UN financial situation checked
A top UN official on Tuesday told reporters that the financial situation of the world body at the end of 2013 was "generally sound," but stressing unpaid assessments remain at a significant level and continue to be highly concentrated.
Yukio Takasu, the UN under-secretary-general for management, made the statement at a press conference after he briefed the Fifth Committee of the UN General Assembly, which is in charge of UN administrative and budgetary affairs.
"Financial situation at the end of 2013 was generally sound, although it was necessary to draw on regular budget cash reserves (both Working Capital Fund and Special Account) during the last months of the year," Takasu said. "While there was an increase in the number of member states paying in full for the regular budget in 2013, unpaid assessments remain at a significant level and continue to be highly concentrated."
According to Takasu, the number of member states which paid their assessments in full stood at 168 last year, 16 more than that during the previous year.
"The financial health of the Organization continues to depend on member states meeting their financial obligations in full and on time," he emphasized.
The main source of funds for the UN budget lies in the contribution of member states. These are assessed on a scale approved by the UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee on Contributions, made up of 18 experts serving in their personal capacity and selected by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee.
The scale is based on the capacity of countries to pay. This is determined by considering their relative shares of total gross national product in the world as a whole, adjusted to take into account a number of factors, including per capital income.
The total unpaid assessments by Dec. 31, 2013 stood at 2,715 million U.S. dollars, and by April 30, the unpaid assessments had surged to 3,079 million U.S. dollars. The arrears included assessments for the UN regular budget, its peacekeeping operations, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as the Headquarters renovation project known as the Capital Master Plan (CMP), according to the UN official.
聯(lián)合國副秘書長說聯(lián)合國財政狀況“基本良好”
聯(lián)合國負責管理事務的副秘書長高須幸雄６日說，聯(lián)合國截至２０１３年底的財政狀況“基本良好”，今年會員國繳納會費的情況也明顯好于去年，但部分會員國仍拖欠大量會費。
高須幸雄當天向負責行政和預算事務的聯(lián)大第五委員會提交了聯(lián)合國半年度財政狀況報告。他在隨后舉行的記者會上表示，到２０１３年底，聯(lián)合國的財政狀況基本良好，但由于部分會員國沒有全額繳納會費，聯(lián)合國在去年最后幾個月仍需依靠現(xiàn)金儲備來維持常規(guī)預算的運轉。在聯(lián)合國１９３個會員國中，２０１３年全額繳納會費的會員國達到１６８個，比前一年多１６個，但未及時全額繳納的數(shù)額仍較高，而且繼續(xù)集中在少數(shù)國家。
高須幸雄說，截至４月底，聯(lián)合國２０１４年的財政狀況也總體上良好，會員國已經繳納的常規(guī)預算會費達到１７億美元，與去年同期相比顯著增加，但與此同時，尚未繳納的會費仍有１３．９億美元左右，主要集中在美國等一些國家。他還說，截至５月６日，已有２６個會員國全額繳納了今年的會費。
高須幸雄說，在維和預算方面，會員國尚未繳納的維和預算攤款大約為１５億美元。會員國繳納預算攤款情況最好的是用于翻修聯(lián)合國總部的基本建設總計劃預算，繳納率高達９９．９％。目前已有１７４個會員國全額繳納了基本建設總計劃預算攤款，尚未繳納的數(shù)額僅為７０萬美元。
聯(lián)合國預算經費主要來源于現(xiàn)有１９３個會員國所繳納的會費。目前，整個聯(lián)合國系統(tǒng)的預算由常規(guī)預算、維和預算、國際法庭預算和基本建設總計劃預算四部分組成。
聯(lián)合國常規(guī)預算每兩年制定一次，由秘書長提出，用于支付維持機構正常運轉所需的經常性開支。聯(lián)合國常規(guī)預算的分攤比例是以各國支付能力為原則確定的，每三年調整一次。
