§ 2.38 p.m.
§ LORD BARNBYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government regarding the invitation to member countries of the United Nations to subscribe to a series of Bonds, what is the progress to date in regard to members' proportionate subscriptions compared with what a full response proportionately would be.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (THE EARL OF DUNDEE)My Lords, of the $200 million worth of bonds offered for sale, approximately $125 million worth have been purchased by 41 Governments, five of whom are not members of the United Nations. Your Lordships may be interested to know that these five Governments were those of the Federal German Republic, Kuwait, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and Vietnam. In addition, seventeen Governments have 797 pledged themselves to purchase bonds to the value of a further $14 million. More than half the members of the Organisation—members who between them contribute approximately one-third of the regular budget—have neither bought bonds nor pledged themselves to do so. If these members bought bonds on the same scale as their percentage contributions to the regular budget, the issue would be over-subscribed.
§ LORD BARNBYMy Lords, arising out of that reply, may I ask whether the noble Earl is able to state to what extent the United Nations is in debt on current account—in other words, how much it is "in the red"?
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEI am not sure that can give my noble friend that information at the moment, but according to the latest information given by the Secretary-General in his report to the last session of the General Assembly, figures for unpaid bills amounted to $139 million. In addition, the costs of the Congo and Middle East operations have been running at approximately 11.5 million dollars per month. Total arrears of contribution to the regular budget and the special accounts as at February 28 amounted to $111 million. As against this, the amount raised by the bond issue is $125 million; if all pledges by members to purchase bonds are taken up, this figure would be $150 million.
§ LORD BARNBYMy Lords, in thanking the noble Earl for his reply, may I ask whether he is in a position to make any comment on the fact that since I put down my Question it has been reported in The Times that Britain is one of the few members who so far have paid their contributions in full? It further says:
… everyone would be expected to contribute. If some refused, the rest would make up the deficit.Is there no limit to the commitments that our taxpayers are likely to be called upon to bear?
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, we are not proposing to undertake unlimited commitments. We have put forward two alternative proposals in the United Nations for future methods of collecting money for special operations, such as the Congo or the Middle East. We want only to get agreement about 798 it, and I believe it will be discussed in the appropriate Committee on May 14.