THE revised proposal marks a significant decline compared to its initial request of $3.715 billion for next year and is 15.1 percent lower than Credit approved for 2025.
Addressing the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly – which manages the finances and administration of the UN – Mr. Guterres described a deeply precarious outlook, with high arrears, delays in contributions and the “crowding” threatening to wipe out liquidity and undermine core operations.
Staff reductions
The revised budget also reduces staffing levels from the original 2026 proposal funding 13,809 positions (10,667 regular positions plus 3,142 special political mission positions) to 11,594 positions – a reduction of 18.8 percent compared to 2025.
These cuts target the most important departments and administrative functions, while protecting programs that directly serve Member States – particularly least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States, and African development advocacy.
The regular budget, financed by assessed contributions from Member States, covers the core programs and operations of the UN Secretariat.
Additionally, the UN has a specific budget for peacekeeping operations on a cycle from July 1 to June 30 – while the regular budget operates on a calendar year basis.
Growing liquidity crisis
The UN chief warned that the current liquidity crisis had serious implications beyond next year, until 2027.
High arrears at the end of last year, totaling $760 millioncoupled with an obligation to return $300 million in credits to Member States at the start of 2026, removes almost 10 percent of the budget from available liquidity.
“Any delay in collections at the start of the year will force us to reduce our expenses even further.…and will then potentially be faced with the prospect of returning $600 million in 2027, or about 20 percent of the budget,” he said.
“This means a race to bankruptcy,» he added, reiterating the urgency of reducing arrears and suspending loan repayments.
Previous measures to limit spending had provided only temporary relief.
The UN entered the year 2025 with a deficit of 135 million dollars and by the end of September it had collected only 66.2 percent of the year’s contributions, compared to 78.1 percent at the same time in 2024.
By that date, only 136 of the 193 Member States had paid their contributions in full. Several contributors, including the United States, China, Russia and Mexico, had not yet finalized their payments.
Reflect budgetary realities
The revised program budget for 2026 reflects both budgetary realities and the UN80 Initiative, a broad reform effort aimed at making the Secretariat more agile, more resilient and more cost-effective.
Proposed efficiencies include consolidating payroll into a single global team, relocating functions to lower-cost duty stations, and creating common administrative platforms in New York and Bangkok.
The main priorities remain, despite the cuts: 37 special political missions will continue their operations, the resident coordinator system will be funded to the tune of $53 million and the Peacebuilding Fund to the tune of $50 million.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will expand its regional offices in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut, Dakar, Panama City, Pretoria and Vienna.
What happens next?
Over the coming weeks, the Fifth Committee will discuss the proposal with heads of UN Secretariat departments and senior program officials.
The Committee will then present its report and recommendations to the plenary of the General Assembly, with final approval of UN budget expected by end of December.
Mr. Guterres also highlighted the report on the improvement of the financial situationwhich offers a mechanism to suspend credit returns whenever liquidity shortfalls threaten the full execution of the following year’s budget.
“Members did not reach a decision and the report was postponed until this session. Failure to reach agreement on the deteriorating liquidity situation could jeopardize critical elements of our work program,” Mr. Guterres said.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
