A/RES/53/18 B
Page 2
Reaffirming that the costs of the Mission are expenses of the Organization to be borne by Member States
in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling its previous decisions regarding the fact that, in order to meet the expenditures caused by the
Mission, a different procedure is required from that applied to meet expenditures of the regular budget of the
United Nations,
Taking into account the fact that the economically more developed countries are in a position to make
relatively larger contributions and that the economically less developed countries have a relatively limited capacity
to contribute towards such an operation,
Bearing in mind the special responsibilities of the States permanent members of the Security Council, as
indicated in General Assembly resolution 1874 (S-IV) of 27 June 1963, in the financing of such operations,
Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributions have been made to the Mission,
Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide the Mission with the necessary financial resources to enable
it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,
1. Takes note of the status of contributions to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western
Sahara as at 30 April 1999, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of 59.3 million United States
dollars, representing 17 per cent of the total assessed contributions from the inception of the Mission to the period
ending 31 March 1999, notes that some 6 per cent of the membership has paid its assessed contributions in full,
and urges all other Member States concerned, in particular those in arrears, to ensure payment of their outstanding
assessed contributions;
2. Expresses concern about the financial situation with regard to peacekeeping activities, in particular
as regards the reimbursement of troop contributors, which bear additional burdens owing to overdue payments
by Member States of their assessments;
3.
Expresses its appreciation to those Member States which have paid their assessed contributions in full;
4. Urges all other Member States to make every possible effort to ensure payment of their assessed
contributions to the Mission in full and on time;
5. Takes note of the observations, and endorses the recommendations contained in the report of the
Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;3
6. Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary action to ensure that the Mission is administered
with a maximum of efficiency and economy;
7. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order to reduce the cost of employing General Service staff,
to continue efforts to recruit local staff for the Mission against General Service posts, commensurate with the
requirements of the Mission;
8. Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara the amount of 52,124,911 dollars gross (48,173,311 dollars net) for the operation of the Mission
for the period from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000, inclusive of the amount of 2,593,381 dollars for the support
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