UN warned to brace itself for sweeping reform as Iraq oil-for-food crisis grows
The man appointed to oversee a management shake-up at the United Nations has warned that it must brace itself for wide-ranging reform amid criticism that extends beyond the ranks of the American right.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mark Malloch Brown warned the UN that there could be worse to come and that its management would feel the consequences from an investigation into allegations of corruption in the “oil-for-food” programme, which the UN administered for Iraq.
“The crisis is still building,” Mr Malloch Brown said. “It's very hard after [last] week's revelations to believe there isn't going to be some pretty tough stuff on management.”
Paul Volcker, a former US Federal Reserve chairman who is leading the UN inquiry into the charges, last week criticised the UN for its limited response to internal audits showing irregularities in the $65bn programme. Some Republican US politicians have recently brought the crisis of confidence to a head by demanding the resignation of Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general. However, Mr Malloch Brown warned that it was no longer only the institution's traditional, conservative critics that were calling for a shake-up.
He also claimed the volume of allegations surrounding Benon Sevan, the former head of the Office for the Iraq Programme, suggested there must have been some “monkey business”.
“It was possible to see the first wave of the crisis as inspired by the US critics of the UN, but as a clearly neutral voice like Volcker starts to opine as he did in the commentary of the audit, it's a lot harder to shrug this off as a rightwing conspiracy,” he said.
At the end of this month, Mr Volcker will issue his preliminary findings. “That may be a transition point,” Mr Malloch Brown said, “where people realise that banging [on about] the need for management reform is not [just] responding to Republicans in shoe boxes on thebeltway.
“It should be a mainstream preoccupation of every government shareholder of the UN.” Mr Malloch Brown, who was formerly head of the UN Development Programme, also warned of sweeping changes at the world body. A reshuffle of Mr Annan's cabinet will take place within six weeks, maybe sooner, he said. Sir Kieran Prendergast, head of political affairs, is expected to go, as well as the UN's comptroller and head of management.
But Mr Malloch Brown says the changes will go further. The management reshuffle will be followed by “human accountability” reforms addressing other recent scandals. Allegations of sexual harassment have been levelled against the head of the UN's refugee agency, and UN peacekeepers in Sudan have been accused of sexual abuse.
联合国“石油换食品”计划被控腐败
被任命监督改组联合国管理层的马克?马洛赫?布朗（Mark Malloch Brown）警告说，随着外界对联合国的批评已超出美国右翼人士的范围，联合国自身必须进行全面的改革。
在接受本报采访时，马洛赫?布朗先生对联合国提出警告，称可能会有更糟糕的情况出现，而联合国管理层将感受到有关调查所带来的后果。这项调查是针对“石油换食品”计划中存在的腐败行为的各项指控，而“石油换食品”计划是联合国在伊拉克实施的一项行动。
“危机仍在增加，”马洛赫?布朗先生说，“上周的结果披露后，很难相信联合国的管理层没有一些十分糟糕的事。”
美联储前主席保罗?福尔克尔（Paul Volcker）领导了对联合国“石油换食品”计划中腐败行为指控的调查。上周他在对联合国提出批评中指出，虽然联合国得知内部审计显示，在涉及金额650亿美元的该计划中出现了违规行为，但只做出有限的反应。一些美国共和党政治人物近期要求联合国秘书长科菲?安南（Kofi Annan）辞职，将这场信任危机推向了顶点。但马洛赫?布朗先生警告说，呼吁联合国管理层进行改组的不再只是对该机构提出批评的传统保守人士了。
他还声称，围绕贝农?塞万（Benon Sevan）的大量指责说明，其中肯定有一些“见不得人的事”（monkey business）。贝农?塞万是伊拉克石油换食品计划办公室的前负责人。
他说，“第一波危机由美国对联合国的批评人士所引发，这是可能的。但当像福尔克尔这样明显中立的人也开始在审计评论中发表意见，那么要把这件事随便解释为右翼人士的阴谋就很难了。”
“对于每一个参与联合国事务的政府来说，这应该是一件重要的头等大事，”曾任联合国开发计划署（UN Development Programme）署长马洛赫?布朗（Malloch Brown）说。他同时警告，要对这个全球机构进行彻底改革。他表示，安南先生的内阁将在6周甚至更快的时间内进行重组。主管政治事务的基兰?普伦德加斯特（Kieran Prendergast），以及联合国的审计官和管理事务主管等人，预计都将离开安南内阁。
