United Nations: Financial Issues and U.S. Arrears (Briefing Report, 06/18/98, GAO/NSIAD-98-201BR). Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the validity of the Department of State's claims that unpaid U.S. assessments (arrears) limit the United States' ability to effectively pursue its interests through the United Nations (U.N.), focusing on the: (1) U.N.'s financial status; and (2) impact of U.S. arrears on selected U.N. decisions. GAO noted that: (1) its analysis indicates that the U.N. has been able to pay its external creditors and its personnel costs while maintaining an overall positive cash balance; (2) although the U.N. has reported a negative year-end cash balance in its regular budget account for the past several years, it has been able to cover operating expenses by deferring payments to countries contributing troops, equipment, and other services to peacekeeping efforts; (3) these peacekeeping accounts are reimbursed as U.N. members pay their regular budget assessments; (4) the U.N.'s financial problems have been primarily caused by the accumulation of unpaid assessments and the late payments of assessments by a large number of members; (5) although some members pay their assessments by the due date, most make partial payments throughout the year; (6) as of February 28, 1998, the U.N. reported that 166 member states owed about $2 billion for arrears; 6 countries owed about 91 percent of this amount; (7) the other 160 countries owed about 9 percent of the unpaid contributions; (8) in some cases, unpaid contributions have been the result of the members' inability to pay; (9) U.N. records show that the United States is about $1.3 billion in arrears for the regular and peacekeeping budgets and is not in arrears for the international criminal tribunals; (10) according to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, the continuing large amount of arrears has created a structural deficit that could develop into a serious financial crisis if members begin demanding payment of amounts due them for providing goods and services to U.N. peacekeeping operations; (11) according to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, the only way for the U.N. to circumvent the chronic deficits in the regular budget is to borrow from peacekeeping accounts; (12) the U.S. arrears situation at the U.N. has contributed to a difficult environment for advancing U.S. positions and has distracted the debates away from the merits of the particular issues; (13) U.S. officials have been informed by representatives of other U.N. members that the United States will not regain the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions seat until its arrears are paid in full; and (14) GAO's analysis of U.S. payments due through 1998 indicates that the United States could be sufficiently in arrears to lose its General Assembly vote in January 1999 if it does not legislate or pay an additional amount between $211 and $241 million by December 31, 1998. --------------------------- Indexing Terms ----------------------------- REPORTNUM: NSIAD-98-201BR TITLE: United Nations: Financial Issues and U.S. Arrears DATE: 06/18/98 SUBJECT: International relations International organizations Financial management Federal aid to foreign countries Future budget projections Budget outlays IDENTIFIER: Iraq France Russia China Liberia Comoros Tajikistan Belarus Brazil Japan Ukraine ****************************************************************** ** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a ** ** GAO report. Delineations within the text indicating chapter ** ** titles, headings, and bullets are preserved. Major ** ** divisions and subdivisions of the text, such as Chapters, ** ** Sections, and Appendixes, are identified by double and ** ** single lines. The numbers on the right end of these lines ** ** indicate the position of each of the subsections in the ** ** document outline. These numbers do NOT correspond with the ** ** page numbers of the printed product. ** ** ** ** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although ** ** figure captions are reproduced. Tables are included, but ** ** may not resemble those in the printed version. ** ** ** ** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when ** ** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed ** ** document's contents. ** ** ** ** A printed copy of this report may be obtained from the GAO ** ** Document Distribution Center. For further details, please ** ** send an e-mail message to: ** ** ** **** ** ** ** with the message 'info' in the body. ** ****************************************************************** Cover ================================================================ COVER Briefing Report to Congressional Requesters June 1998 UNITED NATIONS - FINANCIAL ISSUES AND U.S. ARREARS GAO/NSIAD-98-201BR United Nations (711330) Abbreviations =============================================================== ABBREV ACABQ - Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions ICTR - International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ICTY - International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia MINUGUA - United Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in Guatemala MINURSO - United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara MONUA - United Nations Observer Mission in Angola ONUCA - United Nations Observer Group in Central America ONUC - United Nations Operation in Congo ONUMOZ - United Nations Operation in Mozambique ONUSAL - United Nations Observer Mission in El Salvador UNAMIC - United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia UNAMIR - United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda UNAVEM - United Nations Angola Verification Mission UNDOF - United Nations Disengagement Observer Force UNEF - United Nations Emergency Force UNFICYP - United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus UNIFIL - United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNIIMOG - United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group UNIKOM - United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission UNMIBH - United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina UNMIH - United Nations Mission in Haiti UNMLT - United Nations Military Liaison Team in Cambodia UNMOT - United Nations Mission Observers in Tajikistan UNOMIG - United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia UNOMIL - United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia UNOMUR - United Nations Observer Mission Uganda-Rwanda UNOSOM - United Nations Operation in Somalia UNPREDEP - United Nations Preventive Deployment Force UNPROFOR - United Nations Protection Force UNSCOM - United Nations Special Commission UNSMIH - United Nations Support Mission in Haiti UNTAC - United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia UNTAES - United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium UNTAG - United Nations Transition Assistance Group Letter =============================================================== LETTER B-280216 June 18, 1998 The Honorable Jesse Helms Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate The Honorable Benjamin Gilman Chairman, Committee on International Relations House of Representatives The Honorable Harold Rogers Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Committee on Appropriations House of Representatives According to the United Nations Secretary General, the U.N.'s financial situation is precarious, due to the nonpayment or late payment by the United States and other U.N. members of their assessed contributions. Department of State officials have asserted that unpaid U.S. assessments (arrears) limits the U.S.' ability to effectively pursue its interests through the United Nations. This report responds to your concerns regarding the validity of these claims. Specifically, you asked us to assess (1) the U.N.'s financial status and (2) the impact of U.S. arrears on selected U.N. decisions, including U.N. resolutions dealing with Iraq and U.S. efforts to secure a change in its regular budget assessment rate. Our observations concerning the impact of U.S. arrears on selected U.N. decisions is limited to those specific decisions we examined and cannot be generalized to the broader range of issues and proposals that have been debated at the United Nations. We briefed members of your staff about these issues on February 13 and 24, 1998. This report summarizes and updates the information provided at those briefings. BACKGROUND ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1 The U.N. Charter--an international treaty--provides that the expenses of the organization shall be borne by the members as apportioned by the General Assembly. The U.N.'s basic operations, including most headquarters activities, are funded through regular budget assessments paid by its member states. Member states are