UN agency tackles corruption claims

The UN refugee agency says it is probing new allegations of fraud in its resettlement programme in Kenya and Uganda after the German magazine Stern reported on corruption claims. It noted that an illegal 'market' had grown up around the resettlement programme in Kampala in which intermediaries acted between local UNHCR officials and refugees willing to pay to be resettled. Under the programme, vulnerable refugees are given a home in third countries. A report on the News24 site notes that the leading host countries for resettled refugees last year were the US, Canada and Britain. The Stern report said refugees were paying about $2 500 each to get resettled, with the corruption also including fake medical certificates to ease entry. 'We can confirm that we have received allegations related to resettlement fraud in Uganda and Kenya,' said UNHCR spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly.