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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION FIFTY-FOURTH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY Provisional agenda item 15.2 A54/23 11 May 2001
Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Members in arrears to an extent which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution Second report of the Administration, Budget and Finance Committee of the Executive Board to the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly
INTRODUCTION 1. The Administration, Budget and Finance Committee met on 11 May 2001 under the chairmanship of Professor T. Zeltner (Switzerland) to consider, inter alia, the status of collection of assessed contributions including Members in arrears to an extent which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution (see Annex). 2. The Committee noted that the rate of collection of assessed contributions had risen to 52% at 30 April 2001, and had risen further to 57% at 10 May 2001, compared with 53% at 30 April 2000. 3. The Committee also noted with much appreciation that since preparation of the document contained in the Annex, 22 Members had paid their assessed contributions for 2001 in full (Albania, Burkina Faso, China, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Fiji, France, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Viet Nam). A further 10 Members had partially paid their assessed contributions for 2001 (Austria, Côte d’Ivoire, Greece, Israel, Italy, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Turkey, Tuvalu and Yemen). 4. Following the receipt of a further US$ 4.5 million in respect of prior year contributions, the total due for prior years had been reduced to US$ 123 million, compared to US$ 157 million at 30 April 2000. The Committee welcomed this development. 5. The Committee noted that the voting privileges of 22 Members (Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Niger, Republic of Moldova, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine) had been suspended, and that suspension would continue at the Fifty-fourth and subsequent Health Assemblies until the arrears had been reduced to a level below the amount which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution.
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6. The Committee further noted that Comoros had indicated that it intended to make a proposal for a special arrangement to settle arrears, which would be reviewed at the next meeting of the Committee. 7. The Committee noted that no payments had been received from Nauru and Nigeria, and that unless payment was received before the opening of the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly, voting privileges of Nauru and Nigeria would be suspended as from the aforesaid opening, in accordance with resolution WHA53.2. 8. As a result of a payment made by Argentina in April 2001, the Committee noted that this Member was no longer subject to a resolution with respect to Article 7 at the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly. Therefore, pursuant to resolution WHA41.7, unless there were exceptional circumstances justifying a different measure, the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly would adopt a decision under which the voting rights of Belarus, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mauritania, Peru, Suriname and Togo would be suspended as from the opening of the Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly. 9. The Committee noted that no requests for special arrangements had been received, but that the Health Assembly would be considering a resolution recommended by the Executive Board in respect of the procedure to be followed for making such requests. Furthermore, the Committee noted that the new Financial Regulations and Financial Rules permitted payment in local currency under certain circumstances.
RECOMMENDATION TO THE HEALTH ASSEMBLY 10. The Committee recommended the following resolution for consideration by the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly: The Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly, Having considered the second report of the Administration, Budget and Finance Committee of the Executive Board to the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly on Members in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution; Noting that, at the time of opening of the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly, the voting rights of Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Niger, Republic of Moldova, Somalia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine remained suspended, such suspension to continue until the arrears of the Member State concerned have been reduced, at the present or future Health Assemblies, to a level below the amount which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution; Noting that, in accordance with resolution WHA53.2, the voting privileges of Nauru and Nigeria have been suspended as from 14 May 2001 at the opening of the Health Assembly, such suspension to continue until the arrears have been reduced to a level below the amount which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution;
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Noting that Belarus, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mauritania, Peru, Suriname and Togo were in arrears at the time of the opening of the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly to such an extent that it is necessary for the Health Assembly to consider, in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution, whether or not the voting privileges of these countries should be suspended at the opening of the Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly, DECIDES: (1) that in accordance with the statement of principles in resolution WHA41.7 if, by the time of the opening of the Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly, Belarus, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mauritania, Peru, Suriname and Togo are still in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution, their voting privileges shall be suspended as from the said opening; (2) that any suspension which takes effect as aforesaid shall continue at the Fifty-fifth and subsequent Health Assemblies, until the arrears of Belarus, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mauritania, Peru, Suriname and Togo have been reduced to a level below the amount which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution; (3) that this decision shall be without prejudice to the right of any Member to request restoration of its voting privileges in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution.
