With Member States Still Owing $1.87 Billion in Mandatory Contributions, United Nations Cash Situation ‘Unfortunately Has Not Improved’, Budget Chief Tells Fifth Committee
The United Nations’ cash position “unfortunately has not improved” since the last briefing in May, with 57 Member States still owing $1.87 billion out of the $3.5 billion in mandatory contributions as of 30 September — including $1.5 billion from the United States — the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) heard today.
Due to the cash shortage, the Organization already borrowed the full amount of the Working Capital Fund and anticipates that it will need to borrow from the Special Account in October, “leaving us only the surplus cash in the closed tribunals, which the General Assembly has approved as a last liquidity buffer”, said Catherine Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, in her semi-annual briefing on the UN’s financial situation.
Presenting the Organization’s key financial indicators for 2025, she provided details on three main categories — the regular budget, peacekeeping operations and the international tribunals.
By the end of the third quarter of 2025, 136 Member States had paid their regular budget contributions in full, compared to 141 a year earlier. According to Ms. Pollard’s slide presentation, the United States owes $1.5 billion, China $192 million, the Russian Federation $72 million, Venezuela $38 million, Mexico $20 million, and Argentina $16 million. The remaining 51 Member States owe a combined $37 million.
Ms. Pollard noted that monthly regular budget collections continue to fluctuate each year, making it difficult to plan and implement the budget efficiently and effectively. This year, collections were $67 million less than anticipated in the first quarter and $160 million less than expected by the end of the second quarter, before large receipts in September. “We collected $185 million more than anticipated by the end of September,” she said, adding: “However, collections in the last quarter of the year remain uncertain.”
“Predictability in the timing and amount of collections is critical for managing the Organization’s cash outflows and for planning spending properly and safely, without the risk of payment default,” she cautioned, urging Member States to pay their dues in full and on time.
Cash Saving Measures ‘Effective’
She also noted that “stringent cash conservation measures have been effective during the last few years in increasing liquidity, ensuring business continuity and reducing the risk of disruptions through the exhaustion of reserves”. In 2025, the cash conservation target was initially set at $400 million, compared to $345 million in 2024. However, in early March, the target was increased to about $600 million based on a reassessment of the collection forecast.
While the Organization managed to stay within liquidity reserves in 2022 and narrowly avoided borrowing from the closed tribunals in 2023, it was forced to tap the last buffer in 2024, she said, warning: “Current indications are that we may have to borrow from them again this year.”
Turning to the peacekeeping budget — which has a fiscal year running from July to June — she said that as of 30 September, 54 Member States had paid their mandatory contributions in full, compared to 59 a year earlier. The United States owes $2.36 billion, China $685 million, the Russian Federation $199 million, Venezuela $94 million, and Ukraine $79 million, with 49 other Member States yet to pay a combined $318 million.
On the tribunals’ budget, she said that total contributions outstanding as of 30 September stood at $65 million, with 113 Member States having paid in full, compared to 116 a year earlier. The United States owes $32 million, the Russian Federation $28 million, and Venezuela $2 million.
Make-or-Break Moment
Annalena Baerbock (Germany), President of the General Assembly, also addressed the Fifth Committee today, noting that its responsibility has taken on a greater urgency in the current era of budgetary constraints and reforms.
“We are literally at a crossroad — a make-or-break moment, politically and financially,” she said. Noting that she has encouraged other thematic committees “to think carefully before simply repeating resolutions and working methods of the past”, she stressed that drafting resolutions should not be a copy-paste job, especially when asking for yet another report from the Secretary-General. At the same time, she added, cutting for the sake of cutting without considering the consequences would mean shredding the principles of the Organization.
She also pointed out that “the liquidity crisis has been years in the making”. A sustainable solution requires not only reforms but also Member States meeting their obligations in full, on time, and without conditions. “When contributions are delayed or withheld, the United Nations is weakened and risks paralysis,” she pointed out, adding: “Cutting funds to the World Food Programme means people — literally — go hungry. Halving the budget of a peacekeeping mission can imperil the mission itself, fueling the risk of renewed conflict.”
