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United Nations — The 22-month-old coronavirus pandemic – which has claimed over 5.4 million lives worldwide, devastated economies and lowered a further 100 million folks to poverty – has additionally disrupted the work of {a partially} locked-down United Nations triggering a possible money disaster on the earth physique.
Addressing the UN’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee late final 12 months, a spokesperson for the 10-member Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) mentioned for “any organisation to succeed, it should be given satisfactory monetary assets to implement its mandates. Nonetheless, COVID-19 has disrupted not simply the UN’s work, however lots of our economies”.
“It’s comprehensible that nations whose economies have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 might face difficulties in paying their assessments (particularly UN’s membership dues). It’s due to this fact all of the extra essential for Member States which have the capability to pay their assessed contributions to take action in full, on time, and with out situations”.
“In any other case, the UN faces an actual danger of not having the assets it wants to hold out its mandates,” mentioned the spokesman for ASEAN, a gaggle which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Final 12 months, 11 nations had been in arrears below the phrases of the UN constitution, together with Antigua and Barbuda, Comoros, the Republic of Congo, Guinea, Iran, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Sudan, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
Article 19 of the UN constitution says “A Member of the United Nations which is in arrears within the fee of its monetary contributions to the Group shall haven’t any vote within the Common Meeting, if the quantity of its arrears equals or exceeds the quantity of the contributions due from it for the previous two full years. The Common Meeting might, however, allow such a member to vote whether it is happy that the failure to pay is because of situations past the management of the Member.”
Requested in regards to the defaulting member states, Paulina Kubiak, Spokesperson for the President of the UN Common Meeting, advised reporters January 12 there have been 11 Member States on the record, which is analogous to the numbers in earlier years.
She mentioned these Member States are unable to vote within the Common Meeting till they make the minimal fee. However there are a number of exceptions.
In A/Res/76/2, the Common Meeting determined that Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and Somalia shall be permitted to vote within the GA till the tip of the present 76th session, leaving 8 nations nonetheless in default.
The exceptions are made by the Common Meeting at the beginning of the session on the advice of the Committee on Contributions. These exceptions are based mostly largely on the state of a rustic’s faltering financial system.
On December 24, the 193-member UN Common Meeting adopted a daily funds of $3.12 billion for 2022 whereas the annual peacekeeping funds is round $6.5 billion.
The off-and-on lock down of the United Nations since March 2020 – with the overwhelming majority of its 9,900 staffers working from house – is starting to have an effect on the operational providers of the world physique.
The lockdown, which was partially lifted final month, has been reinstated twice. In a message to New York-based UN workers despatched out on January 10, Gilles Michaud, chair of the UN’s Occupational Security and Well being Committee, says after session with UN’s senior management, it has been determined staffers will proceed to do business from home (WFH) and never return to workplace (RTO) – by means of 28 January “at which level the scenario might be reviewed as soon as once more.”
The choice to increase WFH has been prompted largely by the fast-spreading Omicron variant which final week averaged about 37,000 circumstances day by day and overwhelmed NY city hospitals. However there isn’t any official breakdown of the variety of virus circumstances amongst UN staffers.
Ambassador Boubacar Diallo of Guinea, the outgoing chairman of the Group of 77 plus China, the biggest single coalition of growing nations on the UN, warned late final 12 months that the Group continues to be disillusioned that resulting from safety issues, the Administrative and Budgetary Committee is being disadvantaged of interpretation providers (within the UN’s six official languages) throughout casual consultations.
That is primarily as a result of absence of workers from the UN premises.
“We sit up for the day that multilingualism is absolutely restored, and we are able to get pleasure from interpretation providers as we’re doing right here at present. We’re dedicated to an intensive consideration of the agenda gadgets allotted to the Committee, and on this regard, be aware with disappointment that a number of experiences are nonetheless excellent,” he added.
This endemic scenario, he identified, considerably compromises the Committee’s work.
“The worldwide challenges that we face at present have gotten way more advanced and interconnected, and the options require a collective international response. As now we have heard from lots of our leaders (throughout the UN Common Meeting periods in September), that is the time for us to double down on multilateralism and reaffirm our dedication to a rules-based multilateral system,” mentioned Ambassador Diallo.
