Organised crime a threat to UN, says UNHCR boss
GENEVA, Tuesday
Organised crime threatens to infiltrate
United Nations’ aid to the world’s most desperate people, the UN refugee chief
has said.
Mr Ruud Lubbers, the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), made the remarks a week after the agency confirmed it is
investigating alleged staff corruption in Kenya.
“It is a risk all over the world. Let
us take that risk seriously,” Lubbers said.
UN officials are probing allegations that
at least four staff members in Nairobi charged refugees thousands of dollars to be
resettled in the United States and other Western countries.
UNHCR officials have said the investigation
was launched at the Nairobi office in December 1999. It was taken over by UN’s
central audit body in July 2000. They have not said when the inquiry will be completed.
UNHCR offers its services to refugees free
of charge. However, officials admit that the agency’s resettlement programmes, which
gives some refugees a chance to start a new life in a rich country, are likely to interest
criminals involved in human trafficking.
Lubbers, who took over as high commissioner
on January 1, said he was encouraging staff members who had heard rumours of corruption in
other parts of the world to come forward.
“I ask people: Have you heard
something here or there? Put it on the table and let’s look at it. If there are other
allegations, I want my people to take them seriously,” he said.
He declined to name any other UNHCR office
or country that was under suspicion. He said it was unfair to single out Nairobi or even
Africa as the only place where corruption may be a problem. - AP
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