The UN May Have no Money to Pay for Staff Salaries Next Month

World | October 9, 2019, Wednesday // 12:36|  views

YouTube/PBS Newshour

The UN may not have enough money to pay its staff next month if member states fail to pay their dues, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

"This month, we will reach the deepest deficit of the decade. We risk ... entering November without enough cash to cover payrolls," Guterres told the UN General Assembly budget committee. "Our work and our reforms are at risk.”, he said.

Guterres said that had he not made the effort to cut spending since January, the UN would have had no funding for the annual general meeting last month.

The United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations - it provides 22 percent of the $ 201 billion regular budget for 2019, which pays for political, humanitarian, economic, disarmament, social affairs and communication.

Washington owes about $ 381 million to previous regular budgets and $ 674 million to the 2019 budget.

US President Donald Trump says the US is shouldering an unfair burden on UN spending and is pushing for reform of the organization. Guterres on his side is working to improve UN activities and reduce costs.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that 129 countries have so far paid their contributions for 2019, amounting to nearly $ 2 billion.

The secretary general said he had introduced emergency measures last month to cope with the shortage - vacancies could not be filled, only important travels were allowed, some meetings may have to be canceled or postponed.

The UN peacekeeping missions are funded by a separate budget of $ 6.7 billion for the year to June 30, 2019 and $ 6.51 billion for the year to June 30, 2020.

The US is responsible for nearly 28 percent of the peacekeeping budget, but has pledged to pay only 25 percent, as required by US law. Washington currently owes about $ 2.4 billion to peacekeeping missions. The major contributors to this area are Ethiopia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Rwanda. UN peacekeepers receive a monthly pay of $ 1,428, according to July 2019. UN spending on peacekeeping operations accounts for less than half of global military spending, the UN said.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!


Tags: Antonio Gutteres, UN, money, US, Donald Trump, budget

Back  

» Related Articles:

Search

Search