UN awaits clarity on how much of its $4B dues the US will pay
The United Nations warned that it is waiting to see how much of the almost $4 billion in arrears the United States intends to pay and when the cash will arrive, as the world body confronts an escalating liquidity crisis that could disrupt core operations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the body is at a financial breaking point, threatening member states that if the organisation does not see structural reform or timely payments, it could face an unprecedented collapse in funding. The message was widely interpreted as being directed primarily at Washington, which is by far the largest debtor to the organisation.
U.S. Dominates Global Arrears Burden
According to UN authorities, currently, the United States owes $2.196 billion to the regular operations budget of the UN, including $767 million for this year, along with unpaid obligations to pay $1.8 billion for UN peacekeeping operations, which are likely to increase because these are continually accumulating.
The sheer figure of the debt is unprecedented as it is observed that about 95% of arrears to the UN’s regular budget are contributed by the USA, thereby underpinning the strong bargaining power enjoyed by the USA. Venezuela, for example, which is the second highest debtor, owes about $38 million, a small fraction of the amount owed to the United
Moreover, under UN regulations, Venezuela has even been stripped of the right to vote in the General Assembly meeting because of its failure to pay dues for two consecutive years, but no such mechanism appears to be in place to check the most powerful country.
Uncertainty Over U.S. Payment Commitments
The US mission to the UN confirmed that the ambassador, Mr. Mike Waltz, has made the indication that the Donald Trump administration is set to make a “significant down payment” on the debt soon, though the actual amount is not clear. A UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said that the SG and the top USunny leaders have been working with the top US leaders to obtain the actual amount.
On the other hand, Guterres said that “without immediate injections of cash, the UN’s regular operating budget for 2023 could be exhausted by mid-year, prompting a hiring freeze, programme cuts, and potentially even delays to humanitarian, peacekeeping, and development operations around the world.”
Trump Administration’s Multilateral Retreat
This latest funding crisis emerges in the context of a larger US retreat from global institutions. President Trump has repeatedly attacked the United Nations for its ineffectiveness and for being at variance with US interests. In fact, the US paid nothing to the UN in 2025 and withdrew from various bodies such as the World Health Organization, UNESCO, and many other UN bodies to which it withdrew funds.
This is similar behavior to previous American skepticism over multilateralism but represents one of the most extreme strategies of financial disengagement yet seen, sparking the interest of diplomats and other policy analysts globally over the health of the current global governance regime.
Broader Implications for Global Governance
Close to 60 nations have honored their yearly contributions to the UN by the deadline of February 8th. This only serves to highlight the contrast between the world’s largest economy and many of the less developed nations who are managing to meet their obligations despite their economic situation. There are fears that the US arrears could result in a funding crisis because other nations may also be tempted to default on their payments.
While some critics believe that the chronic underfunding by the major powers undermines the viability of the United Nations, transforming it into a geopolitical arena in which financial power takes the place of consensus-based diplomacy, the entire world is awaiting the next move by the administration of the United States, as the financial viability of the United Nations is increasingly in doubt.
