U.S. Funding for the UN: An Overview

UPDATE: Each year, Congress is responsible for approving and allocating the payments requested by the President for U.S. assessed contributions to the United Nations regular and peacekeeping budgets.  Currently, the U.S. is assessed 22% of the UN regular budget and 26% for UN peacekeeping operations.

For many years, due to Administration and Congressional underfunding, the U.S. fell well behind in its treaty-obligated payments to the UN.  But in June 2009, Congress voted for and the President signed legislation that erases all the debts that had been building over the last decade.   

To ensure that the U.S. remains in good financial standing and honors its obligations at the UN, the United States must continue to pay its dues to the UN in full and on time.  In June 2009, the President requested that Congress pay the full amount the U.S. will owe the UN in his Fiscal Year 2010 budget request.

The Better World Campaign will be urging members of Congress to meet the President’s request, and further this Congress and this Administration’s desire to inaugurate a new era of American engagement through diplomacy and multilateral institutions. 

The Better World Campaign will also urge Members of Congress to address the issues that caused the U.S. to go into debt by calling for:

• Ending the Peacekeeping Cap: Congress should permanently lift the 25% cap on peacekeeping contributions to the UN. This outdated legislative restriction only serves to increase our overall debt and compromise critical missions.
  
  
• Resynchronizing Our Payments to the UN: In planning for Fiscal Year 2010, Congress and the Obama Administration should work together to lay the groundwork for having the United States once again pay its dues on time to the UN.  Currently, the U.S. pays at least nine months late.

U.S. Debt to the United Nations

United States debt to the United Nations, in both the regular and peacekeeping budgets, exceeded $1.5 billion at the start of 2009. By far, the largest amount of debt is for peacekeeping, which is more than $1.3 billion. These arrears make the United States the largest debtor to the United Nations and threaten its ability to leverage the international community toward achieving key U.S. national security priorities.

Current U.S. Debt to the United Nations (in millions)

¹ $174 million of this debt was accumulated due to a legislative cap of 25% on contributions to UN peacekeeping from 2005 - present.
² Based on the Fiscal Year 2009 Omnibus Appropriation.

UN Peacekeeping

Failure to honor our commitments for UN peacekeeping is the result of an outdated legislative cap and shortfalls in recent budget requests.  Congress' $1.51 billion in funding for UN peacekeeping in FY 2009 is at least $669 million short of actual UN mission needs.   Another source of U.S. debt is due to a 25% legislative cap that Congress placed on U.S. contributions to UN peacekeeping payments, resulting in an additional $174 million in unpaid bills to date. 

Failure to fulfill our obligations means that peacekeeping missions must go without necessary resources, which endangers the fundamental viability of critical missions in places like Darfur, Haiti, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; makes countries less willing to contribute personnel and equipment to future missions; and undermines U.S. credibility.

UN Regular Budget and other International Organizations

The U.S. assessed contribution to the UN regular budget is included—along with 43 other UN-system, regional, and non-UN organizations—in the State Department’s Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) account. Due to inadequate budget requests, the United States is currently $257 million in debt to the United Nations. In addition, during the 1980s, the United States began making payments to the UN and other international organizations a year late to save money for one year.  Now, the U.S. pays its dues to all 43 international organizations a year or more late, causing significant strain on these organizations’ budgets. 

Short-changing our obligations to these organizations undercuts our foreign policy goals, undermines our reputation, and undermines global burden sharing—even as the United States is increasingly relying on international organizations to further our security interests globally.

Steps toward Repaying our Debt

• Meeting our Peacekeeping Commitments: Congress should take steps to pay the $669 million in Fiscal Year 2009 shortfalls to UN peacekeeping. Additionally, Congress must ensure that the U.S. funds its anticipated UN peacekeeping assessments for all peacekeeping missions in 2010 on time, in full, and without preconditions.
• Peacekeeping Cap: Congress should permanently lift the 25% peacekeeping cap. This outdated legislative restriction only serves to increase our overall debt and compromise critical missions.
• Regular Budget Debt: The United States must address its shortfalls and arrears to the UN regular budget, a debt which currently stands at $257 million.
• Resynchronization: In planning for Fiscal Year 2010, Congress and the U.S. Administration should work together to lay the groundwork for catching the United States up in the CIO account in order to pay our bills on time to international organizations like the UN.