UN Warns of Emerging Cash Shortfall Amid Funding Crisis

(MENAFN) The United Nations is facing the prospect of running out of money, as unpaid dues and widening funding gaps from member states increasingly threaten its ability to operate, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has cautioned.

In a letter circulated this week to all 193 member states, Guterres warned that unless countries meet their mandatory financial obligations or agree to reform the organization’s budgetary rules, the UN could face an “imminent financial collapse.” He said the situation was worsening and already “deepening, threatening program delivery,” adding that available cash could be exhausted as early as July.

Guterres pointed to what he described as a structural “double blow” within the UN’s financial system. Current regulations require the organization to return unused funds from specific programs to member states, even when those states have not paid their assessed contributions. This mechanism, he said, traps the UN in a “Kafkaesque cycle” that further undermines financial stability.

Unpaid dues reached a record $1.568 billion by the end of 2025, while only 76.7% of assessed contributions had been collected. Guterres warned that unless payments “drastically improve,” the organization will be unable to fully carry out its 2026 budget.

The warning comes amid sharp reductions in funding from the United States, the UN’s largest contributor. Washington has cut voluntary contributions to several UN programs and significantly reduced foreign aid spending in 2025. President Donald Trump said the cuts were meant to “end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities.” The US also formally withdrew from the UN’s World Health Organization last week.

Although the US pledged $2 billion in late December for UN humanitarian programs, it also warned that the organization must “adapt or die.” UN figures show that total US humanitarian contributions fell to $3.38 billion last year, accounting for about 14.8% of global humanitarian funding. This represents a sharp drop from $14.1 billion in 2024 and a peak of $17.2 billion in 2022.

Other major Western donors, including Germany and the United Kingdom, have also reduced funding as they redirect resources toward military spending. The combined pullback has created a severe funding crunch, intensifying concerns about the UN’s ability to sustain operations and deliver programs worldwide.

MENAFN31012026000045017281ID1110677131