assessed separately for peacekeeping operations and international criminal tribunals,\1 but at different rates than for the regular budget. The United Nations uses the budget levels set by the General Assembly as the basis for assessing its members and planning its activities. The unpredictability of U.N. members' payments is not a factor in developing its budgets. The United States is the U.N.'s largest contributor and, in 1997, it paid about 89 percent, or $627.8 million, of its assessments of $707.7 million. In 1997, the United Nations assessed its 185 members a total of $2.4 billion for its regular, peacekeeping, and tribunal budgets. The United States is assessed 25 percent of the U.N.'s regular budget and about 30.5 percent of peacekeeping budgets. In addition, the United States is assessed 25 percent for one-half of the international criminal tribunals' budget and about 30.5 percent for the other half. According to the United Nations, the United States has on average paid about 90 percent of its regular budget assessment over the last 17 years. Regular budget assessments are due on January 31 of each year and are considered to be in arrears if they are not paid by December 31. Assessments for peacekeeping missions and the tribunals are due within 30 days of the billing dates. Article 19 of the U.N. Charter states that a member that is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the United Nations will have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of arrears equals or exceeds the assessments due for the preceding 2-full years. Security Council rights, such as the power of a permanent member to veto any resolutions, are not affected by article 19. Since 1983, the United States has paid its calendar year assessments with funds appropriated for the following U.S. fiscal year. For example, calendar year 1998 assessments, which were due by January 31, 1998, will be paid after October 1, 1998, with fiscal year 1999 appropriations. In addition, since the early 1980s, the United States has withheld portions of its assessed contributions for legislative and policy reasons. For example, in 1994, Congress enacted legislation to cap the U.S. peacekeeping assessment at 25 percent.\2 The United Nations counts the difference as arrears. -------------------- \1 The United Nations has established two international criminal tribunals--the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda--to investigate and prosecute persons responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in those regions. \2 22 U.S.C. 287e note. RESULTS IN BRIEF ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2 Our analysis indicates that the United Nations has been able to pay its external creditors and its personnel costs while maintaining an overall positive cash balance. Although the United Nations has reported a negative year-end cash balance in its regular budget account for the past several years, it has been able to cover operating expenses by deferring payments to countries contributing troops, equipment, and other services to peacekeeping efforts--essentially borrowing from these countries--and spending cash kept in peacekeeping accounts. These peacekeeping accounts are reimbursed as U.N. members pay their regular budget assessments. The U.N.'s financial problems have been primarily caused by the accumulation of unpaid assessments and the late payments of assessments by a large number of members. Although some members pay their assessments by the due date, most make partial payments throughout the year. A large number of members also have unpaid assessments from prior years (arrears). According to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, in comparison to past years, a growing number of members are now paying more or all of their assessments. For example, over the past 3 years, the Russian Federation has paid over $300 million of its unpaid assessments from prior years. Despite this improved payment pattern, in recent years, the U.N.'s regular budget account has run out of cash around the end of August and, to continue operations, cash is borrowed from its peacekeeping mission accounts. As of February 28, 1998, the United Nations reported that 166 member states owed about $2 billion for arrears; 6 countries owed about 91 percent of this amount: the United States (64.2 percent), Ukraine (11.2 percent), Russian Federation (7 percent), Japan (4.4 percent), Belarus (2.7 percent), and Brazil (1.4 percent). The other 160 countries owed about 9 percent of the unpaid contributions. In some cases, unpaid contributions have been the result of the members' inability to pay. For example, Brazil, Belarus, and Ukraine have experienced financial difficulties for several years and have not paid their assessments in full or on time. Japan makes partial payments during the assessment year. The U.N.'s records show that the United States is about $1.3 billion in arrears for the regular and peacekeeping budgets and is not in arrears for the international criminal tribunals. Of the amount in arrears as of February 28, 1998, the United States has agreed to pay $723 million--$60 million for the regular budget and $663 million for peacekeeping. The United States has not agreed to pay $567 million based on legislative requirements or policy determinations. According to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, the continuing large amount of arrears (both the failure to pay assessments in full and to pay them on time) has created a structural deficit that could develop into a serious financial crisis if members begin demanding payment of amounts due them for providing goods and services to U.N. peacekeeping operations. The structural problem arises from the fact that U.N. programs and activities are implemented on the basis that 100 percent of the budgeted amounts will be assessed to members, and that assessments will be paid in full and on time. Although member states, including the United States, approved these activities, they are not being fully funded in a timely manner. Moreover, the U.S.' practice since 1986 of withholding part of the assessed contributions until certain conditions have been met, sometimes for many months beyond the due date, has exacerbated this problem. This condition has prevailed for many years. According to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, the only way for the United Nations to circumvent the chronic deficits in the regular budget is to borrow from peacekeeping accounts; and with peacekeeping funds diminishing, "the time is fast approaching when this will no longer be feasible." Our analysis shows that year-end cash balances in the peacekeeping accounts have declined from $923 million in 1995 to a projected $761 million in 1998. The U.S. arrears situation at the United Nations has contributed to a difficult environment for advancing U.S. positions and has distracted the debates away from the merits of the particular issues. However, on specific cases we examined, arrears sometimes had a clear impact on outcomes and sometimes did not. In the security arena, the ultimate outcome of the cases we examined did not appear to be affected by the U.S. arrears, whereas other U.S. interests, such as obtaining a lower regular budget assessment rate clearly were. The U.S. arrears situation was raised by Iraq during the Security Council debate concerning Iraq's compliance with weapons inspections and distracted attention from Iraq's violations. Nonetheless, Security Council resolutions were firm, consistent, and unanimous in condemning Iraq and maintaining the weapons inspections in accord with U.S. positions. According to U.S. officials, the resolutions did not reflect the increased difficulty that arrears caused in obtaining Security Council support. On other issues we examined, the arrears issue had a clearly negative impact. For example, while consensus had not been reached among the members to reduce the U.S. regular budget assessment rate from 25 to 22 percent, according to U.S. mission officials, the inability to resolve this issue legislatively in 1997 ensured that agreement on reducing the rate would not be reached. In addition, documents we obtained cited U.S. arrears as the primary reason the United States lost its seat on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions--whose role is to report to the Fifth Committee on its examinations of the regular, peacekeeping, and international criminal tribunal budgets and other accounts of the United Nations. Moreover, U.S. officials have been informed by representatives of other U.N. members that the United States will not regain the Advisory Committee seat until its arrears are paid in full. By April 4, 1998, 39 U.N. members in arrears had lost their vote in the General Assembly under article 19. By May 11, 1998, that number was reduced to 27 as payments were made by member states, thus