New York: Europe and the Arabs
The General Assembly approved the United Nations budget for 2024 worth $3.59 billion - including the establishment of a special account to finance the organization's Peacebuilding Fund.
According to the United Nations daily news bulletin, at the end of last week, the General Assembly also approved about $50 million in additional funding for the Human Rights Council, the main forum of the United Nations dealing with human rights issues.
The General Assembly also decided to establish a peacebuilding account - a special multi-year account to be used to finance the Peacebuilding Fund. It has approved $50 million in annual assessed contributions to finance the account, effective January 1, 2025.
The Peacebuilding Fund is the United Nations' leading vehicle for investing in prevention and peacebuilding efforts and supports joint responses to address critical peacebuilding opportunities, linking the pillars of development, humanitarian action, human rights and peacebuilding.,
Secretary-General's proposal
The Secretary-General submitted a budget proposal in October worth $3.3 billion to the General Assembly, assuring delegates to the Fifth Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters that “the role of the United Nations has become more important than ever before.”
The Secretary-General of the United Nations also expressed his concern about the deteriorating liquidity situation of the organization, and urged countries to pay their contributions on time and in full.
The Assembly also authorized the creation of limited-term positions to enhance coverage of United Nations intergovernmental meetings in Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. Positions include editors, press staff, and four-language assistants.
The General Assembly condemns the killing of UNRWA employees
Last Friday, the General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the killing of UNRWA employees and the destruction of buildings flying the United Nations flag, in the midst of the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.
As of Saturday, 142 UNRWA staff had been killed and 123 facilities damaged. Other UN agencies, including the World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme, also lost staff.
On Friday, Issam Al-Mughrabi, a UNDP staff member, was killed along with his wife, children and more than 70 members of his extended family in an Israeli air strike near Gaza City.
“This war must stop,” Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, said in a statement: “No more families must endure the pain and suffering that Issam’s family and countless others have suffered.”