United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Photo: UN Photo/Ryan BrownThe next UN budget
10/29/2009 //
The United Nations budget for 2010-2011 was presented by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today at the UN headquarters in New York. The presentation of the $4.89 billion budget was followed by a general debate on Mr. Ban's proposal. Norway pledged to up its contributions despite the financial crisis.
Many member states argued that the global financial crisis will make the coming negotiations of the biannual UN budget particularly challenging. Others stressed the need for sufficient funds to match the growing number of UN mandates. Norway will facilitate the upcoming negotiations and will be responsible for reaching a consensus resolution before December 24.
The Norwegian statement given by Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Mona Juul. It underlined that it is more important than ever to invest in the UN in a time of crisis. That’s why Norway will continue to increase its contributions to the UN.
Ambassador Juul urged member states to engage actively in the deliberations ahead. She called for a transparent process with the aim of reaching agreement on a budget which reflects common priorities and balances the three pillars of the UN; security, development and human rights.