Washington is still reported to owe the intergovernmental organization billions of dollars in mandatory funding
The US has made a $160 million payment toward the over $4 billion it owes the UN, marking the first contribution since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The UN is grappling with a growing financial crisis, even as the US president seeks to have his Gaza Board of Peace “oversee” the global organization. Several experts have already cautioned that the initiative could weaken the UN.
Washington’s newest contribution is a “partial payment of its past dues,” a UN spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.
The sum represents a tiny portion of the $2.19 billion the US is said to owe for the UN’s regular budget and the $2.4 billion it owes for current and past peacekeeping operations. The US accounts for approximately 95% of the overdue payments to the UN’s regular budget, Reuters reported the organization’s spokesperson as saying.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the organization is confronting a looming crisis that could result in “imminent financial collapse,” unless member states begin making mandatory payments or the UN overhauls its financial regulations.
As the UN’s largest contributor, the US reduced voluntary funding for several UN programs and slashed aid spending last year as part of Trump’s ‘America First’ policy shift. In December, Washington committed $2 billion to the UN’s humanitarian programs, cautioning the organization to “adapt or die.” For context, the US contributed $14.1 billion in 2024.
In a Thursday speech, Trump once again labeled the UN as ineffective.
“The United Nations… is going to be far stronger, and the ‘Board of Peace’ is going to essentially be keeping an eye on the United Nations to ensure it functions properly,” he stated at the inaugural Board of Peace event in Washington.
The board would assist the struggling UN “money-wise” and ensure it remains “viable,” he added.
The Board of Peace was created to guide Gaza’s stabilization in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. UN experts, though, have contended that oversight from such a body is “reminiscent of colonial practices,” because it is led by Trump instead of being under transparent multilateral or UN governance.