UNITED NATIONS, May 24 -- Arrears in the UN peacekeeping budget jeopardize the capability of troop- and police-contributing countries in delivering on what is expected from them, said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping operations, on Friday.
In response to a question about the massive arrears owed primarily by the United States, Lacroix said those countries should give consideration to this issue.
"The more we would be in arrears, the more troop- and police-contributing countries will be affected. And if they are affected, then the less they will be in a position to deliver on what it is expected from them."
When there are arrears, the biggest part of the burden falls on the troop- and police-contributing countries as reimbursement to them come last in UN peacekeeping expenditure, he explained.
Those troop- and police-contributing countries are poor ones that need support and funding to improve their equipment and training, to improve the very performance that member states expect them to improve, he told a press briefing on the occasion of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.
Lacroix refused to single out the United States.
While the United States is in arrears, it gives a great deal of support in terms of training, the provision of expertise and even staff. "So it's a very multi-faceted relation with the United States in terms of peacekeeping."
But he said the United Nations needs adequate financing for its peacekeeping operations. "Again, we are committed to continuing our efforts to find savings and efficiency. And we're also committed to revisiting our peacekeeping operations, and we are absolutely not shy about recommending that they should be the downsized or terminated when we think that the situation evolves."
In a letter to member states in January 2019, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said peacekeeping budget arrears stood at nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars, more than a third of which was owed by the United States.
As of Jan. 1, 2019, the United States owed some 776 million dollars to the peacekeeping budget in addition to 381 million dollars to the separate regular UN budget.
The United States currently shoulders 28 percent of the UN peacekeeping budget. In addition to arrears, the United States also insists on paying no more than 25 percent of the UN peacekeeping budget, creating a 3-percent gap in the overall peacekeeping budget.