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| International-UN-NGOs |
| UN Sec-Gen. Ban orders audit of operation in N. Korea |
| 2007-01-23 |
| U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday ordered a thorough audit of the U.N. Development Program's operation in North Korea, the first in a sweeping assessment of all U.N. agencies, funds and programs. Mr. Ban said he wants the UNDP audit completed within three months, the first phase in an ambitious accounting that could take years and millions of dollars to complete. The audit will specifically look at hard-currency transactions, the independence of locally hired staff, and the agency's ability to monitor ongoing projects. UNDP spends about $3.6 million annually on a dozen projects inside the repressive country. The United States -- which funds 11 percent of UNDP's annual budget but does not contribute to the North Korea program -- has raised serious concerns that hard currency from UNDP may be finding its way into the government's nuclear weapons program. An editorial in Friday's Wall Street Journal suggested that hundreds of millions of dollars had been diverted by the government from UNDP programs, and said the agency was undermined by permitting the Pyongyang government to choose local personnel for its programs. The program has four international staffers in North Korea. UNDP has undergone three internal audits of the North Korea program, in 1999, 2001 and 2004; a fourth will be under way shortly. Those audits are not made public or even shared with the 36 nations that serve on UNDP's Executive Board, which will discuss the North Korea program on Thursday. Instead, the reports are reviewed by an external auditor, then distilled further and presented to the executive committee. U.S. officials, among others, have demanded access to the initial audits, as well as source material, saying that as major donors to UNDP programs they have a right to know how those programs are managed. Until now, however, UNDP officials have maintained the audits are internal management tools and not intended for general distribution. UNDP is also the coordinating agency for other U.N. efforts in the country, including programs of the World Food Program and UNICEF. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #3 Just think was Claudia Rosett can do with the results... *happy sigh of anticipation* |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-01-23 12:43 |
| #2 ...the first phase in an ambitious accounting that could take years and millions of dollars to complete. There it is. I knew it was in there... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-01-23 12:03 |
| #1 PUBLIC audit, or another of those "in-house" jobs? |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-01-23 10:20 |