10 countries pay UN dues in full for 2003

With the new year just underway, 10 countries have already paid their United Nations dues in full for 2003, according to a UN spokesman.

Armenia has paid some $27,000, while Bangladesh contributed $135,000, Belarus $256,000, Congo $13,500 and Honduras $67,500. Latvia, with a payment of $135,000, Mali ($11,800), Senegal ($67,500), Sierra Leone ($13,500) and Ukraine ($715,500) are the other countries that have already fulfilled their financial obligations to the world body.

Meanwhile, Switzerland made its full payment of nearly $2.5 million for its year of admission. The General Assembly voted to accept the country as the organization’s 190th member on 10 September.

In 2002, 117 Member States paid their budget contributions in full, compared with 135 the previous year. The total paid in 2001 was just over $750 million, while the final amount contributed to the UN last year was about $800 million.

Total arrears for 2002 amounted to some $1.7 billion, including more than $300 million for the regular budget, over $1.3 billion for peacekeeping operations and less than $100 million for the international war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.