Global Policy Forum

July 1, 1996: Under Secretary General Joseph Connor holds a press briefing in which he welcomes the G-7 communique and insists that the UN has been successfully pursuing far-reaching reform and reducing its expenses. In 1985, he says, the UN had 12,000 employees, and now it has just 9,000. -- On the same day,a report by the United Nations Association-USA says that Congress is unlikely to approve appropriations legislation for FY 1997 which would pay off US arrears to the UN, even at the low request by the administration, which has proposed paying back dues of only $56 million ($11.2 million per year) out of a total due of $414. UNA also reports that Congress is certain to again impose conditions on its appropriations as for FY1996.

July 3, 1996: According to a story by InterPress Service, US delegate Melinda Kimble said that the high-level meetings of ECOSOC in late June were a waste and the cost of the meeting would have been better spent directly helping the world's poor. The six hour meeting held to discuss UN relations with the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organization cost $30,000, but the heads of those organizations did not attend. "Was the money well spent?" Kimble asked. Other delegates said that the meetings should have been more productive, but that ECOSOC is ignored by the rich countries and the big international financial institutions.

July 7, 1996: The New York Times runs an article on the UN financial situation that typifies the ambivalence of the US policy establishment towards the UN. Reviewing at length the 1 July briefing by Under Secretary General Joseph Connor, the article quotes at length his statements that the UN has been successful in reforming and reducing costs. Also quoted is Sen. Paul Simon who attributes opposition to the UN to "provincialism." But the article changes course and it ends by quoting at length from a highly critical Heritage Foundation paper: "The UN has long been permeated by advocates of statist economic policies . . . The time has come to lift the dead hand of socialism from the U.N.'s rudder." The article concludes with another Heritage quote, which urges that "The U.N. should abandon unreachable utopian goals such as 'eradicating poverty' or 'health care for all by the year 2000'. . . Instead, its economic and social programs should concentrate on attainable goals and useful activities, such as providing disaster relief and assisting refugees in the world's poorest regions."

July 8, 1996: The United States government pays $68 million to the UN regular budget, after certifying to Congress that the UN Office of Internal Oversight is effective and independent. US debt to the regular budget remains $615 million -- 69% of the total. Congressional budget appropriations cover $87 million in further funds towards the UN regular budget for 1995. Most of this sum must await further certification by the Clinton Administration and informed observers wonder whether it will be further delayed as part of US pressure for UN "reform." [Click here for further information]

July 11, 1996: Meeting at UN headquarters, the Economic and Social Council debates alternative financing for the UN and development assistance. The European Union proposes formation of an expert group to explore possible global taxes and other means of alternative finance, but US Amb. Victor Marrero expresses his government's firm opposition to any discussion of taxes. Marrero also states that the US sees no need for additional resources for Overseas Development Aid, since Direct Foreign Investments will provide the needed funds. GPF Executive Director James Paul delivers a statement in support of alternative finance.

July 17, 1996: At a briefing for NGOs on ECOSOC, held at UN headquarters, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Melinda Kimble says ominously that there is "no chance that the UN will not be contracting very rapidly" in the near future. This seemed to signal that the Clinton administration will push for further deep budget cuts, in spite of opposition from the great majority of countries. She made the comment by way of explaining the Clinton Administration's opposition to a wider role for NGOs at the UN, claiming that the additional cost could not be borne by a radically shrinking budget. NGOs expressed their firm opposition.

July 25, 1996: Under Secretary General Joseph Connor gives a press briefing at UN headquarters. He said that regular budget income had fallen short of expectations because the United States government had not disbursed the funds that had been appropriated by Congress and that had been informally promised to the UN by June and early July. Contrary to earlier forecasts, the UN had been forced to borrow again from peacekeeping. He mentioned that peacekeeping reserves were higher than originally forecast because the General Assembly had changed previous practices with respect to surpluses in some mission accounts. In response to questions about how savings could be realized in the future, he said that the Secretary General would welcome proposals from member states about program priorities. He concluded by saying that the UN's financial condition remains "precarious."

