Sixty-first General Assembly

Fifth Committee

53^rd Meeting (AM)

UNITED NATIONS NEEDS FULL, TIMELY PAYMENTS FROM MEMBER STATES

TO IMPROVE FINANCIAL SITUATION, BUDGET COMMITTEE TOLD

 

Discussing the ways to improve the financial situation of the United Nations, speakers in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning strongly emphasized the obligation of all Member States to pay their dues on time, in full and without conditions, to enable the Organization to fulfil all its mandates.

While noting that the financial situation of the United Nations had been generally better at the end of 2006 that a year before, members of the Committee expressed concern about the fragility of the Organization’s financial health, noting, in particular, that the total amount outstanding for peacekeeping operations had stood at $1.9 billion, and that the Organization’s outstanding obligations to troop-contributing countries had amounted to some $1 billion at the end of 2006 -- likely to increase by $589 million by the year’s end.

“Thus, we find ourselves in a vicious cycle year after year,” said Germany’s representative, who spoke on behalf of the European Union and associated States. The Organization needed full and timely payments in order to plan and execute the budgets approved by the General Assembly.  The effectiveness of peacekeeping would suffer and troop contributors would continue to face delayed reimbursements, unless Member States’ payment pattern changed.  He also highlighted the need for the Organization to use the resources provided by Member States in the most accountable, efficient and effective manner.

The representative of Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, expressed concern over the fact that the financial position of the regular budget on 16 May had been weaker than at the same date in 2006.  It was particularly worrying that unpaid assessments on 31 December 2006 had increased by $28 million, reaching the total of $361 million.  He complimented those States that had paid all their contributions in full and extended sympathies to Member States that had not been able to meet their obligations due to social and economic conditions beyond their control.  However, he again urged all States, in particular “the main contributor” -- the United States -- to recommit themselves to meeting their obligations.

In that connection, the representative of Cuba said that the “main contributor” did not comply with its obligations.  Delayed payments from the United States in September 2000 had amounted to 81 per cent of the total, and a similar situation had prevailed 7 years hence.  It was unacceptable for the United States, which enjoyed a maximum limit of 22 per cent on the scale of assessment -- far below its ability to pay -- had not kept its commitments.

Statements were also made by representatives of Canada (also on behalf of Australia and New Zealand), Dominican Republic (on behalf of the Rio Group), Republic of Korea and Egypt.  United Nations Controller, Warren Sach, updated the Committee on the statement of contributions to the United Nations.

The Committee’s next meeting will be announced.

Background

The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) this morning began its general debate on the financial situation of the United Nations, following an oral presentation last Friday by Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Under-Secretary-General for Management (see Press Release GA/AB/3800)

Statements

Updating the Committee on the latest developments, United Nations Controller, WARREN SACH, said that, since the presentation by Ms. Bárcena, South Africa and Iraq had fully paid their assessed contributions that were currently due and payable.  Argentina and Colombia had also made payments to the Capital Master Plan, bringing the total that had fully paid their dues by the cut-off date of 7 May to 50.  Since last Friday, Uganda had also paid its assessments to the Capital Master Plan, but that had been done subsequently to the cut-off date.

THOMAS THOMMA ( Germany), speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that, although the financial situation in 2006 had been generally better than in 2005, the picture was still mixed, and there were reasons for concern.  First of all, the position of the regular budget was uncertain.  While 139 States had paid their regular dues in full by the end of the year -- including the 27 Member States that comprised the European Union -- 53 Member States owed a total of $361 million, with over 90 per cent owed by only three countries.

The fact that the total amount outstanding for peacekeeping operations stood at $1.9 billion had a negative impact on the effectiveness of peacekeeping, he continued.  Meanwhile, the Organization’s outstanding obligations to troop-contributing countries at the end of 2006 had amounted to $1 billion.  “Thus, we find ourselves in a vicious cycle year after year,” he said.  The Organization needed full and timely payments in order to plan and execute the budgets approved by the General Assembly.  The effectiveness of peacekeeping would suffer and troop contributors would continue to face delayed reimbursements, unless the Member States’ payment pattern changed.  It was for that reason that the Union stressed the need for full and timely payment of assessments, noting yet again that the largest part of outstanding dues for peacekeeping were owed by less than a handful of Member States.  The retention of funds due to consistently late or even non-payment of assessments by certain Member States was unacceptable.

Continuing, he recalled Ms. Bárcena’s comment on the unpredictable nature of the demand for peacekeeping activities.  Nevertheless, the Union wished to commend Member States who led by example by regularly keeping current with their assessments, and urged all the countries to pay in full and on time.

