecedented, but are extremely rare, and staff will be able to ask questions.
``It will be a bit of a pep talk to build them up and motivate them,'' Eckhard said.
At that meeting, Annan is also expected to unveil a draft version of the United Nations' new whistleblower policy, meant to address widespread concern within the United Nations that people who tried to expose misconduct risk reprisal.
Nair's office is designated the chief body to investigate such claims. That makes the allegations against him especially significant, according to Volcker. He said Nair may have violated Staff Regulation 1.2(b), which requires U.N. employees to ``uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity.''
Eckhard also said the United Nations would launch an outside review of separate allegations made against Nair in April, 2004. The Staff Council, the executive body of the Staff Union, had claimed that Nair violated U.N. rules by showing favoritism in his recruitment and promotion of staff.
Annan had earlier found the Nair had not violated and rules, but reopened the case after the Staff Council submitted more detailed allegations.
Nair's nonrenewable five-year term ends on April 23. It's not clear how he would be disciplined if the investigation extends beyond that date.