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November 2, 1999: In an address to the National Press Club, Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke says that the UN must reduce its reliance on any single member for financial support and make its expectations of members' contributions more "equitable". At the same time he recognizes that such reform will not proceed unless the US pays its dues. "As I stand here today, the U.S. owes over $1 billion dollars to the United Nations. This amount is well over half of the total money owed to the organization. These are not extra funds that the UN is asking for. It is money we're legally obligated to provide. And we should pay it," he says.
October 27, 1999: Richard Holbrooke says that he has received a phone call over the weekend from Bernard Kouchner, the UN civil administrator in Kosovo, raising an alarm and pleading for help. Four months after the establishment of the Kosovo mission, the United States has contributed only $4 million to a voluntary start-up trust fund of $27 million. Washington has yet to pay any of the $39 million it has been assessed for regular contributions to the mission, and a larger bill looms next year.
October 24, 1999: A New York Times article reports that the financial crisis at the UN has prevented urgently needed renovations to the Headquarters building from being undertaken, so much so, that only diplomatic immunity spares the building from being shuttered for violations of New York city building regulations!
October 19, 1999: In a speech on his acceptance of the World Federalist Association's Norman Cousins Global Governance Award, former CBS broadcaster Walter Cronkite champions the cause of world government through a stronger United Nations. As the first of three measures that he advocates for strengthening the UN, he says "Americans overwhelmingly want us to pay our UN dues, with no crippling limitations. We owe it to the world. In fact, we owe it as well to our national self-esteem."
September 30, 1999: The United States accounts for 65% of all unpaid assessments owed by members and 81% of unpaid dues for the organization's regular budget. The next biggest debtors, Brazil and Argentina, together account for 9% of the arrears on the regular budget.
September 24, 1999: Referring to the UN financial crisis, Sweden's Foreign Minister Lena Hjelm-Wallén, in a speech to the General Assembly in the General Debate, says, "The UN cannot be reformed under the threat of political and financial crisis. It is simply not acceptable that Member States set conditions for fulfilling Charter obligations. The Swedish Government urges all debtors - including the main debtor, the United States - to settle their accounts before the end of this year and to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions. Securing a sound and viable financial basis must be an integral part of reform efforts. The idea of establishing a revolving credit fund could be considered as an emergency step. We should also enact measures to reverse the current trend of late payment. Article 19 should be applied more strictly. It is time to agree on a new scale of assessment based on capacity to pay. A realistic proposal has been presented by the European Union."
September 23, 1999: US Secretary of State Madeline Albright expresses her frustration at the continuing US debt, saying that the accumulated arrears, which the United Nations estimates at $1.6 billion, have made it particularly difficult to recruit allies for the kind of structural reforms that Congress demands as a condition of paying the back dues and other assessments. "What is happening up here is that they see us as making certain demands that undercut a bureaucracy that they have some interest in, while not paying any money," Albright says.
September 22, 1999: A Chicago Tribune editorial calls the US debt to the UN "humiliating, shameless, ludicrous, needless and intolerable" and describes the world's last superpower as "the UN's foremost deadbeat."
September 21, 1999: In his address to the 54th session of the General Assembly, President Clinton acknowledges the responsibility of the US "to equip the UN with the resources it needs to be effective. As I think most of you know, I have strongly supported the United States meeting all its financial obligations to the United Nations, and I will continue to do so. We will do our very best to succeed this year," he says.
September 7, 1999: A Boston Globe editorial calls risking banishment from the General Assembly "a shameful act of international arrogance."
August 31, 1999: The US runs up $1.739 billion in unpaid dues and other assessments, according to Joseph E. Connor, the UN Under Secretary General for Management.
August 16, 1999: In a speech at the 100th Meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the 86th Meeting of the Ladies' Auxiliary in Kansas City, Missouri, President Clinton states that paying US dues to the UN "is a legal and a moral responsibility. It ought to be reason enough to do so. If we fail to do so soon, the United States will actually lose its vote in the General Assembly." Commenting on these remarks, the Los Angeles Times describes Clinton as a "weak friend of the UN."

June 22, 1999: The Senate, by a vote of 98 to 1, confirms payment of $961 million of the US's longstanding debt to the UN. However, the US attached several conditions to the payment, among which are explicit drops in the US share of the regular UN budget, from 25% to 20%, and of peacekeeping operations, from 31% to 25%. The bill will face strong opposition in the House of Representatives, where Rep. Christopher Smith (Republican) of New Jersey has vowed to reinsert the controversial anti-abortion provisions that have been instrumental in holding up the bill thus far. There are reports that the bill is a result of negotiations between Senator Jesse Helms (Republican) and US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who agreed to the legislation in order to secure the confirmation of Richard Holbrooke as US Ambassador to the UN. National Public Radio reporter Tom Gjelten maintains that the timing of the Senate's vote and Holbrooke's confirmation hearings are pivotal because "the Unites Nations is right back at the center of things internationally, the United States needs the UN to carry out a helpful role in Kosovo right now, and it would be very important to have an ambassador in that position and have the US paid up in its dues." However, the conditions outlined in the bill make it unlikely that it would be accepted by the UN.
June 14, 1999: The Washington Post reports that the US Congress is making a drive towards a payment of up to $1 billion on its debt to the UN. However, many in the US government maintain that Congressional approval will be tied to several US-backed reforms of the UN.
May 19, 1999: The UN Foundation announces $21 million for UN programs.
April 30, 1999: The UK has paid its full 1999 dues leaving the US, Japan, Germany, Brazil and Argentina as the last major payers with outstanding debts to the UN. By this time, total US debt has swelled to $1.638 billion and accounts for 62% of the total debt owed to the UN.
April 13, 1999: First Lady Hillary Clinton urges the US to pay their dues to the UN by saying in a speech to the Campaign to Preserve U.S. Global Leadership: " So if we do go forward with the kind of leadership that we are in a position to demonstrate in our country, then we have to do it here at home by paying our dues to the U.N., paying our share, doing our part. And with development assistance, we know that we are far behind most of our allies and friends in Europe in terms of the amount -- percentage wise -- that we provide."
April 6, 1999: The UN Foundation announces an emergency $1 million grant for UN relief efforts in the Kosovo region.
