STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR CHIEF ARTHUR C.I. MBANEFO, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF NIGERIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND CHAIRMAN OF THE GROUP OF 77, ON AGENDA ITEM 151: ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUDGETARY ASPECTS OF THE FINANCING OF THE UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS, IN THE FIFTH COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

New York, 16 May 2000

Madam Chairman,

At the outset, the Group of 77 and China supports the request of South Africa for relocation from group B to C which should be decided upon during the 54^th session under item 151 (c) and in no case made contingent upon discussions on the question of peacekeeping scale of assessments.

2.         The Group has taken note of the interest expressed by some Member States to discuss the question of peacekeeping scale of assessments. To this end, the G-77 and China attaches great importance to the issue of financing of peacekeeping operations.

3.         In this regard, the Group of 77 and China would like to place on record its position as outlined below:

i) The Group of 77 regards peacekeeping operations as an important function of the United Nations. It, therefore, attaches high importance that adequate resources have to be provided to all peacekeeping activities.

ii) The Group reaffirms its view that the difficult financial situation of the UN peacekeeping is not linked to the peacekeeping scale of assessments.  In this regard, the Group emphasizes that these financial difficulties can be resolved if Member States, in particular the major contributor, take concrete actions in settling their arrears and honour their Charter obligations by paying their contributions in full, on time and without conditions.

iii) The Group rejects any attempt to modify the scale of assessments through the imposition of unilateral conditionalities, which are contrary to the United Nations Charter.

iv) The Group emphasizes that the principles and guidelines for the apportionment of the expenses of peacekeeping operations approved by the General Assembly in its relevant resolutions of 1963 and 1973 must be institutionalized on a permanent basis.

v) The Group reiterates that economically less developed countries have limited capacity to contribute towards peacekeeping operations, and emphasizes that any discussion on the scale must take due account of the economic conditions of the developing countries, in particular low income developing countries, and must not adversely affect their present position in groups C and D.

vi) The Group supports the position adopted at the XII NAM Summit and stresses that NAM and G-77 countries shall be classified in a category that is not higher than group C.

vii) The Group believes that the peacekeeping scale must take into account the special responsibilities of the five permanent members of the Security Council in the financing of peacekeeping operations. The Group is of the view that a new element on the floor or ceiling for permanent members of the Security Council in the scale of assessment should not be included. The inclusion of such an element shall be contrary to the principle of capacity to pay for those countries.

4.         The Group would like to emphasize that discussions on the special scale must not be conducted under pressure of time and no decision should be taken until the issue is fully deliberated and comprehensively examined by all member States.

5.         Finally, the Group of 77 and China reserves its position on other issues under this agenda item, and may come back to them at the next meeting of the Committee dealing with this item.

            I thank you, Madam Chairman.