Speakers Urge Adequate Funding of Peacekeeping Mission Drawdown in Mali, Stable Financing Mechanism for Peacebuilding Fund, as Fifth Committee Begins Session
United Nations Liquidity Situation, Timely Payments Also Focus of Debate
Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today tackled a diverse set of financial issues that included adequate funding to safely drawdown a peacekeeping mission in Africa, creating a stable financing mechanism for the Organization’s Peacebuilding Fund and exploring changes in the complex methodology used to assess Member States’ contributions. As they opened their seventy-eighth session and approved their work programme, delegates also discussed the Organization’s liquidity woes and once again urged each other to make timely payments so the Organization can fulfil the core mandates laid down by Member States.
Mexico’s representative appealed to delegates to make progress on financing the Peacebuilding Fund and ensure adequate funding for peacekeeping missions. His counterpart from Australia, also speaking for Canada and New Zealand, Member States to be flexible to reach a compromise on the outstanding items surrounding the Fund’s financing and work constructively to find consensus.
In a world faced with an unprecedented number of conflicts and crises, the representative of the European Union said her bloc’s member countries remain steadfast supporters of peacebuilding and peacekeeping. She said the Committee must approve sufficient resources for the orderly withdrawal of troops and equipment from the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), whose mandate was terminated at the end of June and is scheduled to close its doors by year’s end. Ensuring the safety and security of peacekeepers and civilian staff, who are still bravely operating despite hardship and heightened security risk, is paramount, she stressed.
The United Kingdom’s delegate echoed the need for an effective, secure closure and liquidation of MINUSMA. Anything contrary will put the peacekeepers’ lives at risk, potentially damaging credibility of the United Nations.
Turning to the Committee’s role, the representative of Cuba, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, said its responsibility is to hold the Secretariat, which is not an independent entity, accountable for the management of the Organization’s resources. As in past sessions, he stressed the importance of equitable geographical representation in the composition of the United Nations staff, which is in line with the Charter of the United Nations.
The representative of the United States said that in the last two sessions, the Committee passed fiscally responsible budgets that funded such key priorities as creating the critical infrastructure that will deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, provide peace and security and advance core values like human rights. While many key issues were left unresolved, progress was made as delegates set their broader geopolitical differences aside and worked for the Organization’s common good. “That is what we need to do this fall,” he stressed.
At the outset of the meeting, Fifth Committee Chair Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud (Egypt) urged members to start this session collectively with a deep commitment to serve the Organization by working “hand-in-hand”. “Rigidity can never lead to consensus-building,” he said, appealing to all delegates to work with each other and come to meetings with open minds.
Also today, the Committee considered the scale of assessments, the complex financing methodology meant to assess each Member State’s contribution to the budget. Bernardo Greiver, Chair of the Committee on Contributions, presented that body’s report on the topic, which covered its eighty-third session held in June. The report includes information to guide the Fifth Committee as it begins preparations to approve a new scale of assessment next year for the 2025-2027 period.
Turning to the application of Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, he recommended that Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia — which have failed to pay their assessments in total due to conditions beyond their control — be allowed to avoid the application of that article and be permitted to vote in the General Assembly until the end of its seventy-eighth session.
Chandramouli Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Finance and Budget in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, and Controller of the United Nations, introduced the Secretariat’s report on the multi-year payment plans, detailing the status of payment of Member States in arrears who have submitted such plans.
Election of Officers
Opening its seventy-eighth session, the Fifth Committee approved by acclamation the nomination of Laurens den Hartog (Netherlands) from the Group of Western European and other States as rapporteur for the session.
Opening Remarks by Fifth Committee Chair
OSAMA MAHMOUD ABDELKHALEK MAHMOUD (Egypt), Fifth Committee Chair, urged Committee members to start this session collectively with a deep commitment to serve the Organization. The Fifth Committee has many obligations to fulfil and is one of the most important committees as it “hits the nerve of the Organization”. Consensus is important and he urged all Member States to work “hand-in-hand”. “Rigidity can never lead to consensus-building,” he said, appealing to all delegates to work with each other and come to meetings with open minds. He also appealed to delegates to work together and meet their mid-December deadline and reach consensus on the budget. He urged collaboration so the vicious cycle of working until the very last minute can be broken.
