EU Presidency Statement - Scale of Assessments and the request of Liberia for a waiver

Mr. Chairman,

The EU made a clear statement on exemptions under Article 19 last Monday. We stated, as we did many times before, our deep concern for the neglect of the procedural rules for seeking exemptions. Member States need to comply with the time limits and procedures set in resolution 54/237-C. They are not simple sentences on a sheet of paper that can be regarded or discarded at will. Otherwise we cannot satisfy ourselves that each country is being treated equally and fairly. We set these rules for ourselves, and we owe it to ourselves to abide by them.

Mr. Chairman,

That being said, the rule on exemptions under article 19 is meant for those Member States who, due to circumstances beyond their control, are unable to meet their financial obligations. And we recognize the very difficult situation facing the people of Liberia. Although we think their late request for an exemption could have been prevented, we agree - again reluctantly - to their request for a waiver, and to add them to the resolution in front of us.

However, just as we stated in the case of Georgia, we now fully expect Liberia to be aware of the proper procedures. As such, should Liberia be unable to meet its financial commitments to the UN in 2004-2005, and again seek exemption from Article 19, we expect Liberia to follow the established procedure and make their case before the Committee on Contributions in June 2005, where it can be thoroughly assessed.

Mr. Chairman,

Many statements in the General Debate during the Ministerial Week mentioned the need for a rules-based multilateral system. If we set rules and procedures, and then choose to ignore them, we undermine the fundamental principles on which our cooperation is based. We risk losing our trust in the system. Mr. Chairman, the EU strongly believes in a rules-based multilateral system. The statements in the Plenary did not only refer to what some may call 'higher politics', those statements referred to this committee as well.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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• EU Presidency Statement - Scale of Assessments (18/10/2004)
• EU Presidency Statement - Scale of Assessments - specifically exemptions under Article 19 of the Charter of the UN (4/10/2004)