NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia has called on the UN to review reporting mechanisms to ensure the transparency of donors by submitting reports on all of the financial procedures of Saudi-funded humanitarian programs and projects.

This demand came in a speech by Saad Abdullah Al-Aarjani, first secretary and member of the permanent mission of Saudi Arabia to the UN, during a committee discussion on the criminal accountability of UN officials.

Al-Aarjani said accountability of UN officials and experts on mission is vital for combatting any offences they might commit.

In this context, the Kingdom urged the UN to maintain a zero-tolerance policy in addressing criminal justice and to sustain the rule of law principle.

Al-Aarjani conveyed the Kingdom’s approval of developing legislation that can identify important rules to punish crimes committed by UN staff. The Kingdom supports the rights of any person charged with an offence to be presumed until proven guilty by relevant authorities, he added.

He said that the Kingdom appreciated the important roles of the vast majority of UN personnel, who spare no effort to serve the world, and sometimes even sacrifice their lives carrying out their humanitarian work.

Al-Aarjani said: “The Kingdom calls for action to develop the human rights system for peacekeeping missions and reiterates the importance of promoting international cooperation and joint work among member states to ensure the accountability of UN officials. The Kingdom also finds it crucial to provide UN staff with pre-deployment training on the criminal laws applicable in the host country, to prevent committing criminal offences that violate local laws.”