Reinvigorating multilateral funding structures: towards a universally owned United Nations development system

Multilateralism is under pressure. The United Nations (UN) development system, in particular, has found itself under attack from my-country-first governments; faces the increasing tension between China and the US; and is expected to address Covid-19-related emergencies. A structural key dimension undermining the UN’s long-term ability to effectively deal with these and similar challenges has centred around funding practices. While the UN has often been hailed for allowing equal representation of member states, “Northern” countries have had the overwhelming power of the purse: in 2018, more than 90 percent of member state funding for the UN development system came from industrialised countries. With both responsibility and power in the hands of the few, the UN is ill equipped to face the challenges and transformations ahead. In order to increase the likelihood of UN entities to effectively fulfil their mandates in times of political and economic turmoil, we argue, traditional funding structures need to be restructured and expanded. In this paper, we outline suggestions for more inclusive cost-sharing arrangements that build on contributions from all member states and invite non-state actors to expand their engagement. Our proposals include inclusive-redistribute funding schemes; reliably funded core budgets; tighter regulations of earmarked contributions; as well as funding apps, voluntary fees for the use of UN statistics and levies on financial transactions. This broader financing setup would provide a step towards taking seriously universality provisions that lie at the heart of Agenda 2030 and offer a concrete means for making multilateral organisations more resilient. [This paper builds on research conducted together with Nilima Gulrajani, Overseas Development Institute]