Organization of Work
RICHARD TUR DE LA CONCEPCIÓN (Cuba), speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, urged the Secretariat to finalize its pending reports as early as possible. He reiterated the Group’s desire that adequate time be given to each agenda item and that practical steps be taken to ensure that reports from the Secretariat and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) are issued in all official languages in a timely fashion, in line with the General Assembly’s rules of procedure and relevant resolutions. Noting the intense journey the Committee is beginning, he reaffirmed its role as the Organization’s sole main committee entrusted with responsibilities for administrative, financial and budgetary matters.
It is the Committee’s responsibility, he emphasized, to hold the Secretariat accountable for the management of the Organization’s resources and to scrutinize every initiative to ensure the Secretariat continues to comply with the mandates entrusted to it. The Secretariat is not an independent entity and the Group, acting in the Fifth Committee, demands transparency, accountability and fairness in the Organization’s administrative proceedings. Equally important is equitable geographical representation in the composition of the United Nations staff, which is in line with the Charter of the United Nations. The Group reaffirms the critical role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination, which should only be strengthened, rather than weakened, he stressed.
BURHAN GAFOOR (Singapore), speaking on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), expressed confidence that under the new leadership, the Committee will engage in constructive, transparent discussions. ASEAN will be paying attention to the deployment of resources for the UN, particularly to the development pillar, which sorely needs funding. He called on States with the capacity to pay their assessed contributions to do in full, on time and without conditions, adding: “The UN should not be forced into a situation of not having the resources it needs to carry out the mandates that we ourselves have set for it.” ASEAN will closely follow the Committee’s upcoming discussions on the proposed programme budget for 2024; programme planning; construction and property management, especially the seismic mitigation retrofit and life-cycle project at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); special political missions; and the subvention to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
“ASEAN’s position and views on these items have not changed, and we look forward to securing good outcomes and ensuring that that the UN has adequate financial resources to fulfil its mandates for these and other important items,” he said. Turning to investing in prevention and peacebuilding, he said assessed contributions for the Peacebuilding Fund should be based on the scale of assessments for peacekeeping operations and not the regular budget scale of assessment, as decisions on maintenance of international peace and security are Security Council matters. Further, he expressed ASEAN’s anticipation of the Secretary-General’s assessment of a flexible workplace at UN Headquarters and will be contributing to the discussion on how to better implement flexible working arrangements without compromising the quality of work and presence of UN staff at offices.
TAREK LADEB (Tunisia), speaking on behalf of the African Group, and aligning himself with the Group of 77 and China, underscored the importance of the Fifth Committee’s current session and noted that, again, the Committee for Programme and Coordination did not provide recommendations for all the proposed programmes under consideration. He emphasized there were the 10 open programmes to be addressed as provided for under paragraph 11 of resolution 77/254. The Group looks forward to implementation of all elements of resolution 77/267 and “stands ready to have constructive engagement in addressing the possible requirements from the review to the budget cycle”. Expressing the Group’s desire that Fifth Committee reports be available in all official languages, he called for adequate and sufficient time to study reports, before adding that the Fifth Committee should strive to conduct its affairs within working hours as allocated in the programme of work, and “avoid spending endless days and nights in negotiations”.
Turning to the scale of assessments, he called for an expedited decision on the agenda item seeking to grant necessary exemptions under Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, saying it is the Committee’s priority to allow members not able to fulfil their financial obligations due to situations beyond their control to fully participate in the work of the Assembly. The Group will work with all delegations to ensure adequate financing and human resources to aid the mandates of special political missions, while it calls on members to attain consensus on allocation of predictable finance from assessed contributions of the United Nations. Underscoring that racism has no place in the Organization, he said it is “a matter of high priority” for the African Group. He further called for negotiation of the Fifth Committee to be conducted inclusively and transparently.
