GA/AB/3393/

FIFTH COMMITTEE CONCLUDES GENERAL DEBATE ON SCALE OF ASSESSMENTS FOR PEACEKEEPING

CORRECTION

On page 8 of Press Release GA/AB/3393 issued 6 October, the statement of Nepal should read as follows:

SURYA PRASAD ADHIKARI (Nepal) aligned his country with the position of the Group of 77 and China. He said that only last month world leaders had stressed the importance of international peace and security during the Millennium Summit. It was time to pursue a more secure and reliable mechanism for financing peacekeeping operations. Over recent years, the number of conflicts had increased at an alarming rate. Internal conflicts were continuing to proliferate, and violence was tearing societies apart. The challenges before the international community were daunting, and it was very important to enable the United Nations to carry out peacekeeping operations more effectively. After analysing the recommendations in the Brahimi report, Nepal believed that they should be considered in a fair and transparent manner.

As an active and committed participant in peacekeeping operations around the world, Nepal believed that the entire membership must work together to determine the new scale for their financing, he said. The principles of justice and fairness should guide the work of the Committee. The 27-year old scale should be made to reflect today�s economic realities. The Charter of the United Nations gave special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security to the permanent members of the Security Council. That responsibility should continue to be recognized when considering the peacekeeping scale. The principle of the capacity to pay should be preserved. Special difficulties of weak and vulnerable countries must be taken into consideration. He hoped that the collective efforts of the membership would lead to a constructive discussion on the subject and allow the Fifth Committee to arrive at a consensus.

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