The Norwegian Department of Foreign Affairs (UD) is of the opinion that Norway’s Ambassador to Israel, Mona Juul, and UN Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen contravened the Civil Service Act when they failed to inform the department of the cash involved in the peace prize awarded by the Peres Peace Centre in 1999.

The two each received a cheque in the amount of US$ 50,000, as part of the prize awarded for their contribution towards the process which resulted in the so-called Oslo Accord.

Terje Roed-Larsen says he strongly regrets that he failed to inform the department about the cash involved. -“At the same time I want to underline that I was not aware that such a set of rules existed, until I was informed of the department’s decision today”, he said to NRK TV on Monday afternoon.

He added that the prizes were awarded in public, and with full media coverage, and that he never had made any attempt at keeping the prizes a secret.

UD spokesman Karsten Klepsvik says to NRK TV that the Department should have been informed about the prizes.

The Department will now consider whether or not Ambassador Juul will be given any disiplinary penalties, possibly in the form of a reprimand.

This article ran in the Norway Post on April 29, 2002

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR