UN General Assembly
1986

Our budgets here are swollen by the accumulation of outdated and misguided programs. A thorough review would free resources for meeting needs that have long been relatively neglected. These include large areas of development, in particular the promotion of women and the promotion of human rights in general. We must also deal with the question of arrears and withholdings. At present, these amount to a total of $400 million. This shortfall has severely strapped the Organization. A fixed schedule of repayment, allowing for some flexibility, would provide a solution to the arrears problem. But even more important is the question of withholdings, which, as the Assembly knows, threatens to cripple the Organization financially this year. We look to those States which are withholding to follow the example of the People's Republic of China, which, without any change in "consistent principled positions", has announced payment of accumulated withholdings of $4.4 million.