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New Delhi: In an attempt to improve efficiency and cut costs in the UN, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday formally proposed slashing the core UN budget for next year by $577 million. The move is also expected to include cutting more than 18 per cent of jobs at the top global body.
"We ended 2024 with $760 million in arrears, of which $709 million is still outstanding from 2024. We have also not received $877 million of 2025 dues and so thus, arrears now stand at $1,586 million," Guterres told the 193-member U.N. General Assembly budget committee.
As part of the budgetary decisions, the UN Secretary-General proposed a core budget of $3.238 billion for 2026. This means a reduction of 15 per cent compared to this year. The budget includes many major areas of UN concern, be it political, humanitarian, disarmament, economic or social affairs. Contributions to most U.N. agencies, funds and programs, such as the World Food Programme and children's group UNICEF, are voluntary.
"Liquidity remains fragile, and this challenge will persist regardless of the final budget approved by the General Assembly – given the unacceptable volume of arrears," Guterres said. The United States is the top contributor to the UN core budget, paying the maximum 22 per cent according to assessments agreed upon by the General Assembly.
Things though are uncertain at the moment with US President Donald Trump not totally satisfied with the UN work despite stating it "great potential" himself and having stated his intent of slashing US funding to the UN.
Nonetheless different UN bodies have different budgetary priorities and allocations. The UN peacekeeping for example has a separate budget. That too has been after due to lack of funds, as only a couple months ago it was reported that a quarter of peacekeepers in nine operations around the world would be cut due to a lack of money.
Some UN programs though are likely to be not affected by the budget cuts. This includes the budget for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the UNRWA, something that will remain intact due to the high level of demand in Palestine. “I made the decision to exempt UNRWA from any reductions that would have dramatic consequences on the backbone of the entire humanitarian response in Gaza,” UN head Guterres said. The budget for the “Development Account and advocacy for Africa’s development” will also remain at 2025 levels, he further added.
Also, some 18 per cent of UN posts are already vacant due to its ongoing liquidity crisis, be it from unpaid member dues or other debts. They are not necessarily related to the positions that have been targeted for cuts, the secretary-general said. “Those vacancies do not correspond to a political decision oriented by a strategic priority, but simply by the fact that people left, and we have not the money to pay for the replacement because of the liquidity crisis,” he explained.