July 26, 1996: US Senator Jesse Helms adds an amendment to the Senate version of the appropriations bill to fund voluntary UN agencies. The amendment is essentially the same as the bill introduced by Helms and Robert Dole earlier in the year: it conditions payment on Presidential certification that the UN has not engaged in "any effort to develop, advocate, promote or publicize any proposal concerning taxation or fees on United States persons . . . " The amendment is adopted by a vote of 70-28, after just 4 minutes of debate and the bill goes to conference committee.

July 31, 1996: For the third time in the year, the UN runs out of regular budget money to pay its bills. This forces the UN to borrow from the peacekeeping reserves to keep the regular budget solvent.

August 7, 1996: James Paul of Global Policy Forum and William Pace of the World Federalist Movement issue a joint call for a worldwide vigil on the UN financial crisis on October 23rd.

August 16, 1996: UN Under Secretary General Joseph Connor released a preliminary estimate of the UN's regular budget for 1998-99, calling for $2.49 billion in spending, a decrease of $178.9 million from current spending levels. Connor said that staffing levels by 1999 would be 30% below staffing in 1985.

August 19, 1996: UN Under Secretary General gave a press briefing at UN headquarters to present the 1998-99 Outline Budget. He said that the new budget would decline by 6.9% from the current biennium budget in real (inflation adjusted) terms and that the number of staff would continue to decline. The staffing level for the new budget would represent a 30% decline since 1985. He said that a report on efficiency would be presented in September.

August 26, 1996: The 50th Anniversary World Congress of WFUNA (the World Federation of United Nations Associations), meeting in Luxembourg, passes a strongly-worded resolution on UN finance and endorses the call for a vigil on October 23rd [Text]. WFUNA Secretary-General, a.i., Erskine Childers, who had died suddenly earlier at the Congress, had circulated an extensive statement on the UN financial crisis and strongly called on delegates to support the vigil.

Late August 1996: US Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, publishes an article in the September-October issue of the prestigious journal Foreign Affairs in which he says "As it currently operates, the United Nations does not deserve continued American support." Helms claims that the UN's "bureaucracy is proliferating, its costs are spiraling, and its mission is constantly expanding beyond its mandate -- and beyond its capabilities." He goes on to claim that the United States "is the most generous benefactor of this power-hungry and dysfunctional organization." And he calls for a UN that is "radically overhauled" or else the US should withdraw.

Early September 1996: Canadian Maurice Strong is reported to have taken a high-level post as special advisor to the Secretary General on UN restructuring. Strong is said to have moved into an office on the same floor as the Secretary General in the Secretariat Building. Strong has been leader of the Earth Council and was organizer of the Rio Conference. He is known to favor radical downsizing of the Secretariat, however. Observers see this new appointment as an effort of the Secretary General to mollify opinion within the United States government and prove that he is a serious reformer. Some also see Strong as a potential future powerhouse within the Secretariat in the role of the proposed new Deputy Secretary General.

September 3, 1996: The annual international Council Meeting of the World Federalist Movement, meeting in Ventotene, Italy, unanimously endorses the vigil on October 23rd.

