On 29 June, the General Assembly approved $6.45 billion for the 2022/23 budgets of peacekeeping missions, the United Nations Logistics Base, the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, and the Support Account.

It is $59.8 million less than requested, but $75 million more than last year.

Chandramouli Ramanathan, Controller and Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Finance and Budget, thanked the Fifth Committee for “heeding the repeated calls of the Secretary-General for some structural adjustments to address the systemic problems impacting the financial situation of the UN”.

“We trust that these decisions will allow the Organization to channel its energies to mandate delivery instead of liquidity management,” said Mr. Ramanathan.

Member States:

  • allocated $100 million of unspent funds from the 2021 regular budget to increase the Working Capital Fund

  • allowed the Secretariat to access surplus cash from closed international tribunal accounts for cash management for the programme budget

  • authorized the Secretary-General to use $110 million from the Peacekeeping Reserve Fund for the cash management of peacekeeping operations

  • approved the continuation of cash pooling for active missions for an additional five years

These decisions will help stabilize our regular budget operations.

It also facilitated the final resolution to 29 closed peacekeeping missions, ensuring that nearly $81 million is paid to troop- and police-contributing countries, while returning nearly $135.9 million worth of credits to Member States.

“[This] underscores the importance of close and positive collaboration amongst the Secretariat, field missions, ACABQ, and the Fifth Committee,” said Kelvin Ong, Director, Field Operations Finance Division, Department of Management, Strategy, Policy and Compliance.

Ebrima Ceesay, Director of Mission Support, MONUSCO, expressed gratitude for “the field visit by the Fifth Committee which facilitated direct engagement with the mission and offered delegates a first-hand appreciation of the challenging operating environment of field missions”.

On Headquarters budget support, Vivian van de Perre, Chief of Staff, MINUSCA, appreciated the field-focused approach which allowed missions “to make use of the HQ knowledge to great effect”.

This was echoed by Kevin Alphonso, Chief of Finance and Budget Section, UNIFIL: “The Field Operations Finance Division is a vital partner to ensure the Fifth Committee better understands the mission, its context and objectives, and the potential impact of their decisions.”