U.S., Japanese Money for UN Peacekeeping Threatened by Abuses 

Bill Varner
February 22, 2006
Bloomberg
Original Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=ajsvbIjP0Zlg&refer=japan


Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. and Japanese funding of almost half of the $5 billion United Nations peacekeeping budget is threatened by waste and fraud in the purchase of equipment and supplies for the missions, envoys from the two nations said. 
``My government, which currently contributes 20 percent of the peacekeeping budget, will find it very difficult to maintain domestic support for underwriting operations, both ongoing and new operations, including one possibly in Darfur'' Japanese Ambassador Kenzo Oshima told the Security Council today. 
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton described Oshima's statement as ``electrifying'' and said American taxpayers were ``entitled to have effective peacekeeping without waste, corruption and mismanagement.'' He said the situation was ``unacceptable'' for the U.S., which pays 27 percent of the budget for UN military operations. 
An internal UN report last month said waste, fraud and abuse in the purchase of such peacekeeping equipment and supplies such as vehicle parts, food and fuel may have resulted in the loss of up to $300 million from 2000 to 2005. The report said the UN is investigating about 200 allegations of mismanagement or misconduct. 
The UN has 85,000 soldiers and civilian police in 18 peacekeeping missions in places such as Haiti, Kosovo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and spends about $2 billion to equip and supply them. The Security Council is considering a new mission to the Darfur region of Sudan that could include up to 20,000 soldiers protecting civilians there. 
The Security Council meeting came as the General Assembly debates proposed improvements in management endorsed by world leaders who met at the UN in September. The running of the UN is under broad scrutiny after investigations turned up evidence of widespread corruption in the $69.6 billion aid effort in Iraq known as the ``oil-for-food'' program. 
`Sympathetic' to Views 
``We are extremely sympathetic to the U.S. and Japanese positions on this,'' Mark Malloch Brown, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's chief of staff, said after briefing the Security Council. ``They have a tough case to make to their legislatures and public opinion. We have to help them make it by showing that where there are corruption or management failures we are acting in a proactive way.'' 
Bolton Resisted 
Controversy over the meeting's subject and format continued as Annan rejected Bolton's request, as president of the Security Council this month, to have a variety of officials report on aspects of peacekeeping procurement. Annan agreed to send only Malloch Brown. 
``Never in the history of the United Nations has the president of the Security Council determined who briefs the council,'' Malloch Brown told reporters. ``It is always at the discretion of the secretary-general. It is a procedure that has worked for 60 years. This month is not the time to change it.'' 
Two organizations that represent more than 130 member governments of the UN objected to the meeting, saying that procurement issues should be handled by the General Assembly. That body consists of all 191 UN members and made the initial request for the procurement report. 
``We urgently need to take corrective action and put in place a reform strategy,'' Malloch Brown said of the peacekeeping supplies problem. He said that while there is evidence of ``significant potential waste,'' the UN has found only the ``likelihood of fraud in some narrow instances.'' 
Malloch Brown said some procurement requirements, such as obtaining bids from multiple vendors, are ``ill suited to the exigencies of the field'' and need to be changed. 
Shortage in the Field 
A shortage of workers also weighs on the effort. Half of 135 field procurement positions were unfilled because the UN can't find people willing to serve in dangerous missions, he said. 
Some irregularities can't be helped, according to Malloch Brown. As an example, he said $65 million worth of fuel purchased for two UN missions hasn't been used because in the case of one of those operations, in Sudan, there have been delays in deploying troops there. 
The UN has placed eight procurement officers on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Malloch Brown said. Alexander Yakovlev, a procurement officer during the Iraq program, pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court in August to fraud and money laundering.