September 11, 1996: The UN Department of Public Information and the NGO-DPI Executive Committee hold their annual three-day Forum at UN Headquarters and one plenary session is devoted to the financial crisis. New York Times columnist Barbara Crossette acts as chair and Under Secretary General Joseph Connor is one of the speakers. After making a strong statement urging full funding of the UN, the large audience gives Connor a standing ovation. Two workshops -- on September 11 and 12 -- address funding as well. In a separate plenary, UNDP executive Richard Jolly tells astonished listeners that he had to deny UNDP's top expert on global taxes a trip to London to participate in a conference on the topic, because of the looming Helms amendment. -- On the same day, Inter Press service runs a story on UN budget cuts, saying that reductions in staffing, travel, consultancies and other costs will result in reductions of UN work on behalf of the poorest member states and most vulnerable social groups, such as women. the story also says that the Secretariat will cancel data bases set up to monitor money laundering and large-scale cash transactions by crime syndicates. -- On the same day, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee convened a hearing on UN reform. Most speakers representated a conservative point of view and argued for a reduced and more "focused" United Nations. One of the few voices supportive of the UN, former UNA-USA president Ed Luck, said that "Selected withholdings of legally-binding assessed contributions have served to accelerate the trend to ad hoc funding, as a growing number of member states have adopted an a la carte approach to their UN obligations."

September 13, 1996: UN Staff Committee President Rosemarie Waters criticized Secretary General Boutros-Ghali at the annual Staff Day celebrations, which are usually a time for celebration. She complained of increasing workloads, lack of recognition and advancement, irrational layoffs, and a top leadership that does not listen to staff. "The international civil service is fighting for survival," she said bitterly.

September 17, 1996: Conferees in the US Congress, reconciling the foreign operations appropriation bill, agree to higher than expected funding levels for the UN and its agencies and funds, though funding for UNFPA remains drastically cut. The notorious Helms amendment is modified so that it requires certification only of "any effort to implement or impose any proposal concerning taxation or fees. . . " As for the funding of appropriations to pay off US arrears, Congress appears unwilling to act prior to the elections, except for a token sum of $50 million for peacekeeping, hedged about with severe conditions. The overall peacekeeping appropriation is so low ($282 million) that it will almost certainly prevent any substantial new peacekeeping missions in future. See further information in "Latest News" Report. -- On the same day, Under Secretary General Joseph Connor gives a press briefing at UN headquarters. He reports on the new Efficiency Board, composed of seven members,aided by efficiency experts from a number of member states. The Executive Director of the Board is Pamela Johnson, a senior member of the United States "National Performance Review." [Many observers are concerned that Johnson and Connor are imposing the wishes of the United States government for UN downsizing, contrary to the great majority of member states]. Connor said the Board had taken steps to increase the efficiency of the organization, so that it could meet its current budget without reducing program delivery. He speaks about new approaches to translation and the UN's great increase in the use of the world wide web as a means to publish documents. Connor used market-oriented language and said he wanted to "sell services to member states." "Change management is going on all over the world," he commented. -- On the same day, in a UN outreach to major US corporations, a meeting took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel hosted by the UN, IBM and the American Management Association. The meeting considered cooperation and planning for natural disasters that would harm business interests around the world.

September 23, 1996: The New York Times runs a major story by its UN correspondent Barbara Crossette which considers public support for the UN in the US. "While American political candidates are distancing themselves from the United Nations," Crossette writes, "there is mounting evidence that the American public takes a much more generous, international view." The story appears just prior to President Clinton's address to the UN General Assembly. -- On the same day, sixteen influential countries issue a statement at the UN expressing concern and disappointment at the process of UN reform. Japan, the Netherlands, Brazil, Egypt, Australia and Canada are among the countries supporting the statement. The statement warns of "disregard of international law and common values" and it says the "all countries, without exception, must pay their assessed dues in full, on time and without conditions."

September 23 and following, 1996: As in 1995, many heads of state and foreign ministers addressing the opening of the General Assembly in the General Debate make reference to the UN's financial crisis and call for payments in full, on time and without condition. On September 30, Ali Alatas, Foreign Minister of Indonesia says: "the financial solvency of the United Nations must be guaranteed through fulfillment by Member States of their financial obligations."

September 27, 1996: Cong. Anna Eshoot introduces a Continuing Resolution in the US House of Representatives resolving to "honor the past and current legal financial obligations of the United States to the United nations" and to "meet the financial obligations of the United States to the United Nations in a full and timely manner." The resolution is co-sponsored by 19 other members.

Late September 1996: The Washington Post National Weekly runs a story on "The Right Wing vs. the U.N." which argues that United States policy towards the United Nations has been driven by a small number of right-wing zealots, who have transferred their fear of the Soviet Union onto the world body. "Opinion polls show most Americans support the United Nations," says the article. The piece seems to reflect a warming of official policy towards the UN, but it fails to acknowledge how multinational businesses and their think tanks have had a big hand in recent criticism directed at the UN.

Late September 1996: The US journal Foreign Policy publishes an article "Bottom-Up Foreign Policy" by editor Charles William Maynes in its fall issue. Considering "what might an alternative foreign policy look like" the author write: "American would contribute more to fostering the development of international institutions. If America's goal is to create a system that reduces the current propensity of others to lok to it to assume a disproportionate burden, the United States must reverse its current policy of paring back contributions to international institutions and adopt the most realistic policy of giving them the resources needed to accomplish the new tasks they are being asked to carry out." The author also writes in favor of global taxes -- "new sources of revenue for the international system."

October 3, 1996: President Clinton signs the omnibus spending bill just passed by Congress, providing $661 million in funding for the UN regular budget, tribunals and peacekeeping assessments for 1996.

October 4, 1996: Administration spokespeople announce the UN funding to the press in Washington and to an NGO briefing in New York, making efforts to seem like the crisis has been overcome, but admitting that the funds will not be fully paid out until at least the end of January. NGOs respond with sharp criticisms and point out that US arrears will remain at a minimum of $1 billion, in continuing contravention of international law. See further report in the "Latest News" section.

October 7, 1996: James Paul of Global Policy Forum announces that the Worldwide Vigil on the financial crisis will take place in at least a dozen cities in North America and another dozen worldwide. Ontario, Boston, Denver, New York, Tokyo, Geneva and Copenhagen are some of the cities that will participate.

October 9, 1996: Under Secretary General Joseph Connor gives a presentation to the Fifth (Budget) Committee, reporting on the results of the United States budget legislation and the conditions it contains. A number of delegations spoke critically. Costa Rica, speaking for the Group of 77 and China, said that the group did not accept the attachment of conditionalities to the payment of dues and arrears. China and Indonesia both warned that if other members also attached conditions on their payments, the organization would collapse. The representative of Canadasaid that the Organization's treaties were legally binding and could not be nullified by one state and its legislature.

October 10, 1996: Under Secretary General Joseph Connor gives a press briefing at UN headquarters. He comments on the recently-passed United States funding legislation and states that the UN now projects a year-end cash position in the General Fund of minus $103 million compared to minus $198 million at the end of 1995. Additional payments from the United States are expected in January, but a $50 million sum for peacekeeping arrears is subject to the UN meeting a number of conditions. This is the first time conditions have been imposed on peacekeeping payments, he notes. He also mentions that the Russian Federation has paid $210 million of $400 million pledged to pay off its peacekeeping arrears. He emphasizes, however, that the UN financial crisis continues and says that the Organization is dependent on the good will of member states that are not demanding payment for peacekeeping expenses.

October 16, 1996: The arch-conservative New York Post runs a full-page of general information about the UN, as part of an "educational" series and in anticipation of UN Day. The entirely favorable text and presentation astonishes all those accustomed to antagonism towards the organization in the pages of this Rupert Murdoch owned jingoistic tabloid.

October 23-24, 1996: The Worldwide Candlelight Vigils and related activities take place in 30 cities, including 16 in the United States and 14 in other countries. A crowd of more than 200 assembles in Ralph Bunche Park across from UN Headquarters.

October 25, 1996: Responding to days of acrimonious debate in the Fifth (Budget) Committee, in which member states criticised the Secretary General for cutting the organization's budget and reducing programs without adequate consultation, US Ambassador Madeleine Albright makes a strong statement in defense of the Secretary General's administrative autonomy, saying that he has "full authority and responsibility for operating the organization within the budget."