The Fifth Committee’s long tradition of consensus and “your ability to reach across the aisle and find common ground” will be crucial to show that the United Nations is still capable of reforming itself, she emphasized.
2024 Budget Performance
The Fifth Committee also heard a presentation on the 2024 budget performance and discussed the issue of unspent money caused by late payments of assessed contributions and other factors. If, by the end of a budget period, there is unspent money, the UN’s Financial Regulations require that these unspent funds be returned to Member States as credits against their future assessments. That means the UN cannot simply keep the leftover money to help with future cash shortages.
Chandru Ramanathan, Assistant Secretary-General in the Office of Programme Planning, Finance and Budget and UN Controller, presented the Secretary-General’s report on that matter (document A/80/89), noting that a new high of $859 million in arrears at the end of 2023 left only $67 million in cash in liquidity reserves to start 2024.
“A credit return of $114 million exacerbated the cash shortage,” he said, recalling that executing the full budget would have resulted in a payment default by August. Therefore, a $350 million cash conservation target was established in January to avoid the default.
‘Secretariat Almost Ran Out of Cash’, Recalls Controller
“We had to borrow” $250 million from the Working Capital Fund to facilitate the September payroll, and an additional $226.9 million from the Special Account in October, he said. On 1 November, $130 million was borrowed from the closed tribunals to meet November payroll needs.
“The Secretariat almost ran out of cash in December”, he said, adding that large collections in late December were used to repay the loans from the tribunals and the Special Account “but the loan from the Working Capital Fund could not be repaid”.
Calls to Suspend Return of Credits
He cautioned that the return of the unspent balance of $255 million and about $45 million of other credits would seriously affect the Organization’s ability to fully implement the programme budget for 2026, proposing that the Assembly temporarily suspend the return of $298.9 million in credits and placing them in a reserve that can be used if collections in 2026 are insufficient. This measure “is imperative for the Organization to continue delivering on its programme of work during 2026”, he underscored.
Udo Fenchel (Germany), Vice-Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), introduced its related report (document A/80/7/Add.1), stressing that the proposal to suspend the return of a net surplus of nearly $299 million to Member States as credits against 2026 assessments is “a matter within the purview of the General Assembly”.
Cash Shortage Hindering Mandate Delivery
Iraq’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, voiced regret that, due to unpredictability in collection, hiring and spending restrictions were once again imposed. “Mandate delivery must be the driver of budget implementation,” she stressed, voicing concern that cash availability has repeatedly become a dominant factor, potentially hindering mandate delivery. While noting the Secretary-General’s proposed plans, she nevertheless said the most fundamental and effective answer to the Organization’s liquidity challenges is for Member States to fulfil their obligations and pay their assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions.
“One single Member State, which is also the only beneficiary of the maximum ceiling in the scale of assessments, continues to be responsible for more than half of the unpaid assessed contributions to the regular budget,” she noted. Going forward, she requested the Secretariat to present concrete options on how surplus funds generated through cost recovery could be utilized to alleviate the liquidity crisis and spotlighted the need to pursue discussions on such topics as transfers between sections and the forward purchasing of currencies.
Mozambique’s delegate observed that “while the Organization’s responsibilities expand — from conflict prevention and peacebuilding to humanitarian response and sustainable development — its core budget continues to contract, eroding its ability to deliver effectively.” In 2024, UN activities were postponed, posts frozen and programmes under-implemented. “This cannot be the new normal,” he warned.
Highlighting the crucial role played by special political missions in Africa and elsewhere, he said their success nevertheless requires funding to match mandate horizons — and not to stop with annual cash cycles. Moreover, the UN80 initiative must be anchored in a budgetary model that rewards performance over inertia. “The UN cannot be asked to deliver twenty-first century mandates with twentieth century financing models,” he said, advocating for the adoption of rolling, multi-year programme frameworks that link allocations to measurable performance.
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