permitting them to regain their voting privileges. Our analysis of U.S. payments due through 1998--including the estimated payments of between $363 and $393 million the United States says it intends to make from its 1998 and prior year appropriations--indicates that the United States could be sufficiently in arrears to lose its General Assembly vote in January 1999 if it does not legislate or pay an additional amount between $211 and $241 million by December 31, 1998. We noted that other members, including France, the former Soviet Union, and China--have been in a similar situation for their refusal to pay certain assessments but were allowed to continue their voting privileges. In the case of China, the General Assembly authorized the United Nations to place the amounts owed in a special account. However, according to U.S. officials, to date, U.S. efforts to have such an account established for the amounts in dispute have been rebuffed. Recently, the General Assembly allowed three other U.N. members that failed to pay their dues--Comoros, Liberia, and Tajikistan--to continue their voting privileges because of conditions beyond their control. The briefing sections provide more information on the U.N.'s financial status and the impact of U.S. arrears on the U.S.' ability to prevail on U.N. decisions significant to U.S. interests. Appendixes I through III list unpaid contributions by U.N. account, unpaid contributions by U.N. member state, and reimbursements owed to U.N. members for peacekeeping contributions. AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3 The Department of State and the United Nations provided written comments on a draft of this report. The Department of State commented that, while the facts of the report are accurate, the report was narrowly focused and has not captured the atmosphere at the United Nations toward the United States and loss of influence and prestige of the United States within all the bodies of the United Nations that has been caused by U.S. arrears. Specifically, State believes that it is impossible and imprudent to assess the impact of the arrears by studying only selected activities in the Security Council and on the recent effort to change the regular budget assessment. Our report states that despite the fact that the United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations, the arrears problem has contributed to a difficult environment for the State Department and the U.S. Mission to operate in. It also makes clear that our observations concerning the impact of U.S. arrears are limited to outcomes for the specific decisions we were asked to examine. We do not attempt to generalize these observations to the broader range of issues that the United States is involved with at the United Nations. The United Nations agreed with the factual information presented in the report, and reiterated its view that the U.N.'s financial situation is precarious and that borrowing from one account to cover deficits in another is imprudent. The Department of State and the United Nations also provided technical comments that we incorporated as appropriate. Department of State and U.N. comments are reprinted in appendixes IV and V, respectively. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY ------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4 To determine the U.N.'s financial status, we reviewed audit reports and U.N. budgets and analyzed data on cash flow projections, unpaid contributions, and internal borrowing. We also met with the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, other U.N. officials, and the U.N. Board of Auditors. We did not include the U.N. specialized agencies or other affiliated agencies in our review. Because we are an agency of the United States, we do not have direct audit authority to review the operations of international organizations, including the United Nations. This lack of audit authority resulted in certain limitations being placed on the scope of our work. Although U.N. officials consented to our study and Secretariat staff were helpful and forthcoming in interviews, the United Nations did not provide access to internal financial documents nor information about what is owed to other peacekeeping contributors for specific peacekeeping missions. Also, information on year-end cash balances prior to 1994 was not available. These restrictions did not allow us to verify the U.N.'s cash flow estimates and total amounts owed to member states for troops and contingent-owned equipment. To determine the impact of unpaid contributions on U.S. policy interests, we reviewed recent U.N. Security Council and General Assembly decisions, delegation statements before the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly, and U.S. policy statements. We also interviewed U.S. officials at the Department of State and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations responsible for managing U.S. participation in the United Nations. We did not independently verify the information obtained from the United Nations and the State Department. We conducted our work from February to April 1998 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. ---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :4.1 We are providing copies of this report to the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the U.N. Secretary General, and the Chairman, U.N. Board of Auditors. This report will also be made available to others on request. Please contact me at (202) 512-4128 if you or your staff have any questions about this report. Major contributors to the report were Harold Johnson, Tetsuo Miyabara, Zina Merritt, Michael Rohrback, and David Bruno. Benjamin F. Nelson Director, International Relations and Trade Issues BACKGROUND ============================================================ Chapter I (See figure in printed edition.) BACKGROUND ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter I:1 The United Nations obtains its operating funds through (1) regular budget assessments, (2) peacekeeping assessments, and (3) international criminal tribunals assessments. About 98 percent of these funds come from regular budget and peacekeeping assessments and 2 percent from international criminal tribunals' assessments. In 1997, these assessments totaled about $2.4 billion--$1.1 billion for regular budget, $1.2 billion for peacekeeping, and $35.2 million for the international criminal tribunals. By February 28, 1998, U.N. members owed about $2 billion in unpaid contributions for 1997 and prior years (arrears)--$461.3 million for regular budget, $1.5 billion for peacekeeping, and $10.7 million for the international criminal tribunals. U.N. members also owed about $1.2 billion for the current year's assessments. The United States is the U.N.'s largest contributor. In 1997, the United States paid about $627.8 million of the $707.7 million it was assessed to the United Nations--more than any other member state. It paid about $315.6 million for the regular budget,\1 $302.4 million for peacekeeping, and $9.8 million for the international criminal tribunals. However, the United States still owes the largest amount of unpaid contributions, particularly for peacekeeping missions, for 1997 and prior years (arrears). -------------------- \1 The $315.6 million for regular budget payments includes a $27.3 million credit from surplus funds in the U.N.'s Tax Equalization Fund. REGULAR U.N. BUDGET AND PEACEKEEPING CASH FLOWS =========================================================== Chapter II (See figure in printed edition.) REGULAR BUDGET AND PEACEKEEPING YEAR-END CASH BALANCES, 1994-98 --------------------------------------------------------- Chapter II:1 The U.N.'s combined regular budget and peacekeeping cash balance between 1994 and 1997 has ranged from $453 million to $728 million at year end. The U.N. Under Secretary General for Management estimates that the United Nations will have a 1998 year-end cash balance, excluding funds for the international criminal tribunals, of about $577 million. The U.N.'s monthly operating expenses, including staff costs, average about $200 million, or $2.4 billion per year. In addition, the United Nations currently owes about $1.2 billion to members who have contributed troops, equipment, and services to peacekeeping missions. As shown in the following two slides, from 1994 to 1997, the United Nations has had negative regular budget year-end balances and positive peacekeeping balances. It has been able to maintain an overall positive cash balance by deferring payments to countries that contribute to peacekeeping efforts and covering regular budget shortfalls from peacekeeping account funds. (See figure in printed edition.) REGULAR BUDGET YEAR-END CASH BALANCES, 1994-98 --------------------------------------------------------- Chapter II:2 Beginning in 1994, the gap between assessment levels and