RICCARDA CHRISTIANA CHANDA (Switzerland), speaking also on behalf of Liechtenstein, said that a strong United Nations, capable of implementing the mandates entrusted to it by Member States, is necessary to meet today’s global challenges. “But it can only do so if it has adequate resources,” she said, adding that the Committee plays a key role in ensuring the Organization has these resources. The Committee has a substantial agenda with many crucial issues this session, but Switzerland is confident that it will remember its tradition of consensus as it demonstrates flexibility and constructive engagement. One crucial point concerns the human rights pillar, which is essential to achieve the Organization’s goals. In addition, the Strategic Heritage Plan is not only a building and heritage conservation project, but an investment in multilateralism that guarantee a modern, effective and efficient organization that respects its staff, its environment and its financial resources, she said.
JAMES MARTIN LARSEN (Australia), also speaking on behalf of Canada and New Zealand, welcomed the Secretary-General’s proposed programme budget for 2024, acknowledging the manner with which he has intentionally tried to delicately balance the resourcing of new or expanded programmes with budget growth. He expressed the Group’s commitment to work with Member States to ensure the United Nations has the resources it needs to implement its mandates, even as it also seeks savings to offset increases in other budget areas. On the Peacebuilding Fund, he called on Member States to show flexibility towards reaching a compromise on outstanding items, while encouraging constructive engagement in finding consensus.
He voiced the Group’s deep concern over the drawdown budget negotiations on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) last year, expressing hopes that the Secretary-General’s revised estimates this session will provide an “important opportunity to reconsider the risks and resources required in this complex and volatile environment.” As this year marks 75 years since the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights as well as the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Member States must renew commitment to the universality and indivisibility of human rights, as well as ensure its programme is given necessary and increased resources — a cause to which his country, Canada and New Zealand express support. He bemoaned the non-payment of full budget contributions by some of the largest contributors, urging Member States with outstanding assessments to prioritize payments and advise the Secretariat on their timing of such payments.
HEDDA SAMSON, Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, said her delegation remains a staunch supporter of effective multilateralism. That means it is committed to work collectively in the Committee for a stronger, more efficient and results-oriented United Nations that truly serves its peoples. Member States’ primary duty is to fulfil their financial obligation to the Organization. “We are deeply concerned that late, partial and unpredictable payments beget liquidity challenges, hamper the United Nations’ ability to deliver on its mandates, and corner the Organization into systemic underperformance,” she said, calling on all Member States to pay their contributions in full and on time. If facing temporary difficulties in fulfilling their annual financial obligations, Member States should communicate with the Secretariat to ensure predictability. In addition, there cannot be an effective United Nations without adequate funding of all its mandates. A main responsibility is the timely adoption of the regular budget for 2024.
In a world faced with an unprecedented number of conflicts and crises, the European Union and its member States remain steadfast supporters of peacebuilding and peacekeeping. Regarding MINUSMAmu, she said the Committee needs to approve sufficient resources for an orderly withdrawal. It is of utmost importance to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers and civilian staff, who are still bravely operating despite hardship and heightened security risk. Her delegation is encouraged by the progress made in peacebuilding financing during the last session and remains committed to bridging the remaining gaps and delivering adequate, predictable and sustained financing for peacebuilding. Turning to the issue of work-life balance, she said it is the Committee’s shared responsibility to efficiently and effectively use its time, especially at this early stage. She advocated for transparent and inclusive proceedings and reiterated a strong commitment to reaching decisions by consensus.
MOHAMMED AL HASSAN (Oman), speaking on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, expressed confidence that the Committee’s work will be crowned with success under the Chair’s leadership, and aligned himself with the position of the Group of 77 and China. He said the Council looks forward to participating in various items on the Committee’s agenda, particularly on the issues of peacebuilding investment, the programme and budget for 2024, strategy on information and communications technology (ICT) and the Joint Inspection Unit report on cybersecurity in the United Nations system. He also spotlighted the importance of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the fight against racism and promotion of dignity.
On human resources, he pointed out the need to adopt practical and logical amendments to systems that affect United Nations staff, “to promote equality and justice for all” including for citizens and nationals of the Gulf Cooperation Council for senior positions within the Organization. There is a need to allocate necessary resources for agenda items and, though outside the purview of the Committee’s objectives, for the fight against intolerance and xenophobia. He called on the Committee to adopt a global approach, saying “we need to stop politicizing resource for human rights.” He further expressed the Council’s support towards the attainment of the expected outcome of the Committee.
