FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSION ON IMPROVING UNITED NATIONS FINANCIAL SITUATION
Press Release
GA/AB/3312
FIFTH COMMITTEE CONTINUES DISCUSSION ON IMPROVING UNITED NATIONS FINANCIAL SITUATION
19991005Questions relating to the apportionment of expenses and to the scale of assessments would be best addressed after the present financial crisis had passed, the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) was told this afternoon as it continued its discussion on improving the Organizations financial situation.
[The scales of assessment are the means by which Member States financial obligations to the United Nations are determined.]
The representative of India said the Secretariat had lived up to the compact that a more efficient United Nations would attract more funding, but not all Member States had. All Member States should settle their outstanding dues without delay.
The representative of Costa Rica said she was firmly opposed to any change in ceilings of the scales of assessment. The scales should reflect the ability of States to pay, she stressed. They were not the cause of the problem, nor did they aggravate it. She was disturbed by efforts to politicize the scales.
The representative of South Africa, speaking on behalf of the Non- Aligned Movement, said that while it was not in dispute that the United States owed arrears to the United Nations, it would not be right to attribute the United Nations financial problems solely to the United States refusal to pay. Quite a number of Member States owed the United Nations, and all must pay.
The representatives of Saudi Arabia, Japan, Republic of Korea and Guatemala also spoke.
The Committee concluded its general discussion on issues relating to the financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM) and the United Nations Observer in Angola (MONUA), about which the representative of Angola spoke, and also its general discussion on financing the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).
At its next formal meeting, at 3 p.m. on 15 October, the Committee is expected to take action on various draft texts.
Programme of Work
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) met this afternoon to continue its consideration of improving the financial situation of the United Nations, and to conclude its consideration of the issues concerning the financing of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM) and the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA), and of issues related to the financing of the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM).
(For background on the financing of UNAVEM and MONUA and on the financing of UNIKOM see press release GA/AB/3308 of 4 October).
Statements
FAWZI BIN ABDUL MAJEED SHOBOKSHI (Saudi Arabia) expressed his deep concern at the critical financial situation of the United Nations. It was obvious that the non-payment by some Member States of their assessed contributions was behind this. He called for the full and unconditional payment by all States. That was the only guarantee of the continuation of the United Nations work in all fields.
KAMALESH SHARMA (India) said that the United Nations had been in the grip of a severe financial crisis for over a decade. At the same time important mandates were invested in the Organization. The continuing crisis had meant that it could neither devote the resources needed for development programmes nor finance peacekeeping at the levels needed. This had seriously crippled the capacity of the United Nations to serve Member States. The cause of the crisis was obvious. The focus could not usefully be shifted away from the core requirement that all Member States meet their obligations. Some Member States could not pay as a result of temporary problems, but these States were not the cause of the crisis.
India was owed a significant sum for troops and equipment, he said. The debt remained intractable and the hope of payment due was virtually non-existent in the absence of major arrearage payments, including those by the major contributor. The United States representatives statement this morning was welcome.
The overall reform of the system of financing the Organization through the high-level open ended working group had not produced results, he said. It was imperative to adopt concrete measures, by consensus, to address the crisis. The ability of the United Nations to borrow from peacekeeping funds had dwindled and one did not need to be a financial expert to see that cross-borrowing was financially imprudent.
Any solution must involve all Member States jointly pledging to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time, and those in arrears must announce a schedule for settlement, he said. The compact was that a more efficient United Nations would attract more funding. The Secretariat had delivered, but not all Member States had. Questions relating to the apportionment of expenses and to the scale of assessments would be best addressed after the present financial crisis had passed.
DUMISANI S. KUMALO (South Africa), speaking on behalf of the Non-aligned Movement, said that during the Movements Durban Summit in September, it had reaffirmed its concern about the deteriorating United Nations financial situation and its determination that the primary cause of the problems was the failure of certain developed countries to pay their assessments in full, on time and without conditions. He called on all countries to settle their outstanding dues without delay. It was not in dispute that the United States owed arrears to the United Nations. However, it would also be erroneous to leave an impression that the United Nations was in financial trouble solely because the United States would not pay. Quite a number of Member States owed the United Nations, and all must pay.
