On Monday, Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, formally proposed reducing more than 18% of employment and $577 million from the organization's core budget for the upcoming year.
As the global organization approaches its 80th anniversary this year, Guterres is looking for measures to increase productivity and reduce expenses amid a financial crisis mostly caused by U.S. arrears.
"We concluded 2024 with $760 million in arrears, of which $709 million is still outstanding from 2024. We have also not received $877 million of 2025 dues and so hence, arrears now stand at $1,586 million," Guterres told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly budget committee.
He recommended a basic budget of $3.238 billion for 2026, a drop of 15% compared with this year. Political, humanitarian, disarmament, economic, social affairs, and communications activity are all included in that budget.
The majority of U.N. organizations, finances, and initiatives, like the World Food Program and the children's organization UNICEF, require voluntary contributions.
"Liquidity remains fragile, and this challenge will persist regardless of the final budget approved by the General Assembly - given the unacceptable volume of arrears," Guterres stated.
According to estimates approved by the General Assembly, the United States is the largest donor to the U.N. core budget, contributing a maximum of 22%. U.S. President Donald Trump has praised the U.N. as having "great potential" but claimed it is not realizing it. He wants to slash U.S. funding.
Guterres formed a reform task force in March, known as UN80, which tries to slash expenses and increase efficiency. U.N. peacekeeping has a distinct budget. In October, senior U.N. officials said a quarter of peacekeepers in nine operations throughout the world would be eliminated owing to a lack of money and as future funding from the United States remains uncertain.
