UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that the organisation’s liquidity crisis stems largely from unpaid membership dues.
The UN has faced chronic funding shortfalls, with the US historically its largest debtor.
“The liquidity crisis is caused by one simple fact: the arrears. We have a huge debt to the organisation, essentially from one member state and a few others,” Mr Guterres said during an informal meeting to discuss UN reforms.
The UN chief did not name the specific countries but dismissed the idea that structural reforms alone would resolve the financial strain, stressing that the solution lies in member states fulfilling their financial obligations.
“We won’t solve the liquidity crisis by reforming the organisation. We solve it by countries paying their contributions in full and on time,” he said, adding that this would improve the UN’s efficiency and mitigate the crisis.
The US owed the UN about $2.8 billion as of early 2025, according to UN figures. The total includes about $1.5 billion in unpaid assessments for the UN's regular budget and roughly $1.3 billion for peacekeeping operations and international tribunals.
Under the UN’s funding formula, the US is responsible for 22 per cent of the regular budget and about 27 per cent of peacekeeping costs. However, a 1993 US congressional cap limits peacekeeping contributions to 25 per cent, leading to accumulating arrears.
Despite the unpaid dues, the US has avoided losing its General Assembly voting rights by making partial payments. Under Article 19 of the UN Charter, a member state can be stripped of its vote if arrears match or exceed its contributions for the past two years.
The funding crisis has forced the UN to consider cost-cutting measures, including agency consolidation and staff relocations.
Mr Guterres stressed that while reforms were necessary, they would not be a substitute for member states’ financial commitments.
He called on member states to make tough decisions.
"Many of you have agreed that this must be the moment to be bold and ambitious. That is what our organisation needs and that is what our times demand," he said.
"Make no mistake uncomfortable and difficult decisions lie ahead. It may be easier and even tempting to ignore them or kick the can down the road. But that road is a dead end."
