TEN MEMBERS RESPONSIBLE FOR 80 PER CENT OF UNITED NATIONS BUDGET UNDER NEW SCALE OF ASSESSMENTS ADOPTED BY ASSEMBLY

23 December 1997

Press Release
GA/AB/3211

TEN MEMBERS RESPONSIBLE FOR 80 PER CENT OF UNITED NATIONS BUDGET UNDER NEW SCALE OF ASSESSMENTS ADOPTED BY ASSEMBLY

19971223 Budget Set at $2.532 Billion for 1998-1999; Decisions Include Peacekeeping Financing, International Tribunals, Human Resources

Under the scale of assessments for 1998-2000 adopted by the General Assembly, 10 countries will be responsible for 80 per cent of the budget of the United Nations, which it has set at $2.532 billion for the next two years. They are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Russian Federation, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands.

Negotiations on the scale and the budget, which incorporates elements of the Secretary-General's reform proposals, were conducted by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) mainly in informal meetings until the very last day of the just concluded segment of the Assembly session.

Reaffirming the fundamental principle that the expenses of the Organization should be apportioned among Member States broadly according to their capacity to pay, the Assembly kept the ceiling rate at 25 per cent and lowered the floor rate to 0.001 per cent, from 0.01 per cent. In 1998, 30 Members will be paying at the minimum.

The Assembly President, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine) said the adoption of a new scale would lead the Organization away from the brink of bankruptcy and open the possibility of financial stability in the future. The programme budget for the next biennium also reflected the Secretary-General's reform measures.

In the Fifth Committee debate on the scale, the representative of the United States said it was seeking to cut its assessment for the regular budget to 22 per cent by 1998 and 20 per cent by the year 2000. Belgium, speaking for the European Union and associated States, said that the existing ceiling rate was a significant exception to the principle of capacity to pay. A ceiling that fell below 25 per cent would be "unreasonable and contrary to the principle of equity". The representative of the Marshall Islands, speaking for "like-minded States", said the floor rate posed a number of difficulties to a number of smaller countries, which had few resources to finance their membership at the United Nations. The anomaly in the scale meant that they were spending more funds on membership than on their actual presence at Headquarters.

In adopting the new scale, the Assembly also decided to consider reviewing the scale for the years 1999-2000 during its resumed fifty-second session, in light of all relevant factors, including the status of Member States' contributions.

The new scale would be used to apportion the $2.532 billion appropriated for the 1998-1999 budget, after adjustments mainly for currency fluctuations. The Secretary-General had initially proposed $2.583 billion. By the terms of the resolution on questions related to the budget, the Assembly stressed that the reform would be implemented with full respect for the United Nations medium-term plan for 1998-2001 and reaffirmed that it must not entail involuntary separation of staff. By other provisions of the resolution, the Assembly:

-- Approved the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) on the salary and emoluments of the new post of Deputy Secretary-General;

-- Decided that the amount saved by the abolition of the High-level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development will be transferred to the development account, which will increase the total in that account to a little more than $13 million;

-- Approved the comments and the recommendations contained in the reports of the Advisory Committee on the 1998-1999 budget, which includes the view that the new Department of Disarmament Affairs and the Office of Communications and Public Information shall be led by Under-Secretaries- General; and

-- Approved the establishment of one post each at the level of Principal Officer (D-1), Professional P-5 and P-4, and General Service for the Strategic Planning Unit.

On the 1996-1997 budget, the Assembly resolved that the final appropriations for the two years would be reduced by about $61.2 million to $2.542 billion.

Other actions taken by the Assembly on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee included those concerning human resources management, the United Nations common system, pattern of conferences, reports of the Board of Auditors, review of United Nations efficiency and the financing of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, as well as of missions.

For the two International Tribunals, the Assembly decided to appropriate some $125.6 million gross for 1998. Of that amount, $68.8 million is for the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal, with about $56.7 million for the Rwanda Tribunal.

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The Assembly also authorized the Secretary-General to implement without delay the administration and payment procedures for awards in cases of death and disability sustained by troops in United Nations peacekeeping operations for incidents occurring after 30 June. To clear inventory backlog at the United Nations Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy, it authorized the Secretary- General to commit $4.2 million and endorsed his proposal for development and implementation of a field assets control system. The Base has been operating since 1994, and is central to United Nations peacekeeping operations in the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Africa.

The Assembly authorized the Secretary-General to commit up to $10.6 million gross for the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998. The sum would add to the $178.9 million gross appropriated last June by the Assembly. It appropriated $155 million gross ($150 million net) for the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) for the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998. It also reduced the appropriation for the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) to approximately $9 million gross ($8.4 million net) for the same period. Taking into account the $5.1 million gross ($4.7 million net) already assessed for July through September, the Assembly decided to defer the apportionment of the additional $3.8 million gross ($3.7 million net).

Regarding the reports of the Board of Auditors, the Assembly requested the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to complete the implementation of Auditors' recommendations. The Office of the High Commissioner was asked to acquire goods and services on the widest possible geographical basis.

On the common system, the Assembly approved, effective 1 March 1998, a revised base salary scale that would raise pay for Staff members at the Professional and higher categories by about 3 per cent. By other terms of the resolution, the Assembly endorsed the principles and guidelines for appointments of limited duration contained in the report of the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC).

In a separate action on human resources management, the Assembly approved the introduction of a performance award system for United Nations staff and urged the Secretary-General to adopt a step-by-step approach to introducing that system.

On the pattern of conferences, the Committee recommended, among other measures, that Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha shall be official holidays at United Nations Headquarters and at other applicable duty stations.

The officers of the Fifth Committee are: Anwarul Karim Chowdhury (Bangladesh), Chairman; Erica-Irene Daes (Greece) and Nazareth Incera (Costa Rica), Vice-Chairmen; and Djamel Moktefi (Algeria), Rapporteur.

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