PAYING U.N. DEBTS

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30094, 30 March 1963, Page 11

PAYING U.N. DEBTS

Instalment Proposal (N.Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright) NEW YORK, March 28. United Nations members deeply in debt on their Congo and Middle East dues should be invited to pay off their arrears on the instalment plan, six African, Asian and Latin-American countries have proposed. An informed source said the proposal was introduced by Argentina, Brazil, Cameroun India. Nigeria and Pakistan ait yesterday’s meeting of the 21-nation working group which has been trying to evolve a formula for meeting the peace-keeping costs which have plunged the organisation into financial crisis. The working group—which was asked to table its formula for consideration by a United Nations special session opening on May 14—is expected next week to report deadlock on how to establish a scale of payments for further peacekeeping expenses. Yesterday’s proposal was limited to the problem of picking up the arrears. Britain has proposed a 50 per cent, discount rate in the future for less-developed countries The United States has rejected this proposal, saying that backsliding nations must pay up their debts before it considers paying more than its assessed share.

Seven less-developed countries—including the six who yesterday put forward the debt-collecting plan— have proposed a sliding-scale system for future payments.