The United Nations, the global body tasked with maintaining peace and tackling pressing world issues, has been sounding alarm bells over an “imminent financial collapse.” At the heart of this crisis? A significant sum of unpaid dues, primarily from one major player: the United States.
Recently, the UN announced that the US had paid approximately $160 million. While a welcome injection, this amount is just a fraction of the nearly $4 billion the US reportedly owes. The total debt is split between the UN’s regular operating budget (over $2 billion) and the crucial peacekeeping operations budget (around $1.8 billion). UN officials have highlighted that a staggering 95% of overdue payments to the regular budget come from the US, leading Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to warn that regular budget funds could run out by July.
Interestingly, President Donald Trump, who has previously criticized the UN and withdrawn US funding from several of its organizations, has now struck a more positive tone. While speaking at the inaugural meeting of his new “Board of Peace” initiative – which some see as a potential rival to the UN Security Council – Trump pledged that his administration would work “very closely” with the UN. He promised that the US would “help them moneywise” to ensure the UN remains “viable” and “lives up to its potential.”
However, Trump’s remarks conspicuously avoided mentioning that the US’s own unpaid dues are a primary driver of the UN’s financial woes. Despite the promise of future financial aid, no specific timeline for these payments was provided. UN officials confirmed they have been in ongoing discussions with US representatives regarding the arrears.
As 55 other nations paid their annual dues for 2026 by the February 8 deadline, the international community watches to see if the US will follow through on its newfound commitment to financially bolster the organization it has historically been so instrumental in founding and supporting.
