Mar 1, 11:33 PM EST
Lawmakers examine U.N. management report 
By KEN GUGGENHEIM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Members of Congress pressing for reforms at the United Nations are looking into possible mismanagement of $219 million in equipment by U.N. officials.
Details of the mismanagement were included in a U.N. audit last year and described in a statement released by the U.S. mission to the United Nations in October.
That statement received little notice at the time but is getting fresh attention from the House International Relations investigations subcommittee, which will hold a hearing on U.N. operations Wednesday.
The hearing comes as the International Relations Committee looks to expand its investigation of the U.N. oil-for-food program into a broader examination of U.N. management.
The Oct. 18 statement by the U.S. mission referred to a series of problems found by auditors.
It said auditors were unable to verify the validity, accuracy and completeness in the accounting of equipment by four U.N. programs: $149.3 million by the U.N. Development Program, $57.5 million by the U.N. Population Fund, $10 million by the U.N. Office for Project Services and $2.4 million by the U.N. Habitat Settlement Rehabilitation Program.
The U.S. mission also raised concerns that poor financial management practices exposed the United Nations to unnecessary risks and that several U.N. departments lacked standards for hiring consultants and the selection process was not competitive.
The issues addressed by the mission add to the case made by the committee that the United Nations needs major changes. Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., has suggested he may try to tie U.S. funding for the organization to reforms.
The biggest scandal has involved the oil-for-fund program, which allowed Saddam Hussein's government to sell oil and use the proceeds to buy humanitarian goods. Several investigations have found that Saddam manipulated the program to skim money and try to influence foreign officials.
The top U.N. refugee official recently resigned following allegations of sexual harassment and a former employee of the U.N. weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization, is suspected of embezzling up to $3 million.
Also, U.N. peacekeepers in Congo have been accused of sexually abusing women and girls in Congo. Similar complaints have been made before about other peacekeeping missions.
The U.N. assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Jane Holl Lute, appeared before another House International Relations subcommittee Tuesday and said the organization is working aggressively to stop abuse.
We will not sit still until the luster of the blue helmet is restored, Lute said, referring to the helmets worn by peacekeepers.
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Associated Press writer Desmond Butler in New York contributed to this report.