The United Nations (UN) is currently facing a financial crisis as unpaid dues from member States mount, leading to reduced spending, hiring freezes, and closure of some services, with worsening global financial sector.
During the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee meeting held on Monday, delegates proposed solutions to address the multinational organization’s financial health and urged members to pay up, warning that the crisis could threaten the UN’s ability to carry out important work.
Speaking on behalf of Liechtenstein, the Switzerland delegate highlighted the adverse effect of funding shortage and hiring freeze, warning that it could cripple the UN’s ability to carry out its mandate and undermine its credibility.
He proposed a conditional, temporary strategy that would allow the UN to keep unspent funds at the end of the year, instead of returning the funds to member states as usual—if the organization spends less than 90% of its approved budget within a fiscal year, and if the UN’s cash reserves are critically low, threatening service delivery in the following year.
The proposed solution aims to keep the organization running, especially in January when payments are often delayed.
The delegate also encouraged the use of ‘special commitment’ at the beginning of the year to address issues caused by delayed contributions. The special commitment is the UN emergency budget used to fund unexpected or urgent activities.
Norway’s delegate stated that these temporary measures are incapable of solving the financial crisis as the main underlying problem lies with Member States that delay payment or do not pay in full and called for a radical approach as he urged member states to ensure timely payments.
Speaking on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Singapore’s representative expressed concern over the financial problem that has forced the UN to operate at 83 percent of its approved budget. He said:
“The UN’s chronic liquidity problem has simply become part of the Organization’s operating assumptions. This has no doubt affected mandate delivery in some areas, especially given the uneven distribution of liquidity across the various UN departments.”
According to data presented by the Secretariat, unpaid regular budget contributions stood at $2.4 billion as of April 30, 2025, up from $1.7 billion the previous year, while peacekeeping operations face a $2.7 billion shortfall.
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