POLITICS-UN: Problems Over US Demands for Reduced Dues

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 14 1999 (IPS) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says that the United States may face an uphill task in seeking a reduction of its assessed payments to the United Nations.

“It will be a major challenge for US diplomacy,” Annan told reporters during his year-end news conference Tuesday. Annan said lots of “issues and conditions” would have to be negotiated between Washington and the other 187 member states.

“There has to be major consultations and major negotiations,” Annan said. “But I cannot tell how successful this would be.”

The US government also has asked the United Nations to adhere to rigid conditions laid down by the US Congress in return for the payment of some 1.3 billion dollars in longstanding arrears owed to the world body.

Washington is seeking to reduce its assessed contributions to the UN’s regular budget, from the current 25 percent to 20 percent, and to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, from 31 percent to 25 percent.

The 25 percent ceiling is the maximum a country is expected to pay and the floor, the minimum paid by most developing nations, is about 0.001 percent.

While the annual regular UN budget is about 1.2 billion dollars, the peacekeeping budget varies depending on the number of peacekeeping operations in service.

The United States not only is seeking a reduction in its dues, it also wants the other 187 member states to pick up the slack – a stipulation which is strongly opposed by most member states.

Speaking on behalf of the 133 developing countries of the Group of 77, Ambassador Samuel Insanally of Guyana said that assessed contributions were based on the principle of “capacity to pay,” which remained the criterion in apportioning the expenses of the United Nations.

“In any adjustment of the scale of assessments, the Group of 77 and China cannot accept any variation to this principle,” he said.

He said there should be a review of the payment ceiling, bearing in mind that the ceiling should not be arbitrary so as to obscure the relationship between a country’s capacity to pay, and the rate of assessment applicable to it.

“The current ceiling of 25 percent, the maximum any country is assessed, already is a departure from the principle of capacity to pay and therefore we do not see how it could be lowered any further.”

Insanally said that the chronic financial crisis in the Organisation is not linked to the methodology of the scale of assessment but to the lack of political will on the part of some member states to pay their dues “in full, on time and without conditions.”

“Any unilateral attempt to change the approved scale of assessments would contravene the provisions of the UN Charter and therefore be unacceptable,” he warned.

Following an agreement it had reached with Congress – which primarily was responsible for holding back payment of the UN arrears for political reasons – the US Administration announced last month it will pay about 926 million to the world body in three tranches of 100 million dollars, 582 million dollars and 244 million dollars each.

According to the “benchmarks” laid down by Congress, the US will pay the first 100 million dollars only when US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright certifies that the United Nations “has taken no action causing the US to violate its constitution or laws” and that the United Nations “does not challenge US sovereignty.”

Additionally, Albright has to certify that the United Nations does not have external authority to borrow money or tax US citizens.

The US Congress also is seeking assurances that the United Nations will not charge interest on arrears and also respect property rights. A final condition is that Albright has to certify that the United Nations “has made no efforts to establish a standing army.”

All of these conditions have already been met or are expected to be met by the end of this year.

To qualify for the second tranche of 582 million dollars, Albright has to certify that the US pays only 22 percent of the regular budget and 25 percent of the peacekeeping budget.

The third tranche of 244 million dollars is conditioned on at least nine factors, including access to UN financial data by the US General Accounting Office (GAO), a watchdog body of the US Congress.

Congress has demanded changes in the UN personnel system, including merit-based appointments, a personnel evaluation system, payroll audits and a US study on UN allowances.

Other conditions laid down by Congress include zero nominal growth for budgets of UN agencies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture (FAO) Organisation.

Congress also wants three inspectors general to be appointed to probe waste and mismanagement at the three agencies, along with new budgetary procedures.