November 1996: ILO Focus, a newsletter published by the Washington Branch of the International Labour Organization, notes in its fall issue that US payments for ILO in 1995 were 8% below assessments. It further says that, given the Congressional action on the US federal budget, "The 1996 calendar year cut for the ILO and other large agencies is expected to be larger, and U.S. arrears will rise accordingly."

November 5, 1996: In US elections, President Clinton is reelected by a large margin. Republicans retain control of the Congress, but talk about cooperation with the President in post-election statements. From the vantage point of the financial crisis, the reelection of Clinton is a mildly positive, but the continuing Republican majority does not bode well for a reversal of long-standing policy on UN funding.

November 8, 1996:The New York Times runs a column by editorial writer Clyde Haberman arguing that cutbacks in the UN budget hurt New York and that a US veto of Secretary General Boutros-Ghali will stir resentment of other UN members. "Outrage at Washington is running high among foreign nations, which resent being pushed around on this issue by a country that is a chronic deadbeat, running up a debt to the United Nations that now stands at $1. 5 billion," says Haberman.

November 9, 1996: The United States is for the first time voted off the UN's Advisory Committee for Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ). Five of the sixteen committee members were up for re-elections to a three year term, with two of the seats reserved for a region that includes the US. France and New Zealand were elected by a confortable margin. Many observers saw the vote as a rebuke to the US for its budget arrears. Another factor, they said, was the unpopularity of Minister-Counsellor Linda Shenwick, the U.S. delegate who had served on the panel for years and who has close ties to conservative Republicans. She was to be replaced by Melinda Kimble who was not well known and had done little campaigning.

November 11, 1996: The conservative Washington Times runs a lengthy interview with Secretary General Boutros Ghali which seems very favorable to him and to the UN. When he is asked what was greatest failure as SG, he responds: "that I was unable to convince the U.S. administration about the importance of the United Nations, to which the U.S. now owes $1.7 billion." On the same day, House Speaker Newt Gingrich gives a speech to GOPAC, the conservative campaign funding organization. He speaks about the US leadership in the world and says: "We must reform the UN but then, frankly, we're going to have to pay for the UN. And that's frankly going to be a challenge. We can't end up as a country totally isolated around the world because people don't understand our policies and don't understand what we're doing."

November 12, 1996: The New York Times runs a column by M.L. Rosenthal, its former Managing Editor, who criticizes the Clinton administration for vetoing Boutros-Ghali and points to the ACABQ election as an example of US loss of standing internationally. Observers wonder at this third statement from a prominent conservative in two days, seeing a possible shift on the right which may favor better funding support for the UN.

Mid-November 1996: Attention focuses on the Secretary General elections, which may involve a clandestine battle over UN finance. The strong international support for a second term for SG Boutros-Ghali further isolates the United States, which has promised a veto.

November 19, 1996: The United States vetoes the candidacy of Secretary General Boutros Ghali, as Amb. Madeleine Albright had announced. Outrage over US failure to pay boils over, as diplomats comment in heated terms about the behavior of the superpower. International Documents Review quotes "quietly indignant" Pierre-Henri Guignard, spokesman for the French Mission, as saying: "Who cares about their Congress! As far as we are concerned, it is the United States that has to pay, not Congress."

November 20, 1996: German Minister for Development Aid Carl-Dieter Spranger announces in Bonn that Germany it will withdraw from UNIDO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, following the lead of the United States. The Minister said that his own budget had been reduced and German withdrawel will save 17 million marks. He criticized the UN agency for its inefficient work.

Late November-early December 1996: The SG election continues to overshadow the financial crisis and to put it temporarily on the back burner.

December 5, 1996: The United States pays $150.8 million towards the regular budget, as part of the $660 million package promised by January 31, two-thirds of which was promised by December 31.

