-Caveat Lector- America must pay U.N. $250 million to avoid losing its vote in General Assembly By EDITH M. LEDERER UNITED NATIONS (March 18, 1999 10:23 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - The United States must pay the United Nations at least $250 million by the end of December to avoid losing its vote in the General Assembly, a senior U.N. official said Thursday. "At least - and underline it," said Joseph Connor, the world body's undersecretary-general for management. Connor said that nearly $1.7 billion owed by Washington has left the world body without capital - and allowed it to become a perennial borrower. "The level of unpaid assessments has become intractable," Connor said. "Unstable conditions hold hostage the financial future of the United Nations." The loss of a vote in the General Assembly would be an embarrassment, but it would not affect Washington's veto power in the Security Council, the most powerful decision-making body at the United Nations. Seven former secretaries of state from the Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations on Thursday expressed concern in a letter to Congress that the United States "is squandering its moral authority" by failing to pay what it owes. "It's simply unacceptable that the richest nation on Earth is also the biggest debtor to the United Nations," said the letter, which is also running as an advertisement in several newspapers. The letter came as the Clinton administration launched its annual effort to get Congress to pay overdue bills to the United Nations. "It's undermined our leverage in the U.N. on a broad range of political and management issues," the deputy U.S. ambassador Peter Burleigh told a House panel in Washington. Connor said more of the U.N.'s 185 member nations are paying their dues on time - 117 in 1998 compared with 75 in 1994 - and for the first time in four years, the United Nations is borrowing less from a separate peacekeeping fund to cover operating costs. But at the end of February, member states still owed the United Nations over $2.9 billion for current and past assessments. By far the largest debtor, the United States owes $1.69 billion, nearly 60 percent of the total. The U.S. debt includes $620 million for the regular budget and slightly more than $1 billion for peacekeeping and tribunals. Congress - which had conditioned payments on financial and other reforms at the United Nations - authorized legislation last year that would have paid off a chunk of the arrears. But President Clinton vetoed the bill because it contained unrelated abortion restrictions. Based on a formula used to calculate what nations owe, Connor said Washington must pay $250 million this year. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
