Problem
Government non-payment of agreed financial contributions to international organizations
Other Names:
Imbalance between disbursements of multilateral agencies and official contributionsWithholding of membership payments to intergovernmental organizations
Overdue payments by governments to international organizations
Non-payment of United Nations membership dues
Government arrears in contributions to UN
Incidence:
In 1993, 77% (140 out of 181) of the member states had not met their financial obligations in time. In addition to the USA, members with significant arrears on regular dues included South Africa ($40 million), Brazil ($17 million), Iran ($12 million) and Argentina ($10 million).At the end of 1990 the UN had a budgetary deficit of $750 million because only 86 out of 159 member governments had fully met their commitments, leaving about $395 million dollars in arrears in the regular budget and $355 million on the peacekeeping budget.
Following the USA payment in 1993, there remained at total of $1.7 billion outstanding from all member countries, of which $536 million was for the regular budget and $1.2 billion In 1990 the USA owed $520 million in regular assessments to the UN, plus $150 million for peacekeeping costs. In 1993 the USA paid $533 million to meet more than half of its accumulated arrears, leaving $472 million to pay. By 1998 the back dues had grown to $1.3-billion.
Broader Problems:
Unfulfilled treaty obligationsIneffective international agreementsNational hegemony over United Nations agenciesArrears in payment of government financial commitments Related Problems:
Internationally non-cooperative governments Aggravates:
Uncoordinated international peacekeepingInadequate funding of international programmesIntergovernmental failure to fulfil financial commitmentsShortage of financial resources within the United Nations system of organization Strategies:
Withholding membership payments to intergovernmental organizationsProviding membership payments to intergovernmental organizationsPaying on timeReducing United Nations indebtednessBalancing disbursements of multilateral agencies and official contributions Subject(s):
Commerce → FinanceCommerce → Currency
Commerce → Taxation
Societal Problems → Crime
Societal Problems → Imbalances
Government → Intergovernmental
Government → Government
International Relations → United nations
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
02.12.1999 – 00:00 CET