The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved a budget for the UN Secretariat’s 2024 operations, following deliberations in the UNGA’s Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) that concluded on 22 December 2023. The UNGA also established an account to finance the Organization’s peacebuilding fund.
The regular budget for 2024 will be USD 3.59 billion – nearly USD 300 million more than the USD 3.3 billion figure unveiled by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in October 2023.
Having considered the report of the Fifth Committee on the ‘Proposed programme budget for 2024’ (A/78/662), the UNGA adopted the budget on 22 December by a recorded vote of 136 in favor, 2 against (Australia, Israel), and 22 abstaining. During the main part of the 78th session, the Fifth Committee met from 2 October to 22 December, convening 25 plenary meetings and numerous informal consultations.
In addition, the UNGA adopted almost USD 50 million in additional funding for decisions taken by the Human Rights Council and decided to establish the Peacebuilding Account – a dedicated multi-year special account to finance the Peacebuilding Fund. It also approved resources for 2024 to support “the deepening of its global communications work” in four of its five official languages – Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Spanish – by establishing 20 general temporary assistance (GTA) positions that include editors, press officers, and assistants working in the four languages.