STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF BENON V. SEVAN ON THE INTERIM REPORT OF THE IIC
Azg/arm
18 Feb 05
Benon Sevan, UN Undersecretary General, has been often spoken of lately
in connection with scandal over Oil-for-Food Programme as result of
which he was temporarily discharged by Kofi Annan. Benon Sevan denies
accusations and he wrote in a letter to a friend that “he is ready
to fight tillâ~@¦ the hell grows cold”. He also wrote that he was
going to retire as he has served at the UN for 40 years. Below we
present excerpts from announcement of Erik Lewis, his counsel.
It is unfortunate that the Independent Investigative Committee
(IIC) has succumbed to massive political pressure and now seeks to
scapegoat Undersecretary General and former Executive Director of the
Iraq Programme, Benon Sevan, for problems within the Oil-for-Food
Programme. After eight months of investigation with more than 60
employees and a $30 million budget, the IIC needed to produce a
“smoking gun.” As Mr. Volcker has conceded, there is no smoking gun.
Mr. Sevan never took a penny.
Benon Sevan has served the UN for forty years in some of the
most difficult assignments in the world-including Afghanistan and
Iraq as well as Angola, Burundi, Kosovo, Rwanda, Somalia and South
Lebanon. Suicide bombers tried to kill him, blowing up his office in
Baghdad and killing his dear friends and colleagues. Mr. Sevan ran the
largest humanitarian program in UN history, a program that literally
saved tens of thousands of innocent people from death by disease and
starvation. He is enormously proud of his service and the thousands
of his colleagues who served with him, both at UN Headquarters and
in Iraq.
The difficulties with running a program of this magnitude and
sensitivity under a severe sanctions regime were all identified by
Mr. Sevan throughout the life of the program. Mr. Sevan confronted both
the Iraqis and members of the Security Council without fear or favor.
It is important to note what the IIC has not found. They have
not found – because they cannot – that Mr. Sevan ever accepted
anything from anyone. They have not found – because they cannot –
that Mr. Sevan ever took any action or failed to take any action
other than in the best interests of the Oil-for-Food Programme and
the United Nations. Apparently, however, the IIC has concluded,
based on undisclosed statements by officials of the former Saddam
regime, that Mr. Sevan “cited” a company to Iraqi officials,
one of thousands of companies that received contracts for oil and
humanitarian supplies. Mr. Sevan had no interest in that company or in
any of the other companies associated with the program. Mr. Sevan’s
goal throughout the life of the program was to expedite the pumping
of oil in order to pay for urgently needed humanitarian supplies in
full compliance with the mandate established by the Security Council.
The IIC also makes the bizarre claim that Mr. Sevan’s statements
concerning income duly and properly reported on his financial
disclosure forms years ago “are not adequately supported by the
information reviewed by the Committee.” The Committee admits that
it bases this specious statement on a conversation with someone in
Cyprus who purports to be familiar with the finances of Mr. Sevan’s
late aunt. Mr. Sevan has been entirely forthcoming with respect to
the timing and manner of income received from his late aunt. It is
ludicrous to contend that in 1999 Mr. Sevan disclosed fictitious gifts
from his aunt on his forms in anticipation of misleading the IIC,
which would not even be created until 2004. Moreover, the IIC made
this “finding” without ever bothering to question Mr. Sevan regarding
this subject.
Unfortunately, in the current political climate, the IIC needs to find
someone to blame. And so the IIC tries to scapegoat Mr. Sevan for
mentioning a company to the Iraqis as part of his role in advancing
the process of trading oil for food. As Mr. Volcker’s statements
to The New York Times on January 7 made clear, the IIC was looking
to blame Mr. Sevan before they ever interviewed him. The IIC has
turned its back on the principles of due process, impartiality and
fairness which were to govern its investigation and it has caved in
to the pressure of those opposed to the mission of the UN.
Eric L. Lewis, Counsel to Mr. Sevan; [email protected]
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