United Nations chief António Guterres warned that the UN is on the verge of financial collapse due to rising unpaid dues and worsening budget shortfalls.
Guterres, in a letter he sent to UN member states, called on them to address unpaid dues and overhaul the global body’s financial rules.
He emphasised that the crisis is deepening, which is threatening programme delivery and increasing the risk of financial collapse.
Guterres warned in the letter to UN ambassadors that the situation is likely to deteriorate further in the near future.
He specifically warned member states that they must either overhaul the UN’s financial rules or accept the very real prospect of the Organisation’s financial collapse.
The UN chief cited two main problems: unpaid dues and a rule now seen as antiquated, under which the global body has to credit hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent dues to member states each year.
As a result, Guterres described the situation as a Kafkaesque cycle, “expected to give back cash that does not exist.”
Kafkaesque refers to the author Franz Kafka, whose work explores oppressive bureaucratic processes.
In his letter, Guterres said, “decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced.”
He concluded, “Either all Member States honour their obligations to pay in full and on time, or they must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent collapse.”
Under UN rules, the annual dues that UN member states must pay are set according to each country’s gross domestic product, debt and other factors.
Under the rules, the U.S. accounts for 22 per cent of the UN regular budget, which finances the organisation’s day-to-day operations and its primary activities.
The U.S. is also responsible for approximately 26 per cent of the UN peacekeeping budget.
However, the U.S. has both slashed voluntary funding to UN agencies and refused to make mandatory payments to its regular and peacekeeping budgets, exacerbating financial challenges.
As at the end of 2025, there was a record 1.57 billion dollars in outstanding dues, Guterres lamented in his 2026 letter.
Founded in 1945, the UN has 193 member states and works to maintain international peace and security, promote human rights, foster social and economic development, and coordinate humanitarian aid.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump has recently launched a Board of Peace, which some fear could undermine the current global body.
Trump, who described the UN as having “great potential”, however, said the global body is not fulfilling that.
To wriggle out of the cash crunch, Guterres launched a reform task force, UN80, in 2025, aimed at cutting costs and improving efficiency.
Following the launch of the initiative, states agreed to cut the 2026 budget by around seven per cent to 3.45 billion dollars.
Despite his cost-cutting measures, Guterres warned in the letter that the UN could run out of cash by July.
As of Friday, only 36 of the 193 member states had fully paid their regular 2026 contributions, according to the UN’s website.