Turning to the Capital Master Plan, he stressed the great importance of that project.  The Plan had been under discussion since 2000.  Eventually, in June 2006, the Assembly had taken a decision on the Plan’s strategy, followed by the decision in December on the total budget of $1.9 billion.  After the protracted decision-making process, he trusted in the timely realization of the project as decided by the Assembly.  Further, the Union expected all Member States to pay their assessments to finance the project.  In that context, he appreciated that 168 States had made payments amounting to $331 million so far.

The United Nations could only perform its ever increasing and challenging tasks if all Member States accepted their responsibility to pay their assessments in full, on time and without conditions.  That was the commitment each Member State had entered into.  As the Union accounted for about 40 per cent of all assessed contributions to the United Nations, it expected the Secretariat to show the same commitment to use the resources of the Member States in the most accountable, efficient and effective manner.

IMTIAZ HUSSAIN (Pakistan), speaking on behalf of the “Group of 77” developing countries and China, said that payment of assessed financial contributions in full, on time and without conditions was a Charter obligation and ensured the Organization’s smooth functioning.  He was concerned that the financial position of the regular budget on 16 May, compared to the same date in 2006, had been weaker.  Particularly worrying was that unpaid assessed contributions on 31 December 2006 had increased to $361 million, up by $28 million compared to the same date in 2005.  The Group of 77 would like to know how the current cash balance in the peacekeeping account -- with $2.8 billion in contributions received as of 16 May -- would impact on the peacekeeping mandates at year’s end.  The late and non-payment of dues for some peacekeeping operations were noted for their negative implications on peacekeeping operations, and Member States were asked to endeavour to pay their assessments on time and in full.

He said the Group of 77 had strong concerns regarding the $1 billion owed by the United Nations to troop- and police-contributing countries and contingent-owned equipment.  He was concerned that the debt was likely to rise by $589 million by year’s end.  Member States were urged to fully pay their financial obligations to the United Nations, and the Organization should treat the full reimbursement of payments as one of its financial priorities.  Meanwhile, the Secretary-General and Member States were requested to finalize their memorandums of understanding.  It was encouraging that more States had paid their contribution to the International Tribunals in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia in 2006, and hopefully that trend would continue in 2007.  As for the Capital Master Plan, the Group of 77 hoped that the current trend of payment would continue, and that the Plan would be implemented in line with envisaged timelines and without any further delays on the Secretariat’s part.

He said the Group of 77 would like to join the Secretary-General in complimenting those States that had paid their contributions towards the regular budget, peacekeeping and Tribunals.  It extended its sympathies to Member States that had not been able to meet their obligations due to social and economic conditions beyond their control, but again urged all States, in particular “the main contributor”, to recommit themselves to meeting their obligations.

SHANNON-MARIE SONI (Canada), also speaking on behalf of Australia and New Zealand, repeated the message her country delivered at each of the twice yearly financial briefings: all States must fulfil their Charter obligations to pay assessed contributions in full, on time and without condition.  But the message had had no impact, with the amount owed by States continuing to increase.  That was unacceptable.  Understandably, all Governments had domestic and international obligations that might be difficult to fulfil at times, and perhaps the Fifth Committee should help ease those financial burdens through budget discipline, prioritization and elimination of duplication within the United Nations.

OLIVIO FERMIN (Dominican Republic), speaking on behalf of the Rio Group, endorsed the position of the Group of 77 and China and said that the financial indicators in 2006 had reflected an improvement, as compared with 2005.  However, it was disturbing that the financial situation of the United Nations remained fragile, which meant that the Organization was borrowing from other accounts to keep peacekeeping operations and the Tribunals running.  The Organization needed good financial health in order to comply with its mandates.  That was why an effort must be made by Member States to meet their obligations on time.  In some cases, delays in payment were explained by domestic difficulties or urgent social demands.  In other cases, the countries of the Group had been able to pay their respective obligations in a timely fashion, although not necessarily without sacrifices.

Continuing, he noted with concern an increased debt in reimbursement to troop-contributing countries.  It was expected that the debt owed to troop-contributing countries would increase this year, and he was particularly interested in proper processing of those payments, so those countries could continue making contributions to peacekeeping.  He was pleased to recognize the payments to the International Tribunals and hoped they would continue in the same spirit.  On the Capital Master Plan, he encouraged Member States to continue to support that project, as some of the States of his region had done, so that the Plan would continue to be implemented, as decided by the Assembly.

