We’re not talking about the cash-strapped Bihar Government, but it’s the UN that’s in the news. United Nations staff may not receive salary next month.  The reason? Member states haven’t being coughing up their dues.

The UN is facing a “severe liquidity crisis” reaching its deepest deficit of the decade, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said, warning that the world organisation will not have enough cash by next month to cover payrolls.

Guterres warned that in the current month, the organization will reach the deepest deficit of the decade. “We risk exhausting the closed peacekeeping cash reserves, and entering November without enough cash to cover payrolls,” he said.

The United States is one of the ‘star’ defaulters. \

India is one of  only 34 UN member states which paid their regular budget dues in full and on time to the world organisation. India paid 23.25 million dollars in regular budget assessments by January 31, 2019, the 30-day due period specified as per UN’s Financial Regulation rules.

Only 33 other nations paid their regular budget assessments in full within this 30 day due period. Subsequent to the end of the 30 day due period (January 31),

95 additional member states paid their 2019 regular budget assessment in full.

As of October 8, 2019, 129 Member States have paid their regular budget dues in full, according to UN sources. Member states have paid $1.99 billion towards the 2019 regular budget assessment, while the outstanding amount for 2019 for regular budget is $1.386 billion.

However, 64 states are yet to pay their regular budget dues in full for 2019. These include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Central African Republic, North Korea, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Oman, the Philippines, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, US and Venezuela.

While India has been among the few countries to have fully paid its dues to the UN on time, the UN owed India $38 million, among the highest it has to pay to any country, for peacekeeping operations as of March 2019.

  naked truth, United Nations