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Dues arrears force borrowing from peacekeeping funds, UN official says
Un News Centre ^ | 10-22-03

Posted on 10/22/2003 1:21:10 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

22 October – The United Nations is owed so much in regular dues that it has had to borrow from its peacekeeping account, though that was not fully paid up either, to cover its bills in October and was likely to have to borrow up to $125 million in November, a senior UN manager said.

Under-Secretary-General for Management Catherine Bertini told the General Assembly's Administrative and Budgetary Committee on Tuesday that unpaid regular budget assessments from 78 countries totalled $693 million, while the arrears for peacekeeping was $1.56 billion.

"The financial stability of the organization is under pressure," she said. "We must be able to rely on payment in full and on time to provide the predictable resource base needed to carry out all our mandated activities."

The United States contributed $31 million of its regular dues earlier in the year and said it would send in another $233 million to $341 million, depending on congressional action, by the end of the year. If it got the lower amount, the United Nations would be $5 million in the red; if the higher amount, it would have a surplus of $103 million, Ms. Bertini said.

At the end of September, the United States owed $732 million for peacekeeping, but it paid $252 million of that on Monday, she said. Fourteen other major contributors owed $464 million.

Nonetheless, the organization was reimbursing Member States for troops and equipment as promptly as possible. It had paid $339 million in troop costs and planned to add another $64 million by year's end, she said.

Meanwhile, the war crime tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were $117 million in the hole, compared to an unpaid amount at this time last year of just $49 million, so they, too, had had to borrow from peacekeeping funds, Ms. Bertini said. Sixty States had paid their tribunal assessments in full, but five major contributors owed $102 million and 126 others owed $15 million.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Business/Economy; Canada; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Germany; Government; Israel; Japan; Mexico; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; Russia; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bankrupt; irrelevant; nations; un; united

1 posted on 10/22/2003 1:21:10 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Pity no-one's got the testicular fortitude to demand an audit of the UN's books.
2 posted on 10/22/2003 1:23:30 PM PDT by mewzilla
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
We send them all the money and yet they have no accountability to us on how it's spent.

What a bunch of BS.
3 posted on 10/22/2003 1:25:15 PM PDT by Bikers4Bush
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
The US should send a note saying our contibution is in the form of services rendered to enfocre UN Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.

Time to get the US out of the UN & the UN out of the US!!
4 posted on 10/22/2003 1:30:04 PM PDT by Keith in Iowa (Tag line produced using 100% post-consumer recycled ethernet packets,)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
I'm sorry, why do we owe them peace-keeping monies again? I don't remember seeing any UN convoys tooling around in Minnesota.

Are we really getting the best bang for our $700 million?

Get us the heck out of this unaccountable band of nitwits!

5 posted on 10/22/2003 1:30:29 PM PDT by Egon (Safety Tip: You can get AIDS by sitting at a public toilet before the previous person vacates!)
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Last I heard they had 21 billion of un accounted for Iraq oil money. Where is it??
6 posted on 10/22/2003 1:43:08 PM PDT by org.whodat
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To: Oldeconomybuyer
Maybe its time for the UN to use its 'peacekeeping' budget to collect the lates dues. They can start with the United States. How about sending the blue helmets door-to-door?
7 posted on 10/22/2003 1:44:11 PM PDT by Frohickey
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To: Keith in Iowa
BUMP! Along with a notice of eviction and foreclosure!
8 posted on 10/22/2003 2:10:19 PM PDT by Normal4me
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