Remarks at a Meeting of the Fifth Committee on the Scales of Assessments

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Ambassador Cherith Norman Chalet
U.S. Representative for UN Management and Reform
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York City
October 10, 2018

AS DELIVERED

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank Ambassador Bernardo Greiver, Chair of the Committee on Contributions, and Mr. Chandru Ramanathan, Acting Controller for introducing their respective reports yesterday, and Mr. Lionel Berridge for his briefing yesterday, as well.

Madam Chair, the United States remains a staunch supporter of the United Nations and its contributions to peace and security, human rights, and development. Our sizable financial contribution is only a portion of our support to these causes around the world.

Specifically with regards to peacekeeping, in addition to being the largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, having contributed approximately $1.8 billion for the 2017/2018 UN peacekeeping financial year, the United States also contributes approximately $400 million annually in direct support to train and equip troops and police to participate in UN peacekeeping operations and to countries involved in multinational peacekeeping operations.

Peacekeeping has the highest level assessed funding of any UN entity. We believe that this dependence on a limited number of donors runs counter to the overall health and sustainability of the UN. And with regards to the methodology, the existence of a ceiling and a floor has been the establishment of the United Nations.

As President Trump noted in his recent address to the General Assembly, the United States is calling for a 25 percent ceiling on the peacekeeping scale of assessments and will defend the 22 percent ceiling for the regular budget. These are in the best interest of the Organization and will reduce the reliance on any single Member State.

We look forward to working with all Member States to negotiate an equitable share of the expenses of the organization, including the redistribution of the amount of assessments that exceeds the 25 percent ceiling for peacekeeping. There are countries that can and should be paying more. We recognize this will not be easy, but we believe there is a way if there is a will.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

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