The Devastating Impact of U.S. Budget Cuts to the UN
Abigale Giordano
Digital Editor
Since entering office, United States President Donald Trump has implemented bold budget cuts, impacting domestic and international policies and livelihoods. On January 25, Trump signed an executive order demanding the U.S. begin its budget cuts and withdraw from numerous United Nations (UN) human rights initiatives. These actions will impact global crises, as the pause in billions of dollars of funding by the U.S. will affect “…nearly all US foreign aid programs”, according to the United Nations.
Trump’s budget cuts toward the UN are rooted in his alliances. In his order, Trump asserted the U.S. will not resume funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees. His announcement came the same day he met with Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a nation which has long accused both the human rights body and UNRWA of having a bias against Israel, as reported by The Associated Press. The executive order also calls for a review of American involvement in UNESCO, a cultural initiative, and U.S. funding towards the UN as a whole, due to “the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries.”
Since it was founded in 1945, the U.S. has been the largest donor to the UN. In the fiscal year 2023, the United States contributed almost $13 billion to the UN, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). However, all 193 members of the UN are required to make payments to the UN as a condition of membership, per the UN Charter. The amount each nation pays annually is determined by a formula that considers gross national income, debt burden, population, and other factors. These mandatory contributions cover administrative costs and core activities, such as special political missions and peacekeeping operations. Members also make voluntary contributions to other UN organizations, such as UNICEF. Of the $13 billion contributed by the U.S. to the UN in 2023, 75 percent was voluntary. Trump’s executive order effectively withdraws the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO), as it “continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States,” according to the CFR. It also calls into review the voluntary funding, pausing the majority of U.S. foreign aid. Additionally, by not resuming funding to UNRWA, operations in the severely damaged Gaza Strip, where more than two million Palestinians rely on UN aid, will be impacted, potentially worsening the humanitarian crisis.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that Trump’s wide range of cuts towards critical programs will make the world “…less healthy, less safe, and less prosperous,” according to the United Nations. In the statement, Guterres expressed gratitude for the leading role the U.S. has upheld in peacekeeping for decades. However, the budget cuts are coming at a time in which global conflict is intensifying, leaving millions at risk of hunger, disease, and displacement. In Afghanistan, at least 9 million civilians are at risk of losing access to health and protection services, as hundreds of mobile health teams and critical programs face suspension. In Syria, where 2.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, the absence of U.S. funding will have a significant impact. The cuts have already been felt in Ukraine. The cash-based aid that supported Ukrainians in 2024 has been suspended. In South Sudan, funding has halted for programs assisting refugees fleeing the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, creating unsanitary and overcrowded conditions in border areas. Additionally, global health and security efforts will be impacted, as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime will be forced to halt many counter-narcotics operations, including those targeting the fentanyl crises and activities against human trafficking. Organizations have been left scrambling to shift resources and cut back expenses, assessing the full consequence of not being able to provide life-saving assistance to the scale they once did.
In a statement, Geneva Solutions shared, “Our projects provide people with the fundamentals, like putting a roof back over people’s heads, allowing children to attend school again, or enabling families to buy sufficient food or fuel to heat their homes – now suddenly cut off.” The Guardian reports that despite U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claims that the U.S. freeze would not affect life-saving aid, the initial impact of the freeze cuts off humanitarian assistance across the board. The Guardian reports that Filippo Gandi, head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), stated that most programs have been affected and that humanitarian assistance agencies have been forced to fire staff and slow down operations. Only emergency food programs and military aid to allies in Israel and Egypt have been exempt.
Image courtesy of Getty Images.