UN Authority Figures

UN General Assembly Fifth Committee on Administration and Budgetary matters, Vice-Chair: Sudan

Photo
Newspaper editor Nhial Bol was held by southern Sudanese authorities for publishing an article critical of corruption. Bol said police arrested him for a story printed which lay corruption accusations against the ministry of legal affairs and constitutional development in southern Sudan. (AFP, October 11, 2008)

Mission of the Fifth Committee on administration and budgetary matters, of the General Assembly: "The Fifth Committee is the Committee of the General Assembly with responsibilities for administration and budgetary matters. Based on the reports of the Fifth Committee, the General Assembly considers and approves the budget of the Organization in accordance with Chapter IV, Article 17 of the Charter of the United Nations." (General Assembly - Administrative and Budgetary Committee web-site, "Fifth Committee")

Term of office: 2008-2009

Sudan's Record on administration and budgetary matters:
"Police corruption was a problem, and some police officers supplemented their incomes by extorting bribes...Police corruption, impunity, and lack of effectiveness were problems...The judiciary was inefficient and subject to corruption...[O]n October 10, in Juba, GOSS [Government of Southern Sudan] authorities arrested Nhial Bol, editor of The Citizen, after he published an article regarding corruption...The law does not provide criminal penalties for official corruption, and the World Bank's 2008 Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a severe problem. Government officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices. The government did not investigate officials suspected of corruption. Government officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws. There were no laws providing for public access to government information, and the government did not provide such access. In Southern Sudan GOSS officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corruption was a problem in all branches of the GOSS." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2008, Sudan)