March 31, 1999: Spain has completed payment of its full 1999 dues to the UN. Still notable exceptions are the UK and the US.
March 25, 1999: There is a good deal of legislative activity in Washington D.C. which centers around the question of UN funding. There is a proposal (H.R. 1355) in the House of Representatives aimed at paying the US arrears. On the other hand, both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed legislation limiting funding for international organizations.
March 18, 1999: The Spokesman for the Secretary General responds to a New York Times article which quotes U.S. Senator Jesse Helms as claiming that the SG had agreed to a 20% assessment for the United States. The Spokesman stresses that the SG has always held that the U.S. must work out any changes in assessments with other member-states, not with the Secretariat. Furthermore, in his view the U.S. may be able to arrange for a reduction in assessments to 22% while 20% would be a long-shot. Also today, the Better World Fund of the UN Foundation runs a call by five former Secretaries of State to the U.S. Congress to pay U.N. arrears, stating that this is a "basic international responsibility." On the same day, in his press briefing on the U.N. Financial Situation, Under-Secretary-General for Management Joseph E. Connor stresses three positive indicators. Total cash reserves are higher than in previous years, unpaid assessments are lower, and amounts owed to member states are lower, partly because the U.S. has made larger regular budget cash payments at the end of '98 and because 117 member states had paid in full by the end of the year. Connor also states, however, that unstable conditions such as the unknown level of the U.S.' payment of current and former dues and ongoing debts to member states for troops and equipment are "holding the United Nations financial situation hostage."
March 15, 1999: As of March 15, 51 countries have paid their 1999 dues in full. China, Belgium, and the Republic of Korea are notable new additions to this list.
March 9, 1999: Secretary General Kofi Annan says that it is U.S. politicians in Washington who are to blame for the piling up of U.S. arrears to the U.N., not the American people.
March 8, 1999: The United Nations Foundation has announces that it has allocated $12 million to go towards the United Nations Association-USA campaign to persuade U.S. policy-makers to pay U.S. arrears to the U.N.
February 25, 1999: Secretary General Kofi Annan concludes his two-day visit to Washington D.C. where he met with many Congressmen and Administration Officials. The SG says he is encouraged by the attention given to the issue of United Nations funding in these meetings.
February 19, 1999: Australia and Italy are among the new countries to have paid their UN dues as the total number of countries reaches 35.
February 5, 1999: A letter from Secretary General Kofi Annan to the President of the General Assembly lists 42 member states who are in arrears under Article 19 of the UN Charter. The states are listed along with the amount they must pay in order to retain their vote in the GA.
February 1, 1999: The White House releases its budget proposal allocating $921 million to pay United Nations arrears. Few expect it to gain Congressional approval. Last year, budget requests for UN arrears were stalled with anti-abortion amendments.
January 31, 1999: As of January 31, 32 countries have paid their 1999 dues in full. Canada, France, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the Netherlands have paid. Notably absent from the rolls were Japan, Brazil, Germany, and the three remaining members of the security council, the UK, the US, and China.
January 19, 1999: President Bill Clinton mentions the United Nations in his State of the Union Address, stating his desire to work with the new Congress to pay the US's "dues and debts".
January 1, 1999: The United States enters the New Year with $1.29 billion in arrears to the United Nations.
July 6, 1998: Germany makes a payment of $51 million, the second installment of its regular budget assessment for 1998. Germany becomes the 81st country to have paid in full for the year, compared to only 73 on the same date last year.
July 13, 1998: The "Group of 77" developing nations and China, tells the Economic and Social Council that the tragic shortfall between the growing demands of the UN system for operational activities and the diminishing level of available financial resources is the central dilemma facing the entire development cooperation process. Unless the bleak situation is rectified, it says, the goals and objectives of the UN development programmes will have to be drastically reduced. On the same day, the Spokesman for the Secretary General, Fred Eckhard, discusses Sierra Leone and the possible approval of a seventeenth concurrent UN peacekeeping mission there. In past years, the peak deployment for United Nations forces was 78,744 troops in 17 missions, in July 1993. The budget for peacekeeping at that time was over $3 billion, compared with the current 15,000 troops and a budget of less than $1 billion.
July 15, 1998: A House Appropriations Committee report says that arrears payments for $475 million cannot be released unless reforms are undertaken reducing US contributions to the regular budget to 22%. The UN currently assesses the US at 25% based on its share of the world economy. A recently-available copy of a Senate bill makes payment contingent on an even greater reduction to 20%. Based on the current session of the UN General Assembly's budget committee, these reforms are not likely to go into effect in the near term, making the payment of arrears even more unlikely. On the same day, in a speech to the Uruguayan Parliament, the Secretary General cites the contributions of small states to the UN regular budget. "The big Powers may seem to be the only important players, with the top eight contributors accounting for nearly three quarters of the budget. But quite a different picture emerges when one considers the regular budget and UN system funding in per capita terms…[where many small states] give well out of proportion to their size."
July 20, 1998: In a report to the Security Council regarding the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, the Secretary General draws attention to the serious shortfall in funding for the 4,480-member Force. Unpaid assessments amounted to $103.5 million, he said, appealing to all Member States to pay their assessments promptly.
July 21, 1998: The Senate Appropriations Committee approves its version of the FY1999 foreign assistance appropriations bill recommending US contributions at $270 million, $44 million less than the Clinton administration's request and $24.5 million less than last year. The latest figures from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations recommends $57 million below the President's request and $34 million less than last year. The House Subcommittee would delete $25 million that the Administration requested for the UN Population Fund, presumably because of resumed programs in China. The Senate bill also approves cuts in regional peacekeeping contributions recommending $69 million, in comparison to a requested $83 million. The cuts are a result of reduced contributions to the African Regional Peacekeeping account.
July 23, 1998: The Senate passes the FY 1999 State Department Appropriations bill (S.2260) after deleting a potentially damaging provision that would have reduced US-UN peacekeeping arrears by 25% of the total expenditure for US military mobilization in support of UN weapon's inspections in Iraq. Senator Joseph Biden worked with Senate leadership and the support of the Clinton Administration to strike the provision. Commenting on the funding that was passed in the bill, for contributions to the UN and other international organizations, the Clinton Administration notes that it "significantly underfunds, by about $75 million, the annual assessed contributions to these [international] organizations [and peacekeeping]."
