UN to cut more than $700 million in spending as US support wanes

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres is cutting more than $700 million in spending and developing sweeping plans to reshape the organization as the United States, which is its largest sponsor, draws back on its funding. Guterres’ proposal would implement 20% reductions in spending and staff.

Budget would hit lowest level since 2018

Bloomberg reports that the move would bring the U.N.’s budget, which now stands at $3.7 billion, to its lowest level since 2018 and would lead to the elimination of roughly 3,000 jobs.

The plan is tied to the organization’s 80th anniversary, not the Trump administration. However, the size of the cuts also accounts for waning U.S. support. The United States typically funds 22% of the agency’s budget.

America First policies

The White House paused funding and withdrew from a number of U.N. organizations as part of President Donald Trump’s America First policies. The move is also seen as a reaction to statements and policies the administration viewed as critical of Western countries. A comprehensive review of the United States’ contributions to the U.N. is expected to be conducted, potentially leading to further cuts in funding. 

“We’re not going to be a part of organizations that pursue polices that hamper the United States,” Deputy State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. 

The Trump administration has already slashed billions of dollars in foreign aid spending while wars across the globe have raised the need for international aid. 

“UN80 is in large part a reaction to the Secretary General to the kind of challenges posed by the second Trump administration,” Eugene Chen, a senior fellow at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, told Bloomberg.

UN had already been facing dire circumstances

Even without funding reductions from the U.S., the U.N. was already struggling financially and had been considering large-scale reforms. In January, Guterres warned that the U.N. risked “a full-blown liquidity crisis” if it failed to make changes. U.N. spending is down across the board and is expected to drop to its lowest level in roughly a decade – falling by as much as $20 billion from a high just about two years ago.

Guterres is slated to reveal his plans to reform the U.N.’s budget next month, and the proposal reportedly involves overhauling many of its programs. 

Guterres manages the U.N.’s regular budget, which represents only a small portion of the total spending of its organizations. Meanwhile, financing is running short for agencies like UNICEF and UNESCO as they consider significant funding cuts.

The White House has already suspended money going to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, pulled out of the U.N. Human Rights Council and withdrawn from UNESCO.

Criticism of the plan

The secretary general’s proposal has faced criticism from supporters of Trump and within the U.N. itself.

“There are some things that the U.N. does that arguably should be increased in terms of resources,” Brett Schaefer, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told Bloomberg. “And then there are some things that the U.N. shouldn’t be decreasing but eliminating altogether.”

Schaefer argued the U.N. nuclear watchdog known as the International Atomic Energy Agency and World Food Program significantly align with U.S. interests., but contends agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization and Human Rights Council have requirements that often oppose U.S. interests.

Additionally, U.N. officials in Geneva recently approved a motion of no confidence in Guterres and his proposal. 

“Staff felt its slash and burn approach lacked focus, had no strategic purpose, and was making the U.N. more top-heavy and bloated,” Ian Richards, the president of the U.N. Staff Union in Geneva, wrote in a LinkedIn post last week referencing the UN80 report.

‘Silver lining’

Chen largely saw the motion as suggestive rather than actionable, and noted that the secretary general’s efforts to plan ahead of unavoidable cuts amid U.S. withdrawal of support is perhaps a promising sign the U.N. is prepared for an overhaul.

“Maybe that’s the silver lining,” Chen told Bloomberg. “We’ll be primed for reform.”