By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 1 -- The deal on the UN peacekeeping budget was reached at 3:55 am on July 1, nearly four hours after the previous budget expired. Beyond a seven percent one time increase in pay to peacekeeping troops, it emerged that $180 million of the $230 million left for closed peacekeeping operations will be returned.
When the voting began in the Fifth (Budget) Committee after 5 a.m., Germany asked for the floor and said that accepting these $180 million does not waive the right to ask for all of the money back.
EU Representative Serrano told Inner City Press that Germany was on its own with that statement.
When the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo came up, one diplomat at the neighboring table of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea joked to his countryman in the DRC seat: hey that's you!
Then Tanzania spoke up against the oral amendment that posts for child protection should be taken from posts empty more than a year, which would be eliminated. Tanzania pointed out that only the full General Assembly can eliminate posts, and asked for a change.
After a huddle involving the US, a further amendment was made, that the change was only financial.
A vote was called for on the UNIFIL Lebanon peacekeeping mission, on the “incident at Qana on 18 April 1996” and calling for Israel to pay $1,117,005 for it. On that provision, the EU members abstained, while the US, Canada and Israel voted on.
Then the voting machine broke down. “It is voting itself,” the chairman said and got laughs, perhaps from the lack of sleep. Finally it was fixed, past 6 in the morning. The same three voted no, while Tuvalu abstained. Canada indicated it was too late for it to speak. Hungary explained its earlier abstention.
And that by 6:15 am it was over, the Budget Committee. The Guatemalan chair claimed that it was still June 30 -- again to laugher -- and wished Tomo Monthe, his successor from Cameroon, well. Argentina for G77, and the European Union, thanked the chair.
The last long peech, against "politics," was by Eritrea; the final rubber stamp was slated in the General Assembly hall half an hour later: that is, at 7 am. Only at the UN.
