US to keep pressure on UN for reforms while paying its dues

The U.S. will keep pressuring the United Nations to reform after withdrawing from dozens of U.N. agencies and cutting millions of dollars in funding last year, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said on Wednesday.



Ambassador Mike Waltz also reiterated that a down payment from Washington to the global organisation would come within weeks.



The U.S. is the biggest contributor to the U.N. budget, but under the administration of President Donald Trump it has refused to make mandatory payments to the U.N.'s regular and peacekeeping budgets, and slashed voluntary funding to U.N. agencies with their own budgets.



U.N. ​officials say the U.S. owed $2.19 billion to the regular U.N. budget as of the start of February, more than 95% of the total owed by countries globally. The U.S. also owes another $2.4 billion for current and past peacekeeping missions and $43.6 million for U.N. tribunals.



Waltz, speaking in Geneva, did not detail how much the U.N. would receive, but said the U.S. will pay its dues while also pressing the organisation for reforms.