HL Deb 11 August 1966 vol 276 cc1919-20WA
LORD BARNBY

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will explain whence has the United Nations Finance Division obtained the funds which have provided the expenditure contributing to the reported deficit of £19 million.

THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (LORD WALSTON)

The situation in which £19 million are required to bring the overall finances of the United Nations into balance derives primarily from the refusal of certain Member States to pay their assessed share towards the expenses which the General Assembly authorised the Secretary-General to incur for peacekeeping operations in the Middle East and in the Congo. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the Secretariat, acting on the authorisation of the General Assembly, were able to relieve the problem caused by this short-fall in the following ways:

  1. (i) by borrowing from the Working Capital Fund;
  2. (ii) by delaying payment of rebates from the surplus accounts and delaying payment to some member countries for services rendered;
  3. (iii) by receiving voluntary contributions;
  4. (iv) by the sale of U.N. Bonds in 1962, 1963 and 1964.