Peacekeeping financing resolutions

With the exception of UNTSO and UNMOGIP, peacekeeping missions are financed through the adoption of individual peacekeeping financing resolutions.

Financing resolutions generally recall the relevant Security Council resolution establishing the mandate of the mission and either approve an appropriation or authorize the Secretary-General to enter into commitments for a certain period of time, and—where relevant—authorize the issuance of assessment letters. Financing resolutions also indicate the mission's pro-rated share of funding for the support account, UN Logistics Base, and Regional Service Centre.

In addition to the financing language that is technically required, peacekeeping financing resolutions also include standard policy language that has been added (and removed) over time, as detailed below.

Standard paragraphs

Preambular

Paragraph	Text	First appearance	Commentary
1	Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General on the financing of MISSION NAME and the related reports of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,		This paragraph references the reports under consideration during the current session.
2	Recalling Security Council resolution RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING MISSION…and the subsequent resolutions by which the Council extended the mandate of the Mission, the latest of which was MOST RECENT SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, by which the Council extended the mandate of the Mission until DATE OF CURRENT MANDATE EXPIRATION,		This paragraph references the mandate of the mission as decided by the Security Council.
3	Recalling also its resolution FIRST FINANCING RESOLUTION FOR MISSION on the financing of the Mission and its subsequent resolutions thereon, the latest of which was resolution MOST RECENT FINANCING RESOLUTION,		This paragraph references the previous financing resolutions for the mission approved by the General Assembly.
4	Reaffirming the general principles underlying the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations, as stated in its resolutions 1874 (S-IV) of 27 June 1963, 3101 (XXVIII) of 11 December 1973 and 55/235 of 23 December 2000,	55th session	Language added to reflect adoption of new peacekeeping scale of assessments system of discounts in resolution 55/235
5	Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributions have been made to the Mission,	43th session	The earliest appearance of this language appears to have been in resolution 43/229 on the financing of UNIFIL, after which it began to be included in other mission financing resolutions
6	Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide the Mission with the financial resources necessary to enable it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,	42nd session	The earliest appearance of this language appears to have been in resolution 42/223 on the financing of UNIFIL, after which it began to be included in other mission financing resolutions

Operative

The tables below provide explanations for standard paragraphs that appear in peacekeeping financing resolutions. The paragraph numbers are for reference only for the purpose of this article and will not necessarily correspond to the actual paragraph numbers in actual resolutions.

