Guterres warns of UN's liquidity crisis as arrears near $1.6 billion

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to member states warning that the organisation is at risk of an "imminent financial collapse" because of non-payment of dues by some member states.

In a letter sent to all 193 member states, Guterres said the UN's financial situation has been rapidly deteriorating as some member states do not pay mandatory contributions in full while others fail to pay dues on time.

The organisation is thus forced to experience hiring freezes and cutbacks, and is in danger of running out of money by July if the situation persists, said the UN chief.

Over 150 member states paid their dues last year, whereas the UN still ended 2025 with 1.6 billion US dollars, or about 12 billion Hong Kong dollars, in unpaid contributions, doubling the amount from the previous year.

Guterres pointed out that a budget rule requiring the return of unspent funds to member states has made it difficult for the organisation to remain liquid.

In January alone, the UN needs to return unreceived funds of 227 million US dollars, or over 1.7 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Guterres called on member states to clear their outstanding dues, without identifying the countries responsible, and urged an overhaul of the UN's financial rules to avoid collapse.

The contributions are set according to each member state's gross domestic product, debt and other factors. The United States accounts for 22 percent of the organisation's core budget, closely followed by China's 20 percent.

In November 2025, the UN thanked China for paying up its dues for the year.

According to media reports, the Trump administration did not pay its contribution to the UN's regular budget last year, owing more than 2.1 billion US dollars in recurrent budget and 2.4 billion US dollars in peacekeeping.

Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has ordered to pull out of more than 60 international agencies, half of which are part of the UN.

Trump earlier formed the "Board of Peace" to sideline the UN, accusing it of not supporting the US-led peacemaking efforts in the war-ravaged Gaza.

When launching his initiative in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said the "Board of Peace" will work with the UN.