July 27, 1998: A Spokesman for the Secretary General announces that the United States has made a payment of $23 million toward its peacekeeping assessment, leaving $72 million due for 1998 out of a total $943 million due including peacekeeping arrears
July 29, 1998: The London-based Financial Times begins a series on dubious financial practices in the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, a major humanitarian assistance agency. The series documents a number of dubious financial practices that have resulted in waste of millions of dollars. In the days to come, UNHCR vigorously defends its practices, but the series shows the lack of tight financial controls and the problem of responding to multiple emergencies in a way that is sufficiently fiscally sound.
Late August 1998: Secretary General Kofi Annan issues his annual report on the work of the UN. The report notes, among other things, the elimination of close to 1,000 posts and a budget "that has been reduced to less than that of the previous biennium."
August 5, 1998: Two amendments to FY 1999 State Department appropriations, seeking to strike payments of $475 million toward UN arrears are voted down in the House of Representatives. The amendments are based on the notion that the US does not owe the amounts claimed by the UN. Rosco Bartlett, who sponsored the amendments, proclaims that the amount owed to the US for peacekeeping operations heavily outweighs that owed by the US to the UN.
September 2, 1998: Sens. Rod Grams (R-MN) and Joseph R. Biden (D-DE) are appointed to serve as US delegates for the 53rd Session of the UN General Assembly, which runs from 9 September through mid-December, 1998. In a statement released by his office, Grams outlines "reform goals" for the UN. He says he plans to work with the UN in developing a no-growth budget and eliminating or consolidating "ineffective management structures." Grams also reaffirms the US role as a world power in the international organization, and says he plans to continue his work with the Senate and the Administration to pursue repayment of US arrears due to the UN.
September 21, 1998: President Bill Clinton, speaking at the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York, largely avoids the financial issue. He affirmed US "strong support" for UNDP, the UN High Commissioners for Human Rights and Refugees, UNICEF and the World Food Program and he refers in passing to "the importance of all countries, including the US, in paying their fair share" of UN dues. Clinton is welcomed by delegates with warm applause, but his presidency is seriously weakened by scandal and possible impeachment proceedings. On the same day the New York Times runs a story by UN columnist Barbara Crossette entitled "Darkest Hour at U.N. for Biggest Deadbeat."
September 22, 1998: The Chicago Tribune runs an editorial entitled "The World's Biggest Deadbeat." The situation is embarrassing and intolerable," the editors write. Concluding: "both Clinton and Congress, before it recesses next month, had better figure out a way to pay our bills, or the U.S. will be sitting on the sidelines."
September 30, 1998: Eleven former officials in Republican administrations call on Congress and the Clinton administration to set aside differences and pay the US back dues to the UN. Former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci and former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh are among the signatories of a statement and presented it at a news conference in Washington. Other signatories include former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft. A survey issued at the news conference by Wirthlin Worldwide polling organization shows broad public support for paying the dues.
October 7, 1998: Press Briefing on the UN Financial Situation by USG Connor
October 15, 1998: The US Congress finally agrees on its budget for the 1999 fiscal year, but "not a penny" is earmarked for the $1.6 billion debt owed to the UN. CNN: UN Budget Plan Excludes Money for UN Debt
October 16, 1998: Kofi Annan, in a speech to Empower America, said that the US will likely "squeak by" with the minimum contribution required to maintain their vote in the General Assembly, but that the US was undermining its claim to international leadership by not paying its UN debt. Annan did, however, praise the decision to fully fund the IMF with a $17.9 billion allotment.
October 21, 1998: As expected, US President Bill Clinton vetoes a measure to pay $1 billion in back dues to the UN because the bill contains an amendment that would have barred Federal spending for international family-planning organizations that address abortion policies. In a statement, Secretary General Kofi Annan comments bitterly on how the US Administration has failed once again to deliver on funding for arrears owed to the UN -- despite all of the reforms the UN has undertaken to comply with Congress.
October 22, 1998: The New York Times reports on the Clinton veto of the $1 billion UN arrears legislation. In an article placed next to that report, the Times runs a story entitled "Big Cash Infusion Aims to Rebuild Anemic C.I.A." about how the CIA budget will be increased by about $2.5 billion. Reporting on a speech by CIA Director George Tenet recently made public, the Times reports that "He pledged 'to mount increasingly complex and expensive operations' to steal secrets. He vowed to build up the agency's clandestine service of spies, open more overseas stations, undertake more covert operations, hire more in-house experts, buy faster and better computers, and bring in a new generation of recruits." So much for Washington's priorities!
October 23, 1998: The Third Worldwide Vigil takes place in 43 cities worldwide, protesting against the UN's financial crisis. At the vigil in New York City, across from UN Headquarters, Assistant Secretary General Gillian M. Sorensen delivers a message from the Secretary General, while at the Vigil in Washington, held in Lafayette Park across from the White House, Actor Michael Douglas is one of several prominent speakers. Vigils are held in Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Calcutta, Accra, Santo Domingo, eight cities in Canada and many cities across the United States.
October 28, 1998: The UN Fifth (Budget) Committee considers requests by Bosnia Herzegovina, Congo and Iraq for exemption to UN Charter Article 19 due to their inability to pay their dues. On discussions over the assessment scale for apportioning expenses, speakers point to the importance of considering a country's true ability to pay. Suggestions to shorten the base period for case by case assessments are made, while the contrary opinion maintains that this would cause many more states to fall under article 19.
November 4, 1998: Under Secretary General Joseph Connor gives a Press Briefing in which he reviews the financial situation. He announces that the United States today paid $197 million, and that its total payments to both regular and peacekeeping budgets for the year have amounted to $586 million. Though it still owes $1.28 billion, the US will now not fall under Charter Article 19, that would deny it a vote in the General Assembly. As a result of the US payment, Connor makes a revised estimate of the UN's regular budget deficit at yearend: from the previous estimate of $287 million to a new estimate of $50 million.
