UN chief says UN facing worst cash crisis in nearly 10 years

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, warned Tuesday that the United Nations is facing "the worst cash crisis" in nearly a decade because 64 of the 193 members did not pay annual fees, the largest donor, including the United States. .

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary-General told all agencies that "by the end of this month there is a risk of depleting liquidity reserves and defaulting on payments to employees and suppliers."

Dujarric said that by the end of September, member states had paid only 70{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of the overall evaluation of their regular budgets and 78{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} at the same time last year.

According to the United Nations, by Tuesday, 129 countries had paid $ 1.99 billion for the 2019 UN operating budget. It is said to be owed $ 1,384 million this year.

US debt

Other countries outside the United States are Brazil, Iran, Israel, Mexico, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay.

Due to the US government's budget schedule, Washington typically pays dues in October.

According to the United Nations, the U.S. owes $ 665 million in 2019 regular budgets and $ 38 million in previous regular budgets.

The United States has also refused to pay a separate budget for the UN's extensive peacekeeping operations.

According to the United Nations, peacekeeping missions were $ 250 million and active peacekeeping missions were $ 2 billion.

Salary, default of payment

Dujarric said the UN Secretariat's actions earlier this year to balance spending with cash inflows avoided a "major halt" but it is no longer sufficient.

Since the UN Secretariat may face defaults on salaries and payments by the end of November, the Secretary General has called for immediate action, including further reductions in official travel and delayed spending on goods and services.

Dujarric also said that scheduled events outside of official meetings may be suspended, meetings and meetings may be postponed, or services may be reconciled.

The Secretary-General stressed that cash flow is a recurring problem and that priorities should be prioritized based on current cash availability, thus weakening our obligations and obligations to the people we serve, Dujarric said.

"Therefore, the Secretary-General is no longer looking for member countries to address the structural problems that underpin this annual crisis."

Source: AFP