Statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China by Mr. Richard Tur de la Concepción, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations, on agenda item143: Reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Independent Audit Advisory Committee at the main part of the 78th session of the Fifth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.
New York, 3nd October 2023
Mr. Chair,
The Group of 77 and China would like to thank USG for Internal Oversight Services, Ms. Fatoumata Ndiaye, and the Chair of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee, Mr. Imran Vanker, for introducing the respective reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC).
We are of the opinion that implementation of reforms and strengthening of the internal oversight of the organization through internal audit, inspection, evaluation and investigations should go hand in hand. In this context, OIOS is playing a key role in improving internal controls, risk governance, accountability and organizational efficiency and effectiveness. We strongly reaffirm our support to the operational independence of the Office in line with General Assembly resolution 48/218 B, as well as the Office’s efforts to carry out its work with the highest standards of professionalism and efficiency.
The Group welcomes the continuous coordination between the Office and other oversight entities, including the Board of Auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit, in order to minimize overlap and duplication of oversight work. We encourage maintaining and further enhancing this coordination. In addition, the Group urges the full cooperation of all relevant UN entities with the Office in discharging its responsibilities. We encourage the Secretary-General to ensure continuous reporting on any impediments to the work of the OIOS, and to take measures to prevent such a situation.
Mr. Chair,
From 1st July 2022 to 30 June 2023, we observed an overall decrease in the number of reports issued by the Office of Internal Oversight services to 414 as compared to 484 in the previous reporting period. However, the overall recommendations of the office increased from 883 to 1101.
The Group noted that recommendations that are open have increased from 1043 to 1349, ten of them considered as critical, which also represents an increase of 9 in relation to the previous reporting period. In this regard, the Group acknowledges the steps taken by OIOS to review the way in which it rates and monitors its recommendations, though we reaffirm that the Office cannot perform a better work if the Secretariat and system entities do not accept recommendations or complete a timely implementation of those they have accepted.
The Group notes with pleasure that the implementation of some recommendations with financial implications resulted in realization of more than $2 million in recoveries.
We also wish to recognize the important work that the Internal Audit Division has been carrying out, especially towards strengthening the second line of defense in the face of reforms and the roll-out of the framework of delegation of authority. We also underscore the efforts of the Inspection and Evaluation Division that are seeking to align its work to cover more of all of the Secretariat’s sub- programmes.
Regarding the Investigations Division, we support the ongoing efforts to reduce the average time taken to complete an investigation, which included an end-to-end review of its investigation process. The Group wishes to reiterate its support for the role of OIOS in the enforcement of the zero-tolerance policy for any actions of corruption, fraud or misconduct.
Mr. Chair,
The Group would like to express its appreciation for the expert advice and assistance it received from the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC).
We recognize management’s effort to implement the recommendations of the Board of Auditors, as reflected in the Committee`s report. We also believe more needs to be done to address long-outstanding recommendations. The Group also welcomes the issuance of the anti-Fraud and anti-Corruption handbook and supports its further operationalization.
We will continue to attach great value to the IAAC's observations and recommendations aimed, among other important tasks, at ensuring compliance with audit and oversight recommendations, as well as the overall effectiveness of the risk management procedures in internal control systems.
Mr. Chair,
As I said before, OIOS plays an important role in improving internal controls, accountability and organizational efficiency and effectiveness. In this regard, we are of the view OIOS is well fitted to also start looking at the issue of the occupancy level of the UN headquarters and other UN Secretariat offices. It continued to be of concern that despite the efforts and actions taken by the management structures there is still a significant number of offices that remain empty or partially empty because the staff chose to continue working from home. We reiterate that physical presence of the secretariat staff is fundamental for the work of the organization and meeting the requirements of member states as per the UN rules and regulations.
Mr. Chair,
The Group of 77 and China will carefully examine the comments and recommendations contained in these reports, and look forward to engaging in an open and constructive manner during informal consultations.
I thank you.