9 January 2002
The United Nations General Assembly concluded the main part of its 56th session on Christmas Eve with, in particular, the adoption of the budget for the 2002-2003 biennium.
The regular budget will be US$ 2.625 billion and shows an increase of some 90 million over the previous one. This is the first increase in eight years.
Although the new budget will only enable the peacekeeping department to add about 100 new posts – instead of the 250 that Secretary-General Kofi Annan wanted – it appears to represent a recognition that the reforms have had an impact, and that the United Nations can no longer operate on the basis of "zero-growth" budgets.
Member States have also recognized that the United Nations is being called upon to play a major role in a host of issues ranging from rebuilding Afghanistan to fighting AIDS and terrorism.
FICSA welcomes this development to which it has modestly contributed by calling, in its advocacy activities with Member States’ delegations in New York, for "truthful budgeting".