2026-08-21T17:00:48.074Z / reuters.com
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- 摘要
- 这笔款项仅占联合国称美方拖欠会费总额的不到20%
- 专家表示，此次付款可避免立即实施削减措施
- 拖欠联合国会费的国家可能丧失投票权
- 美国是联合国最大出资国，仅次于中国
- 特朗普执政期间，美国曾拒绝支付会费并退出多个联合国机构
华盛顿/日内瓦，8月21日路透社电 — 路透社获取的国会通知文件显示，特朗普政府已启动向联合国转账7.25亿美元的流程。援助专家称，此举是清偿数十亿美元拖欠会费的积极一步。
记者就此次付款的原因向美方提问，但尚未得到华盛顿方面的即时回应。本届政府此前曾大幅削减对多个联合国机构的资助，并抨击这个全球组织未能发挥其应有潜力。
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这笔此前未被报道的8月4日国务院致国会通知中提及的款项，预计将在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普下月于纽约联合国大会发表演讲前完成转账。
“这笔钱能让组织多维持一段时间”
联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯今年曾表示，由于成员国未缴会费，联合国面临“迫在眉睫的财政崩溃”，该全球组织已启动大规模预算削减。
7.25亿美元仅占联合国5月公布的美方拖欠总额40多亿美元的不到20%——不过华盛顿方面称这一总金额要低得多，并表示已支付了部分款项。
前联合国官员尤金·陈对路透社表示，这笔转账将有助于在一段时间内支付联合国雇员薪资，但可能无法覆盖全部开支。“这笔钱能让组织多维持一段时间，”他说。
“如果美国不进一步付款，美方很可能在明年1月丧失投票权，”他补充道。
根据《联合国宪章》第19条，若成员国拖欠的会费超过两年的年度会费总额，其在大会的投票权将被暂停，但也可申请宽限期。
德国国际和安全事务研究所（IDOS）联合国财政专家罗尼·帕茨表示，此次大额转账或可避免立即实施开支削减。
“如果他们支付一大笔款项，联合国即便仍无储备资金，也能撑过全年，”帕茨补充道。“如果他们不付款，联合国在今年最后两三个月里可能真的会陷入困境，连支付薪资和维持机构运转都成问题。”
美国是联合国预算的最大出资国，但在特朗普政府执政期间，美国拒绝向联合国经常预算和维和预算缴纳强制会费，并大幅削减了对各联合国机构的自愿资助资金。
华盛顿还退出了数十个联合国及其他国际机构。
联合国财务主管钱德拉穆利·拉马纳坦上月表示，联合国原本期望今年预算能从193个成员国中收取约90%的会费。
截至8月18日，已有约129个成员国全额缴清会费，一份联合国文件显示。仅次于美国的第二大出资国中国也未出现在缴费名单中。
国务院在8月4日的信件中表示，将为联合国经常预算划拨总计7.25亿美元资金。
美国国务院和美国驻联合国使团周五未立即回复记者通过邮件提出的置评请求。
5月时，联合国称美方拖欠的40多亿美元会费包括20.4亿美元的经常预算欠款、22亿美元的当前及既往维和行动欠款，以及4400万美元的联合国法庭费用。
华盛顿方面尚未支付约1.534亿美元的所谓“基于政策的扣款项”。其中包括本应交给人权理事会的1060万美元——美国去年退出该理事会，指责其存在反以色列偏见——以及联合国近东巴勒斯坦难民救济和工程处的相关资金。
这座已有80年历史的机构正面临财政危机，目前正在推进一项名为“UN80”的重大改革与成本削减计划。
该机构已将2026年预算削减9.2%，并将超过2000个工作岗位从日内瓦和纽约等高成本城市转移至成本更低的枢纽地区。
本报记者胡梅拉·帕穆克、艾玛·法尔热华盛顿报道；大卫·布伦斯壮姆补充报道；安德鲁·希文斯编辑
US plans $725 million payment towards its large UN debt
2026-08-21T17:00:48.074Z / reuters.com
The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York August 15, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Less than 20% of what the UN says it is owed by Washington
- Payment could stave off immediate cuts, expert says
- Countries in arrears to UN can lose voting rights
- US is biggest contributor to UN, ahead of China
- Under Trump, it has refused payments, left bodies
WASHINGTON/GENEVA, Aug 21 (Reuters) – The Trump administration has started the process to transfer $725 million to the United Nations, a congressional notification seen by Reuters showed, a move aid experts said was a welcome step towards paying billions in dues owed.
There was no immediate response from Washington to questions about the reasons for the payment from an administration which has slashed funding to many U.N. agencies and blasted the global body for not living up to its potential.
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The money – mentioned in an August 4 State Department notification letter to Congress that has not been reported – is set to go through before an expected speech by U.S. President Donald Trump to the U.N. General Assembly in New York next month.
‘IT KEEPS THE SHIP AFLOAT A LITTLE LONGER’
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said this year that the U.N. faced “imminent financial collapse” due to unpaid contributions from member states, and the global body has brought in large budget cuts.
The $725 million would be less than 20% of the more than $4 billion that the U.N. said in May it was owed by the United States — though Washington has said that total figure is much lower and that it has made some payments.
Eugene Chen, a former U.N. official, told Reuters such a transfer would help pay U.N. salaries for a period, but might not cover them all. “It keeps the ship afloat a little longer,” he said.
“If the U.S. does not make further payments it will likely lose its voting rights in January,” he added.
Under article 19 of the U.N. Charter, a member state loses its voting rights in the General Assembly if its arrears exceed two years in annual fees, although grace periods are possible.
A significant transfer now could avert the need for immediate spending cuts, Ronny Patz, an expert in U.N. finance with German think tank IDOS, said.
“If they pay a big chunk, the U.N. still runs on zero reserves but it gets through the year,” Patz added. “If they don’t pay, the U.N. might really be in trouble for the last two or three months of the year in terms of paying salaries and keeping the doors open.”
The U.S. is the biggest contributor to the U.N. budget, but under the Trump administration it has refused to make mandatory payments to regular and peacekeeping budgets, and has slashed voluntary funding to U.N. agencies with their own budgets.
Washington has also withdrawn from dozens of U.N. and other international agencies.
The U.N. had been counting on collecting around 90% of dues from its 193 members for this year’s budget, its Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan said last month.
As of August 18, some 129 members had paid in full, a U.N. document showed. China, the number 2 contributor after Washington, was also absent from the list.
The State Department said in its August 4 letter it was obligating a total of $725 million for the U.N.’s regular budget.
The U.S. State Department and the U.S. diplomatic mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment by email on Friday.
In May, the U.N. said the more than $4 billion owed to it by Washington included $2.04 billion for the regular budget, $2.2 billion for current and past peacekeeping missions, and $44 million for U.N. tribunals.
Washington has not transferred around $153.4 million in what it calls “policy-based withholdings”. That included $10.6 million meant for the Human Rights Council — which Washington disengaged from last year alleging an anti-Israel bias — and funds for the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency.
The 80-year-old institution has been undergoing a decisive reform and cost-cutting exercise known as “UN80” amid its financial crisis.
It has already cut its 2026 budget by 9.2% and transferred over 2,000 jobs out of expensive cities like Geneva and New York to lower-cost hubs.
Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Emma Farge; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens
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