As included in the Secretary-Generals statement to the General Assembly’s 5th Committee, the Secretariat has conducted a comprehensive review of its resource requirements for 2026, to identify measurable efficiencies across the Secretariat. An advances unedited version of the revised estimates report for the proposed programme budget for 2026 and the support account for peacekeeping operations for the 2025/26 period is being consideration by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ).
Reflecting the urgency and ambition of the reforms being undertaken, the Secretary-General proposes to bring the resource requirements for 2026 down to US$3.238 billion– a reduction of US$577 million, or 15.1 per cent, compared with 2025. The proposed staffing table is also revised to 11,594 posts with a reduction of 2,681 posts, or 18.8 per cent in comparison with 2025.
The proposed reductions in the 2026 revised budget are substantial, but the Secretary-General said it have been carefully calibrated to maintain balance across the three pillars of peace and security, development, and human rights. He also pointed out that they are targeted at “larger Secretariat departments” focusing on optimizing resources, streamlining administrative services, consolidating functions, reducing overlap, and exploring lower-cost delivery models.
Protected country groupings for programme activities
In addition, programmes and activities directly supporting Member States, especially Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, Small Island Developing States, and advocacy for Africa’s development are all protected..
The revised estimates also include initial proposals related to the first workstream of the UN 80 Initiative, such as:
Targeted adjustments to specific areas affect about 15 per cent of the resource requirements, while 85 per cent of proposed resources in initial proposal remain indispensable. The budget, with the meaningful reductions in the revised estimates report reaffirm the Secretariat’s determination to become more efficient and cost-effective.
Given that Workstreams 2 and 3 of the UN 80 Initiative are already under way, any arising budgetary implications will be assessed rigorously and reflected in future budget proposals for the consideration of the 5th Committee.
Need for Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full
Success will, however, depends on Member States fulfilling their commitments in timely and full payment of assessed contributions, given that the downward trend of collections has continued, causing a deterioration in the financial situation in the past two years. The UN began 2025 with a cash deficit of US$135 million with high arrears of US$760 million as at the end of 2024, the majority of which were not recovered and, according to the Secretary-General, a large chunk remains unlikely to be recovered. In addition, there is US$89 million in credits due to Member States as part of their 2025 assessments, meaning that the Secretariat will collect less than the approved budget for 2025, even if Member States do pay their contributions in full this year.
A spending reduction target of US$600 million was set for 2025 in early March, nearly 17 percent of the budget, without which restrictions, the UN would have run out of cash by August, jeopardizing the High-Level Week and having dramatic consequences on salaries for the staff. By the end of September, only 66.2 percent of the year’s assessments had been collected in comparison with 78.1 percent last year at this time.
Today, in the last quarter of 2025, there is significant uncertainty about collections for the year. And given the present uncertainty about the income, 2025 could end with a deficit of more than US$450 million, even after the spending reductions of nearly US$600 million, wiping out nearly all liquidity reserves and leaving the UN highly vulnerable in a vulnerable position. Nearly 10 percent, US$ will be required in credits to Member States at the beginning of 2026.
A "race to bankruptcy"
The UN, therefore, will again spend less than the budget in 2026 because not enough has been collected, leading to a collapse of the regular functioning of the organization.
There is, moreover, potentially the prospect of returning US$600 million in 2027 or about 20% of the budget, meaning a “race to bankruptcy”. In this regard, unless arrears are substantially reduced, or the return of credits suspended, this will constrain the implementation of the programme budget.
Drastic cash conservation measures will again be inevitable next year, to avert a payment default and threaten the core of the UN’s activities. The Secretary-General, therefore, has once again proposed that the General Assembly temporarily suspend the return of credits against the 2026 assessment creating. His report on Improving the Financial Situation of the United Nations – fast-tracked earlier this year– proposes a mechanism to suspend credit returns whenever liquidity shortfalls threaten full budget implementation of the following year. The Membership, however, deferred decision, to this session. The Secretary-General, therefore, urge Member States to consider these proposals carefully and to meet their financial obligations – in full and on time.