November 6, 1998: The United States is defeated for the second consecutive year in its bid for a seat in the ACABQ (UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions). The main reason for this result is clearly the US refusal to pay its debt to the UN. Considering that the US mounted a vigorous election campaign, the vote is very lopsided. With four candidates running for two seats in the "Western Europe and Other" group, the US manages to garner only 55 votes, vs. 105 for the high-vote-getter, the candidate of the United Kingdom. The German and Italian candidates both get 92 votes. (The Italian eventually wins in a runoff with 105 votes.) The total valid votes were 177 in these elections.
December 21, 1998: UNA-USA Chairman Luers and Vice Chairman Whitehead write a letter urging President Clinton to include funds for the UN's Educational, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in his budget. The two point to the importance of this body in promoting tolerance and peace and in preventing religious and ethnic war.
January 14, 1998: At a conference in Bonn organized by the prestigious Development and Peace Foundation, participants sharply criticize US failure to pay its dues, saying that this is harming the UN reform process. Several participants call for Germany to take a more active role on this issue in the international arena.
January 16, 1998: Amb. Bill Richardson, U.S. Delegate to the UN, gives a speech at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He says: "Today, America is a debtor nation at the United Nations -- to the tune of one billion dollars. It is a fact that I am often reminded of by my colleagues in New York. I believe that if America is to remain the world's 'indispensable nation' this unacceptable situation must be rectified." Later in the speech, Richardson says: "When I go to my fellow Ambassadors and ask for their support on resolutions or agenda items, by position is weakened by America's debtor status. And on a number of substantive issues . . . America's national interests and objectives are being compromised by thefailuree to pay our dues.
January 22, 1998: A members of the Council of Organizations of the United Nations Association-USA meet with Secretary General Kofi Annan at UN Headquarters and discusses at length the UN financial crisis. US Ambassador Richardson, also present, affirms that the administration will push for full funding of the US debate and tells the NGO leaders present that the Helms-Biden deal to pay the debt with many conditions is now "dead" and that a new (and presumably more UN-favorable agreement) will be negotiated in 1998.
January 27, 1998: President Clinton in his State of the Union Address calls on Congress to vote for funds to pay the UN arrears, saying: "it's long post time to make good on our debt to the United Nations. More and more, we are working with other nations to achieve common goals. If we want America to lead, we must set a good example. . . In this new era, our freedom and independence are actually enriched, not impoverished, by our increasing interdependence with other nations."
January 31, 1998: All UN member states are required to pay their assessment in full by this date, but only 27 out of 185 have done so -- the same number as in 1997. By comparison with a year earlier, the January income declines to $279 million from $405 million the previous year.
February 2, 1998: The Clinton Administration submits a supplemental 1998 budget request to Congress that proposes paying $1.021 billion in arrears to international organizations, including the UN. About $800 million of this request would go to the UN and slightly more if all the UN system organizations are taken into account. However, according to the administration's own reckoning, the US owes the UN $1.5 billion and specialized agencies another $250 million, for a total of $1.75 billion, or less than half of the payment proposed, with many attached conditions. Further, most of the payout would not take place until 1999 and 2000. According to well-informed observers, however, there remains serious doubt whether the Congress will agree to even this meager concession before it adjourns for elections (approximately 90 days remain). At the same time, the Administration submits other "supplementals" to Congress including a request for $18 billion for special funds for the International Monetary Fund to increase its lending during the Asian financial crisis and a further request for funding military operations in Bosnia. FY1999 Budget The Administration also submits its 1999 budget, which includes "near-full" funding for the UN and a number of its agencies, plus a small $231 million for peacekeeping that will keep downward pressure on the PKO budget.
Week of February 9, 1998: US Secretary of State Albright testifies at Congressional hearings on budget matters, urging that UN arrears be paid, along with funds for the IMF. She points out that "the US ranks dead last among industrialized nations" on spending for international affairs. Conservative Senators and House members accuse the Administration of blocking the special funding legislation, with its attached amendment to block abortion. Each side accuses the other of responsibility in the deadlock. At the UN in New York top business officials from the International Chamber of Commerce and UN leaders announce a new partnership, including greater business input into UN decision-making on economic matters. They issue a joint statement setting out goals for work in the future.
February 11, 1998: A two-page political ad appears in the New York Times, the Washington Post and other major outlets calling, among other things, for the US payment of its UN arrears. The ad is signed by dozens of powerful figures including former presidents and cabinet members, as well as many corporate CEOs and it opens with a short statement that says "We are concerned about a dangerous drift towards disengagement from the responsibilities of global leadership. This kind of modern isolationism seriously damages American interests." The ad presents a package of four actions including expanded funding for the IMF, flexible use of the Exchange Stabilization Fund of the Treasury Department, and "fast track" authority for the President to negotiate trade pacts. It is interesting that UN arrears is mentioned in this otherwise very business-oriented policy package. The actual organizers of the initiative are shrouded by a post office box address, but according to reliable sources two Wall Street heavyweights -- Maurice Greenberg of the American International Group and Peter Peterson of Blackstone Group -- were the key figures.
February 13, 1998: Secretary General Annan appoints Miles Stoby, one of the chief architects of the UN reform process as head of UNFIP, the U.N. International Partnership Trust Fund, an entity that will screen project for support from the Ted Turner gift of $100 million per year. The Turner money will be administered by the U.N. Foundation, headed by Timothy Wirth and currently headquartered in Washington DC. Stoby, who is from Guayana, will have the rank of Assistant Secretary General. On the same day Russia pays in full is 1998 UN dues of $28,636,251.
February 14, 1998: In a background article on the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, the New York Times notes that tipping is not customary in Japanese restaurants. One restaurant owner, the article says, has decided to accept tips of Olympics visitors and then send them on to the United Nations. It is a touching reminder of the international concern for the UN financial crisis.
Late February 1998: In a State Department memorandum, the Clinton administration states that the Helms-Biden accord of 1997, making arrears payment contingent on more than three dozen conditions, must be renegotiated to take account of objections by other countries at the UN. The memorandum also calls for a higher total amount of arrears to be paid. And it urges that the US accept an assessment of 22% (vs.20% proposed in Congress), so as to remain the highest payer above Japan. Also Secretary of State Albright, in testimony on Capitol Hill, urges arrears payment. In one hearing she says: "Let me tell you frankly that, if we are not able now -- in the next few months -- to approve funding for our UN arrears, our legs truly will be cut out from under us at the UN. We are told daily, by our best allies and friends, that US credibility will be sadly diminished."
