UN extends dues for 3 years with no changes

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23: The United Nations decided to leave unchanged for the next three years its current dues mechanism, rejecting a range of proposals aimed at raising some nations' dues while lowering others'.

The 192-nation General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution extending the formula through 2009 yesterday after members reluctantly concluded that no change at all was ''the least worst option,'' as Japanese UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima put it.

The current assessment system sets out a sliding scale, based roughly on the size of a country's economy, to raise the money to cover the regular UN budget, which is estimated at nearly UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23: The United Nations decided to leave unchanged for the next three years its current dues mechanism, rejecting a range of proposals aimed at raising some nations' dues while lowering others'.

The 192-nation General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution extending the formula through 2009 yesterday after members reluctantly concluded that no change at all was ''the least worst option,'' as Japanese UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima put it.

The current assessment system sets out a sliding scale, based roughly on the size of a country's economy, to raise the money to cover the regular UN budget, which is estimated at nearly $2 billion for 2007.

Under that formula, the United States, the world's biggest economy and the United Nations' biggest dues payer, picks up the tab for 22 percent of the cost.

Japan, which has complained that its UN dues are too high and was one of several nations seeking to tinker with the current formula, had proposed a modification that would have assigned a bigger share to Russia and China.

The European Union had suggested a plan leading to higher dues for China, India, Brazil and Russia.

A bloc of developing nations, for their part, had proposed increasing the U.S. percentage so that all other nations could pay less.

UN members also weighed a change in the time period over which each country's economy would be measured for purposes of calculating its assessment. For countries with rapidly growing economies, the longer the period, the slower assessments would be increased.

But in the end, all the proposals were scrapped in favor of the status quo.

REUTERS billion for 2007.

Under that formula, the United States, the world's biggest economy and the United Nations' biggest dues payer, picks up the tab for 22 percent of the cost.

Japan, which has complained that its UN dues are too high and was one of several nations seeking to tinker with the current formula, had proposed a modification that would have assigned a bigger share to Russia and China.

The European Union had suggested a plan leading to higher dues for China, India, Brazil and Russia.

A bloc of developing nations, for their part, had proposed increasing the U.S. percentage so that all other nations could pay less.

UN members also weighed a change in the time period over which each country's economy would be measured for purposes of calculating its assessment. For countries with rapidly growing economies, the longer the period, the slower assessments would be increased.

But in the end, all the proposals were scrapped in favor of the status quo.

REUTERS