Overview
- The General Assembly approved a four-year trial on June 30–July 1 that ends a long-standing rule requiring the UN to return unspent assessed contributions even when the cash was never received.
- UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan said the organisation has cash only through the end of August and that September operations depend on urgent collections from top payers.
- The UN is waiting on major overdue payments from the United States and China, with roughly $2 billion outstanding from the US and about $428–430 million owed by China for this year.
- Years of unpaid contributions have depleted reserves, forced the elimination of more than 3,000 posts and a smaller 2026 regular budget, and left the UN unable to borrow commercially for short-term relief.
- Officials warned they may delay or reprioritise payments and 'scrounge' to keep the September High-Level Week running, making the immediate flow of funds from large members the key determinant of the UN's near-term operations.