Uno before budget cuts: crisis threatens peace and human rights!

Uno before budget cuts: crisis threatens peace and human rights!

The united nations' financial difficulties (UN) are more current than ever. General Secretary António Guterres suggests that the UN budget to keep the UN's budget for the coming year at $ 3.7 billion, which corresponds to the level of 2025. This step aims to promote the effective and agile functionality of the organization, but could have a significant impact on different areas. Among other things, programs in the areas of peace and security, human rights and sustainable development would be affected. Fortunately, however, the programs for the least developed countries remain unaffected by these cuts. The proposal for the budget will be presented to the general assembly before the end of the year, as https://www.kleinezeitung.at/service/newsticker/aussenpolitik/20107094/uno-budget-koenne-15-pren-kuerzt-werden).

The UN is suffering from severe financial constraints, which is also reflected in the physical infrastructure in Geneva. Escalators are out of service and library hours have been restricted. António Guterres describes this situation as a “full-blown liquidity crisis”. To alleviate this financial pressure, he announced aggressive cost savings; For 2024, spending is expected to be reduced by $350 million (approx. €320 million), which corresponds to around 10% of the current budget of almost $3.6 billion. Here too, [ZDF is used as a source of information.

The effects of financial problems

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which until July 2023 received only $ 152 million from an approved budget of $ 192 million by July 2023. Investigation commissions on atrocities in countries such as Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, Iran and Israel have to deal with restrictions due to the funding cuts. The emergency aid for war and natural disaster victims also suffers from this financial emergency. Around $ 48.7 billion is estimated for emergency aid for 2024, but only $ 7.9 billion were collected by the end of May. It also becomes clear that many Member States do not pay their contributions in time or completely; In 2023, the deposit rate was only 82.3%, the lowest value in five years, whereby only 142 Member States have paid their full amounts of their contributions.

The UN financing system consists of three pillars that form the basis of their financial resources: compulsory contributions to the ordinary budget, compulsory contribution levies for peace missions and voluntary contributions from the member states. The amount of the ordinary budget is decided every three years by the General Assembly, with rich countries such as the USA, which pay 22% of the budget, more than poorer. The underfunding of the UN, which results from incomplete or late contribution payments, is a fundamental challenge. This again underlines the political and household trialemes that burden the organization, as on bpb.de.

The inadequate financing and the associated challenges indicate a much deeper political crisis in which the and are. In order to be able to maintain their obligations towards citizens in crisis regions, the organization urgently needs to find solutions to their financial problems.