Cut in US dues to UN still alive in Congress

UNITED NATIONS: An influential UN congressman reminded UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other officials on Friday that he was pushing for a cut in UN dues to the world body unless sweeping reforms were enacted soon. “I think that the House has a lot less enthusiasm for the UN than exists outside the House,” said Rep Henry Hyde, an Illinois Republican and chairman of the House International Relations Committee. Hyde and Tom Lantos of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, visited Annan and a group of ambassadors to press for reforms. The House has passed legislation, despite objections from the State Department, to cut US payments to the United Nations by 50 percent unless a series of reforms are adopted, mainly by the 191-member General Assembly. The United States pays about 22 percent of the United Nations’ annual administrative budget, excluding peacekeeping and aid agencies. Democrats are opposed to the dues cut and have left the issue to the discretion of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is opposed to Hyde’s bill. reuters

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