We need a full account from UN on oil-for-food

A fresh report from the United States top Iraqi weapons inspector will strengthen the case for believing Saddam Hussein had no nuclear weapons programs at the time of the invasion in spring last year. But it is also significant for raising fresh evidence of widespread corruption in the United Nations- administered oil-for-food program that ran from 1996 until last year.

This puts new pressure on the UN to give a full account of the program and to answer all the charges of mishandling that have accrued over the years.

It would be nice to say the UN is leading the way to open up the programs books, but this is not so. Some 55 internal audit documents are being kept under wraps. They are now being studied by a UN-appointed commission headed by Paul Volcker, former head of the U.S. central bank.

The program involved the sale of some US$67 billion in oil, presumably in exchange for credit Iraq could use to buy food, medical supplies and pay for infrastructure. Yet there was little transparency while it was running (and little accountability now that it has ended) about who bought, sold and transported the oil, among other things.

That is why, in addition to the Volcker probe, there are others under way in Iraq and the U.S. legislature. The sums involved were significant and the charges of wrongdoing go right to the top of the oil-for-food program, governments and businesses.

The probes come as UN members are debating how to restructure the organization to make it more effective in dealing with the worlds problems, including reorganizing the all-powerful Security Council. The bodys leadership in international affairs will be severely undermined if it continues to shield the oil-for-food program from greater scrutiny.

Preliminary estimates put the amount Hussein's government skimmed in illegal exports and kickbacks at about $10 billion; money that was meant to help the Iraqi people. Questions to be answered include whether and how the way the UN ran the program contributed to the problems. Mr Volcker cannot shy away from asking what needs to be asked -- or from giving other investigators the documents they need. -- South China Morning Post, Hong Kong