António Guterres, the UN secretary general, has warned that the organisation is facing an unprecedented shortage of funding for its core budget and will need to make urgent cuts unless member states pay up.
The alarm was raised in letters, seen by the Guardian and other news organisations, sent by Guterres to member states and staff. Guterres told member states that the UN’s core budget was in the red more deeply and earlier in its financial year than it had ever previously experienced.
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In a letter to UN staff, the secretary-general stated that he had “written to member states regarding the troubling financial situation facing the United Nations.’’ Guterres wrote: “Caused primarily by the delayed contributions of member states to the regular budget, this new cash shortfall is unlike those we have experienced previously.
“Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning: we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer.’’ Nigeria had paid its annual dues for 2018 in full, making it the 74th out of the 193 member states of the global intergovernmental organisation to fulfill its financial obligations.
Last year, the UN had agreed on USD 5.4 billion budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
The US had negotiated a reduction of over USD 285 million from the budget, saying the “inefficiency and overspending” of the UN are well known and it will “no longer let the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of or remain unchecked”.
Mr. Guterres said he has appealed to member states to pay their assessments on time and in full, and highlighted the risk the current situation poses to the delivery of mandates and to the reputation of the organisation.
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