United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned the US that it is obliged to pay its dues, after the Trump administration announced a withdrawal from dozens of UN agencies.
On Wednesday, the White House said it was pulling out of 66 international bodies, around half of which were affiliated with the UN.
"Assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all member states, including the US," Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Thursday.
Dujarric added that the affected programs would continue to carry out their tasks.
"The UN has a responsibility to deliver for those who depend on us," he said.
The decision taken by US President Donald Trump's administration also means the country will stop funding other global initiatives not affiliated with the UN.
US officials have spoken about their intention to stop billions of dollars worth of funding for aid and funding for international organizations like the UN since Trump officially entered his second term as president.
Other countries, such as France and the UK, are also looking into their humanitarian funding, with some countries diverting the funds to military spending.
High-ranking UN diplomats said they had learned of the decision through news reports and the White House's social media accounts, with no formal communication reaching the organization from the US administration, Dujarric said.
The list of UN initiatives include a key climate treaty and a UN body that promotes gender equality and women's empowerment. According to Trump, the initiatives "operate contrary to US national interests."
The US is the UN regular budget's top contributor, paying the maximum 22% as the world's largest economy, with the payments being mandatory.
The US currently owes the organization some 1.5 billion dollars, and according to the UN Charter. It would lose its vote in the General Assembly should it not pay its dues.
"We're not going to renegotiate the charter," Dujarric said.
In a bid to cut costs and improve the organization's efficiency, UN head Guterres established a task force known as UN80.
Curated by Shiv Shakti Mishra