member states' irregular payments has caused the regular cash account to be in deficit by the end of each year. Based on the payment patterns of the prior 4 years, particularly the last 4 months of each year, the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management projects a regular budget deficit of about $184 million for the end of 1998. He estimates that during 1998 the United Nations will have to borrow 25 percent of the available cash in the peacekeeping accounts to cover the deficit in the regular budget. (See figure in printed edition.) PEACEKEEPING YEAR-END CASH BALANCES, 1994-98 --------------------------------------------------------- Chapter II:3 As the number of large and complex peacekeeping operations authorized by the U.N. Security Council grew between 1990 and 1994, so did U.N. member states' peacekeeping assessments. This resulted in significant on-hand cash balances in the peacekeeping accounts for the U.N.'s fiscal years beginning in 1994. Between 1995 and 1997, these operations decreased, as did member states' assessments. As a result, the levels of peacekeeping cash decreased from $923 million in 1995 to $874 million in 1996 and to $791 million in 1997. According to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, forecasting needs for peacekeeping operations is very difficult because the levels of assessments change, the frequency of assessments is unpredictable, the timing of the receipt of credits of unspent funds from closed peacekeeping missions is uncertain, and the troop and equipment requirements change. Based on prior year's payment patterns, the U.N. Under Secretary General projects that the cash in the peacekeeping accounts would be about $761 million, the lowest level in 4 years, by the end of 1998. UNPAID ASSESSMENTS BY U.N. MEMBERS ========================================================== Chapter III (See figure in printed edition.) UNPAID ASSESSMENTS BY ALL U.N. MEMBERS, 1990-97 -------------------------------------------------------- Chapter III:1 The United Nations depends on the contributions of its 185 member states to maintain its operations. U.N. members have traditionally been slow in making their current year contributions, and as of February 28, 1998, 166 members had arrears. According to statements by the U.N. Secretary General and the Under Secretary General for Management, arrears are the major cause of what they consider to be a precarious financial situation. According to the United Nations, as of February 28, 1998, member states owed about $2 billion in unpaid contributions for 1997 and prior years (arrears)--$461.3 million for regular budget, $1.5 billion for peacekeeping, and $10.7 million for the international criminal tribunals. See appendixes I and II for the status of unpaid contributions for each U.N. account and by member state. According to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, in comparison to past years, a growing number of members are now paying more or all of their assessments. For example, over the past 3 years, the Russian Federation has paid over $300 million of its unpaid assessments from prior years. However, in some cases, unpaid contributions have been the result of the member's inability to pay. For example, Brazil, Belarus, and Ukraine have experienced financial difficulties for several years and have not paid their assessments in full or on time. Other members, such as Japan, make partial payments during the assessment year. Although Italy usually makes its payment in full at the beginning of each calendar year, it has yet to pay its 1998 assessment. Since the early 1980s, a portion of the U.S. payment has been withheld for specific activities or because U.S. law caps the peacekeeping assessment at 25 percent. Other portions have been conditioned on the U.N.'s undertaking reforms. (See figure in printed edition.) OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS BY COUNTRY, 1997 AND PRIOR PERIODS -------------------------------------------------------- Chapter III:2 As of February 28, 1998, 166 U.N. members were $2 billion in arrears to the U.N.'s regular, peacekeeping, and international criminal tribunal budgets. Members owing the most were the United States, with about $1.3 billion, or 64.2 percent; Ukraine, $226 million, or 11.2 percent; Russian Federation, $140 million, or 7 percent; Japan, $89 million, or 4.4 percent; Belarus, $55 million, or $2.7 percent; and Brazil, $29 million, or 1.4 percent. The other 160 countries owed about $180 million, or 9 percent. The Russian Federation is rapidly paying down its arrears. Ukraine, Belarus, and Brazil have been experiencing severe financial problems and have indicated that they are unable to pay their arrears at this time. According to a State Department official, only the United States has not paid its arrears because of policy reasons. (See figure in printed edition.) STRUCTURAL IMPACT OF UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS -------------------------------------------------------- Chapter III:3 According to the U.N. Under Secretary General for Management, the continuing large amount of arrears (both the failure to pay assessments in full and to pay them on time) has created a structural deficit that could develop into a serious financial crisis if members begin demanding payment of amounts due them for providing goods and services to U.N. peacekeeping operations. The structural problem arises from the fact that U.N. programs and activities are planned and implemented on the basis that 100 percent of the budgeted amounts will be assessed to members, and that assessments will be paid in full and on time. The unpredictability of U.N. members' payments is not a factor in developing its budgets. As noted, this condition has prevailed for many years, and arrears have continued to accumulate. According to U.S. Mission officials, the U.S. payment practice of starting regular budget payments no earlier than October 1, 8 months after they are due, and completing regular budget payments up to 22 months after due dates has a much more serious affect on the U.N.'s cash flow and ability to meet its obligations than do the arrears. The U.N.'s cash flow problems stem largely from this U.S. delay in payments. The United States is the only major country that regularly schedules payments with this delay factor. (See figure in printed edition.) U.N. CALCULATION OF REGULAR BUDGET ARREARS, 1997 AND PRIOR PERIODS -------------------------------------------------------- Chapter III:4 Note: The United States withheld $162 million for legislative and policy actions and $151 million is conditioned on the State Department's certification that certain legislative requirements have been fulfilled. (See figure in printed edition.) The U.N.'s records show that the United States owes about $373 million for regular budget arrears. Of this amount, as of February 28, 1998, the United States has agreed to pay $60 million and withhold $313 million for legislative requirements or policy determinations; $151 million of which will be paid when specific conditions are met. Table III.1 shows the U.S. withholdings for the U.N. regular budget. Table III.1 U.S. Regular Budget Withholdings as of February 28, 1998 (Dollars in millions) Purpose Withheld amount ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- U.S. legislative withholdings Construction of the Conference $29 Center for the Economic Commission of Africa (Addis Ababa) in the late 80s during the famine U.N. assistance to the Palestine 17 Liberation Organization Sunquist Amendment prohibiting a 6.3 portion of the U.S. payment to the U.N. because of kickbacks paid from Soviet nationals' salaries to their governments for their salaries Kasten Amendment of the mid-1980s 1 preventing payment for excessive U.N. post adjustments Assessment rate increase in early 0.7 1980s following the breakup of Czechoslovakia Subtotal $54 U.S. policy withholding Withheld payment to the U.N. Tax $100 Equalization Fund because of the asserted excessive tax reimbursements paid to U.S. nationals employed by the United Nations Law of Sea Preparatory Commission 8 Subtotal $108 Funds withheld until U.N. meets reform conditions\a Office of Internal Oversight $51 Services\b U.N. regular budget not to exceed 100 $2.533 billion Subtotal $151 ====================================================================== Total $313 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- \a These amounts are not disputed. \b This amount was paid in March 1998. Source: Department of State. (See figure in printed edition.) U.N. CALCULATION OF PEACEKEEPING ARREARS, 1997 AND PRIOR PERIODS -------------------------------------------------------- Chapter III:5 Note: The United States withheld $254 million for legislative and policy actions. This amount does not include $14 million to be paid from fiscal year 1998 appropriations. (See figure