UNITED NATIONS: On Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres officially put forward a plan to reduce next year’s core U.N. budget by $577 million and eliminate more than 18% of staff positions.
Guterres is looking for ways to streamline operations and lower expenses as the organization marks its 80th anniversary while facing a severe cash shortfall, driven mostly by unpaid dues from the United States.
“We ended 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 thus, arrears now stand at $1,586 million,” Guterres told the U.N. General Assembly’s budget committee, which includes all 193 member states.
He recommended setting the 2026 core budget at $3.238 billion a 15% decrease compared to this year. This budget funds political, humanitarian, disarmament, economic, social affairs, and communications work. Financial support for most U.N. funds, agencies, and programs like UNICEF and the World Food Programme remains voluntary.
“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 warned.
The United States is the largest single contributor to the core U.N. budget, responsible for the maximum assessment rate of 22%. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.N. has “great potential” but is falling short, and he has pushed for major cuts to U.S. contributions.
Earlier this year, Guterres created a reform initiative known as UN80, launched in March, with the goal of reducing expenditures and enhancing efficiency.
The peacekeeping budget is separate from the core U.N. budget. In October, top U.N. officials announced that one-quarter of peacekeeping personnel across nine missions worldwide would be cut because of funding shortages and ongoing uncertainty about future U.S. payments.