CHOI HONG-GHI ( Republic of Korea) said that he was pleased to note that the overall financial situation of the United Nations in 2006 had been generally better than in 2005.  He was particularly pleased that the trend of Member States paying their regular budget contributions within the assessed year had continued last year.  139 Member States had paid their regular budget dues in full, only one less than in 2005, which was the highest level since 2002.  As a result, cash resources available on 16 May had been $338 million higher than at the end of 2006.  More Member States were joining in the worthwhile and noble endeavour of making the Organization financially stronger and healthier.

As for the peacekeeping budget, however, he was concerned that the total of unpaid contributions at the end of 2006 had reached $1.8 billion.  In view of that chronic problem of arrears, his delegation was particularly worried that some peacekeeping operations could be undermined or even jeopardized, since restrictions remained in force on borrowing from other active peacekeeping missions and from the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund.  He appealed to those Member States that still had outstanding balances to pay their assessments in full, on time and without conditions.  His delegation was further concerned that the Organization’s debt to Member States was projected to amount to $589 million by the end of 2007.  That problem threatened to become a vicious cycle.  If Member States were to commit substantial resources to the United Nations as needs arose, they must be confident that they would be reimbursed in a timely fashion.  He hoped that outstanding debt to Member States would decrease.

He also noted with concern that the financial position of the International Tribunals had seriously deteriorated last year.  As for the Capital Master Plan, his delegation was disappointed by the Secretariat’s report that just 48 Member States had paid their assessments in full by the cut-off date of 7 May and that 24 States had not paid anything at all to the Plan.  He encouraged those Member States that had outstanding commitments to fulfil their financial obligations at the earliest possible date.  The Republic of Korea had paid in full all its assessments that were due and payable on 16 May 2007.

HESHAM MOHAMED EMAN AFIFI (Egypt), aligning himself with the Group of 77, noted that a 2006 General Assembly resolution had laid down special arrangements for the financing of the Capital Master Plan, to ensure that there were no delays in its implementation and, hence, no increase in costs.  He looked forward to having a special meeting during the current session to receive additional information on the current Capital Master Plan contributions and to hear about the Secretariat’s availability to begin implementation.  So far, he had only received “varied information”, or “rumours”, regarding the Plan, when, in fact, States that had paid their contributions before the due dates deserved to be informed on the Plan’s implementation in a clear manner.  He looked forward to receiving that information soon, keeping in mind the short time left in current resumed session.

PABLO BERTI OLIVA (Cuba), aligning himself with the Group of 77, said that, notwithstanding the slight improvement in the Organization’s financial situation, the fact that the United Nations financial health depended on contributions from a small group of countries was alarming and created financial uncertainty.  Over the past 2 years, States had heard much about the need for United Nations reform, with essential paragraphs of the 2005 Summit Outcome Document stating that Members were committed to providing the United Nations with sufficient resources to achieve its objectives.  The “main contributor” did not comply with that paragraph.  As of 31 December 2006, payment for 80.6 per cent of the regular budget was delayed, as well as 35 per cent for the peacekeeping budget and 62 per cent for the Tribunals.  That level was worse compared to the same time last year.  In September 2000, delayed payments from the United States had stood at 81 per cent of the total, and a similar situation prevailed 7 years hence.  It was unacceptable for the United States, which enjoyed a maximum limit of 22 per cent on the scale of assessment and which was far below its ability to pay, had not kept its commitments.

He said Cuba had made its payment to the Capital Master Plan in March and made a partial payment to the regular budget, despite the country’s financial limitations resulting from a United States trade blockade of more than 4 decades.  At present, Cuba could not use United States dollar in international transactions, including when making payments to the United Nations.  Monetary fluctuations in the international market further affected Cuba’s ability to pay.  In addition, Cuba had to make those transactions through a third country.

He said new rules had recently made it impossible for Cuba to make its payments to international organizations in Geneva, such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Society, because of “the fear of new sanctions”.  The same was true regarding Cuba’s assessed contributions to the Conventions on biologic weapons, conventional weapons and antipersonnel landmines.  Swiss banks had been unable to receive transfers from Cuba, and one transfer made through a Canadian bank to a United States bank had been rejected.  That demonstrated the United States’ negligent conduct and showed the Bush Administration’s disregard for the United Nations.  It also undermined the Convention on privileges and immunities of those serving the United Nations.  The United States Government should not interfere with the United Nations activities, in violation of the principle of non-discrimination and equality amongst States.  The issue should be taken up in informals and a resolution be drafted in that regard.

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For information media • not an official record