Mounting US arrears irk General Assembly

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23: The General Assembly has rejected lowering of America's contribution to the United Nations budget from the current ...

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UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23: The General Assembly has rejected lowering of America’s contribution to the United Nations budget from the current 25 per cent level but agreed to new negotiations next year, two years ahead of the scheduled review.

The 185-member body adopted a resolution to this effect last night after ratifying the decision of the Assembly’s financial committee which held marathon talks on the issue over the weekend.

The member states offered an early review as a sop to encourage the United States to pay up its arrears in return for a possible future lower assessment.

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By declining to scale down the American assessment, they expressed their anger over huge arrears of $1.4 billion the US has run up over the years.Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Jean-Louis Wolfzfeld of Luxembourg did not mince words to tell Washington that the reassessment is dependent on payment of arrears.

“The European Union wishes to make it clear that it will only agree to a re-opening of the discussions after the US has adopted legally binding provisions enabling it to clear its arrears in full and to respect its obligations under the UN charter,” he said.

Any unilateral reduction of the amounts owed to the organisation by the US “cannot be accepted,” Wolfzfeld said.

The Assembly, however, agreed to review the due rates next year “in light of all relevant factors, including periodic reports of the Secretary General on the status of contributions”.

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The “scale of assessment” is reviewed every three years and hence the next review was due only in 2000.

US envoy Bill Richardson termed it as “an open door” to permit a revisiting of the scale in 1999-2000 and said: “We will be working assiduously over the next weeks and months to make sure our entrance through that door receives a welcome from the members of the UN.”

The US is lobbying for reducing its assessment to 22 per cent immediately and 20 per cent eventually.

The decision to consider fresh negotiations is seen as a “positive signal” to the US administration to convince Congress to allow payment of dues.The total UN budget for 1998 and 1999 was set at $2.5 billion.

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During the debate in the budgetary committee, it was suggested that the Japanese assessment be increased to over 21.5 per cent and of Germany to 10 per cent.

But apparently Japan wants a permanent seat in the Security Council in return.

Hence, diplomats say 1998 could also witness heightened debate on the expansion of the all powerful 15-member Council.