UN oil-for-food process 'tainted'

[muriel_volestrangler]

Inquiry chief Paul Volcker says the UN official in charge violated rules on sales and had a "conflict of interest", but that abuse was not widespread.
...
The former US Federal Reserve chairman wrote: "We have found in each case that the procurement process was tainted, failing to follow the established rules of the organisation designed to assure fairness and accountability."

But, he added, the UN administration of the programme appeared to be "free of systematic or widespread abuse".
...
He said there was conclusive evidence that Mr Sevan was involved in choosing which companies got lucrative oil contracts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4232547.stm

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. updated headline: UN oil-for-food head criticised

The interim report by the independent team said Mr Sevan had "seriously undermined the integrity of the United Nations" by asking for allocations of oil on behalf of the African Middle East Petroleum Company.

Iraqi officials had agreed in a bid to secure Mr Sevan's support on issues such as funding to rebuild Iraq's oil installations, the report said.

Mr Sevan's conduct was "ethically improper", Mr Volcker told reporters in New York.

He "created a grave and continuing conflict of interest", the former US Federal Reserve chairman added.

[struggle4progress]

2. Iraq Oil-For-Food Audit Finds No Widespread Abuse

Haider Rizvi

<snip> ”The findings do not make for pleasant reading,” wrote Paul Volker, chairman of the Independent Inquiry Committee, in the Wall Street Journal a day before releasing an interim report on the conduct of the Oil-for-Food programme at a heavily attended news conference held outside the premises of the U.N. headquarters.

However, he added that the U.N. administration of the programme appeared to be ”free of systematic or widespread abuse”. <snip>

”Newspaper editors who play up the story are complicit in this ongoing virulent campaign against the U.N. by U.S. right-wing neo-conservatives,” says Jim Paul, executive director of the U.S.-based Global Policy Forum. <snip>

”Should any findings of the inquiry give rise to criminal charges, the United Nations will cooperate with national law enforcement authorities pursuing those charges,” (Annan) said. ”I will waive the diplomatic immunity of the staff member concerned.” <snip>

http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=27318