This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
Published on October 9, 2019, the United Nations is facing its worst cash crisis in about a decade, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warning that the organization may not be able to pay staff salaries next month.
Addressing the opening of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, Guterres stated, "This month, we will reach the deepest deficit of the decade. We risk entering November without enough cash to cover payrolls."
The cash shortage is primarily due to governments' failure to pay their annual dues, with the United States, the largest contributor to the U.N, owing $381 million for prior regular budgets and $674 million for the 2019 regular budget.
Despite 129 States out of 193 having paid their regular annual dues, the UN has been forced to cut back on travel, purchases of goods and services, and conferences to mitigate the cash strain.
