Madam Chair,

1. The Group of 77 and China would like to thank the Undersecretary-General for Internal Oversight Services, Ms. Fatoumata Ndiaye, and the Chair of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee, Mr. Imran Vanker, for introducing the reports of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC).

2. We would like to acknowledge the important role of the OIOS in strengthening the internal oversight of the organization through internal audit, inspection, evaluation and investigations. The office plays a central role in improving internal controls, accountability and organizational efficiency and effectiveness. We strongly reaffirm our support to the operational independence of the Office in line with General Assembly resolution 48/218 B, which should be fully, unselectively and effectively respected and implemented without exceptions.

3. The Group welcomes the continuous coordination between the Office and other oversight entities, including the Board of Auditors and the Joint Inspection Unit, in order to enhance internal and external oversight towards a clean, healthy and efficient organization that works for all amid global challenges. We encourage maintaining and further advancing this coordination and report to the General Assembly. In addition, the Group urges the full cooperation of all relevant UN entities with the Office in discharging its responsibilities. We encourage the Secretary General to ensure continuous reporting on any impediments to the work of the OIOS, and to take measures to prevent such a situation.

3. The Group noted that a total of 1,209 recommendations are open as of 30 June 2024, and among them 289 (24 per cent) had been open for more than 24 months. While about 48 per cent of the currently open recommendations are already beyond their targeted date for implementation. We emphasize that the Office cannot perform better, or the recommendation be effective in the long-term if the Secretariat and system entities do not accept recommendations or complete the implementation on time of those they have accepted. The Group is also concerned that some critical recommendations that address risk issues that require the immediate attention of management, and failure of which to take action could have significantly adverse impact on the Organization remained open as of 30 June 2024.

4. The Group acknowledges that the implementation of some recommendations with financial implications resulted in the estimated savings and recoveries of $2.99 millions.

Madam Chair,

5. We support the ongoing efforts to reduce the average time taken to complete an investigation, which included an end-to-end review of its investigation process. The Group wishes to reiterate its support for OIOS in the enforcement of the zero-tolerance policy for any actions of corruption, fraud or misconduct, which caused millions of dollars in losses and undermined the priceless trust towards this organization.

6. The Group also noted with serious concerns that among all 280 staffs of OIOS, up to 70 staff are coming from 4 member states, under the background of a high vacancy rate at the Office. We therefore urge the Office to take concrete measures to enhance geographical representation of the Office by recruiting staff from un- and underrepresented countries when addressing the issue of vacancy rate and also prioritize equitable geographical representation as an important part of organizational culture.

Madam Chair,

7. Turning to the report of the Independent Audit Advisory Committee (IAAC) on its activities, the Group would like to reiterate its appreciation for the expert advice and assistance it receives from the Advisory Committee and encourage IAAC to continue to interact with BOA, OIOS and JIU.
 
8. We continue to attach great value to the IAAC's observations and recommendations aimed, among other important tasks, at ensuring compliance with audit and oversight recommendations, as well as the overall effectiveness of the risk management procedures in internal control systems, prevention and addressing significant risks. It remains our view that IAAC's work should contribute to the improvement and strengthening the accountability within the Organization.
 
9. As noted before, the OIOS plays an important role in improving internal controls, accountability and organizational efficiency and effectiveness. In this regard, we are of the view OIOS is well fitted to also examine the issue of the occupancy level of the UN headquarters and other UN Secretariat offices as well as the issue of abuse of the Flexible Working Arrangement (FWA) caused by the absence of internal control in some field missions.
We reiterate that physical presence of the UN staff is fundamental for the work of the organization and meeting the requirements of member states as per the UN rules and regulations. We are deeply concerned some UN staff take multiple FWA periods per year while intentionally breaking up prolonged periods into parts to avoid accumulating more than the limit. Moreover, those staff continue to enjoy relevant allowance and benefit, which they are absolutely not entitled to. Ironically, an evaluation report on the implementation of a flexible workplace (A/78/225) without these findings is even listed on the top of the Office's deliverables.

Madam Chair,

10. We will carefully examine the comments and recommendations contained in these reports. The Group of 77 and China will continue to engage in a proactive and constructive manner in following consultations on this agenda item.

I thank you.