'Unprecedented expansion' not matched by financial support.

An "unprecedented expansion" of UN peacekeeping and peacemaking responsibilities had generated optimism among Member States, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reported on 14 March. That optimism was reflected in their support for peace-keeping operations and in the "greatly enlarged circle of States actively participating in them, providing unprecedented levels of personnel, equipment and other facilities", he stressed.

Regrettably, the same level of support had "not extended to the payment of financial contributions" assessed on Member States to meet UN peace-keeping expenses, the Secretary-General lamented.

More than a year ago, a "chasm had developed" between the Organization's tasks and the financial means provided to it. "Today, this chasm is wider than ever before", Mr. Boutros-Ghali stated (A/48/403-S/26450). He was particularly concerned that funds were routinely withheld for long periods of time, even after a peacekeeping operation had been established, its budget approved, perhaps even after troops were contributed to it. That led to "delays and makeshift arrangements", resulting in "inefficiencies and, very often, increased costs".

Also, troops assigned for UN duty had to be fully operational on arrival in their area of operation, and that must remain the responsibility of each Member State, the Secretary-General stressed. The UN should not "take upon itself the task, for which it does not now have the capacity", of providing the troops with essential equipment.

On the other hand, troop-contributing Governments had a right to expect timely reimbursement from the Organization, which had not always been possible because of the shortfall in assessed contributions. As a result, a number of Member States found it difficult to participate in peace-keeping operations, Mr. Boutros-Ghali stated.

He was also concerned by this development, not only because it limited the UN capacity for action, but also because "it erodes the Organization at its core, which is the compact among Member States to unite their strength and take effective collective measures to maintain international peace and security".

Although the Secretary-General shared in the general consensus that the UN should be given the "capacity to direct and support its peacekeeping operations worldwide and around the clock", he was against--on grounds of efficiency and economy--suggestions to establish within the UN a "large general staff with spare capacity to cope with peak workloads that might arise in the future", Mr. Boutros-Ghali stated. Instead, he had opted for a "rather lean staff within the Department of Peace-keeping Operations, in conjunction with an appropriate division of labour with other departments".

The optimism of a year ago had been diminished as a result of difficulties in the field, especially in Somalia and former Yugoslavia, the Secretary-General observed. However, the issues of international peace and security were "usually complex", and it was "only realistic to consider in peace-keeping the possibility of setbacks or even failure", he stressed. Nevertheless, when setbacks occurred, the UN operations, as well as the Organization's credibility, became "politically vulnerable". it could be argued that the UN had overextended itself in peace-keeping" since it maintained 17 such operations and a number of other political missions in the field, and the Secretary-General had himself long felt that it suffered from "excessive expectations".

The response to such a state of affairs "cannot be to play it safe or to retreat to inaction", Mr. Boutros-Ghali stressed. The UN must pursue the objective of building a peaceful international order "with patience and perseverance to fulfill the obligations and the promise embodied in the Charter".