The United Nations is on the verge of bankruptcy. What you need to know
The United Nations is facing the largest financial crisis in recent decades and may exhaust all its funds by August 2026. The organization's main debtors are the United States and China, which account for about half of the UN budget. The lack of funding has already led to staff cuts, program closures, and delays in peacekeeping operations. What you need to know about the problems of financing an organization, what global processes it speaks about and what it will lead to, is in the Izvestia analysis.
Reduction of funding
• The United Nations is facing a serious financial crisis: Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that the organization is in a "race to bankruptcy" and could run out of cash by mid-August 2026. The main reason is the delay in payments from the two largest payers, the United States and China, which provide about 42% of the UN base budget. The United States owes more than $4.28 billion, while China owes $455 million. The UN believes that debt is being used as a tool of political influence.
• The United States has not paid its mandatory contributions and has withdrawn from a number of UN programs, including WHO, explaining this by fighting inefficient spending. Washington demands further reductions in costs, staff, and privileges. China, which calls itself the main defender of the United Nations, is also delaying payments. In May 2026, Beijing transferred about $850 million, but did not fully repay the debt. The delay in Chinese payments is taking place against the background of the country's active support for multilateral formats, the role of international law and diplomacy, and the role of the United Nations, but it is a financial issue that is possible here, given that in May a significant part of the Chinese debt was paid.
• The United States remains the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the United Nations, but has reduced funding from more than $10 billion per year to about $3.8 billion. If the American debt persists, the United States may temporarily lose its voting rights in the UN General Assembly as early as 2027.
The impact of the crisis on work
• In 2025, only 77% of mandatory contributions were paid, which was a record level of debt owed by the participating countries. At the same time, the UN budget system is further complicated by its rules: unused funds are returned to member states regardless of whether they have paid their contributions. By 2026, the volume of such refunds has reached $227 million, and in 2027 it may exceed $400 million. Guterres called the situation a "double blow" to the UN's finances.
• Due to the lack of money, the UN is saving a lot: offices are being closed, about 3,000 jobs in the secretariat have been cut, translators are being given fewer hours of work, escalators are being shut down and the renovation of the headquarters in New York is postponed. The Organization is also reducing peacekeeping operations. Contingents from some African countries are being withdrawn faster, and payments to States providing peacekeepers, including Nepal and Bangladesh, are delayed. The organization's management warns that the current crisis is much more serious than the previous ones.
• If the crisis deepens, UN staff may be left without pay, and some humanitarian, food and security programs will be at risk. At the same time, the UN does not have the right to take out loans, and salaries account for about 70% of its expenses.
• The effects of the crisis are already visible: the UN Human Rights Office is reducing investigations into war crimes, clinics for mothers and children are closing in Afghanistan, and the World Food Program is reducing food rations for refugees fleeing conflict in Sudan.
As evidenced by the crisis
• The risk of bankruptcy is not an isolated financial problem that can be "cured" with several tranches. This is another symptom of the global processes taking place in the world, namely the decline of universal international institutions and the growing importance of regional blocs, coalitions and agreements with several participants. So, similar crisis processes are taking place in other global organizations, for example, WHO and WTO. In today's world, where, compared even with the Cold War period, there is less agreement and consensus, this is inevitable: all the conflicts of the 21st century show that there are too many disagreements, interests are often opposed, resolutions are difficult, and a large number of countries that disagree with them deprive them of weight. With such volatility in the international arena, situational coalitions and regional blocs, such as the EU, G7, BRICS, the League of Arab States, and AUKUS, are simply more convenient.
• In addition, there have been discussions about the need for reform at the UN for several years. Many countries believe that the organization reflects a world that no longer exists, as too much has changed over the 80 years of the organization's work. For example, they are discussing the need to increase the representation of the Global South in the UN Security Council, the role of African countries, Latin America, and the role of India. This leads to a lack of trust and a decline in the role of the United Nations in resolving global crises.
• It hits the poorest countries. Since UN humanitarian missions, refugee assistance programs, medical and food programs are under attack due to lack of funding, while the United States and China determine how important the UN is to them, people in the poorest and most crisis-stricken countries receive reduced rations, cannot be vaccinated or receive asylum in case of conflict.
The role of the United Nations in international law
• After the Second World War, the world community created the United Nations to prevent new global conflicts and promote international cooperation. Today, the organization includes almost all countries of the world. This makes it the only platform where States with different political systems, interests, and levels of development can engage in dialogue and seek solutions to common problems. Security, economic, humanitarian, environmental, health, and human rights issues are discussed through the UN structures.
• The Organization has participated in the settlement of dozens of armed conflicts. UN peacekeeping missions have worked in the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East and other regions. Thanks to the activities of the World Food Program, millions of people receive aid every year in countries affected by war and famine. The World Health Organization coordinated international efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and is helping to fight dangerous diseases in many countries, and the United Nations Children's Fund supports vaccination, education, and child protection programs around the world.
• The Charter of the organization has consolidated the basic principles of modern international relations. These include the sovereign equality of States, respect for territorial integrity, the peaceful resolution of disputes, and the renunciation of the use of force without legitimate grounds. Many international treaties and agreements were created precisely under the auspices of the United Nations.
• Russia is one of the founding states of the organization and is a permanent member of the UN Security Council: this status provides an opportunity to participate in making important decisions on international peace and security. Moscow has traditionally advocated maintaining the central role of the United Nations and believes that international problems should be resolved on the basis of law and through negotiations. It is also important for Russia that virtually all countries of the world are represented within the UN, and key decisions are made taking into account the positions of the world's largest powers.
• There are various international organizations in the world, but each of them unites a limited number of participants or engages in separate areas of activity. However, the UN covers almost the entire world and considers the entire range of international issues.
• Today, the world is facing problems that cannot be solved by individual States: international terrorism, climate change, epidemics, migration crises, food security and arms control require joint action. The Organization is regularly criticized and needs to be reformed, but it remains the main mechanism of global dialogue and the foundation of the existing system of international relations and international law.
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