Pakistan Mission to United Nations

Statement by Ambassador Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations on Organization of Work of the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly at the its 73rd Main Session (09 October 2018)

Madam Chair,

Let me begin by congratulating you and other Bureau members on your election. We assure you of our full support.

We align ourselves with the statement made by the distinguished Permanent Representative of Egypt on behalf of the G-77 and China.

Madam Chair,

The world is facing myriad challenges today.

Forces of populism are gaining strength; and drivers of multilateralism are losing ground.

Realism is replacing liberalism; protectionism is transcending globalism; and isolationism is eclipsing international cooperation.

This is a time when we need the United Nations to deliver more than ever before. And for that we need to work with the spirit of cooperation, consultation and collective action.

Only then would we be able to overcome these challenges.

Let me just focus on a couple of issues in addition to highlighted by Egypt on behalf of G-77 and China.

Since its inception, Pakistan has always demonstrated a strong commitment to multilateralism, a rule based international governance system and upholding the UN Charter.

We have also remained actively engaged in the work of the Committee on Contributions, that submitted an important report this year. This will provide a strong basis for our deliberations on Scales of Assessment.

On the methodology of deciding on Scales of Assessment, Madam Chair, my delegation wishes to highlight three points:

• One, Capacity to Pay is the corner stone of the current methodology. It was approved in 2001, after lengthy deliberations. The current maximum ceiling was fixed as an outcome of a political compromise, which is against this agreed principle. Capacity to pay must remain the basis for our negotiations.
• Two, Gross National Income along with Low Per Capita Income and external Debt adjustments provide the best way to measure the member states capacity to pay, and
• Three, Security Council mandates Peacekeeping missions. Permanent members of the Council therefore have a special responsibility to shoulder this burden.

Madam Chair,

We fully support application of the current methodology for the year 2019-21. Though our share will increase, my Government stands ready to agree, despite our financial constraints.

But we are deeply concerned at the lack of discussion on payments to TCCs on account of closed Peacekeeping Missions and on the slow pace of troop re-imbursement payments.

All Member States have a legal obligation to share the cost of running the organization, in accordance with the UN Charter, and pay their assessed contributions in full and without conditions.

Let me conclude, madam chair, by reiterating our support to the work of the Committee.

I thank you.