Cross-borrowing from peacekeeping funds, resulting in delays in payments to troop and equipment contributing countries, was also of concern, he said. Peacekeeping expenses must be borne by Member States according to the provisions of the Charter and the relevant Assembly resolutions. The Assembly resolutions took account of the special responsibilities of the permanent five members of the Security Council.
The Fifth Committee should hold informal consultations to consider solutions to the financial crisis, he said. The ideals and challenges of the Organization, as outlined by the Secretary-General in his report A/54/1, could not be effectively addressed due to certain Member States failure to pay. As had been said in the General Assembly two weeks ago, the matter turned on the will of political leaders to discover among themselves the moral and intellectual courage to do what was correct and necessary.
NAZARETH INCERA (Costa Rica) said the only real solution to the financial situation of the United Nations was to have the full payment by States owing dues - in particular by the major contributors. Costa Rica was doing its utmost to comply with its obligations in this sphere.
She said Costa Rica was firmly opposed to changes in the ceilings of scales of assessment -- that scale should reflect the ability of States to pay. The scale was not the cause of the problem, nor did it aggravate it. Costa Rica also opposed the politicization of the issue, and found this disturbing.
JUICHI TAKAHARA (Japan) applauded these States that had paid their dues in full; this was an attempt by those States to place the Organization on a sound financial basis. But the considerable quantity of arrears remained at the unacceptably high level of $2.5 billion.
His Government was convinced that the financial crisis could only be solved by the early payment of all dues by Member States in arrears, he said. Japan had faithfully fulfilled its obligations and was willing to carry on doing so in the future, but was concerned about the recent tendency to place the funding of United Nations activities on a voluntary basis.
PARK HAE-YUN (Republic of Korea) said his country had expressed concern over the financial situation of the United Nations for a number of years. The chronic distress showed no sign of being resolved and continued late or non-payment was undermining the Organization. The recurring pattern of huge cash deficits again applied this year.
Cross borrowing from peacekeeping was detrimental to troop and equipment contributors, he said. The unpredictable nature of peacekeeping operations meant it could not be a lasting basis for cash management.
If the crisis continued, confidence and effectiveness of the Organization would be lost at a time when its responsibilities were increasing, he said. The persistent distress already effected mandated activities, and hampered reform efforts to make the Organization more efficient. It also meant there was no financial flexibility to fund peacekeeping missions in time. The working group discussions had failed to produce tangible results for reorganizing finances.
As the primary cause rested with the late or non-payment of assessments, no lasting solution would be found unless arrears were paid, he said. The political will must be found to comply with Charter obligations. Urgent efforts by Member States were required. The Republic of Korea was open to creative solutions to address the problems caused by non-payment of arrears.
GERT ROSENTHAL (Guatemala) said the United Nations was the most significant inter-governmental organization in the world, but some governments had failed to fulfil their obligations to it. In those circumstances, the Organization had tried to become more selective in carrying out its tasks, but as it did so it gradually became weaker and ran the risk of falling into a vicious circle. The reason for that had been clearly identified today, and there was no need to dwell on it.
However, new responsibilities could not be assigned to the United Nations if the means to carry out those activities were lacking, he said. He stressed that the Organization should be effective in what it undertook. The shrinking of the Secretariat was the result of so-called attrition; that was detrimental to the excellence that the Secretary-General had called for and was harmful to efficiency. It was to be hoped that the long-awaited payment of arrears by the main contributor would also help with the generation of other initiatives.
PENNY WENSLEY (Australia), Fifth Committee Chairman, proposed that the Committee revert to consideration of the agenda item at a later stage after consultation with the Fifth Committee bureau. It was so decided.
The Committee then turned to consideration of issues relating to the financing of UNAVEM and MONUA.
MARGARIDA IZATA (Angola) said her country was fully aware of difficulties faced by the UNAVEM III mission in attempting to meet its mandate. The accord between Angola and the United Nations concerning the Mission stipulated, in paragraph 57, that whenever privileges and immunities of the Mission or facilities to be provided by the Government of Angola were mentioned the primary responsibility for those matters rested with the Government of Angola.
The relevant bodies in Angola were considering the matters mentioned in the report [concerning money owed to the United Nations in respect of payments made to the Government of Angola for services provided to the Mission] and, in due course, she was confident that a satisfactory solution would be found.
The Committee then decided to conclude its general discussion of the matter.
Turning then to its agenda item on financing UNIKOM, the Committee decided to conclude its general discussion on that item.
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