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United Nations: Preliminary Observations on Internal Oversight and Procurement Practices

GAO-06-226T Published: Oct 31, 2005. Publicly Released: Oct 31, 2005.
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Highlights

This testimony discusses internal oversight and procurement in the United Nations (UN). The findings of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the UN's Oil for Food Program have rekindled long-standing concerns about internal oversight and procurement at the United Nations. In addition, the UN's 2005 World Summit called for a host of reforms, from human rights, terrorism, and peace-building to economic development and management reform. Specifically, this testimony conveys our preliminary observations on the UN's budgeting processes as it relates to the ability of the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) to perform independent and effective oversight. We will also discuss some of the UN's efforts to address problems affecting the openness and professionalism of its procurement system. We would like to emphasize that our comments reflect the preliminary results of two ongoing GAO engagements examining the UN's internal oversight and procurement services. We will issue reports covering a wide range of issues in both areas early next year.

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Budget activitiesBudgetingInternal controlsInternational organizationsProcurement evaluationProcurement practicesProcurementGovernment procurementPeacekeepingBid evaluation protests