United Nations faces ‘imminent financial collapse’ without urgent action, UN chief says
Published:Saturday | January 31, 2026 | 2:30 PM
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief is warning that the world body faces “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues — a message likely directed at the United States and the billions it owes.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to all UN member nations obtained Friday by The Associated Press that cash for its regular operating budget could run out by July, which could dramatically affect its operations.
“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,” he said.
While Guterres didn’t name any country in the letter, which was reported earlier by Reuters, the financial crisis comes as the US, traditionally the largest donor, has not paid its mandatory dues to the United Nations.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the United Nations has potential but has not lived up to it.
His administration has withdrawn from UN organisations like the World Health Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens of others.
The US now owes $2.196 billion to the UN’s regular budget, including $767 million for this year and for prior years, according to UN officials, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US also owes $1.8 billion for the separate budget for the UN’s far-flung peacekeeping operations, and that also will rise.
The country second on the list for not paying dues is Venezuela, which owes $38 million, the official said. The country, whose economy was struggling before the US military raid this month that deposed then-President Nicolás Maduro, has already lost its right to vote in the General Assembly for being two years in arrears.
Guterres said the UN ended 2025 with a record $1.568 billion in outstanding dues, more than double the amount outstanding at the end of 2024. The UN official said the Trump administration did not pay any dues last year.
Because so much is owed, the UN’s liquidity reserves nearly have been exhausted, Guterres said, and unless payments drastically improve, the UN will not be able to fulfil the $3.45 billion regular budget for 2026 approved unanimously in December by the assembly’s 193 members.
The secretary-general stressed another major problem that he has raised repeatedly: Under U.N. financial rules, the organization is required to pay back unspent money from the regular budget to member states — even if it hasn’t received that money in payments.
He urged UN member nations to change the requirement immediately.
“I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face,” he said. “We cannot execute budgets with uncollected funds, nor return funds we never received.”
The US mission to the UN didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
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