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.
联合国副秘书长说联合国财政状况“基本良好”
联合国负责管理事务的副秘书长高须幸雄６日说，联合国截至２０１３年底的财政状况“基本良好”，今年会员国缴纳会费的情况也明显好于去年，但部分会员国仍拖欠大量会费。
高须幸雄当天向负责行政和预算事务的联大第五委员会提交了联合国半年度财政状况报告。他在随后举行的记者会上表示，到２０１３年底，联合国的财政状况基本良好，但由于部分会员国没有全额缴纳会费，联合国在去年最后几个月仍需依靠现金储备来维持常规预算的运转。在联合国１９３个会员国中，２０１３年全额缴纳会费的会员国达到１６８个，比前一年多１６个，但未及时全额缴纳的数额仍较高，而且继续集中在少数国家。
高须幸雄说，截至４月底，联合国２０１４年的财政状况也总体上良好，会员国已经缴纳的常规预算会费达到１７亿美元，与去年同期相比显著增加，但与此同时，尚未缴纳的会费仍有１３．９亿美元左右，主要集中在美国等一些国家。他还说，截至５月６日，已有２６个会员国全额缴纳了今年的会费。
高须幸雄说，在维和预算方面，会员国尚未缴纳的维和预算摊款大约为１５亿美元。会员国缴纳预算摊款情况最好的是用于翻修联合国总部的基本建设总计划预算，缴纳率高达９９．９％。目前已有１７４个会员国全额缴纳了基本建设总计划预算摊款，尚未缴纳的数额仅为７０万美元。
联合国预算经费主要来源于现有１９３个会员国所缴纳的会费。目前，整个联合国系统的预算由常规预算、维和预算、国际法庭预算和基本建设总计划预算四部分组成。
联合国常规预算每两年制定一次，由秘书长提出，用于支付维持机构正常运转所需的经常性开支。联合国常规预算的分摊比例是以各国支付能力为原则确定的，每三年调整一次。
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