“We will no longer let the generosity of the Americans be taken advantage”

UN slashes budget by $286 m.The UN has approved a $286 million cut in its annual budget for the next year, a 5 per cent “historic reduction in spending” that the US said it had negotiated.
Taking credit for the budget cut, America’s Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said she negotiated a reduction of over $285 million off the 2016-2017 budget. “In addition to these cost savings, we reduced the UN’s bloated management and support functions, bolstered support for key US priorities throughout the world, and instilled more discipline and accountability in the UN system,” she said. “We will no longer let the generosity of the Americans be taken advantage of or remain unchecked. This is a big step in the right direction.”

The General Assembly approved the regular budget of $5.397 billion for 2018-2019, the UN said. The amount sets the budget level around $286 million (5 per cent) below the final approved level for 2016-2017, and $193 million below the initially proposed budget level for 2018-2019, including all “add-ons”. The additional reductions come mainly from across-the-board cuts in non-post resources for most Departments and Offices, including the Special Political Missions, the UN said.