February 26, 1998: In a letter of this date, addressed to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, Sen. Jesse Helms sharply criticizes the Administration's effort to change the previous agreement on UN funding, charging that the Administration has "presented [us] with a list of 27 new demands for drastic changes in our carefully negotiated package, including a demand for more money..."
March 2, 1998: In a briefing to NGOs at the US Mission to the UN, Amb. Richard Sklar makes unusually frank comments about the US failure to pay its UN dues. "US failure to pay has seriously undermined our ability to work in all kinds of areas," he tells NGOs. The NGOs also hear that "all the world sees it as a treaty obligation" and "some in Congress see advantage in non-payment." These statements seem to reflect a new, somewhat more vigorous Administration strategy to win appropriations from Congress, though Washington insiders continue to report that IMF funding and other legislation have far higher Administration priority.
March 5, 1998: The Banking Committee of the US House of Representatives approves a bill to authorize contributions of $18 billion to the IMF, though there is no further action on UN funding. It begins to appear that the IMF funding will be passed separately, but probably with many conditions for IMF reform, recalling the reform conditions imposed on UN funding.
March 10, 1998: UN Undersecretary General Joseph Connor, at a press briefing in New York, says that the UN's cash position is "weak and getting weaker, its unpaid assessments are "slowly decreasing" and its ability to cross-borrow from the peacekeeping funds are "drying up." Connor also notes that $152 million of funds appropriated by Congress in November 1997 have yet to be paid to the UN regular budget, due to various Congressional restrictions, thus adding to the UN's financial woes. At a meeting of the UN's Fifth Committee, where Connor also spoke, Mr. Nick Thorne, speaking for the UK Presidency of the European Union, says that the EU favors "tightening the rules for implementation of Article 19 of the Charter and their application to ensure that the disincentive envisaged by the founders is properly implemented." On the same day a group of NGOs headed by the Emergency Coalition for US Financial Support of the United Nations issues an urgent memorandum calling on citizens to send letters urging members of Congress to pass legislation supporting payment of UN arrears.
March 11, 1998: The Republican leadership in the US House of Representatives announces it will link anti-abortion provisions to a funding package for the IMF and UN arrears and the White House immediately announces it will veto any linked legislation. Shortly afterwards, debate on UN arrears legislation is cancelled, in the face of intense pressure from a group of conservative legislators. -- Rep. James Leach (R-Iowa) asks to be removed from a committee working on the legislation because, according to his staff, he has "grave reservations about allowing the bill to go out of committee with the dismal UN conditions in the legislation." At the same time the Congress begins considering proposals for the FY1999 budget submitted by the Clinton administration. Committees of both houses are substantially reducing the sums for assessed and voluntary contributions.
March 11, 1998: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan meets with President Clinton at the While House, reportedly encouraging the President to be "more aggressive" in seeking the payment of US arrears. The President is said to have asked Annan when the UN Charter's Article 19 might affect the United States and take away its voting rights.
March 12, 1998: State Department Spokesperson James Rubin is asked at a press conference whether the United States might lose its voting rights at the UN if it fails to pay its dues and arrears. He states that "there are some major, major problems that we face in the coming months if the Congress does not allow us to pay back the money we owe." Also, at a briefing at the National Press Club, Secretary General Annan indicates that the US would have to pay $600 in this calendar year so that this provision would not go into effect. He says: "By withholding the funds, I think the United States is offending friends and foes alike." He also says: "I'm sure that the United States Government would not want to be in that situation, nor would the people of America . . . where the US loses its vote in the United Nations because of lack of payment." Annan also meets with Senator Jesse Helms and other legislators.
March 16, 1998: In a press briefing at the White House, the question of whether the US might lose its voting rights at the UN again arises. Press Spokesman Mike McCurry answers: "we have not yet gotten to the point where the General Assembly provision on voting rights triggers, but we could conceivable come to that point in the months ahead. And that's another reason why Congress needs to act on that urgent supplemental request we've made ... "
March 17, 1998: The Senate Appropriations Committee drops legislation to fund UN arrears, while moving ahead on funding for the IMF, funding for contingency operations in Bosnia and Iraq, and domestic disaster relief. The same day State Department officials brief NGOs on UN funding. Asst. Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Princeton Lyman comments on the conditions in the Helms-Biden agreement, urging that legislation should be passed, however objectionable: "We need a piece of legislation," he says, "even if it's imperfect." Lyman also notes that existing legislation capping US assessments at 25% for peacekeeping and other withholdings now total $488 million and are growing at the rate of $50 million per year -- leading to ever-greater arrears.
March 24, 1998: The Appropriations Committee of the US House of Representatives considers the "supplemental" legislation on UN and other funding for international organizations, cutting out all funds owed as arrearages to 45 organizations, including a number of UN-system agencies. An amendment offered by Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin) to raise the funding level and eliminate some conditions was defeated. According to State Department sources, the United States owes $105 million to the FAO, $38 million to the ILO, $36 million to the WHO and $75 million to other UN agencies, for a total of $254 million.
March 25, 1998: During debate on a bill from which UN funding had been cut, the US Senate approves by 90-10 an amendment by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina) "expressing the sense of the Senate that the UN should recognize the generous support of US taxpayers toward international peace and security." The amendment, which is non-binding, also calls on the UN to "immediately reduce" the US share of peacekeeping assessments from 30 percent to 25 percent. In introducing the amendment, Helms says: "While the UN crybabies whine about not receiving enough of the American taxpayers' money, the real truth is that the US volunteered more than three times what we were asked to pay." The Senate also calls for a tally of the money the United States has spent for enforcement of UN resolutions, an amount that some Senators say should be offset against US arrears.
