The United Nations is at risk of ‘imminent financial collapse’, the UN Secretary-General has warned. He said this risk has arisen due to non-payment of dues by UN member states.

Secretary-General Guterres said the UN is going through a financial crisis. This crisis is deepening. This is disrupting the organization’s activities and it could run out of money by July.

He wrote to the 193 UN member states, urging them to comply with their mandatory dues payments or change the organization’s financial rules to prevent collapse.

The crisis has arisen as the United States, the largest funder of funds to the UN, has stopped paying for the organization’s regular activities and peacekeeping and has withdrawn from several organizations.

The United States has called funding the UN a ‘waste of taxpayer dollars’. Several other UN member states have also defaulted on their dues or refused to pay.

The UN General Assembly approved partial changes to the organization’s financial system by the end of 2025, but it is still facing a severe financial crisis.

Warning signs about the current situation are posted throughout the UN headquarters in Geneva. In addition, in a desperate attempt to save money, UN escalators are regularly closed and heating is turned down.

Guterres wrote in the letter that the UN has faced financial crises in the past. But the current situation is “clearly different.” Noting that a record amount of funds was not deposited in 2025, Guterres said that the arrears total 77 percent.

UN agencies rarely receive the money they need to deal with humanitarian crises. But the past 12 months have been particularly difficult for the organization. The largest donor, the United States, has not provided funds.

Countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany have reduced foreign aid, which has affected the UN’s operations. Guterres had previously warned in December that the UN was facing its most fragile financial situation in years.

He had also warned that the UN was on the verge of bankruptcy in October.