CHRISTOPHER LU (United States) said the approval of declarations and pacts means little if the United Nations doesn’t have the resources, personnel and structures to implement them. “That’s why the work of the Fifth Committee is so important,” he said. In deciding which programmes will be funded and how the Organization will operate, the Committee creates the critical infrastructure that will deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, provide peace and security and advance core values, such as human rights. In the last two sessions, the Committee passed fiscally responsible budgets that funded key priorities. While many key issues were left unresolved, progress was made as delegates set their broader geopolitical differences aside and worked for the Organization’s common good. “That is what we need to do this fall,” he said, urging the Committee to re-evaluate its work process to avoid concluding negotiations at the very end of the year.
JESÚS VELÁZQUEZ CASTILLO (Mexico) said the Committee’s negotiations are essential for the timely approval of a realistic budget. The agreement of a programme budget for 2024 is very important and the Committee must guarantee the timely allocation of resources. He acknowledged the need for adequate financing of special political missions, which now consume 20 per cent of the regular budget, adding that this financing arrangement needs to be updated. He urged delegates to make progress on financing of the Peacebuilding Fund and to ensure adequate funding for peacekeeping missions, which is another important issue for Mexico. The 2024 programme budget should be developed in a timely manner so that the Secretariat can comply with its commitments and the Organization’s mandates, he stated.
SHERRY ZILBERGELD (Israel) said that her delegation will focus this session on the administration of justice and the reports of the Ethics Office and the Office of Internal Oversight Services. The UN’s policy of protection against retaliation obligates staff members to report any breach of the Organization’s rules and regulations, she said, highlighting Israel’s belief in the right of employees to enjoy protection against retaliation and the right to feel safe in the workplace. “Retaliation against complainants or staff appearing as witnesses constitutes misconduct,” she continued, adding that Israel looks forward to discussions on this topic. She also underscored the need for the Organization’s ICT strategy to align in a manner that is efficient and coherent. She went on to call on the Committee to maintain normal working hours and to utilize virtual platforms with a view to achieving work-life balance.
VATHAYUDH VICHANKAIYAKIJ (Thailand) said world leaders gathered at Headquarters just two weeks ago to deliberate on global aspirations and challenges. Expectations for the United Nations are high, and delegates must ensure the Organization continues to deliver. He fully supported ongoing efforts to enhance the Organization’s work, including the Secretary-General’s launch of UN 2.0, which aims to use data for greater effectiveness. “Money is not everything, but everything needs money,” he said, including the United Nations. He fully supported calls for the Committee to complete its work during its main session on schedule and stressed the need for the earliest availability of the ACABQ reports and other relevant reports. As host country to ESCAP, Thailand sees first-hand the important role played by regional commissions and their partnerships with Member States, and other stakeholders, to ensure that no one is left behind.
DAI BING (China), aligning himself with the Group of 77 and China, said that Member States must work together to strengthen the United Nations. He underscored the importance of financing to the attainment of the Organization’s goals and called on its members to shoulder their responsibilities. He also noted that a major contributor to the UN budget is still in arrears, emphasizing that this has liquidity implications for the Organization. Calling for an improvement in the geographical representation of developing countries within the Secretariat, along with an effective addressing of their concerns, he also highlighted the need for the programme budget to be maintained at a reasonable level and internal oversight to be strengthened. China attaches “great importance” to peacebuilding, noting that in financing the same, it is “unfair to switch funding sources”. He further expressed his country’s commitment to participating in constructive deliberations.
TOUFIQ ISLAM SHATIL (Bangladesh) first thanked the Secretariat and the ACABQ for the early issuance of a significant percentage of the reports needed for this session. He remained hopeful the remaining reports will be published soon to facilitate the session’s timely completion. The world is reeling from the fallouts of conflicts around the globe and climate change, and the United Nations must be fitted with adequate resources. “A well-planned budget and its effective implementation are critical in this regard,” he said, urging delegates to work collaboratively to review and assess the proposed 2024 programme budget. He reiterated the Group of 77 and China’s principled position that mandates must determine budget proposals, and not the other way around. “And the whole process needs to be driven by the initiatives of the Member States,” he added, calling on Member States to meet their financial obligations in full and on time.