March 26, 1998: During debate in the House of Representatives on UN funding legislation, Rep. Gerald Solomon (R-New York) says: "I have a great deal of trouble with paying these so-called arrears to the UN, given its history of waste and abuse and, frankly, its lack of gratitude for all the expenses and danger on our troops that we incur in support of UN resolutions." But Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Indiana), a senior Democrat, comments that the proposed legislation "creates more US arrears to the UN. We are not going forward, we are creating larger arrears. And it fails to provide sufficient funds even for our current dues. It does not pay what we acknowledge we owe to the UN." While Rep. John Porter (R-Illinois) points out that the bill "conditions this money on unilateral reforms that run in direct opposition to the spirit under which the UN was created."
April 2, 1998: In remarks before the Association of Newspaper Editors in Washington DC, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks of the importance of paying "long overdue" UN arrears. In a note of humor, she adds: "I know there are some who believe the UN is a sinister organization. They suspect that it operates a fleet of black helicopters, which may, at any moment, swoop down and steal our lawn furniture. They say it is bent on world domination, which is absurd, and that we can not trust it because it is full of foreigners -- which, frankly, we can't help." She goes on to say that payment of US dues is a "matter of honor."
April 15, 1998: Timothy Wirth, President of the newly-formed United Nations Foundation, speaks at a special event at the United Nations. He tells a large audience of NGOs, diplomats and UN staff about the plans of the organization, set up to channel the Ted Turner gift of $100 million per year for ten years in support of UN programs. The foundation will channel much of its program funding to girls' education/population, climate change/sustainable environment, and children's health. In addition, there will be support for "telling the story" of the UN and broadening its financial support from other private donors. He is warmly received, and Turner's gift highly praised, but some difficult questions arise during the question period: will this mean further "privatization" of the UN, what influence will it wield over multilateral decision-making?
April 23, 1998: Secretary General Annan, on a trip through the United States to drum up support for the UN, speaks to a crowd of 4,000 at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He tells his audience that the US failure to pay its UN dues is hurting UN peacekeeping. "US behavior is destroying trust among nations," he said, in an unusually frank speech. "By withholding payments, the US is provoking friend and foe alike." On the same day in Washington, US representative to the UN Bill Richardson warned the House Appropriations Subcommittee that the US could lose its vote at the UN if it does not pay its arrears. He stated that "Our friends and partners in the UN will not agree to lower our assessment or meet our benchmarks if we can't pledge to pay our full arrears throughout the UN system." At the same hearing, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Princeton Lyman said that the US would be $11-40 million short of the threshold needed to retain its vote in the UN General Assembly in 1999 unless additional monies are appropriated.
April 24, 1998: The US Senate debates the measure to repay some of the UN arrears. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) said: "Unfortunately, the amount authorized here falls far short of what we owe, and it is encumbered with too many restrictions." The bill, which would authorize payment of about half the US arrears, carries more than two dozen conditions that the UN must meet, it disburses the sum over three years, and it carries an amendment on family planning that President Clinton has vowed to veto. On the same day: a Washington-based polling institute issues a study of US public attitudes on UN funding. The Program on International Policy Attitudes finds that 60% of the US public favor paying UN dues in full, with 32% strongly in favor. By contrast, 27% told the pollers they oppose payments, with 16% strongly opposed.
April 27, 1998: Five Republican members of the House of Representatives send a letter to colleagues in the US Congress arguing that the US does not legitimately owe the UN money for peacekeeping operations the US government undertook on its own, in support of UN resolutions. The letter points out that other nations do the same and that they cannot claim reimbursement either. The letter seeks to counter the argument of Congressional conservatives who claim that the US does not owe any money to the UN -- instead that the UN is in debt to the US. "There is a difference between UN-run operations (reimbursable) and non-UN operations (non-reimbursable)," the letter points out.
April 28, 1998: The Senate adopts a conference report on the State Department authorization bill, setting the stage for final passage of the controversial package of payments for the UN and its agencies.
April 29, 1998: At a consultation at the UN organized by Global Policy Forum and the International Student and Youth Movement for the UN, participants discussed "Innovative Financing for Development: global taxes, frees and charges." Amb. Hans Dahlgren of Sweden led off the discussion and Kevin Baumert of GPF and the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs presented a summary of the current debates. Some 40 NGO delegates, attending the Commission for Sustainable Development, attended.
April 30, 1998: The Boston Globe runs an editorial calling on Congress to stop "playing foolish games" and pay the US debt to the United Nations. The editorial quotes Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy as having told Globe editors the previous week that Congress "'is becoming the bane of existence of all good friends of the US.'" The editorial concludes: "Most Americans, whether they favor or oppose abortion, do not like deadbeats. Congress' refusal to pay the UN harms itself and the nation." On the same day, the Chicago Tribune runs an editorial calling Congress' action on the UN arrears bill "boneheaded."
May 1, 1998: President Clinton signs the FY1998 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill (H.R. 3579) which includes funding for domestic disaster relief and for US troops in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Samuel Berger, at a speech to the Brookings Institution, says that the bill "left out two critical parts of the President's original request - satisfaction of our long overdue debt to the United Nations and payment of our share of support to the International Monetary Fund." The same day President Clinton calls on Congress to pass "new legislation quickly, with workable terms, so that the United States is able to maintain its position as a world leader and to meets its obligations to the IMF and the UN."
May 3, 1998: The ABC national network program "Good Morning America" runs a segment on the Ted Turner gift to the UN. Turner's new United Nations Foundation is set to begin funding UN programs in the month of May. The report is supportive of the UN and generally positive about the Turner funding, but interviews with GPF Executive Director James Paul and WEDO Executive Director Susan Davis raise questions about a UN supported by private philanthropy.
May 5, 1998: President Clinton, speaking at the dedication of the new Ronald Reagan building in Washington, calls on Congress to "maintain our leadership by paying for our support to the IMF and settling our dues to the United Nations." He goes on to say that "In 1985, Ronald Reagan said that the UN stands as a symbol of the hopes of all mankind for a more peaceful and productive world. We must not, " he says, "disappoint those hopes."
May 13, 1998: In Washington, D.C. Ted Turner announces the composition of the Board of Directors of his United Nations Foundation -- the organization established to execute his $1 billion pledge in support of United Nations. In addition to Turner, its members are Ruth Cardoso, Graca Machel, Emma Rothschild, Maurice Strong, Timothy Wirth, Andrew Young and Mohammad Yunus.
