Report on the Activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services

A/RES/70/111No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda items 132Review of the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations and 142Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, published in 2015.

What other versions does this mandate have?

12 versions · 2013–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/237

2025A/RES/80/237Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight ServicesLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/247Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight ServicesCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/259Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight ServicesCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/241Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight ServicesCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/75/247Report on the activities of the Office of Internal Oversight ServicesCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Auditing Internal Oversight Programme Implementation Reporting Procedures

What does this mandate say?

22 operative paragraphs

I.Activities of the Office of Internal Oversight Services

Reaffirms its primary role in the consideration of and action taken on reports submitted to it;

Also reaffirms its oversight role and the role of the Fifth Committee in administrative and budgetary matters;

Further reaffirms the independence and the separate and distinct roles of the internal and external oversight mechanisms;

Recalls that the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the Secretariat shall exercise operational independence relating to the performance of its internal oversight functions, under the authority of the Secretary-General, in accordance with the relevant resolutions;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the annual reports of the Office continue to include a brief description of any impairment of its independence;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to promote effective coordination and collaboration in the Office, bearing in mind its operational independence;

Encourages United Nations internal and external oversight bodies to further enhance the level of cooperation with one another, such as through joint work-planning sessions, without prejudice to the independence of each;

Takes note of the report of the Office;Error: Reference source not found

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all relevant resolutions pertaining to the work of the Office are brought to the attention of the relevant managers;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that all relevant resolutions, including those of a cross-cutting nature, are brought to the attention of relevant managers and that the Office also takes those resolutions into account in the conduct of its activities;

Further requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure the full implementation of the accepted recommendations of the Office, including those relating to cost avoidance, recovery of overpayments, efficiency gains and other improvements, in a prompt and timely manner, and to provide detailed justifications in cases in which recommendations of the Office are not accepted;

Emphasizes the need for the Office to continue to refine its risk-based workplan in order to ensure that it fully captures high-risk areas such as those relating to procurement activities at the mission level as well as those related to fraud, including by contractors and implementing partners;

Encourages the Office, in future annual reports, to further enhance its analysis of general trends and strategic challenges regarding internal oversight in the United Nations and to include an update of all critical recommendations, taking into account the risk category, the target date for implementation and the office to be held accountable for such implementation;

Stresses the need for the Office to increase emphasis on investigations involving cases of fraud, and recognizes its role in supporting the Organization to assess, analyse and act upon all fraud risks;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to update the administrative instructions related to the work of the Office, in particular ST/AI/371 and ST/AI/371/Amend.1, so as to ensure that they reflect the mandate of the Office as well as of other investigation functions;

Notes the lengthy delays in the average time to complete investigations, and emphasizes the need for the Office to take appropriate steps to address those delays as a matter of priority and to report thereon in the context of future annual reports;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to make every effort to fill the remaining vacant posts, particularly in the Investigations Division and in the field, in accordance with the relevant provisions governing recruitment in the United Nations;

Notes the ongoing professional initiatives aimed at strengthening the functioning of the Office, encourages continued efforts in this regard, including an assessment of working relationships across the divisions, and looks forward to updates in the context of future annual reports;

II.Activities of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee

Recalling its resolutions 61/275 of 29 June 2007, 64/263, section II of its resolution 66/236, section II of its resolution 67/258, section II of its resolution 68/21 and section II of its resolution 69/252,

Having considered the annual report of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee on its activities for the period from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2015,

Notes with appreciation the work of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee;

Reaffirms the terms of reference of the Committee, as contained in the annex to resolution 61/275;

Recalls section VI, paragraph 67, of its resolution 69/307 of 25 June 2015, and in this regard invites the Committee to continue to examine the operational independence of the Office of Internal Oversight Services of the Secretariat, in particular in the area of investigation functions;

Endorses the observations, comments and recommendations contained in paragraphs 24, 33, 36, 42, 45, 46, 53, 57, 59, 62 to 64, 74, 78, 81 and 89 of the report of the Committee.Error: Reference source not found