Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoPress Conferences
Press Briefing on UN Financial Situation
Yukio Takasu, Under-Secretary-General for Management, updated the Committee on the current financial situation of the United Nations. He focused on four main financial indicators: assessments issued; unpaid assessed contributions; available cash resources; and outstanding payments to Member States. He said those indicators were “generally sound and positive”. At the end of 2016, unpaid assessments were lower for the regular budget and the international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, but higher for peacekeeping operations than at the end of the previous year. The increase in unpaid peacekeeping assessments in 2016 was directly related to the increase in peacekeeping assessments. At the end of April 2017, unpaid assessments were lower in all categories compared to one year ago. Cash balances were currently positive for all areas. With regard to troop costs and contingent-owned equipment, the level of outstanding payments by Member States was lower at the end of 2016 compared to the previous year.
On the regular budget, assessments were issued in 2017 at a level of $2.578 billion, $29 million higher than in 2016, he said. Payments received by 30 April 2017 amounted to $1.6 billion. Unpaid assessed contributions by that date amounted to $1.4 billion, $8 million lower than a year ago. By the end of 2016, 145 Member States had paid their regular budget assessments in full.
The total amount outstanding for peacekeeping operations at the end of 2016 was $1.8 billion, which reflected an increase of $826 million, compared to the $976 million outstanding at the end of the previous year, he said. As of 30 April 2017, new assessments of $1.2 billion had been issued and the level of unpaid assessments was reduced to under $1.7 billion. That amount included assessments of $396 million, which were issued last week following the extension of the mandates for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). By 30 April 2017, 48 Member States had paid all peacekeeping assessments in full. On outstanding payments to Member States, the total amount owed at the end of 2016 was $808 million, which reflected a decrease from the $824 million owed at the start of the year.
The financial position of international tribunals remained sound, he said. Outstanding assessments for tribunals decreased to $40 million at the end of 2016, compared to $65 million a year earlier. By 31 December 2016, 116 Member States had paid their assessed contributions in full. But by 30 April 2017, a total of $91 million remained outstanding. The final outcome of 2017 depended on Member States honouring their financial obligations.
He noted that the experience of the last few years reflected that the last quarter continued to be a very difficult period for regular budget cash, and that it was necessary to draw on regular budget cash reserves (the Working Capital Fund and Special Account) during the final months of 2016. Last year, those reserves had proved insufficient, and it had been necessary to cross-borrow from other accounts. The overall United Nations cash situation was currently positive for all categories as of 30 April 2017, but the regular budget cash was expected to tighten towards the end of the year. An increased number of Member States were making timely payments, and the Secretariat was making every effort to expedite outstanding payments for troops and police units. The financial health of the Organization depended upon Member States meeting their financial obligations in full and on time.
In his semi-annual overview of the Organization’s finances, Yukio Takasu, Under-Secretary-General for Management, provided a detailed report on the regular budget, the international tribunals and peacekeeping operations. It focused on assessments issued, unpaid assessed contributions, available cash resources, and outstanding payments to Member States at 31 December 2015 and 2016, and at 30 April 2016 and 2017. (The Secretariat will incorporate this information into a report from the Secretary-General on improving the financial situation of the Organization that would be released for the Committee’s discussion at its 11 May meeting.)
Summing up the findings, Mr. Takasu said unpaid assessments were lower at the end of 2016 than the previous year for the regular budget, but higher for peacekeeping operations, and cash balances were positive for peacekeeping and the tribunals, with cash reserves covering a $123 million shortfall in the regular budget. The final cash position for 2017 would depend largely on payments made by Member States in the coming months, he added.
For the 2017 regular budget, Member States were obliged to contribute $2.578 billion, up $29 million from 2016. Payments received by 30 April 2017 amounted to $1.6 billion. Unpaid assessments stood at $1.4 billion at the end of April 2017, a decrease of $8 million from the previous year.
Although the overall United Nations cash situation was currently positive for all categories at 30 April 2017, the regular cash budget was expected again to “tighten” towards the end of the year, he said.
The financial position of international tribunals remained sound, he said. Unpaid assessments decreased to $40 million at the end of 2016, compared to $65 million a year earlier.
Turning to the peacekeeping operations, he said the total amount outstanding at the end of 2016 was $1.8 billion, an increase of $826 million over the previous year. As of 30 April 2017, new assessments of $1.2 billion had been issued and the level of unpaid assessments was reduced to under $1.7 billion. That amount included assessments of $396 million, issued following the extension of the mandates for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). By 30 April this year, 48 Member States had paid all peacekeeping assessments in full, he said.
