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FT.com / Home UK - UN vows openness on handling of tsunami donations: "UN vows openness on handling of tsunami donations
By Frances Williams in Geneva
Published: January 12 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 12 2005 02:00

The United Nations assured international donors yesterday that it would do everything possible to ensure accountability of the huge tsunami relief operation and pledged immediate investigation of any allegations of mishandling of funds.

Speaking in Geneva, where donors pledged an immediate response of more that $700m (�534m) towards the UN's $977m appeal, Jan Egeland, the UN's top emergency relief co-ordinator, said: 'We can't afford any question marks over what happens to these unprecedented donations.' The UN is preparing an improved real-time, online financial tracking service to record the flow of funds 'from pledge via commitment to actual disbursement'."