JAMES KARIUKI (United Kingdom) welcomed the Secretary-General’s budget proposal for 2024, stressing that the sufficient resourcing of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and balancing new posts and increased budgets with continuing global pressures as particularly important. He said that while his country will carefully and fully engage in crucial negotiations on Special Political Missions, its main priority will be that all missions receive adequate resources to fulfil their mandates, and underscored the importance of Member States in providing “much needed policy guidance.” Spotlighting the need for an effective, secure closure and liquidation of MINUSMA, he said anything contrary will put the peacekeepers’ lives at risk, potentially damaging credibility of the United Nations. It is crucial that the Organization has sufficient funds, he said, concerned about the resurgence of liquidity constraints just 18 months after the unprecedented decision to authorize the retention of $100 million in unspent credits.
MERETE FJELD BRATTESTED (Norway) said that as the world faces a complex set of crises, the United Nations remains the most important arena for international cooperation. The Committee’s work is key as it gives the Organization the needed tools to strengthen and improve its operation. “Norway is convinced that we, as UN Member States, can work together and find compromises and acceptable ways ahead,” she said, adding the Committee must ensure vital tasks are sufficiently funded by core budgets. This applies to areas such as the resident coordinator system, peacebuilding, OHCHR and related activities. “These have all been hampered by persistent underfunding and over-reliance on voluntary contributions,” she said. She called on all Member States to pay their outstanding contributions as soon as possible. Despite this session’s busy agenda, she remained confident negotiations can be concluded in a timely manner and consensus achieved through compromise and good faith.
When given the floor, the representative of Kuwait said that the permanent representative of Oman had already spoken on his country’s behalf.
DMITRY S. CHUMAKOV (Russian Federation) said that the Committee — with 39 draft resolutions and decisions before it — has a huge amount of work ahead of it. In this regard, the Secretariat must ensure the timely and simultaneous issuance of documents in the UN’s six official languages, as translated reports contribute significantly to delegations’ consultations. Most of the Committee’s time is expected to be devoted to the 2024 programme budget, he said, noting that since the release of budget documentation in April, some mandates have expired. Going forward, the Russian Federation hopes that the Committee will fully adhere to its working methods, he said, adding that his delegation will work constructively on all agenda items and that hopefully the Committee will complete its work within the time limits set by its Bureau.
YAMANAKA OSAMU (Japan) recalled that last year, the Committee engaged in “a tough and challenging negotiation” that lasted until the very last minute of the fiscal year. As a result, the United Nations barely had time to function. He called for efficient and effective engagement for a timely and consensual outcome, taking advantage of lessons learnt from the COVID‑19 pandemic to continually improve the Committee’s working methods. He further reiterated support for a commitment to the Committee’s tradition of achieving consensus in its work.
GABRIELA GONZÁLEZ (Uruguay) said the Committee’s main task is to consider the regular budget and review the outlays made this year to ensure that the Organization’s spending was guided by its mandates. It is the Committee’s responsibility to allocate the necessary resources to ensure that these mandates are fulfilled. This includes funding for human rights, humanitarian law, UN‑Women, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), humanitarian law and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). She underscored the very important work of special political missions, including in Colombia and Haiti, but added that their financing should be managed under a separate account rather than the regular budget. She urged the Committee to move on financing for a Peacebuilding Fund, noting this is the fifth consecutive session that the issue is being considered.
NAJLA AL KAABI (United Arab Emirates), highlighted the proposed 2024 budget as the most notable item for the Committee, amongst several priority topics, stating that “our discussions and decisions are critical in determining the Organization’s ability to respond to global challenges.” Needed resources must therefore be allocated to enable the United Nations to fulfil its obligations, she added. Underscoring the importance of providing funding for special political missions, she described these missions as an important tool for maintaining global peace and security. She further stressed the importance of issuing Secretariat reports in a timely manner as to allow Member States sufficient time to discuss relevant draft resolutions. Her delegation looks forward to participating in positive and constructive discussions during the session. There is therefore a need for Member States’ cooperation in order to attain consensus, she added.
AHMED KAMIL RHAIF ALBU-MOHAMMED (Iraq), noting the importance of the Committee’s deliberations, said that “through its gates” pass the implementation of all the Organization’s tasks worldwide. This requires an effort by all Member States to listen to each other as delegates work to achieve balance and meet the many challenges. His delegation gives its full support to the Fifth Committee, he continued.
