Topic: Improving Accountability at the United Nations
Country: Oman
Delegate Name: Jacob Gibson
School: Mattawan High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Oman position papers GLIMUN 2014 committees
As a country whose current government was instated to replace a regime that was not accountable and detrimental to its people, Oman takes this issue very seriously. Our current Sultan, Qaboos bin Said al Said, threw a peaceful coup of his father who slowly lost all accountability. For this reason, Oman expects the same from the United Nations, when there are problems, changes must occur.
One of the largest issues that the United Nations is facing is the conduct of their peacekeepers. These “UN blue helmets” have been accused of breaking many international laws in the places that they are sent to “help.” If the United Nations feels that it is responsible enough have an army under its command, it also needs to be responsible enough to take action when its soldiers break international laws. It is not enough to leave the punishment to the peacekeepers home governments for if the UN is to make sure that they receive the appropriate repercussions, they should administer the punishment themselves to assure equal treatment for all peacekeepers.
Also, in order to hold the United Nations more accountable, member states should provide oversight for the United Nations whenever it provides help or services. If all is working perfectly, there should be no conflicts as the goal of the UN is to help the member states and promote peace. This also gives a way for member states to become more involved in the process of implementation. Similarly, if conflicts such as those with the peacekeepers arise, the member states can spot and help solve the problem faster.
In regard to the issue of procurement, while Oman feels that The United Nations has done an exemplary job with its improvement of transparency of procurement. After the Oil-for-Food Programme, the UN instated the Procurement Task Force to recommend actions to reform the UN’s procurement. Since the UN has also created the Senior Vendor Review Committee to improve the accountability and transparency being discussed. They have also provided information on procurement to the layman through their Procurement Division website. Providing reports such as “2013 Annual Statistical Report on United Nations Procurement.” By publically outlining procurement, the UN is making it clear they realize that this is a serious issue that has been resolved since 2006.
