VZCZCXRO5929
RR RUEHRN
DE RUEHRN #0045/01 2051650
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241650Z JUL 09
FM USMISSION UN ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1121
INFO RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME 1195
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0346
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0268
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0016
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS 0220

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 UN ROME 000045 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID FAO UN
SUBJECT: FAO REFORM MOVING FORWARD:  UNTAI PROGRESS REPORT 
 
¶1.  (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary.  As part of this mission's regular reporting 
on reform of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 
we offer below our assessments on eight key issues covered in 
our latest report for the USG's United Nations Transparency and 
Accountability Initiative (UNTAI), covering the period from 
January - June, 2009.  In light of the continuing progress with 
FAO's implementation of its major reform package, and 
improvements in the UNTAI scoring for FAO, we recommend that we 
fulfill payment of our remaining arrears to FAO, particularly 
the last tranche of our 2008 assessment.  Such a payment will 
help ensure U.S. credibility and leadership at a crucial time 
for FAO reform and in light of major global initiatives to 
ensure food security.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Tracking with the UNTAI reporting areas (eight focal 
areas), the following captures many of the key areas of the FAO 
reform program (or, "Immediate Action Plan") and highlights 
areas where progress has been made and where additional emphasis 
is needed. 
 
 
 
-- Independence of Internal Oversight Function:  The Office of 
the Inspector General (OIG) reports directly to the Director 
General (DG), with a "dotted line" to the Governing Bodies 
through the Finance Committee.  The OIG prepares an annual 
activities report which becomes public through the Finance 
Committee.  Its scope of work is largely determined by biennial 
budgetary allotment.  The OIG "Charter" was recently modified 
and will be presented soon to the Finance Committee, making more 
explicit the independence of the OIG.  It will also separate 
investigative from internal auditing functions and clarify the 
OIG's access to/by the Finance Committee.  The biennial audit 
plan is updated on an ongoing basis and subsequently presented 
to the Director General.  When the OIG conducts internal 
investigations, notice of investigations are reported to the DG, 
who has 24 hours to communicate questions or objections (not 
done to date).  Also, the OIG recently revisited previous 
recommendations and redefined definitions of high/medium/low 
risks.  There are now 43 recommendations considered "high risk," 
compared with 225 in 2008.  And, the OIG has adopted standards 
of the Institution of Internal Auditors to ensure consistency 
with the International Standards for the Professional Practice 
of Internal Auditing. 
 
 
 
-- Disclosure of Internal Audit Reports to Members:  There have 
been no concrete changes during this past rating period 
concerning disclosure of internal audit and oversight reports to 
Member States.  Though a topic of review in a recent independent 
external evaluation, there is still no formal policy to share 
specific reports with Member States.  There may be exceptional 
instances whereby the Inspector General, as determined 
necessary, may allow a Member Representative to read a specific 
report in the office of the OIG, particularly if relevant to a 
Member's project or initiative.  In terms of policy adjustments 
on this issue, there remains no consensus on this topic and no 
formal action has been taken within the governing bodies to 
allow disclosure of reports. 
 
 
 
-- Access to Information Relevant to Operations:  As part of its 
overall reform efforts, FAO has been enhancing its 
communications focus, both internally and for the general 
public.  While more work needs to be done, the public website, 
along with a separate Member's access site, provides the vast 
majority of documentation sought for an overview of governance, 
administrative procedures, and substantive issues.  It is also 
envisioned that a new "Chief Information Officer" will feature 
in the coming years as a key component of reform. 
 
 
 
-- Independent Ethics Function:  The FAO is close to hiring an 
Ethics Officer at P-5 level, as part of its reform package, with 
a target date of September for hiring.  The Ethics Officer will 
report directly to the DG and work closely with the Legal Office 
and OIG.  The Ethics Officer will be responsible for the 
 
UN ROME 00000045  002 OF 002 
 
 
financial disclosure program, but there remains no explicit 
"whistleblower policy" - a function that remains largely the 
purview of the OIG.  An oath of office and general standards of 
conduct for international civil service form the guidelines for 
acceptable staff behavior.  The Ethics Officer will be 
accountable to a new "Ethics Committee" which in turn will be 
accountable to the Finance Committee and the Committee on 
Constitutional and Legal Matters (CCLM).  A Charter for this 
committee will be released to the Finance Committee in late 
July.  FAO staff tell us it is the only UN technical agency (not 
including financial institutions) with such an Ethics Committee. 
 
 
 
 
-- Whistleblower Protections:  The protections and recourse 
described above are expected to form part of the 
responsibilities of the Ethics Office, once established, 
according to FAO's OIG and Legal Counsel.  The OIG investigates 
matters and the Legal Counsel takes action on the basis of 
internal reports.  Legal Counsel staff tell us that all "staff," 
including contractors, interns, etc, are afforded the same 
protections by the OIG as full-time employees.  A separate 
investigative panel deals with sexual harassment issues. There 
is no explicit whistleblower policy, as stated above. 
Regardless, there is a public website that provides staff with 
information on how to report fraud or misconduct.  The site 
contains a confidential hotline number, email address, and a 
confidential fax hotline.  An "Integrity Roadmap" report is also 
being prepared and will be sent to the DG.  The report includes 
recommendations on how to improve the integrity framework of FAO 
and recommends an explicit  whistleblower policy. 
 
 
 
-- Financial Disclosure Program:  The Ethics Officer will be 
responsible for the financial disclosure function, which at 
present is partial in nature and in need of strengthening.  The 
Ethics Officer, with the help of the OIG, will establish and 
implement a more robust program.  D1 employees and above (and 
those with specific financial responsibilities) must complete a 
financial disclosure form (the same as that used by the UN 
Secretariat.  The Ethics Committee is expected to have 
sufficient authority to compel staff to react to issues of 
concern cited during review of their disclosure forms.  It is 
not clear if the new disclosure program will cover spouses and 
family members of FAO employees.  A conflict of interest policy 
remains in place. 
 
 
 
-- Implementation of IPSAS:  FAO is working toward full IPSAS 
implementation by 2012.  Funding is currently available from the 
Program of Work and Budget for IPSAS implementation.  The OIG 
conducted a gap analysis of IPSAS project implementation and 
offered recommendations.  The FAO IPSAS Project plan is divided 
into six-month stages.  Finance Committee approval is required 
before commencement of each stage, based upon bi-monthly 
progress reports and a final 6-month report.  There are plans to 
integrate FAO's Field Accounting System (FAS) Project into 
IPSAS, for consistency between HQ and field offices.  The next 
IPSAS Progress Report to the Finance Committee will report on 
the impact of this integration. 
 
 
 
-- Transparent Support Costs for Voluntarily-Funded Programs: 
In regards to transparency regarding support costs for projects 
funded from voluntary contributions, the FAO Secretariat reports 
annually on application of the support cost policy to the 
Finance Committee and proposes changes to the policy as needed 
to improve recoveries.  With a new budget cycle to be proposed 
in July, 2009 it is expected that additional cost recovery 
strategies will be reviewed by the Finance Committee and the 
Membership during coming governing body meetings. 
BRUDVIGLA