The Convention, which is now open for signing until 20 May 2000, will enter into force on the 90th day following the deposit of the 35th instrument of ratification. A number of States who abstained or voted against drew attention to a lack of consensus on several of the Convention's key provisions, such as those governing dispute settlement. Among other actions on Wednesday, the General Assembly appointed five members of the Joint Inspection Unit, to replace members whose terms expire at the end of this year. On Tuesday, the General Assembly elected 11 judges to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to serve four- year terms starting on 17 November. Under Secretary-General for Administration and Management Joseph Connor warned on Wednesday that the United Nations financial situation remained precarious.
Uncollected assessments continue to hover at precarious levels.
At any time during the past two years we have had about one year's assessments uncollected, more or less. During the Committee's debate on the financing of peacekeeping operations, the call to end discrimination was echoed by Pakistan. The representative of Pakistan Ahmand Kamal said it was the United Nations responsibility to ensure equal treatment for all peacekeepers. He said the color of one's skin, or level of national development could not form the basis of the rules and regulations, particularly in cases of death and disability, which in most cases, are the ultimate testimony to one's commitment to the ideals of the United Nations. Meanwhile the representative of the Netherlands Paul Menkveld, speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, said that while there were differing views on the most appropriate arrangement for compensation payments, all Member States saw the need for a simplification of the arrangement.