in printed edition.) The U.N.'s records show that the United States owes about $917 million for peacekeeping arrears. Of this amount, as of February 28, 1998, the United States has agreed to pay $663 million and withhold $254 million for legislative requirements or policy determinations. Table III.2 shows the U.S. withholdings for U.N. peacekeeping. Table III.2 U.S. Peacekeeping Withholdings as of February 28, 1998 (Dollars in millions) Purpose Withheld amount ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- U.S. policy cap on peacekeeping $123 assessment at 30.4 percent versus the 31.7 percent set by the General Assembly to cover peacekeeping contribution shortfalls following the breakup of the Soviet Union U.S. legislative cap on 128 peacekeeping assessments at 25 percent after October 1, 1995, versus U.N. assessment of 30.4 percent U.S. policy withholding of U.S. 3 payment for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) pending outcome of U.S. negotiations ====================================================================== Total $254 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Department of State. REIMBURSEMENTS DEFERRED TO PEACEKEEPING CONTRIBUTORS =========================================================== Chapter IV (See figure in printed edition.) COUNTRIES NOT PAID FOR PEACEKEEPING CONTRIBUTIONS --------------------------------------------------------- Chapter IV:1 Although the United Nations has been able to pay for external services provided by contractors and personnel costs, it has not paid all U.N. members for troops, equipment, and other services contributed for peace operations. The U.N.'s regular budget cash deficits have led to prolonged periods of borrowing from its peacekeeping accounts to maintain its operations. These funds are reimbursed to the peacekeeping accounts as U.N. members pay regular budget assessments. The availability of peacekeeping cash from which to borrow has sustained the United Nations. However, the U.N.'s ability to borrow will, over time, diminish because funds flowing in from the assessments for peacekeeping missions have declined. The following slides and appendix III show the amounts owed by the United Nations to peacekeeping contributors. (See figure in printed edition.) TOTAL OWED PEACEKEEPING CONTRIBUTORS, 1994-97 --------------------------------------------------------- Chapter IV:2 At the end of December 1997, the United Nations owed about $1.2 billion in reimbursements to U.N. member states for contributions for peacekeeping operations, including troops, equipment--referred to as contingent-owned equipment--letters of assist requesting specific services, and death and disability payments. According to the United Nations, in some cases, the debt poses a hardship for those member states, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, that cannot afford to go unpaid for long periods of time. Payments for contingent-owned equipment constituted about 63 percent of the amount the United Nations owed to member states as of December 1997. Before April 1996, the amounts owed for the use of contingent-owned equipment were based on the contributing countries' estimates. In some cases, the United Nations disputed these claims. After an extensive review, the U.N. General Assembly adopted new guidelines for determining reimbursement to member states for contingent-owned equipment provided to peacekeeping missions. These guidelines include standards for record keeping, classification of equipment, and rates for equipment use. Reimbursement rates for troop costs are based on rates established by the General Assembly; currently, this rate is $988 monthly for each troop of the contributing country's armed forces. The Secretary General announced in 1996 his intention not to allow the amounts already owed to member states to increase, if at all possible. The Secretary General intends to pay down the level of debt to member states when substantial arrearage amounts are paid. Actual reimbursement for troop costs and contingent-owned equipment will be paid when amounts over and above the day-to-day requirements become available to make a payment. Death and disability payments and payments for letters of assist are normally made to governments shortly after the claims are certified. In 1997, the United Nations paid peacekeeping contributors $327 million. (See figure in printed edition.) TOP FIVE COUNTRIES OWED REIMBURSEMENT FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO PEACEKEEPING --------------------------------------------------------- Chapter IV:3 Note: Voluntary contributions are not included. Not all equipment cost are reported to the United Nations. In some cases, countries dispute amounts owed. The United Nations recently adopted new guidelines for reimbursing contingent-owed equipment costs. (See figure in printed edition.) As of December 31, 1997, the United Nations owed 71 member states about $1.2 billion for troops, equipment, and other services they had provided to peacekeeping missions. The members owed the most were France, $151.2 million; the United States, $109.2 million; the United Kingdom, $65.9 million; Italy, $62.5 million; and Belgium, $58.1 million. The remaining 66 countries were owed $728.3 million. The largest amount owed for troops alone was to Pakistan for about $20 million. Appendix III provides a complete listing of countries owed reimbursements for contributions to peacekeeping operations. The United Nations maintained an overall positive cash balance by deferring reimbursement payments to these countries and, in effect, borrowing from these countries to pay current operating expenses of the United Nations. According to U.N. officials, if members' arrears were paid, the funds would likely be used by the United Nations to liquidate these debts. IMPACT OF UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON U.S. INTERESTS ============================================================ Chapter V (See figure in printed edition.) IMPACT OF UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON U.N. DECISIONS WE EXAMINED ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:1 Note: Advisory Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). The U.S. arrears situation at the United Nations has had an effect on some U.N. decisions of interest to the United States. On U.N. decisions concerning Iraq, the Congo, and the Central African Republic, arrears did not appear to have an impact and U.S. positions prevailed. However, evidence we found suggests that U.S. arrears have created a more difficult environment in which to advance U.S. initiatives in other areas. For example, a U.S. initiative to streamline administrative operations for a peacekeeping operation in Lebanon was deflected when U.S. arrears were discussed. According to U.S. Mission officials, the inability to enact legislation to pay U.S. arrears in 1997 ensured that the assessment rate for the regular budget would not be reduced and caused the United States to lose a seat on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions. In addition, the United States could potentially lose its vote in the General Assembly if it does not pay some of its arrears by January 1, 1999. The following slides discuss the impact of U.S. unpaid contributions on U.S. interests. (See figure in printed edition.) IMPACT OF U.S. UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON SECURITY DECISIONS ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:2 Although U.S. arrears created a more difficult environment to advance U.S. positions, the impact on the security issues we examined appeared to be limited. For example, U.S. arrears were raised by Security Council members when negotiating resolutions on Iraq and according to U.S. officials made their work more difficult. Nonetheless, the Security Council passed resolutions in March 1998 and in December, October, and June 1997 condemning Iraq and reaffirming Iraq's obligation to cooperate fully and unconditionally with the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM), which is charged with ensuring that Iraq destroy, remove, or render harmless its chemical and biological weapons. On March 2, 1998, the Security Council passed Resolution 1154, which stressed Iraq's obligations to give UNSCOM immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access to carry out its work and stated that any violation would have the severest consequences for Iraq. The President of the United States said that this resolution sends the clearest message to message to Iraq and that if the resolution is complied with it would achieve what the United States wanted. Further indicating that U.S. arrears had a limited impact on decisions regarding Iraq, an ambassador to the United Nations from another country stated that U.S. arrears is a separate issue and is not linked to a situation as critical as Iraq. The