“An accounting rule makes matters worse. When payments arrive late, programs are delayed, and the resulting underspending generates credits that must be returned to every member state, including those in arrears. The Center on International Cooperation estimated those credits at nearly $300 million for 2026, close to 10 percent of the budget. The secretary general called the cycle a race to bankruptcy. The Assembly endorsed a new method for handling unspent funds in July, a step its own meeting summary described as steering the organization away from imminent financial collapse.”
Foreign Policy in Focus uses analysis from Thibault Camelli and Ronny Patz’s policy brief, How to End the United Nations’ Current Financial Crisis… and Prevent Future Ones, published earlier this year to inform this piece on the United Nations’ current financial state.