A senior mandarin at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed to The Standard that The Gambia has paid all its dues to the United Nations.
This confirmation comes after the UN head wrote to the 193 member states that the organisation is at risk of “imminent financial collapse” and urged them to pay their contributions fully and on time.
On Thursday, Secretary General António Guterres warned of a “race to bankruptcy” giving his starkest warning yet.
“The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future,” said Guterres, adding that money could run out by July.
Contacted by The Standard yesterday, Permanent Secretary Lang Yabou said The Gambia has been “up to date” with the payment of its contributions to the UN and that a system was implemented years ago to ensure that its does not default in settling its dues.
Asked how much the country pays as annual contribution, PS Yabou says he was not sure of the figure but that “it was in the region of US$38,000”.
Under UN rules, contributions depend on the size of the economy of each member state. The United States remains the largest donor and accounts for 22 percent of the core budget, followed by China with 20 percent.
This money finances the day-to-day operations of the organisation and its primary activities, and approximately 26 percent of the UN peacekeeping budget.
US President Donald Trump slashed voluntary funding to UN agencies and refused to make mandatory payments to its regular and peacekeeping budgets.
According to the UN, around US$1.6 billion was recorded in unpaid contributions at the end of 2025, more than twice as much as in 2024, even though more than 150 member states had paid their dues.
UN officials said the US currently owes US$2.19 billion to the regular UN budget, another US$1.88 billion for active peace-keeping missions and US$528 million for past peace-keeping missions.
“The bottom line is clear,” Guterres wrote. “Either all member states honour their obligations to pay in full and on time – or member states must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse.”
Guterres launched a reform task force last March, known as UN80, which seeks to cut costs and improve efficiency, reviewing the UN system and its mandates and examine potential structural changes. The aim is to build a stronger and more effective UN to better serve the world.
To that end, states agreed to cut the 2026 budget by around 7 percent to US$3.45 billion.