With a decision being adopted by consensus, together with the 134 members of the G77, he mentioned, “It’s not potential to show a blind eye to a Common Meeting decision and a deaf ear to the two-thirds majority of the Common Membership.”
Talking on behalf of the 27-member European Union (EU), Thibault Camelli, Counsellor to the delegation of the EU to the United Nations, mentioned: “We name upon all Member States to pay their contributions in full and on time. We stay deeply involved that the liquidity scenario of the United Nations continues to undermine supply of mandates.”
The non permanent options launched to date, he warned, have solely alleviated the results of this disaster, they usually nook the Group into systemic underperformance. The Member States of the European Union name upon the Committee to rise as much as this problem. We are going to proceed to advocate for sustainable options to this disaster”, he declared.
Joseph Chamie, a global demographer and a former director of the United Nations Inhabitants Division, advised IPS the present disaster mustn’t come as a shock to Member States because the coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted the work of the United Nations.
Along with the big majority of UN workers members working from house, the traditional day-to-day operations of the Group have been significantly lowered and restricted, he mentioned.
“It is comprehensible that many Member States are disillusioned with the dearth of interpretation providers. Nonetheless, with the obtainable expertise, interpretation providers for the UN languages ought to be capable to be supplied with out difficulties”.
It is usually not shocking, mentioned Chamie, that many Member States, particularly the poor much less developed nations, are calling on rich, extra developed nations to extend their monetary contributions to the United Nations.
“Nonetheless, it strikes me as considerably ironic that many Member States, together with much less developed nations, say which have difficulties paying their UN assessments, however they’ve few difficulties in paying for his or her navy expenditures.”
The UN funds for 2021 was solely U.S. $3 billion, a comparatively small value for the worldwide physique. Compared, he identified, the UN annual funds quantities to:
— a small proportion of the navy expenditures of many nations, together with China, India, Russia, america and the European Union; 4 % of the worldwide pet meals market; 3 % of U.S. annual spending on smooth drinks; and 1 % of the wealth of the 2 richest Individuals.
Relating to potential reductions within the numbers, salaries and advantages of UN workers members, it makes little sense and seems to be largely for home political consumption. Hopefully, Member States, and the Common Meeting, will deal with these vital international points going through the world’s practically 8 billion inhabitants.
The comparatively small funds of the United Nations is an actual cut price for Member States and the world.
When it comes to value, deaths and accidents, the value of peace is much lower than the value of struggle, Chamie declared.
In the meantime, US Ambassador Patrick Kennedy, Senior Advisor for UN Administration and Reform, advised delegates america urges funds self-discipline throughout the UN system and can carefully look at the rising calls for for assessed contributions.
This consists of making certain that solely needed building is undertaken and that main tasks keep away from value over-runs. The UN also needs to search to comprise elevated spending in response to new and expanded mandates by eliminating outdated ones, consolidating duplicative areas of labor, and repurposing present assets.
He mentioned workers entitlements and situations of service comprise practically two-thirds of the UN’s prices. Reestablishment of a unified wage scale stays a precedence for america, together with by means of addressing divergent choices by completely different administrative tribunals throughout the UN widespread system, enhancing transparency on compensation prices together with by use of commercially obtainable knowledge, and reaffirming the authority of the ICSC, whereas bettering its methodology.
Talking on behalf of the African Group, Ambassador Harold Adlai Agyeman of Ghana mentioned: “We insist that, as a lot as potential, all in-person conferences be held with interpretation providers as required by the related guidelines of process of the Common Meeting and agreed resolutions on multilingualism that’s on the core of this group”.
He mentioned Members of the African Group use, as working languages, 4 of the six official languages of the United Nations. The Group due to this fact considers it of utmost significance that Member States ought to be capable to contribute to the deliberations of the Committee within the official language they’re optimally efficient in.
The UN’s six official languages are: Arabic; Chinese language; English; French; Russian; and Spanish.
Observe @IPSNewsUNBureau
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