PRESS CONFERENCE ON VIGIL TO PROTEST ARREARS

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE ON VIGIL TO PROTEST ARREARS

Vigils will be held worldwide tonight to protest the failure of some States to pay their United Nations dues, representatives of four non- governmental organizations (NGOs) told correspondents this afternoon at a press conference at United Nations Headquarters. In New York City, the protest would be held at 6:15 p.m. at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza.

Participating in the press conference, which was sponsored by the Department of Public Information (DPI), were: Jim Olsen, of the United Nations Association of the United States of America; Bill Pace, of the World Federalist Movement; Sharon McHale, of the World Federation of United Nations Associations; and Jim Paul, of the Global Policy Forum. They told correspondents that the NGO community worldwide was extremely concerned about the United Nations' financial crisis.

Polls indicated that the United States public did not support the withholding of assessed dues for political purposes, Mr. Olsen said. Most United States citizens wanted their country to meet its financial obligations to the Organization, particularly when they understood that those obligations were legally binding and determined on the basis of each nation's ability to pay. When they further understood that the Organization had granted an exception to the principle of capacity to pay in deciding their country's dues, the importance of paying dues became more evident.

The citizens of the United States also wanted the United Nations to be strengthened, Mr. Olsen said. They sought an international Organization that could prevent and resolve conflict, promote human rights and sustainable development, and assist refugees and the victims of disasters. Such an Organization benefited all countries by creating a stable international environment and enabling the costs of a safer world to be shared.

Mr. Paul said that some 45 vigils, including 22 in the United States, would be held around the world today to protest the Organization's fiscal crisis. Worldwide, citizens did not approve of the practice of withholding funds from the United Nations for political purposes.

Through these vigils, civil society groups worldwide would reaffirm their support for the Organization, and call upon Member States to fulfil their obligations to it, Mr. Pace said. Statistics about the United Nations budget should be considered in perspective. The United States federal budget amounted to about $6,000 per capita. In contrast, all of the United States assessed dues, including those for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), came to roughly $6 per person -- less than the cost of a movie.

Even the smallest states in the United States had budgets approaching double that of the United Nations, Mr. Pace went on to say. The number of

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public employees in the state of Wyoming was more than that employed by the entire United Nations system. United States citizens had been forming opinions on the basis of misinformation.

The conditions put forth by the United States as precursors for payment amounted to political and financial blackmail, Mr. Pace said. That undermined the ability of the United States to take political leadership. Potential allies were being burdened by the United States' hypocrisy. Why was the United States population so unaware of the real situation? he asked. The media played an important role in increasing awareness by disseminating accurate information. If the most powerful country in the world did not pay its dues, how could the other 89 countries withholding payments be expected to pay?

Ms. McHale said the vigil would be an annual event until the United Nations rested on solid financial ground. People did not understand the gravity of the situation -- the Organization might cease to exist in the future. The media must help get that point across to the common person.

What was the official reason for withholding funds? a correspondent asked. Mr. Pace answered the United States had felt that the Organization needed reforming and that financial threats were the only way to guarantee action, Mr. Pace said. Legitimate complaints had been cited, such as overlapping programmes and undelivered objectives. In response, the Organization had streamlined its practices and decreased its funding and levels of staffing, while continuing to undertake its important and increasing responsibilities. Also, a Congressional group which wanted the United States to withdraw from the Organization seemed to have captured support, not only from conservative elements but also from the democrats.

The financial crisis impacted negatively on many substantive programmes, Mr. Paul said. Asked which other countries owed the Organization, he said that while no country approached the level owed by the United States, the Ukraine and Brazil were significantly in arrears. Most cases of non-payment were due largely to countries' financial crises. In the case of the United States, however, the lack of payment was entirely for political reasons.

A correspondent asked for the international response to the United States practice of withholding assessed dues. "No representation without taxation", the United Kingdom's Prime Minister John Major had said during last year's general debate, Mr. Paul told correspondents.

The European Union, collectively, paid about 35 per cent of the Organization's regular budget, Mr. Olsen said. The United States' allies were becoming impatient with having to pick up the slack when Member States did not make their payments on time and in full.

At some point, countries would start losing faith in the United Nations' capacity to address issues, Mr. Pace said. The United States' treatment of the United Nations was essentially "un-American", he said. He called on the media

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to increase public understanding about the Organization's real situation. Some 40 per cent of the Organization's procurements went to the United States, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars for that country. In addition, the United States benefited in the amount of some $3 billion from hosting the Organization.

Mr. Paul reminded reporters of the website for information on the vigil. The address was www.globalpolicy.org/vigil.

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