Geneva: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a stark warning that the world body is teetering on the edge of an unprecedented financial collapse, a crisis spurred by mounting unpaid contributions from member states and rigid budgetary rules that are draining the organization’s cash reserves.
In a letter dated January 28 and circulated to UN ambassadors, Guterres described the financial situation as deepening and deteriorating rapidly, threatening the UN’s ability to carry out its core functions from peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance to development programmes unless urgent action is taken.
At the heart of the crisis is a growing backlog of unpaid dues, with some of the world’s wealthiest contributors failing to honour assessed contributions that finance a large part of the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets. Guterres pointed out that a significant share of the regular budget remains unpaid, compounding an already precarious liquidity position.
A particularly troubling element of the situation is the UN’s own financial framework: its rules require the return of unspent funds to member states whose contributions arrive late a mechanism that paradoxically further erodes available cash for ongoing operations. Without reform of these budgetary norms, the organization faces the prospect of running out of usable cash by July.
The United States historically the largest funder of the United Nations has reduced voluntary contributions to UN agencies and has not fully met its assessed payments for both the regular and peacekeeping budgets. While Guterres did not name specific countries in his letter beyond pointing to formal announcements of withheld payments, the shortfall from Washington is widely acknowledged as a central driver of the crisis.
The looming financial crunch threatens to reverberate across the global organization’s wide range of activities. Peacekeeping missions, which rely on steady financing to pay troops and maintain operations in conflict zones, could face severe disruptions if funds are not received. Humanitarian programmes assisting millions of vulnerable people in regions such as Sudan, Yemen and beyond may also feel the strain.
Budget cuts and cash conservation measures are not new: over the past year the UN has already proposed significant reductions in its core budget for 2026, including cuts of hundreds of millions of dollars and proposals to eliminate a substantial share of posts within the Secretariat to stay afloat.
Nonetheless, the letter underscores that even these internal adjustments may be insufficient unless member states step up to meet their financial obligations or agree to major reforms of how the UN budget operates.
Guterres’ warning arrives at a time when the United Nations is facing broader political and institutional pressures. In recent days he reiterated that global challenges cannot be solved by a single power “calling the shots” or by dividing the world into rival spheres of influence, remarks widely interpreted as a critique of great-power competition’s impact on global cooperation.
As 2026 marks the final year of Guterres’ tenure, his administration has underscored the need for renewed commitment to multilateralism in a world grappling with geopolitical tensions, climate emergencies, and humanitarian crises. Yet, the very institution designed to coordinate collective action may now find itself constrained by a cash crunch that risks undermining its relevance at a critical juncture for global governance.
In his letter, Guterres made a stark choice clear to member states: either honour financial obligations in full and on time, or fundamentally overhaul the UN’s budgetary rules to avert what he bluntly termed an “imminent financial collapse.”
With just months before the projected liquidity cliff, how governments respond whether by clearing arrears, reforming budget practices, or both will play a defining role in determining whether the United Nations can sustain its operations or faces cutbacks that could reshape its role on the world stage.