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ANNEX
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION ADMINISTRATION, BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD Fifteenth meeting Provisional agenda item 3 EBABFC15/2 25 April 2001
Status of collection of assessed contributions, including Members in arrears to an extent which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution Report by the Secretariat
1. In order that WHO may deliver the approved programme budget in full, contributions from Member States must be received in full and on time. All Member States are required under Financial Regulation 6.4 to pay their contribution as of 1 January of the year in which they are due. Low annual rates of collection have been of serious concern to successive Executive Boards and Health Assemblies. 2. The rate of collection as at 31 December 2000 was 87%. This is the highest rate for the past 15 years. Contributions in full had been received from 119 of the 193 Members and Associate Members. The rate of collection as at 31 March 2001 was 23% compared with 20% at 31 March 2000. Annex 1 shows the status of collection as of 31 March 2001 for all Members and Associate Members. The improvement in the amount collected is welcomed, but attention is nevertheless drawn to the fact that 77% of the 2001 contributions remained unpaid at 31 March 2001, creating a need to draw funds from the Working Capital Fund in order to meet the needs of programme budget implementation. 3. Total unpaid contributions as at 31 March 2001 were US$ 453.6 million, and included US$ 6.6 million due under special arrangements authorized by the Health Assembly but which may be paid in the future under instalment schemes. The equivalent total owing at 31 March 2000 was US$ 494.3 million, including US$ 7.6 million due under Special Arrangements (see Annex 1, Sections 2 and 3). 4. Article 7 of the Constitution states that “If a Member fails to meet its financial obligations to the Organization … the Health Assembly may … suspend the voting privileges to which a Member is entitled”. 5. In accordance with previous Health Assembly resolutions, the voting privileges of the 22 Member States as listed in Annex 2 have been suspended, the suspension to continue at the Fiftyfourth and subsequent Health Assemblies until the arrears have been reduced to a level below the amount which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution. As at 31 March 2001, none of these Member States had yet made payments that would result in the restoration of their voting privileges.
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6. Pursuant to the adoption of resolution WHA53.2 by the Fifty-third World Health Assembly, the voting privileges of Nauru and Nigeria will be suspended as from the opening of the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly on 14 May 2001 if at that time these Members are still in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent which would justify invoking Article 7 of the Constitution. 7. Ten other Members (Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mauritania, Peru, Suriname and Togo) are in arrears in the payment of their contributions in amounts which equal or exceed the amounts due from them for the preceding two full years, as listed in Annex 2. 8. Pursuant to resolution WHA41.7, unless there are exceptional circumstances justifying a different measure, the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly will adopt a resolution under which the voting privileges of these Members will be suspended as from the opening day of the Fifty-fifth World Health Assembly in May 2002, if at that time the Members concerned are still in arrears to the extent referred to in paragraph 7 above. 9. An amount of US$ 5.5 million owed by the former Yugoslavia, which ceased to be a Member State of WHO on 28 November 2000 when the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia became a Member State, has been excluded from the amounts owed by Member States and has been shown as a footnote on page 5 of Annex 1.
ACTION BY THE ADMINISTRATION, BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE 10. No action is required by the Committee in respect of those Members whose voting privileges have already been suspended under previous Health Assembly resolutions, or of those Members which may lose their voting privileges as from 14 May 2001 under resolution WHA53.2 (if by that time these Members are still in arrears in the payment of their contributions to an extent which justifies invoking Article 7 of the Constitution). 11. The Committee may wish to draft a resolution in accordance with the principles stated in resolution WHA41.7, for consideration by the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly in respect of Argentina, Belarus, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mauritania, Peru, Suriname and Togo.
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