The United Nations said it’s on the brink of financial collapse and would run out of money by July due to unpaid dues. “Senior U.N. officials said that if the cash ran out, the agency would be forced to shut down its landmark headquarters in New York by August,” The New York Times reports. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres issued the warning to ambassadors in a letter last week. UN risks 'imminent financial collapse', secretary general warns https://t.co/gi4aXWCZjg — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 30, 2026 More from The New York Times: The U.N. Security Council, a 15-member body responsible for maintaining international peace and stability, convenes its meetings at U.N. headquarters. It would also have to cancel the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders held in September and shut the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which responds to global emergencies like conflicts and natural disasters, it said. The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, sent a letter to the ambassadors of all 196 member states on Thursday warning them of “imminent financial collapse,” saying the organization’s financial straits this time were different from those in any previous periods, according to a copy of the letter seen by The New York Times. “The crisis is deepening, threatening program delivery and risking financial collapse,” Mr. Guterres wrote. “And the situation will further deteriorate in the near future. I cannot overstate the urgency of the situation we now face.” According to Fox News, outstanding dues eclipsed $1.5 billion at the end of 2025. The U.N. General Assembly authorized $3.45 billion for the organization’s 2026 budget. One senior U.N. official stated that the United States is largely responsible for the funding shortfall, accounting for approximately 95 percent of the money owed. The U.N. is on the verge of “imminent financial collapse,” in large part due to the failure of member states to pay their mandatory dues, its secretary general said. The United States owes the most: nearly $2.2 billion, according to an official. https://t.co/jqcQTLHm9h — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 31, 2026 Fox News shared further: A senior diplomatic source told Fox News Digital that the secretary-general himself bears significant responsibility for the deepening crisis, arguing that warning signs had been visible long before the current shortfall. According to the source, major contributors had been pressing for efficiency and reform for years, yet meaningful action was delayed. When reforms were eventually introduced, the source said, they were applied broadly rather than through targeted cuts in areas where real savings were possible, harming even U.N. bodies considered central to the organization’s mission. “He is going to go down as the worst secretary-general in the history of the U.N.,” the source said. The warning from Guterres comes as the United States, the world body’s largest contributor, has cut voluntary funding to multiple U.N. programs and declined to make some required payments, deepening the cash crunch described in the secretary-general’s letter. Broader U.S. foreign assistance cuts under the Trump administration’s foreign policy realignment. In January 2026, the United States formally withdrew from the World Health Organization and began exiting dozens of international bodies, including multiple U.N. entities, citing misalignment with American priorities.