The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called on member states to support the organisation and address its deteriorating financial situation as the body could run out of cash in August.
“Despite numerous efforts to contain expenditures this year, we are likely to run out of cash in August and, therefore, borrow from the Working Capital Fund,” said Guterres, in his remarks at a formal meeting of the Fifth Committee.
UN has more assets than liabilities but not enough liquid assets, the UN chief said in a report by Xinhua.
According to Guterres, a major cause of the deteriorating financial health of the organisation in the past few years is the increase in arrears from member states in both the regular and peacekeeping budgets.
The UN chief said the level of arrears at the end of 2018 was $529 million, equivalent to more than 20 percent of the year’s assessments. Five months into this year, arrears are still at $492 million.
However, non-and late payment of contributions are not the only causes of liquidity problems, said Guterres.
According to him, structural weaknesses in the budget methodology create a situation in which the expenditures outpace the approved budget level and the collection of contributions.
“It is caused by the effects of currency exchanges, inflation, salary cost standards and the actual vacancy rates that are approved at the end of one year and assessed only in the next, and unfortunately not always fully compensated, as we had last year,” he added.
For the regular budget, Guterres is proposing measures that would, on the one hand, strengthen liquidity-bridging mechanisms and, on the other, manage expenditure levels in a manner that would support program delivery.
In another report, the UN warned on World Environment Day (WED), yesterday, that nobody is safe from air pollution, with nine out of 10 people on the planet now breathing polluted air.
Celebrated annually on June 5, WED is an initiative that the UN launched in an attempt to raise awareness on emerging environmental issues from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime and how to effectively combat these problems.
The campaign was first held in 1974 with the theme ‘Only One Earth’.
Each year, the UN marks a different focus to commemorate the day while the country hosting the main event for the year chooses the theme for WED.
This year’s edition of the global day has ‘Beat Air Pollution’ as its theme with China as the host.
In a message to mark WED, Guterres said an estimated nine, out of ten people, worldwide, are exposed to air pollutants that exceed World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines.
“This is lowering life expectancy and damaging economies across the planet,” he said.
“To improve air quality, we must know our enemy. Deaths and illnesses from air pollution are caused by tiny particles that penetrate our defences every time we fill our lungs.
“These particles come from many sources: the burning of fossil fuels for power and transport; the chemicals and mining industries; the open burning of waste; the burning of forests and fields; and the use of dirty indoor cooking and heating fuels, which are major problems in the developing world.”
Guterres noted that over seven million people die each year, from polluted air, while others suffer from long term health problems, such as asthma.
“According to the World Bank, air pollution costs societies more than $5 trillion every year.
“Today, we face an equally urgent crisis. It is time to act decisively. My message to governments is clear: end tax pollution; end fossil fuel subsidies; and stop building new coal plants. We need a green economy, not a grey economy.”
“On World Environment Day, I ask each of us to act so we can breathe more easily. From pressuring politicians and businesses to changing our own habits, we can reduce pollution and beat climate change,” Guterres said.