Guterres stressed that the organisation will continue to carry out all its mandates.
In a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson on Thursday, the Secretary-General underlined that 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.
The response follows a presidential memorandum issued in Washington late Wednesday directing US executive departments and agencies to take immediate steps to withdraw from dozens of international organisations, conventions and treaties deemed by the administration to be contrary to US interests.
According to the memorandum, the decision affects 31 UN agencies and entities. These include the UN Population Fund, which supports maternal and child health and works to prevent sexual and gender-based violence, as well as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the main global platform for cooperation on climate action. The UN Democracy Fund and several UN Secretariat offices dealing with issues such as children in armed conflict and the prevention of sexual violence were also listed.
The withdrawal further applies to four of the UN’s five regional commissions covering Asia and the Pacific, Western Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, all of which play a central role in promoting regional cooperation and development.
The memorandum clarifies that, for UN entities, withdrawal entails ceasing participation in or funding to those bodies, to the extent permitted by US law. Despite the move, the Secretary-General emphasised that the UN system would continue its work.
All UN entities would proceed with the implementation of their mandates as given by Member States, the statement noted, adding that the organisation has a responsibility to deliver for people who depend on its work worldwide.
Under the UN Charter, assessed contributions to the regular and peacekeeping budgets are binding on all Member States. For 2026, the General Assembly approved a $3.45 billion regular budget, reflecting a sharp reduction from previous years, including a 15% cut in financial resources and a nearly 19% reduction in staffing.
The US decision has drawn particular concern in relation to climate cooperation. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell described the withdrawal as a setback for global efforts to address climate change.
He noted that the US played a key role in the creation of both the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, arguing that disengagement from global climate cooperation would ultimately harm the US economy and security as climate-related disasters intensify.
Stiell added that the UNFCCC would continue its work and that the door would remain open for the United States to rejoin in the future, as it has done previously.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
