Topic: Improving Accountability at the United Nations
Country: Bangladesh
Delegate Name: Yordanos Dessie
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Bangladesh position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
The United Nations is expected to be built on a foundation of ethics and honesty. It is evident that since its creation, there are recurring occurrences in which financial accountability for actions aren’t held by committee members. Accountability, as said by the United Nations is the “obligation of the Secretariat and its staff members to be answerable for all decisions made and actions taken by them, and to be responsible for honouring their commitments, without qualification or exception;” therefore, it is essential for members of the UN to follow the preceding statement with the utmost integrity, and be held responsible for his or her actions. Along with financial accountability, criminal jurisdiction is an ongoing affair that the UN wants responsibility held for. It is the obligation of all officials and representatives of the United Nations to be genuine, law abiding members. The “Oil for food Program” is only one example of corruption in the UN. The UN sanctioned program’s intent was for Iraq to sell enough oil to pay for the population’s food and other necessities; however, Saddam Hussein exploited the program, earning billions of dollars from kickbacks and illegal oil smuggling. This immense oversight was not only drawn from failure to observe the actions of the program, but also from unethical conduct of UN officials.
Bangladesh supports the creation of the United Nations Transparency and Accountability Initiative (UNTAI). On November 9, the 24th meeting of the 67th session, Bangladesh along with representatives from the United States of America, Nigeria, Switzerland, the European Union, and with a dozen more, gave general statements and comments, addressing the issue of accountability. All of the representatives agreed, that to ensure the UN performs its duties, preserves its image, and maintains its credibility, there must be a zero tolerance policy against exploitation and abuse of power. Because Bangladesh has 19 agencies, funds, and programs, we want to prioritize accountability, so all programs run smoothly and aid the nation’s people in the most possible way. Criminal Jurisdiction is also a serious act that has taken place by UN personnel. There have been UN scandals such as the exploitation of refugees by UN personnel in the Republic of Congo. The Heritage Foundation has recorded at least 150 human rights violations. The crimes fall under rape and forced prostitution of women and young girls.The victims are defenseless, brutalized and terrorized refugees. Even though investigations were said to have taken place, no charges have been accounted for against the personnel involved in the crimes. These crimes occurred from the late 1990s to about 2005. Gradually, however, the UN has been taking better authority of its zero- tolerance policy. In the 2013 case of Afghanistan's Kabul Bank scandal, $935 million was stolen from Afghanistan’s largest bank by UN personnel and the bank’s founder. As a result of their corruption 20 men were sentenced to four to five years in jail. As printed in the UK’s Reuters article, “Security General Ban Ki Moon described the sentences as ‘relatively light.’” The punishment was not ideal for the crime, but it is a start. The UN needs to continue and better its enforcement on the Zero Tolerance Policy over financial accountability and criminal jurisdiction.
Any actions of corruption should be handled by the courts of the UN instead of the nation’s. Doing so makes sure a deliberate investigation is taken place and that a fair verdict is reached without being overlooked. The current measures taken to improve transparency is insufficient. The policies adopted by the UN is exceptional for stopping corruption and maintaining integrity; however it is not well-enforced. Serious measures must be taken to ensure the safety of those who are affected by the missions sought out by the UN. Member states may fear that there is not much they can do to aid in the situation. To be more involved in the process of implementation, member states can join the Ad-hoc committee. It is made of legal experts who are responsible for overseeing the funds and programs of member states, and also the actions of the Secretariat. Ad-hoc committee is open to all state members and members of specialized agencies. It is a simple way for member states to become involved and share a responsibility in the process of implementation against corrupt members.
