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States participate in and fund international organizations for a reason. The United States should pay its bills and ensure that the tools of international security it built over a generation - including the IAEA - are able to do their work.

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It will be ironic if President Trump achieves the major breakthrough he has advertised with respect to Iran's nuclear program, only to find that his self-defeating policies with respect to international organizations have left it impossible to implement.

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As of last September, the lion's share of overdue payments were from the United States, which had at that stage paid none of its dues. It seems a fair assumption that the US is also responsible for the current, crippling underpayment of assessments to the IAEA.

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IAEA Director General's Introductory Statement to the Board of Governors | IAEA

There's a catch: the head of the IAEA announced ten days ago that its members, including the United States, are €250 million behind in their dues, and that the IAEA has funds to cover operations through mid-August, 60 days from now. www.iaea.org/newscenter/s...

iaea.org

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In the next 60 days, I hope that experts will be brought into the discussion to explain the importance of a strong mandate for IAEA inspectors to do what they do best: verifying where Iran's nuclear capabilities stand today, and confirming that constraints demanded of it are implemented.

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Many have pointed to the fact that the MOU with Iran says little about the incredible verification challenges that will face any future understanding reached on Iran's nuclear program.

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The UN was built in large part by the United States, openly on the basis that it improved our national security for it to succeed. Threatening U.S. payment of its obligations is in no way an act of fiscal responsibility; it is counter to U.S. security interests.

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But you can't refuse to pay your mortgage until the bank adds a new kitchen to your house. You already bought the house. A superpower should pay its bills, and then use its influence to negotiate a better budget for next year.

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Should the UN's budget be streamlined and improved? Absolutely. And UN members are actively engaged in that discussion, which the United States should lead.

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That's not how this works. The unpaid dues are for UN operations that members, including the U.S., already agreed in years past.

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The explanation of the State Department of the roughly $4 billion in unpaid U.S. dues makes no sense: “Any funding contributions are dependent on real and significant reforms, and to ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used in ways that are contrary to our nation's interests."

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The UN’s impending ‘financial collapse’

As the UN faces "financial collapse," a UN spokesperson explains, "our financial problems stem from one large contributor, the US, not paying their regular budget dues." www.politico.com/newsletters/...

politico.com

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Matthew Sharp @msharp80.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

An excellent defense of the UN and multilateralism from the excellent UN General Assembly President Baerbock on the Daily Show. "No day would be better without the UN" www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQqz...

youtube.com

Annalena Baerbock - The United Nations is “Life Insurance for Everyone” | The Daily Show

YouTube video by The Daily Show

U.S. participation in the UN system makes us stronger, not weaker. Withdrawing from UN Water and 65 other international organizations in January was a thoughtless mistake. Happy World Water Day, anyway. #UN #UnitedNations #WorldWaterDay #EO14199

On January 7 President Trump ended U.S. participation in UN Water. Since the U.S. did not directly participate in or fund this org, the gesture was largely pointless. But on World Water Day, it’s worth remembering this is another conversation the U.S. has absented itself from.

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If you care about international conflict and migration patterns into the United States, therefore, you should care about water, which means relying on the kinds of information and data produced by UN Water.

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bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov

Links between water scarcity, and climate change more generally, on migration, including immigration into the United States, was addressed by the Biden Administration in 2021 here: bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/u...

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UN Water provides coordination across UN organizations on the incredibly important subject of water. It serves an important role as a monitoring hub that makes data and information available to all.

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I see no possibility of the Board of Peace “replacing” the UN in terms of legitimacy or authorities. But if Congress allows the administration to zero out funding for the UN to pay for the President’s Board of Peace, then the global system that's served us well for a generation will be in trouble.

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The UN has real weaknesses. What it has going for it is near-universal buy-in and commitment to an international system that operates based on rules, and not on the whims of whoever happens to be the strongest at a given moment.

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Almost certainly unrelated, nobody has a clue what legal authority exists to fulfill President Trump’s February pledge that the United States will be providing $10 BILLION in support to the Board of Peace.

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That's about a thirtieth of what we owe. More is desperately needed, and there’s reason to worry: the President’s budget request for this year asked for $0 for UN and other international organization dues. Congress appropriated funds, but not nearly enough to settle our UN debts.

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If Trump wants a Model UN club to fill his post-presidency days, I’m all for it. The problem is money. Unpaid UN dues are crushing, and 95% of what's outstanding is ours. Two weeks ago, on the same day that the Board of Peace held its first meeting, the U.S. finally paid $160 million to the UN.

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People are nervous because the BoP charter doesn't mention Gaza, posits an international peace and security role that sounds like the UN’s job, and puts Trump – the guy, not the U.S. president - in charge for life. Trump, when asked whether the Board would replace the UN, said, “Well, it might.”

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On paper it's simple: the UNSC has treaty-based authorities and in November used them (in UNSCR 2803 on Gaza) to endorse an oversight and administrative role for the Board of Peace (BoP) in Gaza’s reconstruction. The resolution, with Russia’s abstention, basically endorsed the Trump plan for Gaza.

