The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is an independent office in the
United Nations Secretariat whose mandate is to "assist the Secretary-General in fulfilling his internal oversight responsibilities in respect of the resources and staff of the Organization."
Specifically, activities include
internal audit, investigation, monitoring, evaluation, inspection, reporting and support services to the
United Nations Secretariat.
Its intended and mandated function is similar to many national government audit organisations, like the
Government Accountability Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
in the
United States. It reports not only to the
General Assembly, but also to the Secretary-General.
The current head of the OIOS,
Under-Secretary-General Fatoumata Ndiaye
of
Senegal, was appointed as Under-Secretary-General for Internal Oversight Services for a five-year term starting on 17 October 2019, succeeding
Heidi Mendoza of
the Philippines.
The office was established in 1994 at the insistence of the United States that the UN take steps to curb waste and corruption, although there are some doubts concerning its effectiveness.
Its first head was
Under-Secretary-General Karl Theodor Paschke
Karl Theodor Paschke is a former Under Secretary General for the United Nations. He was born in Berlin in 1935. He studied jurisprudence in Bonn and Munich before working for the Foreign Office. From 1994 to 1999, he served as head of the Uni ...
.
Role and function
According to its website:
The Office submits reports to the Secretary-General that provide insight into the effective utilization of the resources of the Organization and the protection of its assets and also makes these reports available to the General Assembly. OIOS adds value by providing world-wide audit, investigation, inspection, programme monitoring, evaluation and consulting services to the United Nations Secretariat and a wide range of United Nations operational funds, programmes and tribunals. OIOS sees itself as an agent of change, committed to help client departments and offices bring about responsible administration of resources and a culture of accountability, transparency, results-orientation and risk awareness.
Under-Secretaries-General
References
External links
*
OIOS reports posted by the United States mission to the UN*
WikiLeaksUnited Nations Procurement Task Force: Interim Report on a Concerned UN Staff Member (PTF-R011-06), 19 Dec 2006January 12, 2009
United Nations Procurement Task Force: Report on Cogim SPA and Corimec Italiana SPA (PTF-R008-07), 28 Jun 2007January 12, 2009
United Nations Procurement Task Force: Final Report on a Concerned UN Staff Member and UNOPS Procurement (PTF-R012-07), 15 Aug 2007January 12, 2009
Organizations established by the United Nations
United Nations Secretariat
Internal audit
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