Advertisement

Updated October 12th, 2019 at 15:13 IST

UN budget crunch: Air conditioning, escalators, water coolers affected

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ordered a slew of measures and wrote a letter to heads of all UN entities informing them about the cost-cutting.

Reported by: Kunal Gaurav
UN
| Image:self
Advertisement

The cash crunch at the United Nations has started reflecting in the recent cost-cutting measures that include stalled escalators, cancellation of meetings, limiting official travel among others. The cash crisis has also affected the air conditioning and interpretation of the United Nations’ six official languages. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ordered a slew of measures and wrote a letter to heads of all UN entities informing that the measures “will affect working conditions and operations until further notice.”

Read: UNSC Without India Affects United Nations' Credibility: EAM Jaishankar

Member states need to step up

The United Nations is facing the worst cash crisis in nearly a decade.

"Member States have paid only 70 per cent of the total amount needed for our regular budget operations in 2019. This translates into a cash shortage of USD 230 million at the end of September. We run the risk of depleting our backup liquidity reserves by the end of the month," Guterres informed the employees of the UN Secretariat through a letter.

Read: United Nations: 20 Countries Sign Agreement To Fight 'fake News'

The United States owes $1 billion

According to U.N. management chief Catherine Pollard, more than $1 billion is owed by just the United States for this year and $1.386 billion in total.

“The regular budget has been facing severe liquidity issues in recent years, with a growing downward trend whereby, each year, the situation becomes more dire than the year before,” Pollard said. “The cash deficits occur earlier in the year, linger longer and run deeper,” she added.

Read: United Nations May Run Out Of Money By End Of The Month: Guterres

Crisis for the second consecutive year

Last year as well, the UN Secretary-General had warned about the risk of running out of cash. He had written to the member states informing them about the financial crisis at the UN. “Caused primarily by the delayed contributions of Member States to the Regular Budget, this new cash shortfall is unlike those we have experienced previously”, wrote Guterres to UN staff in July 2018. “Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning: we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer,” he added.

Read: Antonio Guterres Calls For Elimination Of Nuclear Weapons At UNGA

(Inputs from Agencies)

Advertisement

Published October 12th, 2019 at 13:08 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo