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1 1 (July 8, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedyw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated July 8, 2021 United Nations Issues: U.S. Funding to the U.N. System The United States is the single largest financial contributor to the United Nations (U.N.) system. Congress has long debated the appropriate level of U.S. funding to U.N. systemactivities andwhetherU.S. contributions are used efficiently and effectively. U.S. policymakers' perspectives on U.N. fundinghave v aried over time. Most recently, the Trump Administration consistently proposed significant overalldecreases in U.N. funding; however, Congress generally funded most U.N. entities at higher levels than the Administration requested. At the s ame time, the Trump Administration also withheld or halted funding to severalU.N. bodies. The Biden Administration has supported reengaging with theUnited Nations; the President's FY2022 budget request proposes fully funding U.N. entities and paying selected U.S. arrears. U.N. System Funding The U.N. systemis made up of interconnected entities including specialized agencies, funds and programs, peacekeeping operations, and the U.N. organization itself. The U.N. Charter, ratified by the United States in 1945, requires eachmember state tocontribute to theexpensesof the organization. The systemis financedby assessed and voluntary contributions fromU.N. members. Assessed contributions are required dues, the payment of which is a legalobligation acceptedby a country whenit becomes a member. Such funding provides U.N. entities with a regular source ofincome to pay for staff and implement core programs. For example, the U.N. regular budget, specialized agencies, and peacekeeping operations are all financed mainly by as sessed contributions. Voluntary contributions primarily finance U.N. funds and programs. The budgets for these entities may fluctuate annually depending on donor contribution levels. For more details on the U.N. system, see CRS In Focus IF11780, United Nations Issues: Overview ofthe UnitedNations System, by Luis a Blanchfield. U.N. regular budget. The U.N. regular budget funds the core administrative costs of the organization, including the U.N. General Assembly, Security Council, Secretariat, International Court of Jus tice, special political mis s ions, and human rights entities. The regular budget is adopted by the As sembly and used to cover a two-year period; however, in 2017 the As sembly voted to change thebudget cycle to a one-year periodbeginning in 2020. Since the late 1980s, mo s t As sembly decisions related to the budget have been adoptedby consensus. Whenbudget votes occur (which is rare) decisions are made by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting, with each country having one vote. The approvedregular budget for2021 is $3.23 billion. The General Assembly determines a scale of assessments for the regular budget every three years based on a country's capacity to pay. Governments are currently negotiating assessment rates for the 2022-2024 time period, https://crsrepo which will be adopted by the Assembly in December 2021. The U.S. as sessment is currently 22%, the highest of any U.N. member, followed by China (12%) and Japan (8.5%). U.N. SpecializedAgencies. The 15 U.N. specialized agencies, which include the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization, and World Bank Group, among others, are autonomous in executive, legislative, and budgetary powers. Some agencies follow the scale of assessment for the U.N. regular budget, while others use their own formulas to determine assessments. U.N. peacekeeping funding. There are currently 12 U.N. peacekeeping missions worldwide with over 80,000 military, police, and civilian personnel. U.N. Security Councilres olutions establishing new operations specify how each mis sion willbe funded. In most cases, the Council authorizes the General Assembly to create a discrete account for each operation funded by as sessed contributions; recently, the General Assembly temporarily allowed peacekeeping funding to be pooled for increased financial flexibility due to concerns about budget shortfalls. The approved budget for the 2021-2022 peacekeeping fiscal year is $6.37 billion. The peacekeeping scale of assessments is based on modifications of the regularbudget scale, with the five permanent Council members assessed at a higher levelthan for the regular budget. The current U.S. peacekeeping assessment is 27.89%; however, Congress has capped the U.S. contribution at 25%. Other top contributors include China (15.2%) and Japan (8.5%). U.S. Funding Congress has generally authorized funding to theU.N. s y s temas part of Foreign Relations Authorization Acts. When authorization bills are not enacted, Congress has waived such requirements and appropriated funds through the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) accounts in annual Departmentof State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations bills (Table 1). President Biden's FY2022 budget request includes the following: $1.66 billion for the Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) account, which funds assessed contributions to the U.N. regular budget, U.N. specialized agencies, and other international organizations (a $157 million increase over enacted FY2021 funding of $1.51 billion). The request fully funds U.N. bodies and includes $82.4 million to pay U.S. arrears that accumulated due to U.S. withholdings from U.N. human rights bodies (including the Human Rights Council) fromFY2018 to FY2020. It also requests $75 million to pay one year of assessments to the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and includes waiver language to provide authority to rejoin the organization.

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