By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services

Costa Rica opposed a proposal to enlarge a United Nations advisory committee because to do so would cost more money.

The body involved is the 16-member Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Affairs. A U.N. caucus, the Group of 77, proposed added five more seats to achieve better geographical diversity. The proposal went before the U.N. General Assembly which approved the measure.

Costa Rica's Foreign Ministry said that by adding four more members and staff would increase the budget for that committee by  $1.7 million.

The delegation of Costa Rica stood by its position. "It is a warning that we will be attentive to the proper use of the resources paid by all countries for the proper functioning of the organization," said Rodrigo A. Carazo, permanent representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations. “It is an indispensable and expensive organization, without a doubt. Attention must be paid to spending, which cannot continue to grow year after year without due scrutiny of its members. ”

The U.N. Secretariat, said later that implementing the decision made Wednesday in the General Assembly actually requires $1.84 million, which will be included in the program budget for 2021.  It is estimated that $1.37 million would be required to cover the cost of five additional members, the cost of four additional weeks and two additional posts for the Advisory Committee’s Secretariat and associated non-post resources, it said.  And $336,000 would be required to cover the cost of four additional weeks of meetings, with interpretation in all six official languages, it added.  And $125,700 would be required to cover two additional staff and the one-time cost of modifications needed to the existing office space of the Advisory Committee, the U.N. Secretariat concluded.

As a result of the 120 to 48 vote, the  the Assembly redistributed five seats to each of the Group of African States and the Group of Asian and Pacific States, four seats to each of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Group of Western European and other States, and three seats to the Group of Eastern European States.

The Assembly action exposed deep division on the issue among member states, with one side, mostly developing countries, insisting that enlarging the Advisory Committee’s membership to achieve broader geographical representation is long overdue and the other strongly protesting that the matter should have first been discussed by the Fifth Committee, which is the administrative and budgetary arm of the United Nations, according to a U.N. report.

According to a UN General Assembly report, the world body also  adopted a budget of $3 trillion for the United Nations for 2020.

"This is an increase of approximately $8 million on what was initially requested by Secretary-General António Guterres," said the U.N. in its statement. "It also marks the first time since 1973 that the U.N. is adopting an annual budget instead of a two-year one."

According to U.N. statistics, Costa Rica pays .062% of the organization's budget, some $1.9 million in 2019. China paid about 12%, the United States about 22%, Canada about 2.7%, Japan about 8.5% and the United Kingdom about 4.6%. About 20 developed countries pay more than 85 percent of the organization's annual budget. The U.S. tab alone was $674 million.

According to the U.N., the program budget for 2020, which provides necessary resources to the U.N. Secretariat to implement its various tasks, also prepares the organization well for entry into the Decade of Action for sustainable development goals.

All U.N. member states are expected during the coming year to step up efforts towards the implementation of the sustainable development goals, which are designed to bring about a better world for all people while also protecting the natural environment, said the U.N in its statement.

The 17 goals include ending poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality and taking urgent action to combat the effects of climate change. World leaders agreed on the goals in 2015 with a deadline of 2030 to achieve them.



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