Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

New York

Permanent Mission address: 150 East 42 Street, Level 33, New York, New York 10017 - Telephone: 1 212 351 6600 - Fax: 1 212 351 6610

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 55th SESSION

Plenary - Item 122: Scale of Assessment

Explanation of Position

Statement by H.E. Ms Penny Wensley, Ambassdor and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations (on behalf of New Zealand and Australia)

23 December 2000

Mr President

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the delegations of New Zealand and of my own country, Australia, in explanation of position following the adoption of the resolution contained in A/55/521/Add.l on the scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations.

Our delegations welcome the adoption of this resolution by consensus. We recognise the difficult circumstances facing many delegations during these negotiations, including the pressures on developing countries, many of which are faced with steep increases between the scale periods. To help ease some of this pain our delegations, like other countries, gave our full support to the phase-in arrangements referred to in paragraph 4 of section A of the resolution.

The Australian and New Zealand delegations have always tried to be a voice of reason, of practicality. We also tried hard, whilst defending our won national interests, to defend and protect the United Nations system itself and its reform processes. Colleagues will recall successive statements in formal and informal sessions urging that in our push for agreement, we not take bad decisions, not go backwards, not distort the scale methodology unduly and in ways which could create problems in the future.

We are pleased with the level of accommodation to competing interests that this scale has been able to achieve without unduly compromising the integrity of the scale methodology. To the extent possible we have sought to spread the pain equitably and we have achieved this. We continue to believe that a true reflection of capacity to pay is some way off. We should continue to strive to avoid methodological adjustments in order to sidestep our basic responsibility as member states to pay our fair share of the United Nation's costs.

Mr President

The General Assembly, by the adoption of this resolution, has decided to reduce the ceiling from 25% to 22%, thereby reducing the assessment of the major contributor by 3%. The ceiling is a distortion of the principle of capacity to pay and the reduction is a further distortion of this important principle. Our opposition to the reduction of the ceiling was based on our commitment to this principle. The ceiling is a political rather than a technical element in the scale.

However, we were willing to review the ceiling, and listened to the arguments on their merits. We joined consensus on the resolution since granting a reduction was clearly the express wish of the membership as a whole and it is not the practice of our delegations to block consensus. We are pleased that, having taken this political decision, we have also taken the corresponding political decision to spread the costs of the reduction to the membership equitably.

Mr President

It is the understanding of all delegations which participated in these scale negotiations that the reduction of the ceiling involved a bargain. In exchange for the reduction, the major contributor would pay its arrears. The membership of the Organisation has acted. We call upon the major contributor to now fulfil its side of the bargain and to pay its arrears in full and without delay. We look forward to the speedy resolution of this issue so that the finances of the Organisation can, at last, be placed on a sound footing. We also look forward to an improvement in the performance of all contributors, large and small, in paying their assessed contributions within the thirty days required by the United Nation's Financial Regulations.

As a result of the decision we have taken our two countries will face significant increases in our assessments. As has been the case in the past Australia and New Zealand remain committed to paying our assessments in full, on time and without conditions. We call on all others to do the same.

Mr President

In conclusion, our two delegations wish to record formally our appreciation to the Chairman of the Fifth Committee, Ambassador Rosenthal, the two co-ordinators, Ambassador Abelian and Mr Frank Smyth of Ireland, as well as the Secretariat, for their dedication and patience in assisting member states to bring these very difficult negotiations which we started more than two years ago to a satisfactory conclusion and to achieve this historic agreement.