US should authorise peacekeeping arrears: Ban

United Nations, Jan 18: The US Congress should authorise payment of peacekeeping arrears to the United Nations according to a deal worked out several years ago, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday.

The total American arrears for peacekeeping now stand at 540 million dollars, UN figures show.

The General Assembly, after negotiations with Congress by former US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, agreed in 2000 to drop the US assessment for peacekeeping gradually from 30 per cent to the current 26.7 per cent.

But despite the agreement, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives refused to remove its prior spending cap of 25 per cent on peacekeeping dues, which Ban said cost the United Nations 150 million dollars to 200 million dollars a year.

Ban, on his return from a two-day meeting in Washington, told soures, he had raised the issue with President George W Bush and Congressional leaders, including the new Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi.

''I strongly appealed and requested that the US Congress lift this spending cap,'' Ban told reporters. ''They said that they will discuss this matter.'' UN payments are assessed according to a nation's wealth, and the US has had its dues for peacekeeping and a separate assessment for the regular UN administrative budget lowered several times over the last decade.

The estimated UN peacekeeping budget is 4.7 billion dollars in the year ending June 30, 2007 and the Bush administration has proposed spending 1.13 billion dollars for UN peacekeeping in 2007.

The assessment for the United States now is 1.26 billion dollars for the nearly 100,000 peacekeepers around the world, according to UN figures.

For the regular UN administrative budget of 2.1 billion dollars annually, the United States is 291 million dollars in arrears in addition to the 493.2 million dollars due this year, according to UN figures. The Holbrooke deal lowered the dues amount from 25 per cent to 22 per cent of the regular budget.

Japan is the second biggest contributor at 19.4 per cent.

Since the early 1980s, the United States has adhered to a policy of paying its contributions to the United Nations and its specialised agencies nearly a full year late.

Often the United Nations has to shift funds internally to make up for the shortfall, which means troop-contributing nations to peacekeeping ventures get paid years late.

''What I stressed during my meetings with President Bush and all Congressional leaders is that while there was a time that the relationship between the United Nations and the US was not easy, it is time now to look for better days,'' Ban said.

''And I was very much encouraged by assurance of the American leadership that they will work closely with the United Nations,'' he said.

REUTERS

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