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UN's financial situation "generally sound": UN official

Xinhua, May 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

The United Nations financial situation is "generally sound and positive," Yukio Takasu, the UN undersecretary-general for management, said on Wednesday in the face of threats from Washington of cutting back on UN funding.

"Overall financial indicators remain generally sound and positive," he told reporters at a news briefing here in UN World Headquarters.

Takasu said that as of May 1 this covered the regular budget, peacekeeping operations and the international tribunals, all financed by assessed contributions from member states. Several UN funds are financed by voluntary contributions, such as the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), from which the United States recently withdrew.

The move was in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump's protest of UNFPA's birth control programs and came amid additional threats to funding the world body.

Takasu explained the UN's favorable financial position as due to member states expediting their payments in full for every category compared to one year ago, but warning the final position of the regular budget for 2017 depends on the member states that have not paid in full.

Preceding Takasu's presentation, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, said as of Wednesday 93 of the 193 member states had paid their regular budget dues in full. Takasu said 39 member states had paid all their assessments for all categories as of Sunday, April 30.

The two-year regular budget is 5.6 billion U.S. dollars, or 2.78 billion U.S. dollars a year, Takasu said.

"The experience of the last few years reflects that the last quarter of the year is a very difficult period for regular budget cash," he said in the concluding section of a package of charts distributed at his presentation. "It was again necessary to significantly draw on regular budget cash reserves ... during the final months of 2016."

Meanwhile, the undersecretary-general said that many countries do not pay their dues until the latter part of the year, including the greatest contributor, the United States which pays about 22 percent of the budget.

"The overall UN cash situation is currently positive for all categories," he said. "However, regular budget cash is expected to tighten towards the end of the year."

"Unpaid assessments lower in all categories means good news," Takasu said. "The UN (regular budget) is in a very good financial situation."

Of the nearly 2.6 billion U.S. dollars assessed for regular contributions this year, almost 1.6 billion U.S. dollars had been paid as of April 30 by 92 member states, 13 more than last year, he said, with 632 million U.S. dollars cash on hand, but nearly 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in assessments yet to be paid. Endit