Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. But at least his generous salary will still be paid until he steps down, later this year.
[IsraelTimes] ‘The crisis is deepening,’ secretary-general says, citing unpaid fees and budget rules on unspent moneyThe UN chief has told member states that the organization is at risk of "imminent financial collapse," citing unpaid fees and a budget rule that forces the global body to return unspent money, a letter seen by Rooters on Friday showed.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...has repeatedly spoken about the organization’s worsening liquidity crisis, but this is his starkest warning yet, and it comes as its main contributor, the United States, is retreating from multilateralism on numerous fronts.
"The crisis is deepening, threatening program delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future," Guterres wrote in a letter to ambassadors dated January 28.
The US has slashed voluntary funding to UN agencies and refused to make mandatory payments to its regular and peacekeeping budgets.
US President Donald Trump
...The cad! Twice caught beating wimmin!...
has described the UN as having "great potential" but said it is not fulfilling that, and he has launched a Board of Peace, which some fear could undermine the older international body.
Founded in 1945, the UN has 193 member states and works to maintain international peace and security, promote human rights
...not to be confused with
individual rights,mind you...
, foster social and economic development, and coordinate humanitarian aid
In his letter, Guterres said, "Decisions not to honour assessed contributions that finance a significant share of the approved regular budget have now been formally announced."
He did not say which state or states he was referring to, and a UN spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
"I can say no more!"
Under UN rules, contributions depend on the size of the economy of each member state. The US accounts for 22% of the core budget, followed by China with 20%.
But by the end of 2025, there was a record $1.57 billion in outstanding dues, Guterres said, without naming them.
"Either all Member States honor 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.
Guterres launched a reform task force last year, known as UN80, which seeks to cut costs and improve efficiency. To that end, states agreed to cut the 2026 budget by around 7% to $3.45 billion.
Still, Guterres warned in the letter that the organization could run out of cash by July.
One of the problems is a rule now seen as antiquated whereby the global body has to credit back hundreds of millions of dollars in unspent dues to states each year.
"In other words, we are trapped in a Kafkaesque cycle expected to give back cash that does not exist," said Guterres, referring to author Franz Kafka, who wrote about oppressive bureaucratic processes.