December 12, 1996: Britain announces it will pull out of UNIDO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization from which the United States withdrew a year ago, once again putting the budget of this specialized agency into crisis. The British representative to the UN in Geneva told a New York TImes reporter that the withdrawal "was more directed at New York" than at UNIDO itself -- in an apparent effort to push for further budget reductions at UN headquarters. "That is the message that we want to be firmly established with the new Secretary General," he said. UNIDO has been accused of being "bloated" and "poorly managed," but the British representative said that "reforms" had put it on a better course. "It deserves good marks for what it has done," he said. -- On the same day, Under Secretary Connor gives a press briefing and a statement to the Fifth Committee. He announces that there has been "no significant improvement since last year" in the UN's dire financial condition and he says that the UN has been forced into the "financially imprudent practie of borrowing from peacekeeping accounts to maintain its basic operations." He estimates that the UN will end the year with a negative cash balance of $195 million in the General Fund. At the same time, the peacekeeping fund will have $910 million in cash but $990 million in debts to member states. The UN's financial condition is aggravated by the Clinton administration's action on Congressionally appropriated funds. Less than half the appropriated funds have been paid towards the regular budget and none towards peacekeeping -- for a total of over $445 million.

December 17, 1996: Outgoing Secretary General Boutros Ghali and incoming Secretary General Annan both mention the UN financial crisis in speeches to the General Assembly as the leadership changes hands. In his review of the UN under his five-year leadership, Boutros-Ghali referred to the financial crisis and the US responsibility for it. He said: "It is a threat to the future of the United Nations that began over a decade ago. We know what causes it and what is needed to end it. It is not the result of mismanagement. It is the refusal to fulfil a treaty obligation. Now that a new Secretary General is being appointed, all arrears should be paid at once, as has been promised so often in the past few months." Annan said to delegates at the end of his remarks: "above all, do not let this indispensable, irreplaceable institution wither, languish or perish as a result of member state indifference, inattention or financial starvation."

December 18, 1996: Incoming SG Kofi Annan tells journalists that he will be working with the Clinton Administration to persuade Congress to begin paying the US arrears. -- The Christian Science Monitor of Boston runs an op ed piece by Robert Rotberg, President of the World Peace Foundation, calling on the UN to prune "obsolescent, inefficient, redundant and corrupt branches" and stating the oft-repeated claims that UN programs and agencies are "ineffective,""overlapping," "outdated," and "dysfunctional." The piece cites a study for the Foundation by Leon Gordenker, a Princeton University professor, that calls for further sharp cuts in the UN budget.

December 19, 1996: The New York Times publishes a prominent "op ed" piece by Jeane Kirkpatrick, conservative former US representative at the UN under president Reagan, calling on the US to pay its arrears to the UN "as a matter of principle."

December 21, 1996: The New York Times runs an article on how the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has departed from its longstanding opposition to forced repatriation of refugees. The agency is now supporting such a process in moving refugees from Tanzania back to Rwanda, reportedly because it lacks the funds to support the refugee camps. Human rights agencies have criticised the agency for abandoning its responsibility.

December 30, 1996: In a lead article from Washington, the New York Times reports that the Clinton administration is under "increased diplomatic pressure" to pay its outstanding arrears to the UN budget, in the wake of the outster of Secretary General Boutros Ghali. However, Republican sources in Congress make it clear that they will not agree to payment unless there is further "reform" -- that is, reduction in the UN budget. But acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Princeton Lyman is quoted as saying "We remain optimistic that we're going to square this problem away within the next 12 months."

December 31, 1996: The New York Times devotes a page to eminent persons' suggested New Year's resolutions for President Clinton. Boutros Boutros-Ghali is one. He proposes the following: "President Clinton should keep last year's resolution. He promised to veto the resolution recommending my re-election as Secretary-General, and then to pay what the United States owes the United Nations. He's fulfilled the first part of the pledge; now he is obligated to fulfill the second."