UN liquidity crisis: Rights groups call on States to #PayYourDues

The failure of States to pay their membership dues to the United Nations (UN) in full and on time is causing a financial liquidity crisis for the organisation. According to the UN Secretary-General, the UN faced the highest level of arrears in its history at the end of 2023, the impacts of which are being felt by victims and survivors of human rights violations and abuses. As of 15 April 2024, only 100 UN member States have paid their dues in full. Human rights groups call on all member States to pay their contributions in line with their legal obligations under the UN Charter (article 17, paragraph 2)

The UN as a whole, and the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights specifically, have deliberated various measures and proposals to conserve cash, including through freezing the recruitment of staff to mechanisms created by States, and postponements and partial fulfilment of key mandated activities. We remind States that what is being traded off are priorities brought to the UN by human rights defenders and affected populations and agreed to by governments themselves. On the global level, as repeatedly highlighted by the UN Secretary-General, the international human rights system is indispensable to ensure stability by promoting conflict prevention and sustainable development. 

The cuts to Special Procedures’ activities, including limitations to the number of country visits and the cancellation of the annual meeting, severely restrict the possibilities for rights holders to directly engage with what has typically been one of the UN’s most accessible mechanisms. It also reduces mandate holders’ access to situations on the ground and the engagement with authorities at the domestic level for positive human rights change and to promote the rights of victims and rights holders. 

Decisions forced by the liquidity crisis, among them the announcement of some treaty bodies to cancel pre-sessional working groups and threats to further cancellations including of sessions, are of great concern. Not only would crucial assessments of compliance with the treaties be put on hold, but it would also lead to increased backlogs of both state-party reports for review and exacerbate existing backlogs of individual communications. Attention also needs to be paid to ensuring increased and continuous funding for accessibility for persons with disabilities to allow for their effective participation in all UN treaty bodies.

Investigative mechanisms created to respond to mass atrocities in places including Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, Iran and Israel/OPT, particularly in supporting criminal prosecutions of perpetrators, are already or will be severely hindered in their ability to collect witness and victim testimonies and first-hand accounts through cuts in travel budgets as well as staffing. Many such mechanisms were created following sustained calls for accountability from affected communities themselves, and barriers to their functioning will not only make accountability more remote but will damage the UN’s credibility in addressing such atrocities.

There are real risks that the cash flow crisis will be instrumentalised to impose unnecessary restrictions, particularly on civil society access and participation at the UN. Online and hybrid modalities for participation do not require heavy financial investments, and the gains are meaningful, especially considering factors such as environmental impact, costs of travel, visa restrictions, accessibility for persons with disabilities and the increased risks of reprisals against individuals engaging with the UN. 

Finally, the human rights pillar of the UN remains significantly underfunded, receiving only 4% of the regular UN budget. By exacerbating these deficiencies, the UN Member States are sending a clear message that human rights and their implementation are optional and not inalienable. Resolving the cash flow problems this year will not meaningfully or sustainably address the financial challenges of the system’s human rights bodies, mechanisms and processes that are so important to rights holders.  

We call on all States to:

1. Pay their dues to the UN in full and without delay, both now and in future years;
2. In their deliberations on cost-cutting measures, ensure that all stakeholders are consulted and that a victim-centred approach is taken when considering prioritisation for funding; and
3. Strengthen the human rights pillar of the UN by substantially increasing its regular budget. 

We invite OHCHR to regularly provide civil society with a detailed, accurate and comprehensive picture of the crisis and its impact, as the situation evolves. 

Signatories:

1. 4Métrica
2. AbibiNsroma Foundation
3. Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights
4. ActionAid International
5. African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies
6. Albinism Society of Eswatini (ASESWA)
7. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
8. Amnesty International
9. Anti-Slavery International
10. Ararteko-Ombudsman of the Basque Country
11. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
12. Asociación Aquarius Supervivientes
13. Asociación La Ruta del Clima
14. Association du Développement et de la Promotion du Développement et de la Promotion de Droits de l’Homme
15. Association for the Prevention of Torture
16. AsyLex
17. BIO VISION AFRICA (BiVA)
18. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
19. CAN Latin America (CANLA)
20. Caribbean Association for Youth Development (CAYD)
21. Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
22. Center for Reproductive Rights
23. Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago
24. Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment & Management (CECIC)
25. Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR-Centre)
26. Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD), Mongolia
27. Centre interdisciplinaire des droits de l’enfant – UCLouvain
28. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS)
29. Centro de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos – Promsex
30. Child Rights Connect
31. Child Rights International Network (CRIN)
32. Children’s Rights Alliance for England, part of Just for Kids Law
33. CHOICE for youth and sexuality
34. CIVICUS
35. CNCD-11.11.11 (Belgium)
36. Colectivo de Derechos de Infancia y Adolescencia de Argentina
37. Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP)
38. Comité/Club UNESCO Universitaire pour la Lutte Contre la Drogue et autres pandémies (CLUCOD)
39. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
40. Conectas Direitos Humanos
41. Convention against Enforced Disappearances Initiative (CEDI)
42. Coordination des ONG pour les droits de l’enfant
43. Defence for Children International
44. Endorois Welfare Council (EWC)
45. Equality Now
46. European Network on Statelessness
47. FIAN International
48. Franciscans International
49. Fundación Cónclave Investigativo de las Ciencias Jurídicas Y Sociales (CIJYS)
50. Geneva Human Rights Platform
51. Global Detention Project
52. Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
53. Greek Helsinki Monitor
54. Green Development Advocates (GDA)
55. Human Rights Defenders Network- Sierra Leone
56. Human Rights Watch
57. Humanists International
58. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion
59. International Commission of Jurists
60. International Disability Alliance
61. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
62. International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
63. International Play Association – Canada
64. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
65. International Service for Human Rights
66. Irídia – Center for the Defence of Human Rights
67. Just Fair
68. Justiça Global
69. Kindernothilfe e.V.
70. Legal Literacy – Nepal
71. LGBT CENTRE MONGOLIA
72. MENA Rights Group
73. Minority Rights Group – Greece
74. Namibia Diverse Women’s Association (NDWA)
75. NGO for Children Confederation
76. Omega Research Foundation
77. Oyu Tolgoi Watch
78. Plan International
79. Privacy International
80. PROMSEX, Centro de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos
81. Psychological Responsiveness NGO, Mongolia
82. Rede Nacional de Mulheres Negras no Combate á Violência
83. Réseau des ONG ACTIVES pour le Contrôle du Tabac en Côte d’Ivoire (ROCTA-CI)
84. Réseau des Organisations de la Société Civile pour l’Observation et le Suivi des Elections en Guinée – ROSE
85. Rivers without Boundaries Coalition
86. Save the Children
87. Sayanaa Wellbeing Association
88. Sexual Rights Initiative
89. Sounds of the Silenced
90. Southern Africa Region Climate Action Network
91. Tanzania Child Rights Forum
92. TB-Net
93. Terre des Hommes International Federation
94. The Oil Refinery Residents Association
95. Transbantu Association Zambia
96. UCLouvain
97. Unen khatamj NGO
98. Universal Rights Group
99. West African Human Rights Defenders’ Network
100. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)