ARIEL RODELAS PEÑARANDA (Philippines), joining calls for adequate resources to strengthen support for development, reiterated that mandates approved by the Assembly should determine the budget proposal and commensurate levels of resources to ensure their effective implementation. He stated that as 2024 marks the beginning of the annual budget cycle permanently entering the Organization’s framework, following a three-year trial from 2020-2022, his country anticipates the Secretariat’s comprehensive report in 2028 along with any advance updates from the Secretary-General, including reports from the Committee for Programme and Coordination and the ACABQ. The Philippines underscores the importance of the Committee for Programme and Coordination as a beneficial forum of the United Nations as it remains a viable mechanism for Member States to ensure the effective implementation of mandates with substantial intergovernmental consultations. He called on Member States to work towards adequate financing for peacebuilding and contribute to the United Nations’ budget as required.
WOONG SEONG (Republic of Korea) said the Committee holds the power and duty to enable the United Nations to effectively deliver its mandate. “The complex machinery of this Organization can only move forward based on the outcomes of this Committee,” he added. Adequate resources are quintessential to ensure the implementation of mandates and the Committee will be considering a $3.3 billion proposed budget for 2024, with a substantive amount of add-ons expected during the process. Concerned with the Organization’s liquidity situation, he noted that the Committee agreed, after lengthy deliberations during the seventy-sixth session, to expand the Working Capital Fund to reduce the risk of a liquidity crisis. “After several years, it is disheartening that this Organization is still facing a similar situation,” he said, calling on the Secretariat to “spare no effort” to communicate with all Member States and encourage their timely payments of assessed contributions.
The Committee then approved its programme of work.
Scale of Assessments for Apportionment of United Nations Expenses
BERNARDO GREIVER, Chair of the Committee on Contributions, presented the report of that body’s eighty-third session (document A/78/11), from 5 to 23 June 2023. During the current session, the Organization begins the cycle in which, next year, it will approve a new scale of assessment for the 2025-2027 period. The new scale will see the effects of current economic difficulties. It will be important that the Committee considers the indicators of a base period with all the effects experienced during the COVID‑19 pandemic and the inflation increase, which is under control in some countries and still a problem in others. “Inflation is not a friend of the scale because it alters the results, affects income, increases interest rates and increases the burden of the debt,” he said. Exchange rates have also become more volatile in some cases and problems will be encountered between differences between inflation measured in local currencies and inflation measured in United States dollars, the conversion unit used for comparability.
“All of this makes knowledge, experience, but also empathy for others, more necessary than ever,” he said, presenting the joint work of the members of the Committee on Contributions, the Secretariat and the Statistics Division. The report answers questions raised during the last session and he hoped it will help the Committee’s deliberations. When adopting the current scale of assessment in resolution 76/238, the Assembly asked the Committee on Contributions to make recommendations on the elements of the scale’s methodology in order to reflect the capacity of Member States to pay. The results of the Committee on Contribution’s review of the elements of the methodology are detailed in chapter III of the report. He noted that the debt-burden adjustment has been an element of the scale methodology since 1986 and members continue to have divergent views on the adjustment. The Committee on Contributions will consider the question at a future session in light of the Assembly’s guidance.
He noted that the current methodology includes a maximum assessment rate, or ceiling, of 22 per cent; a maximum rate for the least developed countries, or LDC ceiling, of 0.010 per cent; and a minimum assessment rate, or floor, of 0.001 per cent. The Committee on Contributions decided to further consider these elements in the light of the Assembly’s guidance. It also considered other suggestions and other possible elements of the scale methodology. The Committee’s review of large scale-to-scale changes in rates of assessment and discontinuity, annual recalculation and safeguard measures is detailed in chapter III B. The body decided to further study these issues with the Assembly’s guidance.
Turning to Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, he said three requests for exemption had been forwarded by the Assembly President. As indicated in chapter V of its report, the Committee on Contributions concluded that the failure of the three Member States — Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia — to pay the full minimum amount to avoid the application of Article 19 was due to conditions beyond their control. He recommended they be permitted to vote until the end of the Assembly’s seventy-eighth session.
