US to pay $725m towards massive UN debt

Proposed transfer amounts to less than 20% of Washington’s arrears

WASHINGTON/GENEVA:

The Trump administration has informed Congress of plans to pay $725 million to the United Nations, a move that could provide temporary relief to the cash-strapped organisation but represents less than 20% of the billions of dollars Washington owes in outstanding dues.

The proposed allocation was outlined in an August 4 State Department notification to Congress reviewed by Reuters. A US official said any payment would be contingent on continued reforms at the United Nations and confirmed that no funds had been transferred as of Friday.

The proposed payment comes ahead of an expected address by President Donald Trump to the UN General Assembly in New York next month, as his administration continues to press the global body to cut costs and reform its operations.

The United Nations has warned of an increasingly severe financial crisis. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this year that the organisation faced “imminent financial collapse” because of unpaid contributions from member states, prompting substantial budget cuts.

“Over the past six months, the United States has achieved historic reforms across the UN — reforms long considered impossible — including the first real budget cut in UN history, resulting in nearly one billion in cuts,” a State Department official said.

The $725 million payment would be less than 20% of the more than $4 billion the UN said in May that Washington owed, although the US disputes that figure and says it is significantly lower after accounting for payments already made.

The United States is the UN’s biggest contributor, ahead of China. Under the Trump administration, however, Washington has refused to make some mandatory payments to the organisation’s regular and peacekeeping budgets while sharply reducing voluntary funding for UN agencies with separate budgets.