Translated with AI
The United Nations faces imminent financial collapse due to non-payment of mandatory contributions by member countries, Reuters reports, citing a letter from UN Secretary-General António Guterres to member states.
According to the agency, in his address, the Secretary-General called on countries to either pay their mandatory contributions in full and on time, or at least revise the budget rule that obliges the UN to return unspent funds that could be saved for future use.
"The crisis is deepening, threatening program implementation and risking financial collapse. And the situation will worsen further in the near future," António Guterres said in a letter addressed to ambassadors of the organization's member countries.
As Reuters notes, Guterres has repeatedly spoken about the UN's difficult financial situation, but the situation now appears to have worsened after the United States, the main donor, cut grants to UN agencies and refused to make mandatory payments.
“Either all Member States meet their payment obligations in full and on time, or Member States must fundamentally revise our financial rules to prevent an inevitable financial collapse,” the Secretary-General stressed in the letter.
Last year, António Guterres created a reform working group aimed at reducing costs and improving the organization's efficiency. The UN budget for 2026 has already been cut by approximately 7%, to $3.45 billion. However, in a letter, the Secretary-General warned that if the current situation continues, the organization could run out of funding by July.