May 15, 1998: "We're $50 million richer today" says Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary General, in reference to the US payment of $50 million. US debt to the regular budget still equals $569 million and total arrears including peacekeeping and tribunals equals $1.535 billion. $100 million was made available by Congress for payment of US dues for FY1998. The $50 million payment, half of the available funds, is made over a year after the $100 million was due for 1997 calendar year assessments. The second half of the payment may be made in the later part of the summer, though this depends on the UN's adherence to the budget caps imposed by the US.
May 20, 1998: In a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Rod Grams questions Assistant Secretary of State Princeton Lyman on the UN's adherence to an already constricting $2.53 billion budget for 1998/99. Grams raises questions about additional spending and says he will "be pushing for a reduction in the number of authorized [staff] persons." On the same day the President of the new United Nations Foundation, Timothy Worth, announces the first set of grants made from the Turner donation. 22 grants in all totaling $22,181,000. The UN Population Fund receives the largest amount $7,885,000. UNICEF, UNDP (including UNIFEM), WFP, UNEP and the UN Drug Control Programme are among other beneficiaries.
May 27, 1998: At the weekly meeting of the UN Senior Management Group, a report is given on Ted Turner's contribution to the United Nations. A member of the Cabinet comments that, to his knowledge, the Turner donation is the one source of money in the United Nations system that pulls it together because United Nations funds, programmes and agencies are asked to work together in planning fund distribution.
May 28, 1998: At a press briefing, a Spokesman for the Secretary General says that "At this moment we have no high hopes of seeing any significant payment of arrears out of the legislation that is now in Congress."
June 1, 1998: John C. Whitehead, Chairman of UNA-USA sends a letter to all Members of Congress on the necessity and benefits of paying US dues and arrears to the Untied Nations, and the potential consequences if these legal obligations are not met.
June 10, 1998: Senator Jesse Helms invites European diplomats from ten countries to coffee at the Capitol for a briefing led by James W. Nance on the Senator's stance on the State Department authorization bill. Senator Helms prepared a three-page memorandum outlining his position. "The Administration has refused any compromise and is demanding total capitulation," the document says. "Helms now blames the Administration's intransigence for the current impasse." Helms tries unsuccessfully to persuade the Europeans to lobby the Administration on behalf of his bill
June 15, 1998: To date, 78 countries have paid their dues to the UN regular budget in full for the year, compared to 65 on the same date last year. However, regular budget assessments owed the UN currently exceed $977 million, compared to $738 million on the same date last year. The total outstanding balance to the UN is $2.4 billion.
June 16, 1998: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee stating that "we've been given an unacceptably low allocation" of funds for international affairs for FY1999. The Clinton administration had requested $14 billion, while the House would provide only $12.48 billion and the Senate $12.65 billion, even less than FY1998 allocation of $13 billion. About 20 UN voluntary programs, voluntary peacekeeping operations and around a dozen multilateral development banks would be affected.
June 19, 1998: The UNA-USA Board of Directors sends a letter to President Clinton urging him to veto H.R. 1757, the State Department Authorization bill for FY 1998-99, because of the legislation's terms for payment of arrears to the UN and other international organizations.
June 22, 1998: At a press briefing, Fred Eckhard, Spokesman for the Secretary General, is asked if the SG is planning to go to Washington and Capitol Hill to lobby personally for the United States debt. Eckhard says that, at this time, the Secretary General has no intention of getting personally involved in securing the United States funding and that he feels it is very much a domestic matter that has to be sorted out between the executive and legislative branches of that Government.
June 24, 1998: A new report from the General Accounting Office says that the US is in danger of losing its vote in the General Assembly. The report says the US will have to come up with $211 million to $241 million more than it currently expects to pay in order to keep its vote. Interestingly, the report endorses the United Nations numbers on how much the United States actually owes the UN, opposing the position held by many members of Congress that the US owes less than the UN has claimed. See GPF News Bulletin for more details.
June 25, 1998: The Senate Appropriations Committee recommends funding for US assessed contributions to around fifty international organizations for FY1999 at $877.7 million, about $53 million below the Clinton Administration's request of $930.7 million and $29.2 million less than the FY1998 spending level. For peacekeeping, the Senate Committee recommends $210 million, $20 million less than the Administration's request of $231 million, but equivalent to the FY1998 spending level. The bill also recommends arrears payments, but it remains uncertain whether or not they will be funded, depending on the fate of the controversial Helms-Biden accord.
June 26, 1998: The House Subcommittee, along the lines of the Senate, also recommends spending levels below those requested by the Clinton Administration. Funding for international organizations is recommended at $915 million, $15.7 million below the Administrations request and $13.8 million below spending for FY1998. Peacekeeping spending is recommended at $220 million, $11 million less than requested. House recommendations are higher than those made by the Senate Committee.
June 29, 1998: UNA-USA releases an article by Jeffrey Laurenti, Executive Director, Policy Studies, titled "Losing America's Vote at the United Nations." It examines, in depth, the prospects and consequences of the application of Article 19 of the UN Charter.
June 30, 1998: The end of June status report on contributions shows disappointing performances compared to last year. $517.9 million has been collected against this year's assessment, less than half the total amount (47.7 per cent) due for 1998. At mid-year in 1997, more than $709.7 million (63.9 per cent of the assessment) had been collected.
July 16, 1997: Secretary General Annan announces major new reform package that includes budget and staff reductions as well as restructuring. He also proposes a $1 billion reserve fund, to be subscribed by member states on a voluntary basis. Conservatives in the US Congress complain that the plan does not go far enough, but most member states react favorably.
July 18, 1997: The UN releases a brief report by the Secretary General on alternative sources of financing. The report, requested as the basis of an ECOSOC debate scheduled for 23 July, is dated 23 June. The report was expected to be a test of US Congressional pressures on the Secretariat and the UN as a whole to avoid discussions of global taxes. The report, in fact, states flatly that "ideas or schemes for charges or taxes on international transactions do not appear viable" and it goes on to emphasize private initiatives and national-level taxes. In light of the broad international interest in global public finance, including support from the EU, the report reflects a big setback.