Paragraph	Text	First appearance	Commentary
1	Requests the Secretary-General to entrust the Head of Mission with the task of formulating future budget proposals in full accordance with the provisions of its resolutions 59/296…	59th session	Refers to cross-cutting resolutions from the 59th session onward with provisions related to budget formulation
2	Takes note of the status of contributions to MISSION NAME as at DATE OF MOST RECENT DATA FROM SECRETARIAT, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of DATA PROVIDED BY SECRETARIAT, notes with concern that only NUMBER Member States have paid their assessed contributions in full, and urges all other Member States, in particular those in arrears, to ensure payment of their outstanding assessed contributions;	44th session	The first appearance of language urging Member States "to make every possible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contributions" appears to have been in 44/190 on UNAVEM
3	Expresses its appreciation to those Member States which have paid their assessed contributions in full;	51st session	Introduced to balance paragraph on overdue payments
4	Expresses concern at the financial situation with regard to peacekeeping activities, in particular as regards the reimbursements to troop contributors that bear additional burdens owing to overdue payments by Member States of their assessments;	50th session	Refers to delays in reimbursement to troop-contributing countries due to cash shortfalls
5	Expresses concern at the delay experienced by the Secretary-General in deploying and providing adequate resources to some peacekeeping missions, in particular those in Africa;	54th session; dropped during 65th session	Introduced as a result of UNMIK financing controversy from the 53rd session. Language removed during negotiations in the 65th session as part of agreement to remove obsolete language
6	Emphasizes that all future and existing peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements;	53rd session	Paragraph 3 of resolution 53/241; inserted due to G77 concern at non-standard process for requesting commitment authority for UNMIK
7	Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates;	53rd session	Paragraph 4 of resolution 53/241; inserted due to G77 concern at non-standard process for requesting commitment authority for UNMIK
8	Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that proposed peacekeeping budgets are based on the relevant legislative mandates;	62nd session
9	Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, subject to the provisions of the present resolution, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure their full implementation;		Standard text endorsing ACABQ recommendations except where recommendations are taken note of or otherwise superseded in the text. See practices of the Fifth Committee when taking action on reports.
	(Mission-specific policy paragraphs are usually inserted here)
10	Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the full implementation of the relevant provisions of its resolutions 59/296…	59th session	Paragraph listing cross-cutting resolutions adopted since the 59th session
11	Also requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary action to ensure that the Mission is administered with a maximum of efficiency and economy;	48th session	Current version is a truncated version of longer version introduced in all financing resolutions in the 48th session
12	Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the budget performance of the Mission for the period from PREVIOUS FINANCIAL PERIOD;		This paragraph references the most recent performance report, if applicable.
13	Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for MISSION NAME the amount of TOTAL APPROPRIATION for the period from NEXT FINANCIAL PERIOD, inclusive of APPROVED LEVEL OF MISSION for the maintenance of the Mission, MISSION SHARE OF SUPPORT ACCOUNT for the support account for peacekeeping operations, MISSION SHARE OF UNLB for the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, and MISSION SHARE OF RSCE for the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, Uganda;		Member States do not receive separate assessments for the support account, UNLB and RSCE. Instead, these accounts are financed, pro rata, through missions. The total appropriation for each mission includes the actual requirements for the mission plus the mission's share of the support account, UNLB and RSCE budgets, as calculated by the Secretariat. Fifth Committee negotiation of an individual mission budget only determines the approved level of that specific mission; the other figures (the total appropriation and the mission share of the the support account, UNLB and RSCE budgets) can only be filled in after the Fifth Committee has reached agreement on the level of the support account, UNLB and RSCE.
14	Decides to apportion among Member States the amount of AMOUNT for the period from 1 July CURRENT YEAR to DATE OF CURRENT MANDATE EXPIRATION, in accordance with the levels updated in its resolution PEACEKEEPING SCALE RESOLUTION, taking into account the scale of assessments for YEAR(S), as set out in its resolution REGULAR BUDGET SCALE RESOLUTION;		The Secretariat is only authorized to send assessment letters to finance the activities of a mission until the expiration of its current mandate, even though the budget is approved for the full year. The amount in this paragraph is a prorated amount reflecting the portion of the budget falling within the current mandate period. The year(s) for the scale of assessments should be the current year or the current and next year, depending on the year in which the mandate expires.
15	Also decides that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X) of 15 December 1955, there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 14 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund…		This is the portion of the amount in paragraph 14 corresponding to the TEF, which was established in resolution 973 (X). The Secretariat calculates these figures based on the levels agreed by the Fifth Committee
16	Further decides to apportion among Member States the amount of AMOUNT for the period from THE DAY AFTER DATE OF CURRENT MANDATE EXPIRATION to 30 June NEXT YEAR in accordance with the levels updated in its resolution PEACEKEEPING SCALE RESOLUTION, taking into account the scale of assessments for YEAR(S), as set out in its resolution REGULAR BUDGET SCALE RESOLUTION, subject to a decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Mission;		This amount represents the remainder of the budget. The amount in this paragraph, when added to the amount in paragraph 14, should yield the total appropriation in paragraph 13. The year(s) for the scale of assessments should be the current year or the current and next year, depending on the year in which the mandate expires.
17	Decides that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X), there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 16 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund…		This is the portion of the amount in paragraph 16 corresponding to the TEF. As with paragraph 15, the Secretariat calculates these figures based on the levels agreed by the Fifth Committee.
18	Also decides that, for Member States that have fulfilled their financial obligations to the Mission, there shall be set off against their apportionment, as provided for in paragraph 14 above, their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other revenue in the amount of AMOUNT in respect of the financial period ended 30 June PREVIOUS YEAR, in accordance with the levels updated in its resolution PEACEKEEPING SCALE RESOLUTION, taking into account the scale of assessments for PREVIOUS YEAR, as set out in its resolution REGULAR BUDGET SCALE RESOLUTION;		For Member States without outstanding contributions to the mission, their share of the unencumbered balance from the previous financial period will be credited against their assessment for the next financial period.
19	Further decides that, for Member States that have not fulfilled their financial obligations to the Mission, there shall be set off against their outstanding obligations their respective share of the unencumbered balance and other revenue in the amount of AMOUNT in respect of the financial period ended 30 June PREVIOUS YEAR, in accordance with the scheme set out in paragraph 18 above;	50th session	For Member States with outstanding contributions to the mission, their share of the unencumbered balance from the previous financial period will be used to meet those outstanding obligations. Before the 50th session, no distinction was made between Member States with or without outstanding contributions, and each Member State's share of the unencumbered balance was applied to the assessment for the next financial period.
20	Emphasizes that no peacekeeping mission shall be financed by borrowing funds from other active peacekeeping missions;	53rd session; dropped during 73rd session	Paragraph 9 of resolution 53/241; inserted due to G77 concern at non-standard process for requesting commitment authority for UNMIK Paragraph was dropped during the 73rd session, during which the General Assembly adopted resolution 73/307 approving the management of cash balances of all active peacekeeping missions as a pool in .
21	Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of all personnel under the auspices of the United Nations participating in the Mission, bearing in mind paragraphs 5 and 6 of Security Council resolution 1502(2003) of 26 August 2003;	59th session	The current formulation, which includes the clause referencing resolution 1502 dates from the resumed part of the 59th session in 2005. The first part of the paragraph has been standard since 1999.
22	Invites voluntary contributions to the Mission in cash and in the form of services and supplies acceptable to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as appropriate, in accordance with the procedure and practices established by the General Assembly;		A request for voluntary contributions has been included in resolutions at least since the 1970s, including with the financing of UNIFIL in resolution S-8/2.
23	Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION the item entitled “Financing of MISSION NAME”.		Includes this agenda item in the programme for the next session of the General Assembly

Mission-specific language

UNFICYP

Paragraph	First appearance	Commentary
Noting that voluntary contributions were insufficient to cover all the costs of the Force, including those incurred by troop-contributing Governments prior to 16 June 1993, and regretting the absence of an adequate response to appeals for voluntary contributions, including that contained in the letter dated 17 May 1994 from the Secretary-General to all Member States,	47th session	A version of this paragraph first appeared as a preambular paragraph in resolution 47/236; reflects the fact that, prior to 1993, UNFICYP was financed through voluntary contributions
Also decides, taking into account its voluntary contribution for the financial period ended 30 June YEAR, that one third of the net unencumbered balance and other revenue in the amount of AMOUNT dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June YEAR shall be returned to the Government of Cyprus;	56th session	See General Assembly resolution 56/502 as revised in A/C.5/56/48
Further decides, taking into account its voluntary contribution for the financial period ended 30 June YEAR, that the prorated share of the net unencumbered balance and other revenue in the amount of AMOUNT dollars in respect of the financial period ended 30 June YEAR shall be returned to the Government of Greece;	56th session	See General Assembly resolution 56/502 as revised in A/C.5/56/48

UNIFIL

A number of paragraphs related to the 1996 Qana incident are included in the UNIFIL financing resolutions. See Consensus in the Fifth Committee.

See also

• Peacekeeping financing