Geneva, Switzerland
Reuters
—
The UN chief has informed member states that the group is in danger of “imminent financial collapse,” citing unpaid charges and a finances rule that forces the worldwide physique to return unspent cash, a letter seen by Reuters on Friday confirmed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly spoken concerning the group’s worsening liquidity disaster however that is his starkest warning but, and it comes as its foremost contributor the United States is retreating from multilateralism on quite a few fronts.
“The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future,” Guterres wrote in a letter to ambassadors dated January 28.
The US has slashed voluntary funding to UN businesses and refused to make necessary funds to its common and peacekeeping budgets.
US President Donald Trump has described the UN as having “great potential” however mentioned it’s not fulfilling that, and he has launched a Board of Peace which some concern may undermine the older worldwide physique.
Founded in 1945, the UN has 193 member states and works to keep up worldwide peace and safety, promote human rights, foster social and financial improvement, and coordinate humanitarian help.
In his letter, Guterres mentioned “decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced.”
He didn’t say which state or states he was referring to, and a UN spokesperson was not instantly accessible for remark.
Under UN guidelines, contributions depend upon the dimensions of the financial system of every member state. The US accounts for 22% of the core finances adopted by China with 20%.
But by the tip of 2025 there was a document $1.57 billion in excellent dues, Guterres mentioned, with out naming them.
“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,” he mentioned.
Guterres launched a reform process pressure final yr, often called UN80, which seeks to chop prices and enhance effectivity. To that finish, states agreed to chop the 2026 finances by round 7% to $3.45 billion.
Still, Guterres warned within the letter that the organisation may run out of money by July.
One of the issues is a rule now seen as antiquated whereby the worldwide physique has to credit score again lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in unspent dues to states annually.
“In other words, we are trapped in a Kafkaesque cycle expected to give back cash that does not exist,” mentioned Guterres, referring to creator Franz Kafka who wrote about oppressive bureaucratic processes.