UN risks ‘imminent financial collapse’, secretary general warns
(BBC) The United Nations is at risk of “imminent financial collapse” due to member states not paying their fees, the body’s head has warned.
António Guterres said the UN faced a financial crisis which was “deepening, threatening programme delivery”, and that money could run out by July.
He wrote in a letter to all 193 member states that they had to honour their mandatory payments or overhaul the organisation’s financial rules to avoid collapse.
It comes after the UN’s largest contributor, the US, refused to contribute to its regular and peacekeeping budgets, and withdrew from several agencies it called a “waste of taxpayer dollars”. Several other members are in arrears or are simply refusing to pay.
Though, the UN General Assembly did approve a partial change to its financial system in late 2025, the organisation still faces a massive cash crisis compounded by a rule that means it is refunding money it never received.
At its headquarters in Geneva, signs warning of the situation have been put up everywhere. In an almost desperate attempt to save cash, the escalators are regularly turned off and the heating turned down.
Guterres wrote in his letter that the UN had faced financial crises in the past but that the current situation was “categorically different”.
“Decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced,” the secretary general said, without naming specific members.
He said the “integrity of the entire system” depended on states adhering to their obligation under the UN charter to pay their “assessed contributions” – adding that 77% of the total owed had been paid in 2025, leaving a record amount unpaid.
Guterres said a rule that the UN must return unspent money on particular programmes to members if it could not implement a budget created a “double blow” in which it was “expected to give back cash that does not exist”.
“I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face. We cannot execute budgets with uncollected funds, nor return funds we never received.”
As a result, the UN is now returning millions of dollars it never actually had.
The letter reads: “Just this month, as part of the 2026 assessment, we were compelled to return $227m [£165m] – funds we have not collected.”
“The bottom line is clear,” Guterres wrote. “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.”.
UN agencies rarely get all the money they ask for to tackle humanitarian crises, but the past 12 months have been particularly difficult.
The US is the UN’s largest contributor, but President Donald Trump has said it was not fulfilling its “great potential” and has criticised it for failing to support US-led peace efforts.
The US did not pay its contribution to the UN’s regular budget in 2025 and offered only 30% of its expected funding to UN peacekeeping operations.
Then in January, Trump withdrew it from dozens of international organisations, including 31 UN agencies, to “end American taxpayer funding and involvement in entities that advance globalist agendas over US priorities”.
In late December, the US pledged $2bn (£1.5bn) in funding for UN humanitarian programmes – warning the international organisation must “adapt or die” – a fraction of the $17bn it spent in 2022.
Other countries, such as the UK and Germany, have also announced significant reductions in foreign aid, which will inevitably impact the UN’s work.
Dambisa Moyo in her book “Dead Aid” was very clear. We dont benefit from this aid non sense.
We sign aid or debt programs to bloster our finances but what we sign is a debt trap.
How money actually ends up being used in the actual project? To the actual people this aid is meant for?
We recently learnt in our payments of our debt to China. That we have been paying in Dollars and the Americans have been making a killing in transaction costs. Debt. How much actually ends up here? They employ their people pad them into the aid or impose them on us as incountry staff to monitor that we are using the money as said. At their head office or the source country middle men on other staff are costed to the loan or aid such that the amount of money that actually goes to the project as aid is half or less.
This man should as how effective the UN is? They meet to address a problem and the decisive decision is vetoed and lives are lost. Who cares? We in the third world are an after thought to their games as they live in “Ivory towers” extorting contributions from our measly budgets to support them and their kind but when war breaks out. The same people engage in protracted decussions while women and child are raped and abused. A stark example is the sudan issue. Who is funding the war. UAE! The reports are there. What is the UN and everyone else doing about? Palibe. For awhile they have more concerned about Hamas and Ukrain. When they do finally get to the issue its a blurp…a footnote. While the Opposition won the Chawama elections. Its interesting to learn how and what led them to win. SP poured resources into the election. Where does SP get its funding? They say “He who plays the piper sets the tempo of the music we dance to”. For awhile Mmembe and Sishuwa have called UPND the Brenthurst dancer. But I pose the same question to him. Who is funding SP? What will they do for Zambians when at the helm?
Mmembe has been heard making trips to Venezuela Cuba and Russia. I wonder what the Chinese told him? While the three mentioned seem to undermine government (when previous scholarships were awarded through government to Government) today we are learning that the Maduro government was awarding the SP party scholarship and Mmembe wants to believe he was funding students education. What money does Mmembe have? His Nangwenya road home was taken by bailffs in the Post liquidation. Post assets were sold. So what money does Mmembe have? Where is it coming from?
I think its important to know who funds our political parties so we understand who we enslave ourselves to. We all know HH is a farmer. We have all heard how people have flocked to UPND thinking they will “eat” without working only to be disappointed and now groan that they are “hungry”. Hungry because instead of working and being productive you pretend by cladding yourselves in party regaila and think chanting is working. Political parties are not employers. Its a vehicle where people with shared ideas seek to lead a nation. Not a company. When elected they dont work for you. They work for the entire nation. No preferencial treatment…ah ine ina sebenzela chipani. No! You believed the ideas chipani stood for were good for the nation and you therefore stood for them spreading their ideas not that they owe you a living. Listen to most Zambians this is a sad misconception…thinking that they owe you a diplomatic job.
Worst case is characters like Frank Mutubila with all the experience and education. Ask the man what he stands for? Clueless…kwalola mwela as long as “nalyamo”. If a man can suggest that kind of notion. What more the illiterate? Lets be honest and sincere ba Frank. What are you speaking up against? You waffle but give us a concise answer to my question? What do you even stand for? As a Journalist deal with the facts. What is Zambia’s position? Do your read credible reports from various sources before you form an opinion? Or are you part of the tribe that use “emotions” to think and expect every to follow you blindly off the cliff and plunge us into the mess we saw PF take us. Objectivity is we want in our arguements and points of view. Posing nama wet look era thinking that sauve will open doors. Mwana…chapa who look dirty and cheap have more money than youve made in your working life put together. And you want to lecture them about life?