·

Financing the United Nations

ByDoug Anderson International Relations, Money

Towards a formula which is dependable and politics proof

Doug Anderson

Jan 18, 2026

The United Nations has numerous problems but all have been exacerbated by financial considerations. Every member is supposed to pay its “mandatory assessed contributions” which are calculated by a complicated formula based on the country’s gross national income, population size and external debt, among other factors.

The problem is that not all countries pay up when they should and some withhold their payments as a way of expressing their displeasure with the decisions made and/or actions taken by the UN.

The UN budget for 2025 was $3.72 billion plus peacekeeping which is a separate budget of $5.38 billion. The United States and China have by far the highest dues which together cover more than 40% of the UN budget.

Over the last two years the United States has an accumulated debt of $3.86 billion, China … More

· · ·

Imagine a World at peace – without the Security Council Veto

ByDoug Anderson Canada, Government Policy, International Relations, Politics

It could happen – a brave contingent of UN members have launched an effort to implement Article 109

Doug Anderson

Dec 07, 2025

We live in precarious times … not unlike the early 1960s when the cold war was at its peak. The Cuban missile crisis was 1962; The Cold War was at its height and Viet Nam was brewing.

Not unlike today.

In the early 60s while I was in high school, I was president of the World Affairs Club at my school and like 60-70 other high schools in Toronto we were participating in a model United Nations. Each school represented a different country. We met every Sunday to discuss/debate the issues of the day. I still have my copy of the UN charter.

Back then the UN was only a decade and a half old, but already it was clear that the Security Council veto was … More

The UN and Bully Politics

ByDoug Anderson International Relations

Stumbling towards a World Federation in which NO country can veto Peace

Doug Anderson

Jun 30, 2025

When I was in high school in the early 60s, The United Nations Association of Canada was running a model UN for High School students. There were 70 or 80 high schools in Toronto at the time including public, separate and private, and each school sent a delegation representing a member country of the UN. Each school studied their country and its foreign policy and debated the issues accordingly.

It was a big deal involving several hundred students. We met on Sunday mornings through the school year and developed policies to solve the world’s problem. We tackled the world’s thorniest issues like Nuclear Disarmament, Refugees (there were already 100s of thousands of Palestinian refugees living in camps throughout the Middle East), Human Rights (apartheid in S. Africa was an emerging issue – Nelson … More