US
Budget Mixes
UN Missions in
Afghanistan
& Libya,
Ebola, ICP
Asks Why
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 2,
updated with transcript
--When the US
proposed
budget for its
State
Department was
released on
February 2, it
included a $10
million
increase in
proposed
funding for
the UN regular
budget. Under
this, three UN
missions --
for
Afghanistan,
Libya and
Ebola response
-- were
combined
together for a
request of $42
million.
Document here,
at Page 43.
On a
background
call, Inner
City Press
asked about
this,
including if
the estimate
for the UN
Support
Mission in
Libya is
impacted by
that Mission
hardly being
present on the
ground in the
country
anymore.
A Senior State
Department
Official
replied,
focusing on
Afghanistan,
telling Inner
City Press
that, “we
believe that
the funding
level is
probably doing
to stay
constant over
the FY 2016
period. The
funding levels
that we've got
for the
political
missions are
for six months
assessment for
Afghanistan.
We believe
that that
funding level
then will
catch up the
the second six
money will
catch up. So
that you'll be
seeing a lag
on the overall
payment
there.”
UN Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon has
made a range
of claims
about his
budgets, the
consistency
with the US
request we are
still
evaluating.
For now, here
is the State
Department
transcript:
OPERATOR:
Thank
you. That’s
Matthew
Russell Lee
from Inner
City Press.
Please
go ahead.
INNER
CITY PRESS:
Sure, thanks a
lot. I was
looking at the
UN section of
it
– I think it’s
around page 43
– and I just –
I noticed that
for the
mission –
special
political
missions in
Afghanistan
and
Libya and also
the mission on
Ebola, they’re
all kind of
lumped
together at
$42 million. I
mean, it may
have something
to do with the
way the UN has
funded them,
but can you –
is there any
breakout of
that, and
particularly
this – given
that the UN
mission in
Libya is
actually no
longer present
on the ground
in the
country, is
that –
do you expect
that number to
go up or go
down?
SENIOR
STATE
DEPARTMENT
OFFICIAL ONE:
So we believe
that that
funding level
is probably
going to stay
constant over
the FY 2016
period. The
funding levels
that we’ve got
for the
political
missions are
for a
six-month
assessment for
Afghanistan.
And we believe
that that
funding level
then will
catch up the
second six
months, so
you’ll
be seeing a
lag on the
overall
payment there.
Other
questioners on
the embargoed
call asked
about the
Green Climate
Fund, Moldova
and Georgia,
migration and
the so-called
Cromnibus or
Continuing
Resolution /
Omnibus, which
has provisions
impacting
funding to the
UN based on
protecting
whistleblowers
(dubious) and
combating
sexual
exploitation
and abuse
(same), as
well as on funding
to the
Palestinian
Authority.
We are digging
into each of
these. Watch
this site.
, 
