United Nations: The deadlock over a new UN budget has been resolved.
UN General Assembly has approved a two-year budget for 2006 with a total outlay of nearly $4 billion dollars for 2006-2007. However spending will be limited to $950 million, which means that the UN will run out of money within six months.
After months' of contentious negotiations, developing nations gave in to rich countries' demand that spending by the UN be linked to management and other reforms.
For second half of 2006, a fresh authorisation for spending would be required and that would automatically put pressure on the member states and the United Nations to agree to and carry out reforms.
When the UN seeks spending authorisation for the second half, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan would give an assessment and member states would have a chance to discuss the reforms process.
The Group of 77 developing countries, which has a membership of 133 nations, had been consistently and strongly opposing linking of reforms with the spending authorisation as it feels that some of the management reforms would dilute the power of General Assembly.
To an extent, it became a matter of arithmetic with the rich countries pointing out that they contribute almost eighty per cent of the budget.
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