By US President Donald Trump still believes in the core missions of the United Nations and wants to work with it to “exceed its potential,” the administration’s envoy for UN reform told AfrikTimes at a briefing for reporters on Wednesday in Washington, DC.
The US president has not been shy about his disdain for elements of the institution and earlier this year withdrew US funding from several UN and UN-adjacent organisations, including the UN register of conventional arms and the Global Counterterrorism Forum—issues that have generally been important across all US administrations, regardless of political leaning. Trump also pulled back from climate-related initiatives.
“The president’s been quite clear that the UN has great potential, and it’s our responsibility—meaning we’ve been charged to execute the president’s vision with his leadership—to help the UN reach and exceed its potential,” Jeff Bartos, the US ambassador to the UN for management and reform, said in response to a question from MEE.
Bartos, who has no previous diplomatic experience, was confirmed to his post in July. As part of the administration’s assurances to the UN, it has so far paid $159m towards its regular budget assessment and another $2bn to pooled funding for the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, he said.
But Washington had completely stopped paying its bills to the UN when Trump took office 15 months ago. It owes well over $3.5bn in arrears to an organisation that is heavily dependent on US funding and is currently experiencing a liquidity crisis. The Biden administration made its payments to the international body but also accrued significant arrears during its term. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a “financial collapse” of the institution if the US doesn’t step up.
Bartos said he is working “very, very effectively” with UN leadership and fellow member states on driving reforms within the secretariat, which encompasses the agencies that carry out the day-to-day activities of the UN.
“We need the UN to get back to basics, focus on peace and security at its core mission, and with respect to peacekeeping missions, that means having very clear objectives, clear milestones and benchmarks, and a clear… exit strategy,” he told reporters. “The idea that missions can go on 20, 30, 40, 50, 70 years is unacceptable.”
Peacekeepers with the United Nations interim force in Lebanon drive past firefighters clearing the road at the site of an overnight Israeli air strike in the area of Naqura in southern Lebanon, on 27 March 2026 (Kawnat Hajju/AFP)
Changes to Peacekeeping and Equipment Reimbursement
A key change coming to peacekeeping missions is the way unused equipment is reimbursed, which will be a significant cost-saving measure of potentially “tens of millions of dollars,” Bartos explained. “We’re deeply grateful to the countries and the troops who come forward to serve in these peacekeeping missions, but we can’t be reimbursing for equipment that’s not being used,” he said. Bartos had recently returned from a trip to the Central African Republic, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He repeatedly said he was “impressed” by the “leadership quality” of the peacekeeping missions, and even inquired as to how the UN selects its leaders. But UN peacekeepers often come under fire. Earlier this week, three members of the UN peacekeeping force were killed as Israel escalated its invasion of Lebanon.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah have claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israel has been vocal about its hostility toward the UN as a whole, given the institution has often accused it of violations of international law in multiple conflicts, as well as in day-to-day military operations in the occupied West Bank. Israel has openly targeted UN facilities in Gaza and killed civilian staff there.
US Criticism of UN Reporting
Asked by AP about the Trump administration’s plans to crack down on what it calls “anti-Israel bias” at the UN, Bartos lashed out at the UN special rapporteur on the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, without identifying her by name. Albanese has been sanctioned by the US for calling Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide, and compiling a report naming US corporations allegedly complicit in war crimes.
“The sincere hope here is the UN wakes up and realises that it’s got this remarkable global brand on the humanitarian side, and we’re hoping on the peacekeeping side at some point, but… it’s doing an incredible disservice. It’s almost like self-sabotage… to allow this type of unaccountable special rapporteur to run around wreaking havoc and spewing hatred,” Bartos said.
“I would strongly encourage the UN system, UN leadership, to finally put an end to this poison that others are injecting into what is a remarkable, remarkable achievement that the UN’s able to do on the humanitarian side.”
US Push for New UN Secretary-General
With the election of a new UN Secretary-General coming up later this year, Bartos said the US is open to considering all candidates as long as they are committed to carrying out a broad swath of reforms.
But a letter sent by Republican lawmakers to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, obtained by Devex, suggests that a leading candidate could be out of the picture. They urged the Trump administration to use its veto power to block former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s bid for UN leadership, citing her pro-choice stance on abortions, as well as an unwillingness to confront China over its treatment of the Uyghur minority, which the first Trump administration in 2020 labelled a genocide.
Both the US and Israel have previously tried to block Bachelet’s bid to become the UN high commissioner for human rights. They were unsuccessful. Last month, Bachelet’s own country withdrew its support for her UN leadership. Chile’s new president, Jose Antonio Kast, was endorsed by and has expressed his admiration for Trump.
