The primary responsibility for making recommendations to the General Assembly for the assessment of contributions of member states of the United Nations rests in the Committee on Contributions, a fourteen man body elected for staggered three-year terms of office by the General Assembly. Under its terms of reference the Committee is required to apportion expenses "broadly according to capacity to pay" and in the measurement of "capacity to pay" the comparative estimates of the national income are considered prima facie to be the fairest guide. However, other factors are taken into account, including comparative income per head of the population, temporary dislocation of national economies arising out of the Second World War, and the ability of members to secure foreign currency.

2. In the first scale recommended in 1947 the Committee on Contributions pointed out the extreme difficulties arising in obtaining reliable current statistics and evolved, therefore, a formula based on the best available pre-war statistics adjusted to take into consideration war-time dislocation and the other factors mentioned in its terms of reference. In this scale the United States would have been assessed 49.89%, while Canada would have paid 3.10%. However, the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly decided that, as a matter of sound policy, "in normal times" no one government should be required to contribute more than one-third of the total budget and that, under existing circumstances, the United States' contribution should be set at 39.89%. This figure was accepted by the United States on condition that the scale would be revalued, in succeeding years, on the basis of new evidence which would become available. Accordingly, 39.89% became, in effect, the first "ceiling" on the scale of assessments. The Canadian contribution under this scale was set at 3.35%.

3. Since that time the scale of assessments has been reconsidered annually both in the Committee on Contributions and in the General Assembly. Each year, despite the fact that the Assembly has called upon member states to assist the Committee in its work by the provision of adequate and reliable statistics, the Committee has been seriously handicapped by the lack of such information. Accordingly, apart from minor changes to provide for the admission of new members, there has been no significant modification of the original scale of assessment. In 1948, however, Canada secured recognition of the principle that the per capita contribution of any member shall not exceed the per capita rate of the member making the largest contribution.

4. A table? showing the scale of assessments for the 1950 budget is appended to this memorandum. The ten highest contributors have been indicated in red. It might be noted that the Committee has recommended that the 1950 scale should be the same as that for 1949 with minor modifications affecting the contributions of Sweden and the United States. The Canadian assessment remains at 3.2%, at which figure it was set in 1948 after the admission of several new members.

5. Thus it will be seen that from the first Canada has been one of the major contributors to the United Nations budget. This has been due not only to the fact that the basis on which the Committee on Contributions determines "capacity to pay" automatically places Canada high (seventh) among the member states, but also because Canadian statistical and other information provides an immediate and reliable reflection of changes in the Canadian economic situation. Therefore, in contrast with certain other member states whose true "capacity to pay" is not apparent, the Committee on Contributions is always in a position to recommend adjustments in Canada's percentage contribution.

6. In order to safeguard the Canadian Government against unwarranted increases in the Canadian contribution, the Canadian Delegation has generally supported the United States ceiling proposals and has expressed extreme disappointment with member states who have not yet provided information which would have permitted the Committee on Contributions to make definitive recommendations for revision of the scales. In the Canadian view it was time to recognize the improvement in the economic position of many governments such as the countries of Eastern Europe, which had been given special consideration when the original scales were established, and certain Latin American states which seem considerably under-assessed at the present.

7. The Canadian position might therefore be sumrmrized as follows: the Canadian Government is convinced that it is now paying more than its reasonable and equitable share of the total United Nations budget. Therefore, Canada is not prepared to have this share increased whether this results from adjustments in the contributions of other member states or from adjustments of the ceiling. Nevertheless, Canada does wish to see an equitable and sound scale arrived at as soon as possible. For that reason, if any proposals directed toward achieving equity were to be introduced, the Canadian Delegation would support them, provided always that the new scale did not require Canada to assume a disproportionate share of the burden.

J.W. HOLMES

¹Note marginale:/Marginal note:
Read to E[xtemal] A[ffairs] Comm[ittee] by Mr Heeney 23 Nov 49 HO M[oran]