US plans to pay UN $725 million toward multibillion-dollar debt
The US administration has notified Congress of its intent to pay the UN $725 million to partially settle its accumulated debt. The sum covers less than 20% of the total debt, and as of August 21 the US had not yet transferred any funds.
The administration of the US president has informed Congress of its intention to pay the United Nations $725 million toward partially settling the country's accumulated debt, Reuters reported, citing an August 4 State Department notification to Congress.
Aid sector experts view the planned payment as a significant positive step toward resolving the long-standing US debt issue. However, the proposed sum would cover less than 20% of the total debt, which the UN estimated in May at more than $4 billion. The Trump administration maintains the actual debt figure is lower, arguing that some payments have already been made.
According to UN figures, the US debt consists of $2.04 billion in regular budget contributions, $2.2 billion for peacekeeping mission funding, and $44 million for international tribunals. An additional roughly $153.4 million is withheld for what are described as political reasons, including $10.6 million for the Human Rights Council, which the US left over accusations of anti-Israel bias, as well as funds for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
According to the development news outlet Devex, the US has attached conditions to releasing the funds, including further cuts to UN spending and measures to counter Chinese influence. Former UN official Eugene Chen warned that without payment, the US risks losing its voting rights in the General Assembly in January — under Article 19 of the UN Charter, a member state loses voting rights if its debt exceeds the amount of contributions due for the preceding two years.
A State Department spokesperson told Reuters that over the past six months Washington has achieved what it called "historic reforms" across the UN system, which reportedly cut spending by nearly $1 billion. The spokesperson stressed that any payments would depend on further reform of the organization, and noted that as of August 21 the US had not transferred any funds.
Background
The United States is the UN's largest contributor, but under the Trump administration Washington has refused mandatory contributions to the regular and peacekeeping budgets and cut voluntary funding to UN agencies. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned of an impending financial collapse due to widespread non-payment by member states — as of August 18, only 129 of 193 countries had fully paid their UN budget dues, with neither the US nor China among them. In response, the UN launched a cost-cutting initiative called "UN80," reducing the 2026 budget by 9.2% and relocating more than 2,000 jobs from New York and Geneva to cities with lower staffing costs.
