Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
| ||||||||||||
Informal Deal Reached on Cutting US Dues to UN- UN Finance - Global Policy Forum Informal Deal Reached on Cutting US Dues to UN
Reuters
December 22, 2000United Nations members reached a tentative deal early on Friday to cut substantially American dues to the world body, after media magnate Ted Turner offered $34 million to help Washington out of its political impasse. ``We now have an informal agreement,'' said Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock of Britain, whose country's payment will increase as a result of the agreement. ``It is remarkable that we look like solving this with a formal agreement.''
U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham said there still were some ``final pieces to be put into place.'' But he was confident this would happen later on Friday when negotiations resumed. The deadline for a restructuring of assessments, the amount each country must pay to the U.N. budget, is Friday so the U.N. General Assembly can approve it before the holiday recess. The United States is expected to get its payments for the $1 billion a year regular or administrative U.N. budget reduced from 25 percent to 22 percent. For fluctuating peacekeeping expenses, estimated at $3 billion, U.S. obligations are expected to fall from 30 percent to about 26 or 27 percent.
Congress had refused to pay most of the $1.5 billion Washington owes to the United Nations until the rate of U.S. payments was cut. The agreed U.S. reduction for peacekeeping costs are slightly above the 25 percent Congress mandated but Clinton administration officials believe legislators will approve the new proposed rates. CNN founder Turner has offered $34 million to the U.S. State Department so the Clinton administration could break its political deadlock with Congress and the 188 other nations in the negotiations, U.S. officials reported.
FUNDS TO MAKE UP GAP
The purpose of the funds were to help make up the gap in the administrative budget next year caused by the U.S. cuts. Many nations, such as South Korea, Brazil, Chile, Iran, Czech Republic, Poland and Thailand will be allowed to stagger their respective increases over three years. Turner startled the United Nations three years ago with a $1 billion gift for humanitarian projects. He approached the Clinton administration recently with his latest offer, according to Mary Ellen Glynn, spokeswoman for Holbrooke.
The United Nations does not allow individuals to pay a government's debt. But Washington permits gifts earmarked for special purposes, with the approval of Congress. Glynn said members of Congress had been informed of Turner's offer. Under the Helms-Biden bill, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton, Washington gave itself a unilateral cut in U.N. payments. It refused to remit funds earmarked for the world body until the U.S. assessment was cut. More than $72 million, the second of three payments that could total $926 million, can be paid to the United Nations next year by Congress because of the U.S. payment cuts.
``For the United Nations this is something very considerable because we have had a real problem in terms of U.S.-U.N. relations over the last six years,'' Greenstock said. Cunningham said the new systems for the regular and the peacekeeping budgets payments ``will put the United Nations on a sounder financial basis and will establish a more positive and sounder relationship between the U.S. and the United Nations.'' French ambassador Jean-David Levitte, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, predicted earlier that hard bargaining would not begin until the 11th hour amid ``pain, recrimination and screaming.''
ECONOMIC GROWTH MEASURE
One battle was over the number of years that should be used to measure a country's economic growth, a figure used as a basis for determining contributions. The United Nations has used a six-year base period but now will use some 4.5 years, which gives some countries, such as Britain, whose economy has thrived, a substantial increase. The exception to the ability to pay would be the United States, which has over 28 percent of the world's wealth. Japan, now paying some 20.5 percent of the budget, is to get a rate decrease to just under 20 percent, diplomats said. With an economy less than half the size of the United States, negotiators said the Japanese parliament would not swallow Tokyo paying nearly the same rate as Washington. But Singapore would have to pay closer to $10 million a year, rather than $1 million for peacekeeping costs.
Holbrooke, who for nine months has been caught between a hostile Congress and nations angry at the U.S. debt, wants to settle the controversy before President Clinton leaves office in mid-January. The new administration of President-elect George W. Bush is known to want the issue out of the way soon.
More General Articles on UN Finance
