U.N. Says It’s in Danger of Financial Collapse Because of Unpaid Dues
The world body warned it would run out of money by July and have to close its New York headquarters if countries, namely the United States, did not pay annual dues that amount to billions of dollars
Jan. 30, 2026
The United Nations said on Friday that it was facing imminent financial collapse and would run out of money by July if countries, namely the United States, did not pay their annual dues that amount to billions of dollars.
Senior U.N. officials said that if the cash ran out, the agency would be forced to shut down its landmark headquarters in New York by August. The U.N. Security Council, a 15-member body responsible for maintaining international peace and stability, convenes its meetings at U.N. headquarters.
It would also have to cancel the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders held in September and shut the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which responds to global emergencies like conflicts and natural disasters, it said.
The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter to the ambassadors of all 196 member states on Thursday warning them of “imminent financial collapse,” saying the organization’s financial straits this time were different from those in any previous periods, according to a copy of the letter seen by The New York Times.
“The crisis is deepening, threatening program delivery and risking financial collapse,” Mr. Guterres wrote. “And the situation will further deteriorate in the near future. I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face.”
On Dec. 30, the General Assembly authorized $3.45 billion for the United Nations’ 2026 budget, covering the organization’s three core pillars of work: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.
The United States is responsible for about 95 percent of the money owed to the United Nations, about $2.2 billion, according to a senior U.N. official who briefed reporters on the agency’s budget crisis. That amount is a combination of the U.S. annual dues for 2025, which has not been paid, and for 2026, the U.N. official said.
As for comment, the U.S. mission to the United Nations referred questions to the State Department, which did not immediately respond.
Annual U.N. dues are mandatory and set according to a country’s gross domestic product, and a member state could be stripped of its voting rights at the United Nations for nonpayment.
Venezuela, which has the second-largest amount of unpaid dues, $38 million for 2025, has lost its voting rights, and the world body is not expecting a payment from the South American country because of sanctions, the U.N. official said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/worl ... debts.html