UN Owes Rwanda USD 31 million for Peacekeeping Operations

The UN Secretary General said arrears to troop- and police-contributing countries could increase to $588 million by June as the world body’s financial health deteriorates.

The United Nations owes Rwanda USD 31 million for the peacekeeping operations as of March 2019, TOPAFRICANEWS has learned.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres revealed arrears as he voiced concern over the world body’s deteriorating financial health.

In his report on improving the financial situation of the world body, he said, as of March 31, 2019, the total amount payable to troop- and police-contributing countries with respect to active peacekeeping missions was USD 265 million.

Of this, the UN owes USD 38 million to India, followed by Rwanda (USD 31 million), Pakistan (USD 28 million), Bangladesh (USD 25 million) and Nepal (USD 23 million), Guterres said in his report.

He said the arrears to troop- and police-contributing (TCCs/PCCs) countries could increase to USD 588 million by June 2019 “in the worst-case scenario”.

The UN chief added that which troop- and police-contributing countries will or will not be paid depends on the cash position of the individual missions to which they contribute and is not determined by their individual capacity to shoulder that unfair burden.

“That has created a paradox. The United Nations is now effectively borrowing for prolonged periods from troop- and police-contributing countries. Many of them are low-income countries for which that impose a significant financial burden.

At the same time, the Organisation is asking those same countries to do more to train their personnel and improve the quality of their equipment, all while operating in increasingly challenging environments. The United Nations, however, is not fulfilling its obligation towards them in a timely manner,” he said.

Guterres further said that troop- and police-contributing countries make every effort to provide well-trained and well-equipped personnel to peacekeeping operations, and they continue to improve on that objective.

“Reimbursement by the UN for their contributions is key to supporting those efforts. The delays in reimbursing the contributing countries expose them to financial challenges in pursuit of their efforts and consequently have an adverse impact on the operations and the delivery of their mandates,” he said.

With Agencies