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University Daily Kansan Wednesday, March 27.1963
Unpaid Bills Put UN Deep in Debt
By Bruce W. Munn
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. — (UPI)
—The United Nations is like a man who has been plunged deep into debt by his own family.
Because it can't collect what it has coming from 75 per cent of the members of the official family, the United Nations expects to be $127 million in the red by June. Its bills, levied on the members but uncollected, total $202.75 million.
Despite its bleak balance sheet, the UN's future as a world diplomatic enterprise seems secure. But its peace-keeping operations — such as those in the Congo and the Middle East — are in jeopardy.
TO PREVENT a closing of UN peace machinery, a working group of 21 countries is seeking in closed meetings to find a formula for future financing. The General Assembly will meet in special session May 14 to debate ways to finance peace-keeping operations yet to come.
Half of the amount currently carried on the UN books as due from its 110 members, a total of $100,457,541, is owed for the Congo operations and the maintenance of the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) on the Israeli-Egyptian border.
The Russians owe a total of $54,-
001.456.
THE BULK of this crippling deficit is blamed on the Soviet Union and its Communist partners. But a great deal of the deficit is owed by Latin American and Arab countries.
Moscow's argument is that the countries responsible for the situation requiring the peace-keeping outlay should pay the cost. This attitude is shared by France, Belgium and South Africa, among others, in the case of the Congo, and by the Arab countries and other states in the case of the Middle East.
LAST SUMMER, the World Court said in an advisory opinion that peace-keeping costs are legally binding obligations on all UN members. The General Assembly enacted this opinion into UN law, making such costs part of the budget.
The UN Charter provides that a member state "shall" lose its vote if the amount of its arrears to the organization equals or exceeds the amount due from it for the preceding two full years.
Right now, some 10 countries are at the danger mark. Most of them are Communist, but some are Latin American and there is always the problem of Nationalist China, which, assessed on the basis of the mainland population it claims sovereignty over, is $15,865,355 in arrears.
PRESIDENT KENEDY has said the United States will insist on all UN members paying their dues and challenges may be made to two or more members-Hungary and Cuba, as stand-out political sore thumbs, are mentioned — when the Assembly meets in May. This will bring challenges from the Communists against China and Bolivia, among others, but Washington is said to be ready to let any country in arrears pay up or fall by the wayside.
Eight underdeveloped countries recently came up with a new sliding scale arrangement for financing peace-keeping operations. A proposal submitted by Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Cameroun, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United Arab Republic called for only the first $5 million of such future costs to be assessed against all 110 members on their regular budgetary scale.
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There would be, under this plan, a 50 per cent reduction for underdeveloped countries on the next $20 million expenses, 25 per cent on the next $50 million and so on. Peacekeeping costs over a $100 million ceiling would be met through further negotiation.
The aim of the plan is to put the major part of such costs against the developed countries and, especially, against the five major powers who hold permanent, veto-wielding seats in the Security Council.
THE UNITED States recently served warning that it will pay its assessed share of 32.02 per cent of future peace-keeping costs and not a penny more unless other countries pick up their part of the burden.
There is little hope at this moment of forcing Russia and its Communist partners to pay, but most of them will not be in danger of losing their votes until 1965.
Secretary General Thant appointed Eugene R. Black, former president of the World Bank, to head a worldwide collections campaign.
U. S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson has gone to Europe on a diplomatic tour that will include an attempt to persuade President Charles de Gaulle to pay up the $14,186.015 France owes for the Congo operation (the French religiously pay their other UN debts) and to talk Belgium into paying its overall debt.
ACTUALLY, only 27 countries owe nothing at all to the United Nations, exclusive of their 1963 assessments.
Only 32 of the 110 members are paid up on their Congo assessments and only 46 on their contributions for UNEF.
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UP Candidates To Speak Tonight
Charles Whitman and Douglas Hall. University Party's candidates for president and vice-president of the student body, will address the final meeting of the UP general assembly before Spring elections, at 7:30 tonight in the Pine Room of the Kansas Union.
James Fields, Lawrence junior, and Kay Ellen Consolver, Wichita junior, were chosen co-KU-Y presidents for next year.
KU-Y Elects New Officers
Other new officers are co-vei-presidents, Lacy Banks, Kansas City sophomore, and Barbara Bauerle, Harlan, Iowa, sophomore; co-secretarys, Robert Enberg, McPherson sophomore, and Karen Stevenson, Wichita junior, and co-treasurers, Richard Solum, Leawood freshman, and Sharon Roy, Kansas City sophomore.
The officers will begin interviews for the executive board and cabinet within the next few months.
About 31 faculty members will host the second series of informal student-faculty coffees March 31
Faculty Members To Host Coffee
The coffees are sponsored by the Associated Women Students.
Each of the 31 faculty members will have six or seven women students as guests in his home that evening.
Betty Dwyer, Wichita junior, who is head of the AWS student-faculty relations committee, said the purpose of these coffees is to perpetuate a closer relationship between students and faculty members.
AWS to Expand Information on Jobs
Post-graduate job information will be added to the Associated Women's Students' AWS summer employment files.
Barbara Edwards, Fort Leavenworth junior, and chairman of the job opportunities committee, said survey sheets had been distributed to the various living groups to determine interest in a job opportunities newsletter containing information on post-graduation employment procedures.
ON THE SURVEY sheet women will indicate their interests concerning application letters, preparation for job interviews, location of specific jobs and placement bureaus, and pre-graduation job planning.
The committee plans to begin the newsletter this semester.
Employment opportunities range from government or social work to fashion modeling and resort work.
The committee has placed summer employment information on file in the Dean of Women's office. The files, based on questionnaires filled out by women students last fall, include types of jobs, salaries, locations, and application information.
Miss Edwards and Susan Cole, St.
Dinner and Reception Convenes Mock UN
The Model UN will open with a banquet and diplomatic reception at 6:30 p.m., Thursday in the Eldridge Hotel. Thomas M. Noone, information officer of the World Bank, will be the guest speaker at the dinner.
Frederick Boland, head of the United Nations Security Council, will also attend the dinner and reception. He will address the Model UN convocation at 9:30 a.m., Friday.
Tickets for the banquet are on sale for $1.75 in the KU-Y Office.
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John sophomore, and Kala Stroup assistant Dean of Women, attended the Big Eight Panhellenic Conference held Saturday at the University of Oklahoma.
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The discussion topics for the annual meeting were Greek ideals, judicial boards, Interfraternity Council-Panhellenic relations, and pledge guidance.
Miss Edwards said the Interfraternity Council also held its meeting Saturday. Donald K. Alderson, dean of men, addressed a combined audience of the two groups.
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