United Nations A/RES/56/243 General Assembly Distr.: General 31 January 2002 Fifty-sixth session Agenda item 125 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [on the report of the Fifth Committee (A/56/728)] 56/243. Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations The General Assembly, Having considered the report of the Committee on Contributions, 1 1. Recalls its resolution 55/5 A of 26 October 2000; 2. Requests the Secretary-General to update the information contained in the annexes to his report on the application of Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations;2 3. Recognizes that multi-year payment plans, subject to careful formulation, could be helpful in allowing Member States to demonstrate their commitment under Article 19 of the Charter to pay their arrears, thereby facilitating consideration of applications for exemption by the Committee on Contributions, and requests the Secretary-General to propose guidelines for such multi-year payment plans through the Committee on Contributions; 4. Recognizes also that it would be helpful for the Secretariat to be equipped with input from Member States on a schedule of payments or other information about their intentions to clear their accumulated arrears, and encourages Member States in a position to do so to provide such information; 5. Urges all Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without imposing conditions, in order to avoid the difficulties being experienced by the United Nations; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to propose or consider further measures to encourage Member States in arrears to reduce and eventually pay their arrears, and to report thereon to the General Assembly during the main part of its fifty-seventh session for subsequent consideration at its resumed fifty-seventh session. 92nd plenary meeting 24 December 2001 _______________ 1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 11 (A/56/11); ibid., Supplement No. 11A and corrigendum (A/56/11/Add.1 and Corr.1). 2 A/55/789. 01 49645