UN chief warns unpaid dues near $1.6 billion, as budget cuts deepen

António Guterres told the Fifth Committee the UN is facing its most fragile cash position in years, despite sharp reductions already built into next year’s budget plans.

“Liquidity remains fragile, and this challenge will persist regardless of the final budget approved,” he said, pointing to the “unacceptable volume of arrears” owed by Member States.

The UN ended 2024 with $760 million in unpaid assessments, most of it still outstanding, and has yet to receive $877 million in contributions due for 2025 – bringing total arrears to around $1.586 billion.

With less than five weeks remaining in the year, only 145 of UN’s 193 Member States had paid their 2025 dues in full.

Key contributors such as the United States and Russia have yet to pay what they owe, although China paid its full assessment on 29 October.

“I have repeatedly appealed to Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time,” the Secretary-General said, warning that cash shortfalls are forcing the organization to operate well below approved budget levels.

Deep spending cuts already built in

The warning comes as delegations consider revised estimates for the UN’s 2026 regular budget, which already reflect deep structural cuts under the UN80 reform initiative – a system-wide efficiency drive aimed at modernizing operations and lowering costs.

Under the revised proposal, the UN’s regular budget for 2026 would stand at $3.238 billion, a reduction of $577 million – or 15.1 per cent – compared with 2025. Some 2,681 posts would be cut, an 18.8 per cent reduction from current levels.

Special political missions would also face cuts of more than 21 per cent compared with 2025 levels, largely due to mission closures and streamlined staffing.

Functions consolidated, jobs relocated

As part of the savings drive, the UN plans to consolidate payroll processing into a single global team across three duty stations and create shared administrative hubs starting in New York and Bangkok.

The Secretariat is also reviewing functions that can be moved to lower-cost locations. Since 2017, lease terminations in New York have already saved $126 million, with a further $24.5 million a year in expected savings from additional closures by 2028.

The plan includes one-time separation and relocation costs of $5.4 million, as voluntary exit programmes are used to limit involuntary job losses.

Delegations weigh in

The revised estimates have been reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) and are now before the Fifth Committee for negotiations ahead of year-end budget approval.

ACABQ Chair Juliana Gaspar Ruas said the body welcomed the reform push, cautioning that the revised estimates were prepared under tight time constraints, limiting the ACABQ’s ability to fully assess the basis for some proposed cuts. While backing consolidation and efficiency efforts, she also flagged uneven methodologies across departments and called for clearer criteria on staff relocations.

Member States commended the Secretary-General’s efforts in presenting the revised estimates, acknowledged the Organization’s ongoing liquidity challenges, and expressed support for a stronger and more agile UN.

Several delegations, however, echoed concerns about the compressed timeline, warning that the late arrival of key documents is constraining full scrutiny. Some diplomats warned that proposed cuts fall more heavily on junior and general service staff than on senior posts, threatening both geographic balance and workforce rejuvenation.

Others cautioned that proposed staff reductions appear uneven across the UN’s three pillars, with proportionally deeper cuts to development-related programmes.

The Secretary-General said he was “sincerely worried” by that concern. He insisted that, in overall terms, the development pillar is in fact facing the smallest proportional reduction, with Africa-related programmes largely protected and the biggest cuts instead falling on support and back-office functions rather than frontline delivery.

“Our commitment to development is absolutely fundamental and that our commitment to the African continent is absolutely fundamental,” he said.

Final approval will require endorsement by the full General Assembly later this month.

Cash crisis already affecting operations

Despite the planned reductions, Secretary-General Guterres said the UN has already been forced to underspend in 2025 because cash simply is not available.

“Vacancies do not correspond to a strategic priority,” he said, “but simply by the fact that people left and we do not the money to pay for the replacement.”

To protect liquidity, the UN has proposed temporarily suspending the return of budget credits to countries – essentially delaying reimbursements until cash levels stabilise.

“It is difficult to give back money because we didn’t receive it,” Mr. Guterres told the committee.

He warned that unless payments improve, financial strain will continue to undermine operations regardless of how lean the approved budget becomes.