1.
This Act may be cited as the
United Nations Oil-for-Food
Accountability Act of 2005
.
2.
Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)
There have been allegations of substantial fraud and corruption
in the administration and management of the oil-for-food program.
(2)
The United Nations received 2.2 percent of the proceeds of the
sale of the oil exported from Iraq under the oil-for-food program,
approximately $1,400,000,000, to fund the programs administrative and
operational costs.
(3)
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate estimates that during
the period from 1991 through 2002, the former Iraqi regime received
$21,300,000,000 in illegal revenues from the oil-for-food program, including
$13,600,000,000 received from oil smuggled out of Iraq, $4,400,000,000 received
from kickbacks on humanitarian goods, and $644,000,000 received from surcharges
on oil purchases and investment of illicit revenues.
(4)
Any illicit activity by United Nations officials, personnel,
agents, or contractors, including entities that have entered into contracts
under the oil-for-food program, is unacceptable and must be thoroughly
investigated.
(5)
Documents in the files of the former Iraqi Oil Ministry indicate
that Benon Sevan, the Executive Director of the oil-for-food program, and other
senior United Nations officials may be connected to a kickback scheme in which
some 270 prominent foreign officials, business people, and political entities
received the right to trade in Iraqi oil at below market prices.
(6)On January 18,
2005, Samir A. Vincent, who was acting as an unregistered Iraqi agent, became
the first person convicted in the oil-for-food scandal.
(7)
On April 21, 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted
Resolution 1538 that established a high-level inquiry into allegations
regarding the administration of the oil-for-food program. The inquiry is led by
Mr. Paul Volcker and the investigators carrying out the inquiry do not have
subpoena powers.
(8)
The ability and credibility of the United Nations Security
Council to act in matters of war and peace is threatened due to the alleged
influence of permanent member states’ politically connected individuals,
companies, and institutions who received Iraqi oil contracts.
(9)
The ability of the United Nations to convey legitimacy to the new
Government of Iraq and assist in postwar Iraq is hampered by the allegations of
United Nations corruption and mismanagement of the oil-for-food program.
3.
Oil-for-Food program defined
In this Act, the term
oil-for-food program
means the program to permit the sale of
petroleum products exported from Iraq and to use the revenue generated from
such sale for humanitarian assistance established and administered pursuant to
United Nations Security Council Resolution 986 (April 14, 1995) and subsequent
United Nations resolutions.
4.
Payment of certain contributions contingent upon United Nations
cooperation
(a)
Withholding of portion of assessed contributions
Until the President submits the certification under subsection
(b), amounts shall be withheld from amounts appropriated for contributions to
international organizations as follows:
(1)
Fiscal year 2006 assessed contributions for United Nations
regular budget
Of the funds appropriated for contributions to international
organizations in an Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2006, 10 percent
of the amount available for United States assessed contributions to the regular
budget of the United Nations for such fiscal year.
(2)
Fiscal year 2007 assessed contributions for United Nations
regular budget
Of the funds appropriated for contributions to international
organizations in an Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2007, 20 percent
of the amount available for United States assessed contributions to the regular
budget of the United Nations for such fiscal year.
(b)
The certification referred to in subsection (a) is a
certification made by the President to Congress that—
(1)
the United Nations has in effect procedures that provide the
Government Accountability Office access to all documents relating to the
oil-for-food program so that the Comptroller General of the United States may
perform nationally mandated reviews of United Nations operations;
(2)
the United Nations Secretary General has formally confirmed that
the United Nations will not assert the inviolability of United Nations papers
and internal records that concern the oil-for-food program or a sanction
imposed on Iraq related to the oil-for-food program;
(3)
the United Nations has authorized the release, upon request, to
the law enforcement authorities of any member state of the United Nations
authentic copies of any document, including any document in the custody of a
person that was engaged on a contract basis to provide goods or services to the
United Nations, that in the judgment of the requesting authority directly or
indirectly concerns the oil-for-food program or a sanction imposed on Iraq
related to the oil-for-food program;
(4)
the United Nations has waived any immunity enjoyed by any United
Nations official from the judicial process in the United States for any civil
or criminal acts or omissions under United States Federal or State law in
connection with the oil-for-food program; and
(5)
any United Nations official who received improper financial
benefits from the oil-for-food program has reimbursed the Government of Iraq
for the full amount, including interest on such amount, that such official
improperly received.