China-led UN peacekeeping audit fruitful

Chinese Auditor-General Liu Jiayi said on Sunday the China-led audit of United Nations peacekeeping operations has been fruitful in spotting loopholes in program control and management.

Liu made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua upon return from New York where he was honored four days ago by the UN in recognition of his as well as his team's work of auditing UN peace-keeping operations, which contributes to maintaining world peace.

Budget formulation and application for peacekeeping operations needs improvement, he said, citing the findings of budget overestimation, the recordings of non-exist expenditure, and funds being used for unprescribed purposes.

There were recurring cheats and malpractices in areas of procurement, infrastructure, vehicle and fuel, which to some extent harmed the UN reputation, said the auditor-general.

Tendering and bidding procedures were evaded in some purchases, some peacekeeping missions were found to have disposed of vehicles improperly, and certain staff stole and resold petrol and food, he added.

Auditors also identified high risk of waste or loss of assets and the lack of an effective oversight mechanism, Liu said. Some assets had never been used and were written off from the record, while some assets were on the record but could not be found.

Established in 1946, the United Nations Board of Auditors (the Board) comprises the heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions from three Member States and is intended to provide independent external audit services to the UN General Assembly.

Its duties involve certifying the accounts of the UN and its funds and programs, and providing reports covering a wide array of managerial and value for money issues.

The overarching goal of the Board is to use public external audit to both help the General Assembly to hold UN entities to account for the use of public resources, and help identify ways to improve the delivery of international public services.

China was elected a member of the Board in 2007, and began assuming responsibilities of auditing UN entities and missions and acting as the lead auditor of peacekeeping operations from 2008.

China's auditing work for the UN has been widely hailed over the past five years, Liu said, describing the prize he received on July 24 a recognition of China's role as well as professionalism of Chinese auditors.

Chinese auditors have carried out field audit of the UN Peacekeeping Operations Headquarters and more than 10 peacekeeping missions, many of which were based in regions known for restive situations and harsh conditions, including Darfur and South Sudan, Liu said.