United Nations rights work is being disproportionately targeted for cuts amid a deep UN funding crisis, posing an "existential threat" to vital investigations and accountability efforts, a report has warned.
Washington's failure to pay UN membership fees could deal a death blow to the UN battle against rights abuses, the NGO report said on Tuesday.
Already, a high-level war crimes investigation ordered by the UN Human Rights Council into violence sweeping the DRC has failed to launch due to a lack of funds.
The UN is mulling reforms, including a 15 percent cut across its 2026 budget to tackle chronic liquidity problems exacerbated by US President Donald Trump's policies.
The United States, the UN's biggest contributor, paused funding after Trump returned to power in January.
As of September 30, Washington owed $1.5 billion in unpaid UN membership fees, including $300 million in arrears from previous years, according to the report.
A heavy toll
China, the second-highest contributor, has fuelled the crisis by paying its dues "extremely late", the report said.
Beijing only completed last year's payment on December 27, essentially rendering the funds unusable since UN financial rules require budget amounts not spent by year-end to be returned to member states, the NGO said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres' UN80 reform proposal aims to spread cuts across the body's three pillars: peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.
But the report warned the cuts would "disproportionately hit the human rights pillar due to years of underfunding".
The human rights segment receives less than one percent of the total UN budget.
Cuts being discussed could take a heavy toll on the UN rights office, OHCHR, which has already seen tens of millions of dollars in US voluntary funds evaporate this year.
The agency has received just 73 percent of member states' promised regular budget contributions for 2025, leaving $67 million unpaid.
