United Nations officials have revealed that the organization is headed toward a complete financial collapse. U.N. Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq spoke on the issue, stating that it has been put on an “unsustainable trajectory.”
Haq said, “The secretary-general has, as you know, repeatedly made clear the problem of both nonpayment of dues by member states and the related problem of the U.N. being forced to repay member states for budget expenses that it does not spend.”
He stated, “Those two factors have put us on an unsustainable trajectory… Although more than 150 member states paid their dues last year, we ended 2025 with a record $1.56 billion in outstanding dues, which is more than double that of the previous year.”
“So either the payments come in or we are not compelled to return the money that we are not able to spend because we did receive the budget. Unless one of the two things happens, we face a real danger of running out of money,” Haq added.
According to UN officials, the United Nations is on the brink of complete financial collapse due to “non-payment of dues by member states”.
“We face a real danger of running out of money.” pic.twitter.com/6koARrekQg
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly issued warnings on U.N. finances. He stated that it is at risk of “imminent financial collapse” owing to unpaid fees. On top of that, a budget rule has put the U.N. in a real predicament by forcing it to return unspent funds, he said.
In an exclusive letter to members, Guterres wrote that there was a record $1.56 billion in dues for the U.N.’s regular budget. However, he refrained from naming the nations that owed them. After a prolonged negotiation period, the U.N. General Assembly approved $3.45 billion for the regular United Nations budget for 2026 in December last year.
The amount covers costs of managing United Nations offices around the world, staff salaries, meetings and development and human rights-related work.
According to United Nations officials, the United States is responsible for over 95 percent of what is owed to the regular budget. The number was $2.19 billion by the start of February. The country reportedly also owes a bonus $2.4 billion for current and past peace-building operations and another $43.6 million for U.N. tribunals.
The UN is on the brink of “imminent financial collapse” due to US funding being slashed, according to Secretary-General Guterres.
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A senior State Department official has claimed that the U.N. has been spending more than it should and stated that it “needs to get back to basics.”
The official said, “The U.N. continues to pay its staff far more than for comparable U.S. government positions, provide unacceptable benefits and pensions, and increase the number of high-level bureaucrats in New York — up over 30 percent— in the last two years alone. The U.N. also spent $340 million just on meetings and conferences last year.”
According to Politico, President Donald Trump said he could “solve the problem very easily” and get other countries to pay if only the United Nations would ask. However, neither the White House nor the State Department clarified whether the United States is going to pay up what it owes.
