UN "generally sound" financially but needs more members to pay up

  16 October 2015    Read: 747
UN "generally sound" financially but needs more members to pay up
The United Nations financial position is "generally sound" but faces a "chronic" year-end cash-flow problem because of member states late dues and assessment payments, the head of the organization`s management office said on Thursday.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Management Yukio Takasu told reporters the cash flow problem threatens Christmas paychecks for UN staffers now, but the annual crunch usually is resolved in time by receipt of late payments.

"The amount that we need to have a good Christmas ... we need additional payments of about 450 million U.S. dollars, or something, and that is what we need minimum, is what we need to spend through the end of this year," he said.

"Right now we have a deficit of 73 million U.S. dollars and we have about 350 million U.S. dollars in reserve so we can carry on for six weeks," he said.

Takasu voiced hope that those payments will come in November and December.

"In terms of unpaid assessment, it is 1 billion U.S. dollars (and) of this amount 80 percent belongs to the United States," he said, expecting the U.S. payment imminent. "Next is Brazil and Venezuela, which is probably more difficult" to get.

Washington sends in its payments after the start of its fiscal year in October.

"It`s a chronic issue," Takasu said. "But it`s kind of a cycle. The cushion that we have as a reserve is too small. I think that...we should reduce dependence on one member state. But that is an issue for member states to decide. But for us, our reserve, we need a little more."

The United States is the major contributor to the United Nations, assessed to pay 22 percent of the 5.5 billion U.S. dollars budget of the world organization for 2014-2015.

Only about two dozen countries have paid all their assessments, for regular budget, peacekeeping and UN tribunals, Takasu said. About 130 have paid just their regular assessments in full.

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