The Trump administration has initiated the transfer of $725 million to the United Nations, according to a congressional notification obtained by Reuters. This decision is viewed by aid experts as a positive step towards addressing the billions in dues owed by the U.S. to the UN.
There was no immediate response from Washington to questions about the reasons for the payment from an administration which has slashed funding to many UN agencies and blasted the global body for not living up to its potential.
The money – mentioned in an August 4 State Department notification letter to Congress that has not been reported – is set to go through before an expected speech by US President Donald Trump to the UN General Assembly in New York next month. The $725 million would be less than 20 per cent of the more than $4 billion that the UN said in May it was owed by the United States – though Washington has said that total figure is much lower and that it has made some payments.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this year that the UN faced “imminent financial collapse” due to unpaid contributions from member states, and the global body has brought in large budget cuts. Eugene Chen, a former UN official, told Reuters such a transfer would help pay UN salaries for a period, but might not cover them all. “It keeps the ship afloat a little longer,” he said. A significant transfer now could avert the need for immediate spending cuts, Ronny Patz, an expert in UN finance with German think tank IDOS, said.
