The US has paid about US$160 million of the nearly US$4 billion it owes the UN, the UN said on Thursday, and US President Donald Trump promised more money to the financially strapped world organization.
The Trump administration’s payment last week is earmarked for the UN’s regular operating budget, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
The UN has said the US owes US$2.196 billion to its regular budget, including US$767 million for this year, as well as US$1.8 billion to a separate budget for the far-flung UN peacekeeping operations.
Photo: EPA
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late last month warned that the world body faces “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the US.
He said in a letter to all member nations that cash for the regular budget could run out by July, which could dramatically affect UN operations.
UN officials have said 95 percent of the overdue payments to the UN’s regular budget are from the US.
The disclosure of the US payment came as Trump convened the first meeting of the Board of Peace, a new initiative initially meant to oversee the Gaza ceasefire, but whose wider ambitions under Trump many see as an attempt to rival the UN Security Council’s role in preventing and ending conflict around the world.
Trump has said the UN has not lived up to its potential and has withdrawn the US from UN organizations, including the WHO and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens of others.
At the Board of Peace meeting on Thursday in Washington, Trump was much more positive than he has been in the past about the future of the UN, which was established on the ashes of World War II.
He said his administration was going to be working “very closely” with the UN, adding: “Someday, I won’t be here — the United Nations will be.”
Trump said that the Board of Peace “is going to almost be looking over the United Nations,” strengthening it and making sure its facilities are good and it runs properly.
“They need help, and they need help moneywise,” the president said, never mentioning that the US’ failure to pay its dues is a key reason for the UN’s financial crisis.
“We’re going to help them moneywise, and we’re going to make sure the United Nations is viable,” Trump said. “And I think it’s going to eventually live up to its potential. That will be a big day.”
Dujarric last week said that Guterres has been in touch with US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz “for quite some time” and that the UN’s controller also has been in touch with US officials about the arrears.
The UN said 55 countries paid their annual dues for this year by the Feb. 8 due date.
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