On January 28, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to all 193 member states, warning that, because of unpaid dues and funding shortfalls, the UN is facing “imminent financial collapse,” and that cash could potentially run out as soon as July 2026, as cited by multiple media outlets.
The letter described a “double blow” created by a particular rule that forces the UN to return unspent funds on particular programs to member states, even when contributions were never paid, trapping the organization in what Guterres called a “Kafkaesque cycle,” reported RT.
Outstanding dues reached a record $1.568 billion at the end of 2025, with collections covering only 76.7% of assessed contributions, leaving the organization dangerously exposed. Unless collections “drastically improve,” the UN will not be able to fully implement its 2026 budget, Guterres said.
The warnings come in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) last week, and from 66 other international organizations in early January—31 of them UN organizations. This hits especially hard given the fact that the U.S. is the U.N.’s largest contributor.
Pew Research reports that the U.S. has always been the largest donor to the UN, and this year was responsible for 22% of the UN’s regular budget assessments, or $820.4 million of the $3.5 billion net total. China is second up at 20%, or $679.8 million, and Japan is a distant third at 6.9% $235.5 million.
