India calls for transparency at the office of UNGA President

India has called for ensuring transparency in financial contributions made to the office of the UN General Assembly President, emphasising that such financial disclosures will help in maintaining accountability and integrity of the office.
"There is certainly a need to increase transparency, accountability and institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly (OPGA)," First Secretary in the Indian Mission to the UN, Noor Rahman Sheikh, said here.
Sheikh noted that while voluntary contributions could continue to be made to OPGA, it is "important to have transparency of financial contributions" made to the office.
He stressed that the General Assembly president should disclose details of financial contributions made to his officeduring his tenureto ensure its integrity.

"Making a financial disclosure by the PGA (President of the General Assembly) at the time of assuming and demitting office will also be useful to maintain transparency and integrity of the office," he said at a meeting on 'Strengthening the Institutional Memory of the President of the General Assembly' yesterday.
His remarks come against the backdrop of charges filed last year against the 68th president of the General Assembly John Ashe for accepting over USD 1.3 million in bribe from businessperson in China in exchange for using his capacity as UNGA President to support Chinese business interests.

The charges against Ashe and others had shocked the UN and prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to order an internal audit of the dealings between the UN and two companieswhose executives were linked to the bribery scandal involving Ashe.

Sheikh further said that while resources provided to OPGA have remained constant for the last several years, his role and responsibility have evolved in line with the enlarged activities that OPGA is expected to do.
"We also note that it is important to provide necessary means to the president of the General Assembly commensurate with the tasks that the Member States expect him to perform," he said.
Given that only about 68 per cent of the budgetary allocation to the OPGA has being utilised in recent years, Sheikh said that this needs to be given due consideration and budgetary allocation made to the office could be utilised in the most optimum way.

He stressed on the need to have a system of maintaining office records and a proper mechanism for handing over and taking over "as is expected of such a high office".