U.S. position that there is no clear mandate or rationale for establishing a peacekeeping mission in the Congo was supported by the Security Council. Further, the United States has been able to sustain its position on the Central African Republic that certain conditions, such as supplying a smaller force than proposed, must be agreed to before the United States can support a peacekeeping mission. These revisions were made to the U.N.'s plan for the peacekeeping mission. In both of these cases, U.S. arrears had a limited impact on the decisions because the United States could veto any new operations and the U.S. power to veto would not be effected by arrears. U.S. proposals to consolidate the administrative units of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with several other U.N. missions in the Middle East were rebuffed, according to a U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. These discussions were deflected when Security Council members made reference to U.S. arrears. According to State Department and U.S. Mission officials, discussions on other peacekeeping missions have also been interrupted by questions about U.S. arrears. (See figure in printed edition.) IMPACT OF U.S. UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON OTHER U.N. ISSUES ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:3 According to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, U.S. arrears was the primary reason why the United States lost its seat on the ACABQ in 1996. State Department documents indicate that a number of factors contributed to this decision, but the deciding factor was U.S. arrears. These documents indicated that other members would not vote for a country in arrears to sit on the most important U.N. budget and financial committee. This committee reports to the Fifth Committee on its examinations of the regular, peacekeeping, and international criminal tribunal budgets and other accounts of the United Nations. It also advises the General Assembly on other administrative and financial matters referred to it. The United States had maintained a seat on the ACABQ since its inception in 1946. To regain a seat on the ACABQ, the United States plans to submit the name of a candidate to the Fifth Committee for a seat that will become vacant on December 31, 1998. Members of the committee are appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Fifth Committee on the basis of broad geographical representation, personal qualifications and experience. However, some delegations have stated that they will not support a U.S. seat unless the U.S. arrears are paid in full. With respect to U.N. procurement, an attempt was made in March 1998 to pass a General Assembly resolution restricting U.N. procurement to countries that are current in their assessed payments. However, to gain consensus, the resolution was modified and merely called for a study of this matter. Specifically, the resolution requests the Secretary General to study the practices being implemented at other multilateral organizations. In 1997, the U.N. headquarters procurement division procured about 61.4 percent, or $189.9 million, of its goods and services from U.S. vendors. In 1996, the U.N. system, including specialized and other affiliated agencies procured about 10.4 percent, or $276.7 million, from U.S. vendors. (See figure in printed edition.) IMPACT OF U.S. UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON REDUCING THE U.S. ASSESSMENT RATE ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:4 According to State Department officials, the United States may have been able to reach its goal of reducing its regular U.N. budget assessment rate from 25 percent to 22 percent had it not been for the U.S. arrears, although opinions on this issue are mixed. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for U.N. Reform and other U.S. officials said major U.N. contributors were somewhat open to the possibility of a 22-percent cap as the maximum assessment for any individual U.N. member. Since the other major contributors would most likely have had to make up for this reduction in funding, State officials said their consent was crucial. However, U.S. officials also stressed that the Group of 77 (a group of developing nations), and China in particular had not reached consensus on the 22-percent cap and their consent was also necessary. U.S. and Chinese representatives had begun to discuss the possibility of a 22-percent ceiling, but the discussions were ended when U.S. legislation to clear the arrears was not enacted in 1997. The special peacekeeping assessment scale is based on a complex formula adopted by the General Assembly in 1973.\1 The underlying rationale for the formula was that (1) permanent Security Council members should pay more than others to recognize their veto power over peacekeeping missions and (2) developing countries should be given some relief. Since this special scale was adopted, the United States has paid in excess of 30 percent for peacekeeping missions. However, beginning in October 1995, U.S. law limited the amount that the United States could pay to 25 percent.\2 The United Nations, however, continues to assess the United States at the higher special peacekeeping rate--currently about 30.5 percent. If the regular budget were capped at 22 percent, the U.S. peacekeeping assessment would automatically be reduced; however, using the U.N. formula, the amount would still likely exceed 25 percent. According to officials at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, discussions had begun with China and the Russian Federation to see if they would agree to pay a greater portion of the reductions for developing countries. U.S. Mission officials also said that although no agreement has yet been reached, both have agreed to the principle that the permanent members of the Security Council should pay a minimum or floor amount. (See figure in printed edition.) -------------------- \1 The U.S. assessment is calculated by taking the regular budget assessment of 25 percent and adding to it the proportionate share of the reductions allowed for developing countries. The five permanent members of the Security Council pay for the reductions allowed for developing countries in proportion to their regular budget assessment. For a discussion of how the peacekeeping and regular budget are calculated, see United Nations: How Assessed Contributions for Peacekeeping Operations Are Calculated (GAO/NSIAD-94-206, Aug. 1, 1994). \2 22 U.S.C. 287e note. IMPACT OF U.S. UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON REOPENING SCALE OF ASSESSMENTS ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:5 In December 1997, the General Assembly adopted a resolution establishing the scale of assessments for 1998-2000. The resolution (1) set the U.S. assessment at 25 percent; (2) lowered the assessment rates for 133 countries; and (3) stated the United Nations would "consider reviewing the scale for the years 1999-2000 during its resumed fifty-second session," in light of all relevant factors, including the status of contributions. According to U.S. and U.N. officials and documents, the Fifth Committee may, but is not bound to, request that the Committee on Contributions reopen discussions depending on whether the United States enacts legislation to provide sufficient funding to pay all arrears, including disputed amounts. Officials indicated that the timing of enacting such legislation is important because the Fifth Committee meets in a resumed session in May 1998 and sets the agenda for the Committee on Contributions' annual meeting in mid-June. The European Union delegate has said that European Union countries would only agree to reopen the discussions after the United States has enacted legislation enabling it to clear its arrears in full. \3 Unless these conditions have been met assessments, the Committee on Contributions will not discuss the issue and will be unlikely to convene again in 1998. If discussions on the scale of assessment are reopened, the probability of lowering the ceiling to 22 percent is remote, according to U.S. officials. Consensus is required to readjust the scale of assessments. Therefore, any country on the Fifth Committee can block proposed changes by dissenting, as the United States could have done when the decision was adopted to leave the U.S. contribution rate at 25 percent. Several issues would have to be resolved in this regard. First, any reduction of the U.S. assessment rate would require other members to make up the difference and negotiations would be complicated. Members of the European Union would most likely have to increase their assessments, and poorer and heavily indebted countries have already accomplished their objective of substantially lowering their assessment rates, an act they would not easily reverse. Japan will be assessed at 20.5 percent