UN chief Antonio Guterres proposed cutting the 2026 core budget by USD577 million and more than 18% of jobs as soaring U.S. arrears deepen the organisation’s financial crisis.
00:00United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed to slash the core UN budget for next year by $577 million and cutting more than 18% of jobs.
00:13He outlined the plan as the UN approaches its 80th anniversary amid a severe cash shortfall largely caused by unpaid contributions from the US.
00:24The US, which currently provides 22% of the UN's core budget, has signaled that it intends to reduce its payments.
00:34President Donald Trump has argued that the UN is falling short of its potential and has pledged to scale back US funding.
00:43Addressing the General Assembly's Budget Committee, Guterres said the UN ended 2024 with $760 million in areas,
00:51including $709 million unpaid from that year alone.
00:56He added that a further $877 million in 2025 contributions had yet to be received, bringing total areas to $1.586 billion.
01:09Guterres proposed a 2026 core budget of $3.238 billion, a 15% reduction from the current year.
01:18He said this funding would support political, humanitarian disarmament, economic, social and communications activities,
01:26while most financing for agencies such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF would continue to come from voluntary contributions.
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