Mr Chairman,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the African Group on agenda item 122, entitled: Reports of the Secretary-General on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services.

We wish to express our appreciation to the Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight, Mr. Dileep Nair, for presenting the reports of his Office, as contained in A/57/465 and A/57/488, to this Committee. The African Group attaches great importance to the oversight activities of the Office, and we support its efforts to instill a greater sense of accountability throughout the United Nations.

The Group, furthermore, wishes to associate itself with the statement delivered earlier by the distinguished representative of Morocco on behalf of the Group of 77 and China with regard to the programme of work.

Mr Chairman,

The management review conducted by the OIOS on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights provided a further opportunity to evaluate and monitor the administration of the Organisation's resources.

We are encouraged by the assurances of the OIOS that the OHCHR had observed the provisions of the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, and that the acceptance of voluntary contributions was consistent with the mandate, policies and activities of the Office of the High Commissioner.

The African Group notes the declining trend in funding certain core activities of OHCHR through the regular budget and the heavy reliance on extra-budgetary resources. We share the concerns expressed by the OIOS that a reduction in voluntary contributions could disrupt the core activities of the Office.

The African Group has always joined other colleagues in the G77 to express concern about the growing tendency to fund core activities of the Organization through voluntary contributions, including the cases of UNEP and HABITAT Offices at UNON. We prefer that the overall adverse impact of relying on extra-budgetary resources on the implementation of mandated programmes and activities of the Organization be addressed in its broader context, rather than through ad hoc reviews.

In this connection, we recommend that OIOS be tasked to undertake an all-encompassing comprehensive review of this question for appropriate action by the General Assembly in the context of the 2006-2007 programme budget.

The African Group is of the opinion that any organizational and structural changes of the OHCHR should be done in consultation with Member States, should reflect the mandated activities of the Office, ensure a high quality of reporting, and lead to a more focused approach to Human Rights questions.

Mr. Chairman,

We note with concern that the geographical distribution of project personnel and consultants at the OHCHR is skewed and does not reflect the international character of the Organisation. To this end, we join the OIOS in its call on the Office to devote more attention to human resources management issues. The African Group also supports the findings of the OIOS that point towards the need, amongst others, for the petition system, as an avenue for individuals to bring human rights violations to the attention of the relevant bodies, as well as for the Research and Right to Development Branch to be strengthened.

In 2002, the Secretary-General introduced several initiatives that were aimed at improving the work of the United Nations in the area of Human Rights. The Committee will recall that the African Group at that time welcomed the proposals to streamline the management of the OHCHR. We also stated that, in addition to upholding the principle of universality, that interdependence, inter-relatedness, non-selectivity and impartiality are equally important elements to the mandate of strengthening of Human Rights.

We, therefore, trust that the OHCHR will take the provisions of General Assembly resolution 57/300 and the outcomes of major international conferences into full account when implementing the recommendations of the OIOS.

Mr Chairman,

The African Group strongly condemns any form of sexual and/or commercial exploitation of women and children by some humanitarian personnel in refugee camps, and by some peacekeeping personnel in mission areas. As at 1st of January 2002, Africa hosted the third largest refugee population and other displaced persons of concern to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, representing almost 22 per cent of the global data.

We, as Member States, have a collective responsibility to ensure that these vulnerable groupings are not traumatized further and are able to reintegrate successfully into their societies. Even one isolated incident of exploitation or abuse is one incident too many and cannot be tolerated.

We note that the investigation by the OIOS found that the impression that was created by the consultant's report that sexual exploitation by aid workers was widespread, is untrue and misleading. However, we concur with the OIOS that the problem of sexual exploitation of refugees is real and that the conditions in the camps and refugee communities make refugees vulnerable to sexual and other forms of exploitation.

We urge the humanitarian community to take every possible measure to prevent the risk of exploitation in every sector of refugee operations, to improve the conditions of refugees, and to bring the perpetrators to justice. We also trust that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations will institute similar measures to ensure that peacekeeping personnel do not engage in such activities. To this end, we welcome the assurances by the Secretary-General that he was taking measures to correct the issues raised in the report of the OIOS, such as instituting an improved system for recourse, investigation and discipline, as well as identifying a code of conduct and developing a new Plan of Action.

The African Group is aware of the circumstances that led the OIOS to focus its investigation on refugees who are under the protection of the UNHCR in camps in West Africa. However, in view of the findings, the Group wishes to encourage the OIOS to consider broadening the scope of its investigations and monitoring efforts to include refugee camps in other regions, as well as other vulnerable groupings and refugees who are older than 18 years of age. At present, more than 52 per cent of the female refugees and others of concern to UNHCR in Liberia and Guinea are older than 18 years.

Mr Chairman,

The African Group, once again, wishes to express our appreciation to Mr Nair for sharing the findings of the OIOS with this Committee, and we look forward to continuing with this dialogue in the informal consultations.

I thank you.