for the year 2000 and it has stated a desire to reduce this rate by renegotiating the discounts given to developing countries. As for China, its regular budget assessment rate is less than 1 percent, and it has dismissed any idea that its assessment rate should be increased. Moreover, U.N. members would have to decide how to deal with U.S. residual arrears, or amounts that the United States have refused to pay because of U.S. legislative or policy reasons. The General Assembly could authorize the United Nations to place the amounts owed by the United States in a special account. However, according to U.S. officials, their efforts to have such an account established for the amounts in dispute have been rebuffed. (See figure in printed edition.) -------------------- \3 Clearing arrears in full would mean that the United States would have to pay the arrears amount calculated by the United Nations, including the amounts deducted by the United States for legislative and policy withholdings. IMPACT OF U.S. UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS ON GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTE ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:6 Article 19 of the U.N. Charter states that a member that is in arrears in the payment of its financial contributions to the United Nations will have no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of arrears equals or exceeds the assessments due for the preceding 2-full years. Security Council rights, such as the power of a permanent member to veto any resolutions, are not affected. The United States received notice that it would not be in jeopardy for 1998. By the end of 1998, however, the United States could have arrears exceeding its assessments for the last 2 years, based on estimates by the Department of State and the U.S. Mission. In this regard, the assessment for 1997 and 1998, including the regular budget, peacekeeping, and tribunals, is about $1.3 billion ($708 million for 1997 and $572 million for 1998). Based on the existing U.S. arrears (as determined by the United Nations) and an estimated U.S. payment of between $363 million and $393 million from its 1998 and prior year appropriations, the U.S. arrearage would be about $1.5 billion by January 1, 1999. The United States could retain its vote by paying between $211 and $241 million from funds reallocated from other accounts within the existing appropriations or paid from fiscal year 1999 appropriations for the United Nations before the end of 1998. Table V.1 shows the projected U.S. arrears on January 1, 1999. Table V.1 Projected U.S. Arrears on January 1, 1999 (Dollars in millions) Assessments and payments Range ---------------------------------------------------------- ---------- U.S. payments due through 1998 $1,884 (arrears plus 1998 assessment) Less estimated payments made during 1998 393-363 (fiscal year 1998 and prior years appropriations) Subtotal: Arrears balance on January 1, 1999 $1,491- $1,521 Less cumulative assessments for most recent 2-year period $1,280 ====================================================================== Net shortfall on January 1, 1999, to retain voting $211- privilege $241\a ---------------------------------------------------------------------- \a This amount could be paid from the fiscal year 1999 appropriation for the United Nations or other yet-to-be-enacted legislation to pay U.S. arrears. (See figure in printed edition.) VOTING RIGHTS HAVE BEEN DENIED, BUT SOME EXCEPTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE ---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter V:7 As of February 4, 1998, 39 members had lost their vote under article 19. By May 11, 1998, that number was reduced to 27 as payments were made by members, thus permitting them to regain their voting privileges. Other U.N. members, such as France, the former Soviet Union, and China have been in similar situations for their refusal to pay certain assessments but were allowed to continue their voting privileges. In the case of China, the General Assembly authorized the United Nations to place the amounts owed in a special account. However, according to U.S. officials, to date, U.S. efforts to have such an account established for the amounts in dispute have been rebuffed. Recently, the General Assembly agreed to allow three other members--Comoros, Liberia and Tajikistan--to maintain their voting privileges because their failure to pay was due to conditions beyond their control.\4 In the past, a number of governments have contested U.N. arrears, and the General Assembly has agreed to either waive article 19 or forgive the debt owed. For example, in 1964-65, although the former Soviet Union, France, and several other countries supported the resolution creating the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East (UNEF, later referred to as UNEF I) and the United Nations Operation in Congo (ONUC), they refused to pay for peacekeeping operations and U.N. regular budget expenses related to the operations. By 1964, arrears of the former Soviet Union exceeded the level permitted to maintain its voting rights in the General Assembly. France became subject to the article 19 sanction by January 1, 1965. The U.S. Representative to the United Nations announced before the General Assembly that there could be no double standard in the United Nations. If any member state could insist on making an exception to its obligations with respect to certain activities, "the United States reserves the same option to make exceptions." The General Assembly decided to waive all member's arrears for these operations. The arrears for these countries are still counted in the total unpaid contributions owed, but are not included in calculations for article 19. -------------------- \4 Article 19 of the U.N. Charter provides that the General Assembly may permit these members to vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the control of the member. STATUS OF UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS BY U.N. ACCOUNT, AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 1998 =========================================================== Appendix I 1998 Unpaid contributions\ U.N. account Arrears a Total -------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ============== Regular budget $461,265,034 $781,526,082 $1,242,791,116 Peacekeeping missions UNEF/UNDOF 13,340,226 16,375,356 29,715,582 UNIFIL 109,735,917 60,304,686 170,040,603 UNIMOG 124,691 0 124,691 UNAVEM, UNAVEM II, UNAVEM III, MONUA 115,085,899 34,337,444 149,423,343 UNTAG 410,972 0 410,972 UNIKOM 9,794,359 5,654,260 15,448,619 MINURSO 48,009,658 8,795,977 56,805,635 ONUSAL, ONUCA 3,273,521 0 3,273,521 UNTAC, UNAMIC 46,276,497 0 46,276,497 UNPROFOR 691,186,539 0 691,186,539 UNOSOM, UNOSOM II 290,371,428 0 290,371,428 ONUMOZ 38,595,279 0 38,595,279 UNFICYP 14,920,258 13,663,103 28,583,361 UNOMIG 6,389,790 8,854,960 15,244,750 UNMIH 8,269,744 0 8,269,744 UNOMIL 8,169,798 0 8,169,798 UNAMIR, UNOMUR 26,802,341 0 26,802,341 UNMLT 13,913 0 13,913 UNMOT 1,853,084 2,912,941 4,766,025 UNPREDEP 7,212,272 24,894,744 32,107,016 UNSMIH 9,446,798 0 9,446,798 MINUGUA 324,737 0 324,737 UNMIBH 33,988,318 86,216,525 120,204,843 UNTAES 54,219,277 12,605,397 66,824,674 International criminal tribunals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ICTY 6,922,707 48,292,999 55,215,706 ICTR 3,765,214 50,802,376 54,567,590 ================================================================================ Total $2,009,768,271 $1,155,236,850 $3,165,005,121 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: See contents page for list of abbreviations. Source: United Nations. STATUS OF UNPAID CONTRIBUTIONS FOR REGULAR BUDGET, PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS, AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS BY MEMBER STATE, AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 1998 ========================================================== Appendix II 1998 estimated Member state Arrears assessment Total unpaid -------------------------------- -------------- -------------- ============== United States $1,290,335,659 $414,602,512 $1,704,938,171 Japan 89,032,241 255,151,287 344,183,528 Ukraine 225,889,568 9,059,415 234,948,983 Russian Federation 139,994,014 12,910,755 152,904,769 Germany 10,359,020 86,412,206 96,771,226 Italy 5,201,455 76,626,355 81,827,810 Belarus 54,906,593 1,926,309 56,832,902 United Kingdom 0 49,279,146 49,279,146 Brazil 29,429,892 17,634,465 47,064,357 Spain 0 36,406,393 36,406,393 France 6,558,519 28,570,973 35,129,492 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 14,261,888 3,533,086 17,794,974 Yugoslavia 14,923,183 699,957 15,623,140 Belgium 100 15,434,470 15,434,570 China 0 13,410,655 13,410,655 Poland 10,519,746 2,830,088 13,349,834 Argentina 3,645,610 8,934,864 12,580,474 Iraq 11,455,764 1,014,776 12,470,540 Republic of Korea 147,318 