CHANDRAMOULI RAMANATHAN, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Finance and Budget in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, and Controller of the United Nations, introducing the Secretary-General’s report on multi-year payment plans (document A/78/68), said since the system was introduced in 2002, only six Member States have successfully implemented such plans, thus enabling them to pay their assessed contributions in full. He stated that the report, which highlights implementation status as of 31 December 2022, shows that the remaining plan was submitted by Sao Tome and Principe in 2002. Pointing out that because the arrangements for the multi-year payment plan system were made with due regard to “the economic position of Member States, as not all of them might be in a position to submit a plan,” the submission of these plans remains voluntary, adding that the Secretariat remains ready to assist any Member State wishing to implement the plan.
RICHARD TUR DE LA CONCEPCIÓN (Cuba), speaking again for the Group of 77 and China, reaffirmed the Group’s enduring position that all Member States fulfil their legal obligations in bearing the expenses of the Organization. He therefore called for full, unconditional and prompt payments of assessed contributions. He, however, spotlighted the fact that certain developing countries are currently subject to conditions that prevent them from temporarily meeting their financial obligations. On this basis, the Group welcomes the extension of relief to affected States requesting exemption under Article 19, as recommended by the Committee on Contributions, and agrees that they should be allowed to vote until the end of the Assembly’s seventy-eighth session. Reiterating that multi-year payment plans remain voluntary, he further called on Member States with arrears to consider this payment option to enable them to meet their obligations to the Organization.
“We reaffirm the principle of capacity to pay as the fundamental criterion in the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations,” he said, adding that the Group rejects any attempts to change the parameters by which the scale of assessments is arrived at, as its core constituting elements must remain intact. He further reminded that the current maximum assessment rate was fixed as a political compromise, even though contrary to the capacity to pay principle. The Assembly is therefore urged to review this arrangement. He said that the Group also rejects any attempts to unilaterally withhold contributions as a tool to pressure the Organization, as this violates the principle of sovereign equality of all Member States as enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Further, he called for a decision on assessment to be made on organizations which have an enhanced observer status at the United Nations, so they can also be financially obligated towards the Organization like Observer States.
GUENSY BETOR (Haiti), describing the Fifth Committee as “a critical bedrock” for the United Nations system, encouraged delegates towards constructive efforts in making the Committee’s work as effective as possible. He called on delegates to prioritize the interests of their States, even as Haiti’s interests is on the scale of assessment calculation, taking note of report A/78/11 of the Committee on Contributions. He also noted the proposal of the Secretary-General’s report on calculation methods for the scale of assessment, urging that calculations be done in line with Member States’ ability to pay. Expressing his country’s support for all initiatives geared towards providing the United Nations with necessary resources, he pointed out that Haiti, despite its challenges, has paid all contributions for both the regular and peacekeeping budgets. Economic realities of Member States should be taken into account while calculating the scale of assessments, he advised.
Ms. WAKABAYASHI (Japan) said as one of the major financial contributors to the United Nations, Japan places great importance on the scale of assessments. Assessed contributions are the United Nations’ backbone, as they enable the Organization to function effectively and properly. Each Member State should pay its assessed contribution according to its capacity to pay. Accounting for the changing global economy, the Fifth Committee must improve the methodology for determining assessments so that they better reflect each Member State’s real capacity to pay in a more equitable manner, based on the most current, comprehensive and comparable data available, she said.
VADIM N. LAPUTIN (Russian Federation) said the current methodology of the scale of assessments justly reflects the core principle of Member States’ capacity to pay. It is important to maintain unchanged the core elements of the current scale methodology, such as the base period, gross national income, conversion rates, the low per capita income adjustment, the floor and ceiling for the least developed countries and the debt-burden adjustment. The only element that runs counter to the principle of the capacity to pay, and benefits one Member State, is the maximum assessment rate, or ceiling, of 22 per cent. In addition, his delegation is convinced that intergovernmental observer organizations, such as the European Union, with rights and privileges normally applicable only to observer States, should have the same financial obligations to the United Nations as observer States. He reaffirmed that Committee on Contributions is a technical body and should work strictly on the basis of reliable, verifiable and comparable data.