Scandals Engulf the United Nations

by Thomas Kilgannon

March 30, 2004

Dulles, Virginia - It is a scandal of major proportions and an historic breach of trust by an institution which portends to be the world's best hope for the advancement of human rights. Yet, the multi-billion dollar scandal involving the United Nation's Oil-for-Food program is receiving only scant attention from the media. That will change once investigations by the UN, the Iraqi National Congress (INC) and the House International Relations Committee commence.

After years of UN sanctions adversely affected the people of Iraq instead of the intended target - Saddam Hussein's regime - the Oil-for-Food program was implemented in 1995. Through it, the UN was entrusted to sell Iraqi oil and use the proceeds to buy food and medicine for Iraqis who were being starved and neglected under Saddam's rule. Instead, humanitarian needs were ignored and the program - either through ineptness, corruption or both - became a magnet for terrorists, criminals, and people of ill repute of all stripes.

Charges of corruption in the program lingered for years, but it wasn't until the Iraqi newspaper, al Mada published a report two months ago exposing the scam and listing 270 individuals, companies and former politicians who were allegedly in on it, that anyone noticed.

Benon Sevan, who ran the Oil-for-Food program, and reported to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is among those believed to have profited from illegal oil sales. Sevan has denied any wrongdoing. There have also been questions raised about a possible conflict of interest involving Kojo Annan and Cotecna, a Swiss firm which employed the Secretary-General's son and which was contracted by the UN to do work on behalf of the Oil-for-Food program. Kojo Annan has denied any conflict.

The corruption of the Oil-for-Food program is immense. The General Accounting Office reports that through a combination of smuggling and illegal surcharges on oil sales, Saddam's regime stole over $10 billion under the watchful eyes of UN managers. Last year, the Pentagon's Defense Contract Audit Agency examined a sample of the Oil-for-Food contracts and found nearly half of them were overpriced to the tune of $656 million.

The Iraqi Governing Council is conducting its own review of the program. Kofi Annan has assented to an "independent" investigation, and the U.S. Congress will hold hearings in April.

While the UN and the INC will confine their investigations to the corruption surrounding the Oil-for-Food program, Henry Hyde's International Relations Committee would do well to use the Oil-for-Food scandal as a starting point for investigating the broader charges of corruption and mismanagement at the United Nations.

This week, while Kofi Annan tried to downplay the fallout of the Oil-for-Food scandal, he was forced to address the lack of security which allowed the August 19, 2003, car bombing at UN headquarters in Iraq which killed 22 people. A report on the incident reveals that UN security "lacked due care and diligence"; was "seriously deficient" and managers on the scene "displayed profound lack of responsibility and ineptitude…bordering on gross negligence."

Sounds pretty bad - and it is. Yet, Kofi Annan saw fit to only fire one person - Tun Myat, the head of global security. The head of security in Baghdad, Ramiro Lopes da Silva, was allowed to transfer to the World Food Program. Annan also refused to accept the resignation of Louise Frechette, his deputy secretary-general, and laid much of the blame for deficient security at the feet of somebody who is no longer able to defend himself - Sergio Vieira de Mello, Kofi Annan's personal representative in Iraq, who was killed in the blast.

Over the years, the United Nations and its various programs have been accused of mismanagement or corruption. In part it is because the United Nations maintains bloated staff levels with over-paid bureaucrats and refuses to submit to an independent audit. Though the United States provides nearly a quarter of the UN budget, only about seven percent of the UN's staff are Americans. Much of the organization operates secretly, drags its feet before releasing information to the press and the public and has little accountability.

The press corps are like a flock of sheep, largely writing what they are fed by Kofi Annan and his spokesman. They do not hold the same healthy skepticism of power, government and bureaucracy that the Washington, D.C. press corps does.

There is little or no oversight in the UN. Though Kofi Annan will say he reports to the General Assembly, too many of those countries are lead by dictators, terrorists, human rights abusers, or petty thugs - hardly a constituency that demands excellence in government.

Yes, Henry Hyde's committee should ask how the Oil-for-Food program was corrupted and who is to blame, but the more important question is, "How much more money do American taxpayers have to invest in this corrupt institution and for how long?"

Hopefully, the answers to those questions are "none" and "not for long."

Thomas P. Kilgannon serves as the president of Freedom Alliance.