Chair Calls for Fresh Ideas, Pragmatism to Tackle Many Challenges Amid Heavy Workload, Continuing Liquidity Crisis as Fifth Committee Begins Session

Several Speakers Reject Changing Any Elements of Methodology for Assessing Member States’ Contributions to United Nations Budget 

Delegates in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today tackled how — or even whether — to recalibrate the complex financial methodology used to determine how much money each Member State will contribute to the Organization’s regular and peacekeeping budgets.

Opening their seventy-ninth session as the Secretariat manages a liquidity crisis stretching into its second year, delegates urged each other to work in a transparent and flexible manner so as to wrap up a heavy workload on time.  They also stressed the importance of having essential documents in all official United Nations languages in their hands to carry out effective consultations.

In opening remarks for the Committee’s seventy-ninth session, its Chair, Egriselda Aracely González López (El Salvador), called for flexibility and pragmatism as the delegates face challenges in the weeks ahead. “There will be new opportunities,” she said, urging all delegates to “bring in fresh ideas” as they work with “transparency and mutual honesty”.  “It will help us to work effectively for our Organization and those whose lives are directly affected by the work we do here.”

“When we listen and dialogue, we will find solutions. The spirit of cooperation will be key to overcome any obstacles,” she said, urging the delegates to follow the example of last year’s session and complete their work on time or before Christmas.

In a crucial session that will consider the 2025 programme budget, the financing of special political missions and financing of the Residents Coordinator system as well as setting a new scale of assessments, delegates repeatedly stressed the need for Secretariat documents and sufficient time to carry out their work effectively.  Many also implored Member States to pay their contributions in full and on time as the Organization faces a liquidity crunch that is hampering effective delivery of its mandates.

“Many reports are still pending which are essential for the Committee to carry out its work properly and finish on time,” said the representative of Uganda, speaking for the Group of 77 and China.  “Realistic time must be given.”  As the entity charged with responsibility for budgetary and administrative issues, the Fifth Committee must ensure the Secretariat complies with the mandates given to it by Member States, he stressed.

Speaking for the Africa Group, Egypt’s representative said his delegation uses reports in French, English and Arabic and needs adequate time to consider documents delivered by technical committees.  “We must strive to conduct our work effectively and avoid unproductive work and endless hours,” he emphasized.

Singapore’s delegate, speaking for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said transparent, timely negotiations are essential as the Committee ensures the Organization has the resources to tackle increasingly complex global challenges, including giving the Secretariat the resources to achieve the goals set out in the Pact for the Future.  “We have a heavy and complicated agenda,” he said. 

The Russian Federation echoed this sentiment, noting the Committee is negotiating 37 draft resolutions and decisions this session. “We have a vast workload,” he added. The timely translations of reports would ease consultations, he said, adding that his delegation has many questions about the scale of assessments. 

The representative of Qatar, speaking for the Gulf Cooperation Council, echoed the need for transparency and adherence to timelines in the face of obstacles.  He urged Member States to pay their arrears to resolve the liquidity crisis, stressing that the severe financial limitations have restricted the Organization’s work, particularly that of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Adding to that, Australia’ delegate, speaking also for Canada and New Zealand, said:  “Being cash-strapped has stalled recruitment, capped budgets and hampered mandate delivery.” Reassessing Member States’ capacity to pay is particularly significant this year.  “While the scale formula is not perfect and could be refined, it is agreed by 193 Member States,” she said, adding that consensus is critical for the Organization’s financial foundation.

The European Union’s speaker agreed that compromise is essential.  “We support the taking of decisions by consensus and for delegations to make a commitment to find the middle ground in positions, even when they do not agree with every line of a resolution,” she said.  

Urging delegates to follow the good working practices begun during the seventy-eighth session, she said the Committee should preserve a work-life balance for its members and Secretariat staff.  Adequate financing is essential to help the Organization deliver multilateral solutions to complex global problems, the essence of the Pact for the Future.  “With an unfounded number of conflicts around the world, the European Union remains a steadfast supporter of peacekeeping missions,” she said. 

The representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis, speaking for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), agreed with the need to meet the Organization’s mandates.  Among her delegation’s priority agenda items this year are the funding of special political missions, cybercrime and climate change.  Emphasizing the importance of the missions in Colombia and Haiti, the representative of Mexico urged the Committee to consider revising the financing of the missions, which comprise 20 per cent of the regular budget, by giving them separate and regular budgets. 