July 23-24, 1997: ECOSOC holds its debate on alternative finance. Speakers chide the Secretariat for the lateness of the report, but they seem to have little enthusiasm for challenging the United States. In fact, not a single government speaker mentions taxes or fees, though a group of NGOs joins an ISMUN statement that criticizes the Secretariat for self-censorship in the face of US pressure and pushes for global taxes.
July 29, 1997: Rep. Lee Hamilton makes a three-part proposal in US Congress Conference Committee to increase funding for US arrears to international organizations, but the initiative fails. Hamilton's proposal would allow the UN to credit US$ 107 million that it owes the US for peacekeeping operations to its funds. Secondly, an additional $95 million would have been payable toward ongoing assessed contributions. Finally, Hamilton's proposal would have limited a proposed contested arrears account to $390 million, the difference between the UN's calculation on amounts owed and the Administration's arrears request. Sen. Joseph Biden's attempt to allow $107 million to be credited toward US arrears failed, too.
August 1, 1997: A call for a Second Worldwide Vigil for the UN on October 23 is issued by Global Policy Forum Executive Director James Paul, World Federalist Movement Executive Director William Pace and World Federation of United Nations Associations Acting Secretary General Horace Perera. The vigil will protest the UN's financial crisis and demand a stronger and more effective UN. The vigil in 1996 took place in 32 cities. This time, the organizers hope to reach 50 cities or more with the event.
September 4, 1997: During debate on the House version of the foreign aid appropriations bill, Rep. Benjamin Gilman accepted that no funds would be available to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) unless the President makes several certifications on its program activities in China. Currently, UNFPA has no program in China. If a program is restarted, all funds to the UNFPA could be cut off. This action, typical in recent years, is one of the many conditions the Congress places on UN funding.
September 15, 1997: The UN's Committee on Contributions reports that it has been unable to decide on a revised scale of assessments. The Committee's report to the GA's 5th Committee reviews some eight different proposals for revising the scale of assessments. An agreement on a ninth proposal, reflecting a consensus on all the major elements, was not reached. The US proposal to establish an eventual 20% ceiling on the US contribution to the UN's regular budget has received almost no support. The US has proposed raising China's and Japan's assessments to cover its own reduction. On the same day General Assembly President Razali raps the US for its non-payment in his final news conference. UN members, he says, should consider "very seriously" whether to accept the "half loaf" Washington is offering. "There is no reason why a special arrangement has to be made for the most powerful country in the world, in terms of what it has to pay, which is actually part of its legal obligations. And I don't think, given the present state of flux, that any country will come to the rescue to try to pick up the tab as a result of the United States inability or unwillingness to pay its arrears in full." President Razali also says in his farewell speech to the GA that "The financial crippling of the United Nations continues to obstruct the momentum for reform, preventing constructive negotiations for genuine reform of the Organization. " And he warns that "Blind unilateralism will be the undoing of the United Nations."
September 19, 1997: CNN founder Ted Turner, whose net worth has grown from $2.2 billion on Jan. 1 to $3.2 billion today, announces that he is making a donation of US$ 1 billion to benefit United Nations agencies, the largest charitable donation ever. The money is to be used to set up a not-for-profit foundation to support United Nations programs aiding refugees and children, clearing mines and fighting diseases. In a speech, Mr. Turner urges the US Government to pay its $1.5 billion arrears to the United Nations.
On the same day, Under-Secretary-General Joseph Connor meets with Mr. Turner's aides for a preliminary discussion of how the gift could be structured.
September 22, 1997: In his speech to the 52nd General Assembly, U.S. President Bill Clinton says: "for the first time in my presidency, the US government has the opportunity to end the question of debts and dues once and for all". He states that he has made it a priority to work with Congress on comprehensive legislation to pay off the arrears and assure full financing of America's assessment in the coming years. He also calls on other member states to adopt a "more equitable" scale of assessments for the United States. Other speakers that follow are sharply critical of the U.S. non-payment and skeptical about the President's promises. The Prime Minister of Pakistan warns that "The UN today stands at the brink of bankruptcy."
On the same day, Secretary-General Kofi Annan reminds the Member States in a speech to the General Assembly of their legal obligations: "Some of you I ask to do what your legal obligations require, to liquidate your arrears and to pay your future assessments in full, on time and without conditions."
On the same day NGO's issue a press release titled "Clinton's Empty Rhetoric: citizens respond with a worldwide vigil." The release points out that in spite of the President's positive statements in his speech to the GA, US debts to the UN have reached unprecedented heights under his administration.
September 23, 1997: In a CNN interview, Britain's foreign secretary Robin Cook says that it is time for Congress to authorize the money to pay off the US debts to the United Nations. "We would very much like Congress to recognize ... that countries like Britain, which pays full and pays on time, does not feel it's fair when other countries - whether it's the U.S. or anybody else - does not pay in full and does not pay on time," Cook states.
As the General Debate at the GA continues, Norwegian Foreign Minister Bjoern Godal, says he is willing to discuss lowering the U.S. scale of assessments, but insists that Washington pay its debts first.
September 24, 1997: In the GA General Debate, criticism of US arrears is a common theme. France's Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine says "it is a shocking situation that the U.N. should be living precariously and therefore under a system of financial and budgetary dependence with respect to its debtors."
September 25, 1997: As the GA General Debate continues, there are many strong statements about the financial crisis. Erik Derycke, Foreign Minister of Belgium says: "It is and remains unacceptable that Member States do not pay their dues in full and attach conditions to payment of dues." And Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini says, "the Organization has to be able to rely on adequate resources. Assessed contributions must be paid in full, on time and without conditions by Member States." Mexico's Foreign Minister Angel Gurria says: "We do not believe . . . that the objective of cutting costs should guide the reform process. . . The road to dealing with [the financial crisis] is full, timely and unconditional payment of the assessments the General Assembly assigns to Member States."
September 26, 1997: The US House of Representative defeats an amendment, 242 to 165, by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett to strike the $100 million for U.S. payment of UN arrears in the FY98 appropriations. Rep. Barlett and his supporters argue that the UN owes money to the US, not the other way around. In late-night debate, Rep. Chistopher Smith of New Jersey states that spending for UN agencies and programs is "out of control." The $100 million is part of a larger package to pay part of US arrears to the UN. But both the arrears package and the regular funding appropriation remain stalled as the new fiscal year loom