NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, warned that peacekeeping operations are being directly undermined by a deepening United Nations liquidity crisis, which has also drawn stark warnings from UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres.
Earlier this month, Guterres said the world body could face “imminent financial collapse” unless member states pay their dues in full and on time or overhaul budget rules that force the UN to return unspent funds even when it lacks cash.
By the end of 2025, the UN posted a record $1.57 billion in unpaid dues, a shortfall that threatens programme delivery and peace operations globally.
Ambassador Iftikhar, speaking at the opening of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, warned that the financial shortfall was affecting mandate delivery, protection of civilians, deterrence against violence, and the safety of peacekeepers.
“The UN peacekeeping remains an indispensable instrument for maintaining international peace and security, but is facing growing political, operational and financial pressures that require collective action,” the ambassador said.
Recalling Pakistan’s contribution, the ambassador said, “The country hosts one of the oldest UN peacekeeping missions, the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, and has been among the largest and longest-serving troop contributors for more than six decades.”
Paying tribute to 182 Pakistani peacekeepers who lost their lives under the UN flag, he said over 250,000 Pakistani peacekeepers had served in 48 missions across four continents.
The envoy cautioned that declining financial commitments and shrinking missions without a clear strategic direction could affect the readiness of troop-contributing countries, including standby arrangements, rapid deployment capabilities and specialised units.
Calling reform necessary, he said peacekeeping must become more agile, focused and better equipped to address evolving threats, including through technology and stronger partnerships.
He stressed that protection of civilians, deterrence against violations, and ceasefire monitoring and verification remain core tasks, adding that lack of political progress should not be used as a pretext to withdraw missions.
What is UN chief asking member states to do?
Without naming the United States, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said earlier this month the UN’s “cash-flow problem” could be solved if member states, who have an obligation to pay, pay.”
The crunch comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has launched a ‘Board of Peace’ with himself as lifetime chair, which some fear could undermine the UN, a body with 193 member states formed in the ashes of World War Two that works to maintain international peace and security.
Under Trump, as well as refusing to make mandatory payments to the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, the US has slashed voluntary funding to UN agencies with their own budgets, and moved to exit US organisations, including the World Health Organisation.
In December, the UN appealed for a 2026 aid budget only half the size of what it had hoped for in 2025, acknowledging a plunge in donor funding at a time when humanitarian needs have never been greater.
Guterres launched a reform task force last year, UN80, seeking to cut costs and improve efficiency. The approved 2026 regular budget is roughly $200 million higher than he proposed, but about 7% lower than the approved 2025 budget.
Guterres warned in his letter that the UN could run out of cash by July and cited a “Kafkaesque” requirement for it to credit back hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent dues to states each year, even if it never received the money. UN officials hope to overhaul this “bizarre” rule, which Guterres has called “a race to bankruptcy.”
