UN Unlikely to Be Able to Pay Employee Salaries

The Secretary-General of the United Nations warned that the organization faces very serious financial problems. According to Guterres, the United Nations will likely be unable to pay employee salaries and cover the costs of expert meetings and travel in the near future.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations reiterated with greater urgency the warning he issued at the beginning of the current calendar year about the organization’s budget shortage, suggesting that if the situation does not change, the organization will face difficulties paying employee salaries next month.

Antonio Guterres also stated that in such a case, the organization’s meetings and expert travel would be cancelled.

The UN Secretary-General noted that since the beginning of the calendar year, expenses have been cut wherever possible, which is why the organization was able to secure funding for its seventy-fourth General Assembly in September.

The UN budget for 2018 and 2019 has been announced as a total of five billion and 600 million dollars, with three billion and 300 million dollars allocated to 2019.

The budget for the UN’s peacekeeping missions is funded separately.

129 countries out of 193 member states have paid their membership dues and provided 70 percent of the total required amount. Guterres has called on the remaining members to settle their outstanding debts.

The United States typically provides 22 percent of the organization’s budget and is considered its largest financial supporter.

The United States currently owes over one billion dollars to the organization, with 670 million dollars of that belonging to the current year’s budget.

Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the policies and decisions of the United Nations and objected to his country’s high share in funding its budget. He is calling for fundamental reforms in the organization.

Source: DW