UNITED NATIONS - The General Assembly has approved an enhanced reimbursement rate for countries contributing nearly 100,000 peacekeepers to 16 missions at hotspots around the world, the first upward revision since 1992.
The 193-member did so by adopting a resolution, by consensus, that establish a single rate of reimbursement to countries contributing contingent personnel to UN field operations at $1,332 per person per month from July 1, 2014 – a 10 per cent increase – raising to $1,365 per person per month from July 1, 2016; and to $1,410 per person per month from July 1, 2017.
“This is a step in the right direction,” Pakistan UN Ambassador Masood Khan said. He said that despite the different perspectives, all sides had worked resolutely to explore common ground and keep peacekeeping partnerships “intact and strong”. What mattered at the end was that consensus had prevailed.
In view of the increasing complexity and demands of peacekeeping operations, he said the “Group of 77” developing countries and China had long argued for increased reimbursements, he said, recalling that the rate had last been revised in 1992. Since then, it had remained a vexing issue both for the General Assembly and the United Nations as a whole.
Masood Khan said partners, as well as major finance contributors, had rightly insisted that any fruitful conversation on rate increases should take place in the face of the empirical evidence justifying it.
“We express satisfaction that the reimbursement rates have been revised and increased formally for the first time,” he said.
, Adding that the revision and formal increase had broken new ground, despite divergences and constraints, he said, adding that despite the limited outcome, today’s decision was a “net gain” for peacekeeping and the Organization.
US peacekeeping is paid for by assessed contributions, with the United States the top provider - paying 28 percent of the budget - followed by Japan, which pays almost 11 percent, and France, Germany and Britain, which pay around 7 percent each.
The top contributors of troops to peacekeeping missions are Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia and Rwanda.