The executive director of the UN-sponsored oil-for-food program Benon Sevan late Thursday rejected accusations made by Iraqi undersecretary for foreign affairs Riyadh Al Qaysi in the Security Council two weeks ago accusing the organization of failure and injustice in applying the program, according to reports.
Al Qaysi has told the council, which met at the request of Russia, that the UN humanitarian program in his country is run by a group of unprofessional staff, who are plagued with corruption. He accused Sevan's office of not providing Iraq with any information concerning the banking operations relating to Iraq’s resources and called for an external independent audit to look into the figures.
Addressing a meeting of the sanctions committee against Iraq, Sevan was quoted by the Kuwaiti official news agency (KUNA) as saying, “I feel obliged to make this statement because I do not wish our silence to be misinterpreted as a reflection of our agreement with what was stated recently. In his 14-page speech, Sevan said the UN treasury has kept the Iraqi central bank fully informed on a regular basis through the UN field office in Baghdad and the Iraqi mission to the UN.
Responding to the request to have an audit, Sevan said the memorandum of understanding between Iraq and the secretariat stipulates in one of its paragraphs that the Iraq account will be audited by the board of auditors who are external independent public auditors. They will issue periodic reports which will be submitted to the sanctions committee and the government of Iraq.
He denied Qaysi’s claim that the cost per mine/unexploded ordnance removed in the three northern governorates is $21,000.
“It is about 1,500 and our actual costs could be lower if the government of Iraq would consider our repeated requests to provide maps/records of the minefields,” he said.
He also denied Qaysi’s allegation that demining dogs are better treated than Iraqis. He said the average cost of feeding one dog is $408 per year and not 1,248 as claimed by the diplomat – Albawaba.com
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