Photo: Doug Armand / Stone / Getty Images
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued his starkest warning yet about the organization's financial crisis, telling member states on Friday (January 30) that the UN faces "imminent financial collapse" due to unpaid dues and outdated budget rules.
In a letter dated Tuesday (January 28) and reviewed by Reuters, Guterres warned that "the crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse." He added that the situation "will deteriorate further in the near future."
The 193-member organization, founded in 1945 to maintain international peace and security, faces a record $1.57 billion in outstanding dues from member states as of the end of 2025. Guterres did not name specific countries, but his warning comes as the United States has retreated from multilateralism, slashing voluntary funding and refusing mandatory payments to the UN's regular and peacekeeping budgets.
"Either all Member States honour their obligations to pay in full and on time – or Member States must fundamentally overhaul our financial rules to prevent an imminent financial collapse," Guterres wrote in the letter.
Under UN rules, the United States accounts for 22 percent of the core budget, followed by China with 20 percent. Contributions are calculated based on the size of each member state's economy. President Donald Trump has described the UN as having "great potential" while suggesting it is not fulfilling that promise, and has launched a Board of Peace initiative that some experts fear could undermine the international body.
The financial crisis is compounded by an outdated rule requiring the UN to return hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent funds to member states each year. "In other words, we are trapped in a Kafkaesque cycle expected to give back cash that does not exist," he wrote.
The UN approved a $3.45 billion budget for 2026 in early January, representing a seven percent reduction from the previous year as part of cost-cutting efforts under the UN80 reform task force launched by Guterres. Despite these measures, the organization could run out of cash by July, Guterres warned.
At a news briefing on Friday afternoon, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that "when it comes to paying, it's now or never." He added, "We do not have the sort of cash reserves and the sort of liquidity to keep functioning as we've done in previous years."
As of Thursday, only 36 of the 193 UN member states had fully paid their regular 2026 contributions, according to the organization's website. The Trump administration announced on January 15 that it would withhold 10 percent of its funding to the United Nations and UN agencies unless they "take credible steps to combat anti-Israel bias."
The letter marks Guterres' most urgent appeal yet regarding the organization's deteriorating financial situation, emphasizing that member states must either honor their payment obligations or agree to fundamental reforms of the UN's financial structure.