10,803,316 10,950,634 Mexico 3,994 10,903,364 10,907,358 Canada 0 10,478,377 10,478,377 Saudi Arabia 936,673 6,794,956 7,731,629 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 5,612,883 1,821,998 7,434,881 Kazakhstan 5,922,823 1,446,060 7,368,883 Azerbaijan 6,470,523 700,263 7,170,786 Georgia 6,454,415 677,032 7,131,447 Israel 3,105,087 3,829,380 6,934,467 Turkey 1,775,926 5,142,735 6,918,661 Uzbekistan 5,569,889 579,034 6,148,923 Netherlands 0 5,975,607 5,975,607 Greece 740,201 4,912,061 5,652,262 United Arab Emirates 3,490,032 2,048,641 5,538,673 Australia 30,202 5,434,779 5,464,981 Portugal 226,019 5,034,383 5,260,402 Republic of Moldova 4,385,872 501,889 4,887,761 Indonesia 2,313,116 2,013,650 4,326,766 Sweden 155,538 4,079,441 4,234,979 Austria $552,409 $3,443,610 $3,996,019 Croatia 2,834,625 619,192 3,453,817 Venezuela 770,268 2,637,096 3,407,364 Lithuania 2,542,047 525,119 3,067,166 Latvia 2,665,928 398,424 3,064,352 Tajikistan 2,926,802 93,533 3,020,335 Peru 1,853,330 989,097 2,842,427 Bulgaria 2,077,813 525,119 2,602,932 Denmark 0 2,542,622 2,542,622 Nigeria 1,434,385 771,409 2,205,794 Norway 17 2,003,516 2,003,533 Finland 0 1,999,782 1,999,782 Thailand 78,548 1,839,122 1,917,670 Democratic P. R. of Korea 1,549,277 361,592 1,910,869 Armenia 1,589,107 287,133 1,876,240 Chile 825,498 997,924 1,823,422 Cuba 1,305,060 454,509 1,759,569 Syrian Arab Republic 999,068 721,648 1,720,716 Kyrgyzstan 1,504,679 175,142 1,679,821 Qatar 1,257,949 384,516 1,642,465 Estonia 1,282,779 268,368 1,551,147 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,440,010 58,380 1,498,390 Romania 341,932 1,141,308 1,483,240 Uruguay 870,772 570,348 1,441,120 Algeria 174,040 1,262,388 1,436,428 Ecuador 984,638 256,141 1,240,779 Turkmenistan 1,145,561 17,398 1,162,959 Guatemala 938,516 221,295 1,159,811 Liberia 1,098,338 23,536 1,121,874 Czech Republic 420,214 636,663 1,056,877 Philippines 65,644 895,328 960,972 Somalia 949,296 11,464 960,760 New Zealand 0 819,219 819,219 Central African Republic 781,523 22,773 804,296 Egypt 0 802,872 802,872 Comoros 771,264 11,464 782,728 Slovenia 93,454 689,001 782,455 Oman 67,918 581,964 649,882 El Salvador $433,583 $139,685 $573,268 Sao Tome' and Principe 547,933 11,464 559,397 Gambia 547,897 11,464 559,361 Yemen 423,949 113,252 537,201 Colombia 32,759 499,322 532,081 Morocco 46,354 476,925 523,279 Congo 477,296 35,154 512,450 Nicaragua 476,935 23,536 500,471 Dominican Republic 310,346 186,145 496,491 Panama 279,760 185,968 465,728 Costa Rica 254,716 197,760 452,476 Honduras 401,225 46,764 447,989 Haiti 413,753 22,773 436,526 Chad 419,738 11,464 431,202 Grenada 419,672 11,464 431,136 Cape Verde 419,035 11,464 430,499 Guinea Bissau 417,561 11,464 429,025 Burundi 417,496 11,464 428,960 Dominica 412,392 11,464 423,856 Seychelles 394,260 22,773 417,033 Bolivia 307,864 91,225 399,089 Gabon 365,388 31,490 396,878 Sierra Leone 380,774 11,464 392,238 Togo 364,314 22,773 387,087 Vanuatu 366,418 11,464 377,882 Angola 260,374 113,252 373,626 Cambodia 357,050 11,922 368,972 Lebanon 180,338 186,078 366,416 Sudan 263,476 101,943 365,419 The Former Yugoslav Republic of 309,927 53,380 363,307 Macedonia Trinidad and Tobago 346,026 10,488 356,514 Rwanda 329,283 22,773 352,056 South Africa 0 350,730 350,730 Equatorial Guinea 337,370 11,464 348,834 India 0 344,554 344,554 Afghanistan 281,390 45,393 326,783 Djibouti 312,175 11,464 323,639 Mongolia 304,386 15,516 319,902 Niger $293,140 $22,773 $315,913 Guinea 280,380 34,086 314,466 Luxembourg 64,043 244,375 308,418 Democratic Republic of the Congo 209,095 93,225 302,320 Bahrain 84,891 207,608 292,499 Solomon Islands 278,449 11,464 289,913 United Republic of Tanzania 236,859 45,393 282,252 Mauritania 266,213 11,464 277,677 Saint Vincent and Grenadines 253,407 11,464 264,871 Cameroon 77,912 162,913 240,825 Madagascar 201,229 24,485 225,714 Mali 185,719 34,086 219,805 Ireland 0 214,281 214,281 Viet Nam 201,133 11,293 212,426 Bahamas 36,953 169,836 206,789 Fiji 161,042 40,764 201,806 C�te d'Ivoire 50,996 139,685 190,681 Malaysia 0 188,840 188,840 Paraguay 25,885 162,913 188,798 Ghana 108,144 80,038 188,182 Singapore 0 187,745 187,745 Tunisia 149,656 31,680 181,336 Bhutan 160,235 11,464 171,699 Senegal 105,439 61,853 167,292 Burkina Faso 152,601 7,247 159,848 Suriname 113,414 45,393 158,807 Zimbabwe 45,272 99,474 144,746 Maldives 137,355 2,464 139,819 Kenya 61,129 78,650 139,779 Hungary 0 135,014 135,014 Kuwait 26,907 108,045 134,952 Swaziland 109,643 23,536 133,179 Bangladesh 19,714 113,252 132,966 Lesotho 106,248 22,773 129,021 Barbados 35,938 91,225 127,163 Papua New Guinea 48,966 76,312 125,278 Pakistan 52,171 66,795 118,966 Botswana 1,690 110,516 112,206 Myanmar $11,046 $100,767 $111,813 Antigua and Barbuda 86,118 22,773 108,891 Mauritius 4,656 103,839 108,495 Belize 105,669 948 106,617 Iceland 21,530 74,776 96,306 Jordan 2,317 90,053 92,370 Marshall Islands 89,941 1,406 91,347 Guyana 78,772 11,922 90,694 Namibia 736 76,320 77,056 Jamaica 1,842 65,806 67,648 Andorra 9,493 51,762 61,255 Saint Lucia 57,107 2,464 59,571 Benin 41,906 14,773 56,679 Albania 24,462 28,154 52,616 Ethiopia 45,330 5,706 51,036 Uganda 14,045 25,872 39,917 Cyprus 0 38,269 38,269 Zambia 8,654 26,984 35,638 Sri Lanka 17,236 14,587 31,823 San Marino 8,769 21,649 30,418 Brunei Darussalam 7,163 21,235 28,398 Malawi 13,130 14,652 27,782 Malta 11,362 15,674 27,036 Samoa 23,719 2,464 26,183 Mozambique 24,288 1,741 26,029 Slovakia 0 25,867 25,867 Lao People's Democratic Republic 23,843 948 24,791 Nepal 12,576 3,087 15,663 Monaco 0 12,155 12,155 Saint Kitts and Nevis 8,963 948 9,911 Eritrea 6,228 1,794 8,022 Micronesia 3,956 2,922 6,878 Liechtenstein 0 4,804 4,804 Palau 1,861 1,471 3,332 ================================================================================ Total $2,009,768,271 $1,155,236,851 $3,165,005,122 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: United Nations. REIMBURSEMENTS OWED TO U.N. MEMBERS FOR PEACEKEEPING CONTRIBUTIONS, AS OF DECEMBER 31, 1997 ========================================================= Appendix III (Dollars in thousands) Contingent owned Letters of Death & Member state Troops equipment assist disability Total -------------- ------ -------------- ------------ ------------ ============ Argentina $3,608 $14,371 $109 $3,126 $21,214 Australia 0 5,207 148 0 5,355 Austria 6,047 2,350 1 1,018 9,416 Bangladesh 9,936 7,487 236 714 18,373 Belgium 4,646 39,869 13,473 97 58,085 Botswana 0 1,082 310 0 1,392 Brazil 1,744 14,389 1,851 451 18,435 Bulgaria 0 390 0 512 902 Canada 2,749 29,209 13,084 5,348 50,390 Chile 0 86 0 0 86 China 0 228 16 0 244 Czech 273 13,783 42 0 14,098 Denmark 359 17,440 6,059 0 23,858 Djibouti 0 181 0 0 181 Egypt 3,334 10,309 7,415 188 21,246 Estonia 913 0 0 0 913 Ethiopia 0 185 0 0 185 Fiji 4,520 0 0 0 4,520 Finland 6,515 16,036 1,450 28 24,029 France 2,039 125,136 16,530 7,610 151,315 Germany 114 6,562 27,367 30 34,073 Ghana 4,950 364 0 0 5,314 Greece 0 184 0 0 184 Guatemala 0 19 0 0 19 Honduras 0 40 0 0 40 Hungary 525 9 1 0 535 India 5,949 36,196 5,208 0 47,353 Indonesia 413 6,670 2,409 105 9,597 Ireland 4,943 1,027 51 3,388 9,409 Italy 369 29,070 29,398 3,653 62,490 Jamaica 0 2 0 0 2 Japan 2,364 2,322 0 0 4,686 Jordan 1,990 9,384 1,793 98 13,265 Kenya 0 5,257 2,203 0 7,460 Republic of 441 2,642 148 0 3,231 Korea Kuwait 0 1,458 0 0 1,458 Luxembourg 0 $78 0 0 $78 Malawi 0 140 0 0 140 Malaysia $1,581 16,518 $6,498 0 24,597 Mali 0 46 0 0 46 Morocco 0 3,556 0 0 3,556 Namibia 1,489 3,516 0 0 5,005 Nepal 4,621 520 1,063 0 6,204 Netherlands 37 45,308 5,567 0 50,912 New Zealand 29 1,874 1,033 0 2,936 Nigeria 108 4,516 0 0 4,624 Norway 4,993 13,763 1,373 0 20,129 Pakistan 20,071 25,183 132 $30 45,416 Philippines 0 115 0 0 115 Poland 5,942 5,470 574 1,326 13,312 Portugal 2,695 4,904 0 0 7,599 Romania 1,448 16,919 0 0 18,367 Russian 6,261 28,572 1,161 64 36,058 Federation Saudi Arabia 0 958 0 0 958 Senegal 0 194 2 1 197 Singapore 0 0 1 0 1 Slovakia 3,337 21,470 111 0 24,918 Slovenia 34 0 0 0 34 Spain 0 20,127 2,543 5,086 27,756 Sweden 305 15,267 5,367 0 20,939 Switzerland 0 2,432 0 0 2,432 Thailand 0 190 1,639 344 2,173 Tunisia 0 286 0 299 585 Turkey 0 4,189 1,548 0 5,737 Ukraine 1,583 17,110 440 95 19,228 United Arab 0 106 380 0 486 Emarites United Kingdom 3,062 45,190 15,420 2,175 65,847 United States 3,498 25,396 80,289 0 109,183 Uruguay 158 9,264 0 100 9,522 Zambia 3,834 7,075 0 0 10,909 Zimbabwe 6,121 5,613 0 71 11,805 ================================================================================ Total $139,9 $744,809 $254,443 $35,957 $1,175,157 48 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: United Nations. (See figure in printed edition.) APPENDIX IV COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE ========================================================= Appendix III (See figure in printed edition.) (See figure in printed edition.) (See figure in printed edition.)APPENDIX V *** End of document. ***