UN secretary-general António Guterres says with less than five weeks remaining in the year, only 145 of the UN’s 193 member states, including Nigeria, have paid their 2025 dues in full.

Nigeria paid its full dues on September 25.

Mr Guterres told the Fifth Committee on Monday in New York that the UN was facing its most fragile cash position in years, despite sharp reductions already built into next year’s budget plans.

Key contributors such as the United States and Russia have yet to pay what they owe, although China paid its full assessment on October 29.

“I have repeatedly appealed to member states to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time,” Mr Guterres said, warning that cash shortfalls are forcing the organisation to operate well below approved budget levels.

The UN chief, however, warned that unpaid dues are nearing $1.6 billion amid deepening budget cuts.

Mr Guterres said chronic late payments were hampering the world body’s ability to function, even as sweeping cuts move forward through the General Assembly’s main budget committee.

“Liquidity remains fragile, and this challenge will persist regardless of the final budget approved,” he said, pointing to the “unacceptable volume of arrears” owed by member states.

The UN ended 2024 with $760 million in unpaid assessments, most of it still outstanding, and has yet to receive $877 million in contributions due for 2025, bringing total arrears to around $1.586 billion.

Mr Guterres spoke as delegations considered revised estimates for the UN’s 2026 regular budget, which already reflect deep structural cuts under the UN80 reform initiative, a system-wide efficiency drive aimed at modernising operations and lowering costs.

Under the revised proposal, the UN’s regular budget for 2026 would stand at $3.238 billion, a reduction of $577 million or 15.1 per cent compared with 2025. Some 2,681 posts would be cut, an 18.8 per cent reduction from current levels.

Special political missions would also face cuts of more than 21 per cent compared with 2025 levels, largely due to mission closures and streamlined staffing.

As part of the savings drive, the UN plans to consolidate payroll processing into a single global team across three duty stations and create shared administrative huns starting in New York and Bangkok.

The secretariat is also reviewing functions that can be moved to lower-cost locations. Since 2017, lease terminations in New York have already saved $126 million, with an additional $24.5 million in expected savings from additional closures by 2028.

The plan includes one-time separation and relocation costs of $5.4 million, as voluntary exit programmes are used to limit involuntary job losses.

The revised estimates have been reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and are now before the Fifth Committee for negotiations ahead of year-end budget approval.

ACABQ chair Juliana Gaspar Ruas said the body welcomed the reform push, cautioning that the revised estimates were prepared under tight time constraints, limiting the ACABQ’s ability to fully assess the basis for some proposed cuts.

(NAN)