April 28 (Reuters) – The United States has placed specific conditions on releasing billions of dollars it owes to the United Nations, including further cost-cutting, and moves to counter China’s influence at the world body, a development news wire reported on Tuesday.
The report by Devex, an independent news organization covering global development, said two diplomatic notes circulated by the U.S. called for nine “quick-hit” reforms as a condition for releasing more funds.
It said these included:
– Overhauling the U.N. pension system
– Ending long-distance business-class travel for some senior and all mid-level professionals
– Imposing additional cuts to the U.N.’s senior ranks
– A “10% reduction in long-standing, ineffective peacekeeping missions.”
– Blocking China from channeling tens of millions of dollars each year to a discretionary fund housed in the office of the U.N. secretary-general, a move aimed countering Chinese influence at the U.N.
“These reforms will be an indication that the UN is serious about reform,” Devex quoted one of the documents saying.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. has said repeatedly that it will keep pressuring the United Nations to reform after announcing its withdrawals from dozens of U.N. bodies this year and cutting millions of dollars in funding last year.
China’s U.N. mission did not immediately respond when asked to comment.
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said assessed contributions by the United States and every other U.N. member state were “a treaty obligation” and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was already “leading a pretty heavy reform” of the organization.
“It involves decisions that member states must take if we want to have a U.N. that is more effective, that uses its resources in the best way possible,” Dujarric told a news briefing. “The secretary-general is doing everything he can in that direction.”
Guterres warned in January that the U.N. faced “imminent financial collapse” due to unpaid fees, most of which are owed by the United States. The U.N. said in February the United States had paid about $160 million of the more than $4 billion it owes.
The U.S. owed $2.19 billion to the regular U.N. budget as of the start of February, more than 95% of the total then owed by countries globally. The U.S. owed another $2.4 billion for current and past peacekeeping missions and $43.6 million for U.N. tribunals.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Editing by Don Durfee and Chizu Nomiyama)