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Matthew Sharp @msharp80.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Russian diplomats are annoyingly good at asking innocent questions that strike at the heart of American arguments, like an international diplomacy version of the Caveman Lawyer’s legal argumentation.

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"Advance Deterrence" is a big deal, but also important is France's decision to stop making public its arsenal numbers. Macron's 2020 speech emphasized such transparency as a responsibility of nuclear weapon states, a point the U.S. has long made with respect to China's non-transparent approach.

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Matthew Sharp @msharp80.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Great analysis of last week's nuclear threat, but what about next week's? Is there any way to know: 1) what happens now to the HEU at Isfahan? 2) how many centrifuges has Iran made outside of monitoring? 3) what is the status of the Khamenei fatwa prohibiting an Iranian nuclear weapon?

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Matthew Sharp @msharp80.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

$10 billion?? Congress gave $850M in the "America First Opportunity Fund," usable for just about anything. Diverting funds for the UN regular budget would zero out U.S. contributions for a decade, catastrophic for the UN. Watch where the money comes from. #UN www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

pbs.org

Trump says U.S. will give $10 billion to Board of Peace promising to rebuild Gaza

President Trump convened the inaugural meeting of his newly formed Board of Peace. The focus was Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is still holding, though tensions remain high....

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This Board can't replace the UN in the sense of legitimacy, but the President could try to divert funds intended for the UN as contributions to the Board, instead, which would be catastrophic. There are reasons to be concerned this could happen.

Congress should pay close attention that funds intended to pay for U.S. UN dues are used that way. Without those funds, the UN would be in real trouble.

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Also concerning: the White House indicated Trump “ratified” the Board’s Charter, establishing “an official international organization.” The Senate’s $1.4 billion is for treaty-ratified “international organizations.” Can the Board now qualify for those funds? A stretch, but not unthinkable.

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The appropriations bill passed by the Senate this week does create the A1OF, but it also provides $1.4 billion specifically for the payment of UN and other dues. The Senate thus allows the President to fund both the Board and the UN, but not to shortchange one for the other.

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The President’s FY2026 budget request contains a warning. The request obliterated the State Department account through which UN dues are paid and created the “America First Opportunity Fund” (A1OF). The President could those funds for UN dues or other “strategic investments,” as he saw fit.

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Mark Goodman @markwgoodman.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

The reaction to President Trump’s “Board of Peace” suggests it is unlikely to compete with the international credibility of the UN. What *could* threaten the UN is diverting U.S. funds intended for our grossly overdue UN dues towards contributions to the Board of Peace, instead.

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Reposted by Matthew Sharp

Trump’s withdrawal from international climate bodies leaves the United States isolated and diminished politically but cannot insulate the United States from the physical effects of climate change. It will leave Americans less safe, less healthy, and less prosperous. open.substack.com/pub/markwgoo...

open.substack.com

A Climate of Isolation

We Can’t Insulate Ourselves from Global Climate Change

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Matthew Sharp @msharp80.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Guterres condemns demolishing UNWRA's compound as inconsistent with legal obligations. The international norm that states should respect both their own international legal obligations and UN privileges are there for a reason. It hurts our security when they aren't respected. #UN #UnitedNations

press.un.org

Condemning in ‘Strongest Terms’ Demolition of UN Palestine Refugee Agency Sheikh Jarrah Compound, Secretary-General Urges Israel to Immediately Cease | UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Matthew Sharp @msharp80.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Now is a particularly important moment for the Disarmament Advisory Board. Congratulations to Mr. Haggag, and good luck!

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Our participation in the UN system makes us stronger, not weaker. As Secretary Rubio indicated, review of international organizations pursuant to Executive Order 14199 is ongoing; I hope future decisions will be more careful and beneficial than this one seems to have been.

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The U.S. announcement has little impact. The United States doesn’t sit on the CEB, and because it is funded through regular budget contributions, “withdrawing” won’t save any money. That’s good, because without the CEB to implement UN efficiencies and coordination, we’d need to invent it.

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It’s a bit ironic that, while trying to improve the efficiency of U.S. contributions, the Department has apparently zeroed in on one that they rely on in figuring out how much we spend at the UN.

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The Department’s most recent annual report to Congress on U.S. contributions to international organizations says: “The amounts of total funding will be obtained from publicly available documents produced by the UN System Chief Executives Board or the recipient entities.”

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With those funds, CEB staff also compile UN financial data and make them publicly available. Who needs this kind of reporting? Well, the State Department, for one.

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How much does this coordination cost? Costs are shared across UN agencies and other sources, but the UN’s 2025 budget estimates a $1.3 million cost to the UN’s regular budget. At 22%, the U.S. share of this is a bit less than $300,000.

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The UN System Chief Executives Board gathers about 30 UN organization heads to promote UN coherence and coordination. Last year, the CEB identified, developed, and initiated a portfolio of UN-wide efficiency measures, while also enhancing policy coordination on issues like transnational crime.

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