The United States representative pointed out that although the 2025 budget has been reflected as a flat budget, the addition of certain costs, such as for construction, staff salaries and a request for assessed funding for the Resident Coordinator system, represent a $200 million, or 5 per cent, increase.  This point must be considered.  While the allotment for the special political missions is $30 million less than last year, he expressed concern over the absence of funding for the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the 50 per cent cut in the budget for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).  Agreeing that the scale of assessments is a priority issue, he noted that the 22 per cent ceiling in the regular budget has been a component of the methodology since 1945.

China’s speaker said the current liquidity crisis is the result, primarily, of the responsibility of one major contributor. “Solving this problem requires addressing the symptoms and the root causes,” he said.  The programme budget should be of a reasonable size and make development a priority as it strikes a balance between security, development and human rights.  Budget preparations should be transparent. 

Moreover, the scale of assessments should fully reflect each country’s capacity to pay, he said, noting the total assessments of the Group of 77 and China has constantly increased; its share for 2025-2027 is four times higher than  it was 15 years ago.  Meanwhile, the share paid by developed countries continues to decline.  “This is not fair.  It goes against the capacity to pay,” he said, stressing that “there is a constant shifting of financial burdens to developing countries”.

Scale of Assessments and Multi-year Payment Plans

Bernardo Greiver, Chair of the Committee on Contributions, presented in the report of its eighty-fourth session (document A/79/11 and Add 1) a series of recommendations for the 2025-2027 budget cycle that could adjust the so-called scale of assessments, the complex methodology that the Secretariat uses to determine how much money each Member State will contribute annually to the Organization’s regular budget. 

Turning to Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, Mr. Greiver said the Contributions Committee concluded that the failure of three Member States — the Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia — to pay the full minimum amount on time to avoid the Article’s application was due to conditions beyond their control.  He added that the Central African Republic was also in this category. 

Chandramouli Ramanathan, Controller of the United Nations and Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Finance and Budget in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, introduced the Secretary-General’s report on multi-year payment plans (document A/79/69), as well as the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 55/235 and 55/236 (document A/79/318), which helps lay down a structure for Member States’ levels of contribution for peacekeeping operations.  Their assessment rates were last considered at the Assembly’s seventy-sixth session. The report provides an update on the composition of the contribution levels, which — subject to any adjustments made after the Assembly’s review — would be used to set each Member State’s 2025-2027 rate. 

Methodology for How Member States Should Pay

Delegates then turned to what — if any — changes should be made to the complex methodology used to decide how much each Member State contributes to the Organization’s regular budget and peacekeeping operations. Many developing countries were adamant that their share of contributions, already on the uptick, should not be increased.

Speaking for the Group of 77 and China, Uganda’s representative said the current methodology has meant developing countries’ collective share will reach 30.98 per cent in 2025-2027 — a more than threefold increase from 10 years ago.  He rejected any change to the methodology’s elements — such as the base period, gross national income, conversion rates, low per capita income adjustment, gradient, floor, ceiling for least developed countries, and debt burden adjustment. 

“They are not negotiable,” added Uruguay’s speaker.  The current maximum assessment rate, or ceiling, which was fixed at 22 per cent as a political compromise to improve the Organization’s financial situation, has only benefited one Member State. “It is contrary to the principle of the capacity to pay and is a fundamental source of distortion in the scale of assessments,” he said.  Egypt’s representative, speaking for the Africa Group, agreed, saying:  “The political circumstances that led to the 2000 agreement no longer stand, and it is a fundamental distortion of the capacity to pay.” 

Turning to the scale for peacekeeping operations, Singapore’s delegate, again speaking for ASEAN, said the Security Council permanent members should continue to absorb the discounts applied to other Member States. This recognized their veto powers. “With special privileges come special responsibilities, and permanent members should pay for these special privileges,” he added, a sentiment echoed by Japan’s delegate. 

Qatar’s representative, speaking for the Gulf Cooperation Council, said the financing of the peacekeeping missions is a collective responsibility that must be shouldered by all States.

As the largest collective financial contributor to the Organization, the European Union honours its responsibility to pay in full and on time, the bloc’s representative said.  The Organization must continue “seeking ways to improve the financial methodology in line with the Charter, particularly Article 17, and based on the Committee on Contributions’ analysis,” she said. 

The Russian Federation’s delegate stressed that the economic and population figures used by the Statistics Division must be reliable, verifiable and comparable.  His delegation has many questions.  “We are counting on clear, detailed, substantiated, exhaustive and, most importantly, the unambiguous answers of the Statistical Division and the Committee on Contributions,” he said, noting that his delegation may request face-to-face meetings.