UNITED NATIONS, Sept 6: In an unprecedented move the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) led by Paul Volcker, the former head of US Federal Reserve, will present its final report to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, a UN spokesman announced in New York.

The report, which was leaked out to some newspapers and agencies, says that the United Nations urgently needs stronger leadership and wide-ranging reforms to prevent the ‘illicit, unethical and corrupt behaviour’ uncovered in the $64 billion oil-for-food programme for Iraq.

Asked as to why the final report was being unveiled at a meeting of UN Security Council, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric pointed out that the Inquiry Committee was originally established by the UN Security Council and funded by Iraqi Oil-for-Food funds.

The diplomats here point out that the report’s timing could not be worse as it comes out days before UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presides over the largest world summit in history on Sept. 14-16. One proposal would give the secretary-general more power to move around staff, investigate wrongdoing and hire outside auditors.

The highly critical report says the United Nations was ill-equipped to handle a programme of that magnitude ‘or even programmes of a lesser scope’.

“An adequate framework of controls and auditing was absent,” said the report’s introduction, “there were, in fact, instances of corruption among senior staff as well as in the field.”

“At stake is the UN ability to respond promptly and effectively to the responsibilities thrust upon it by the realities of a turbulent and often violent world,” said the report.

“It is precisely those qualities that too often were absent in the administration of the oil-for-food programme.”