Credit:  Gary Raynaldo /  United Nations world headquarters in New York City

By Gary Raynaldo     / DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –  NEW YORK –   The United Nations is in such a severe financial crunch that it escalators are out of service at its world headquarters in New York City.  Pulling escalators out of service is part of a massive cost-cutting effort at the UN.  The emergency measures include  freeze on hiring, cancelling meetings, stopping use of escalators, limiting official travel, delaying UN documents, and reducing air conditioning and heating. The revered global organization faces possible disruption of its work around the world due to worst cash crisis in nearly a decade.  The UN is facing a severe shortage of cash, and unless more Governments pay their annual dues, “our work reforms are at risk,”  the UN chief  António Guterres told member states recently.  As of the end  of  September, only 70 percent of the total assessment for the year had been paid, versus 78 percent this time last year. Up to October 8, Member States have paid $1.99 billion towards the regular budget assessment for 2019, which means there is an outstanding amount to of around $1.3 billion for the year.  The  United States owes more than $1 billion.  The  budget crisis not only affects operations in the main hubs of New York, Geneva, Vienna and  Nairobi, but also regional commissions. If it were not for the measures taken by the UN chief to cut expenses early in 2019, the United Nations wouldn’t have had funds to organise the recently concluded General Assembly session.

Credit: Gary Raynaldo / Escalators put  out of service at the United Nations in New York amid financial crisis

Credit: Gary Raynaldo / Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance explains the financial situation of the United Nations at press briefing at world headquarters in New York Oct. 11, 2019.

“The regular budget has been facing severe liquidity issues in recent years, with a growing downward trend whereby, each year, the situation becomes more dire than the year before. The cash deficits occur earlier in the year, linger longer and run deeper. For the second successive year, we have exhausted all regular budget liquidity reserves, despite several measures we had taken to reduce expenditures to align them with available liquidity.”

-Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance

 The US owes nearly $674 million for the 2019 regular budget while it has dues worth $381 million for prior regular budgets.

Seven countries are responsible for 97 percent of a  $1.3 billion deficit — the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Iran, Israel and Venezuela. The U.S. owes more than all of the other states.