The United Nations’ General Assembly has endorsed a $3.59 billion budget for 2024, which encompasses the creation of a specialized fund to support the organization’s peace-building endeavors. This revelation was made public through a statement from the Office of the President of the General Assembly, released on Sunday.
This budget received approval on Friday, with the 193-member General Assembly also allocating nearly $50 million in supplementary funding for resolutions passed by the Human Rights Council, the primary forum for human rights issues within the UN.
Additionally, the Assembly established the Peace-building Account, a dedicated multi-year fund, designed to finance the Peace-building Fund. They endorsed an annual contribution of $50 million, commencing on January 1, 2025, to sustain this Account, as indicated in the statement.
The Peace-building Fund serves as the foremost tool of the UN, directing investments toward prevention and peace-building initiatives and facilitating collaborative responses to pivotal peace-building opportunities, intertwining developmental, humanitarian, human rights, and peace-building aspects.
In October, the Secretary-General presented a $3.3 billion budget proposal to the General Assembly, emphasizing the crucial role of the United Nations in current global affairs during the Assembly’s principal budget committee sessions.
Expressing concerns about the UN’s deteriorating financial liquidity, the Secretary-General urged member states to ensure timely and complete payments.
Moreover, the Assembly adopted a resolution to extend the coverage of official UN intergovernmental meetings to include Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish languages. This expansion involves the creation of 20 positions under general temporary assistance (GTA), including editors, press officers, and assistants working in these four languages.
Similarly, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres applauded the Security Council’s unanimous adoption, on December 21, 2023, of Resolution 2719 (2023) concerning the financing of African Union-led Peace Support Operations, as stated in a separate release.
“Since the start of his mandate, the Secretary-General has repeatedly called for a new generation of Peace Support Operations, led by African partners, with guaranteed funding, including through UN assessed contributions, to respond to the peace and security challenges on the continent.
“This is also one of the key recommendations of his recent policy brief on A New Agenda for Peace.
“This ground-breaking resolution by the Council will help address a long-standing and critical gap in the international peace and security architecture and bolster the international community’s efforts to tackle peace and security challenges on the continent.’
“The Secretary-General is committed to further strengthening the strategic partnership with the African Union, including through the implementation of this milestone resolution,” the statement read.
It added that the United Nations would continue its collaborative efforts with the African Union toward political solutions to address conflicts on the continent and enhance the AU-UN consultative decision-making process as outlined in the resolution.
Also on Friday, the General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the killing of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East staff and the destruction of buildings under the UN flag, amidst the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.
As of Saturday, 142 UNRWA staff members have been killed and 123 installations damaged. Other UN agencies, including the World Health Organisation and the UN Development Programme have also lost their personnel.
On Friday, Issam Al Mughrabi, a UNDP staff member alongside his wife, children and members of his extended family, were killed in an Israeli air strike.
(NAN)
