The United Nations budget for 2024, which is estimated at US$3.59 billion, has been approved by the General Assembly, News About Nigeria reports.
The Office of the President of the General Assembly disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, stating that the Assembly also approved the establishment of a special account to finance the organisation’s peacebuilding fund.
The statement also disclosed that the Peacebuilding Fund is the leading instrument of the United Nations and will be used to invest in prevention and peacebuilding efforts while also supporting joint responses that will in turn address critical peacebuilding opportunities and connect development, humanitarian, human rights, and peacebuilding pillars.
Recall that the Secretary-General presented a US$3.3 billion budget proposal to the General Assembly in October, stating to delegates at the Assembly’s main budget committee that “the role of the United Nations has never been more vital.
The assembly also noted that it would establish the Peacebuilding Account, which is a multi-year special account that has been dedicated as a modality to finance the Peacebuilding Fund.
It added that it has approved US$50 million of assessed contributions per annum to fund the account, starting January 1, 2025, according to the statement.
The Assembly further adopted a resolution that included provisions that have been made to enable the coverage of UN official intergovernmental meetings in Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish languages, to expand and become more effective.
Speaking also in a statement, the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, applauded the adoption, stating that he has repeatedly called for a new generation of peace support operations, led by African partners, with guaranteed funding, including through UN-assessed contributions, to respond to the peace and security challenges on the continent.
