May 11, 2001: The US Congress withholds the final arrears payment of $244 million to the UN due next year, making release of the sum conditional to the re-election of the US to the Human Rights Commission in May 2002.
May 11, 2001: Iraq asks the UN to be allowed to pay "dues" from oil-for-food revenue. The Security Council Resolution 1320 allows the withdrawal of money from Iraq's oil-for-food account to pay the UN membership dues, but it has not been implemented.
May 6, 2001: The United States loses its seat at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, where it has held membership since the human rights panel was created in 1947. For many US Congressmen, this blow is a welcome excuse to reinvigorate discussion of the cancellation of UN dues.
March 29, 2001: Member states agree that the UN financial crisis is the result of the non-payment of US arrears and urge the US to pay its debt on time, in full and without conditions.
March 26, 2001: The Fifth Committee begins discussion of alternatives to current arrears calculation under Charter's Article 19. The representative of Venezuela said that trying to solve UN's problems by changing Article 19 was like trying to save a heart patient by giving him a facelift. The cause of the problem is the failure of the United States to pay.
February 12, 2001: The US Senate agrees to release more than a half-billion dollars to the UN. However, the complete payment of US arrears to the UN (which after this payment will still be over US $700 million) is still locked into Congress' "conditions" on UN policy.
January 9, 2001 Helms applauds Holbrooke's "browbeating" of the UN 5th Committee to lower US dues, by graciously allowing a partial payment of $500 million of arrears – just $1 billion to go.
