UN will cut 2026 budget by $577m by slashing workforce | United Nations News

The United Nations plans to cut nearly a fifth of its posts as unpaid member dues rise to $1.59 trillion.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the UN will cut its budget by 15.1 percent in 2026 and reduce staff by 18.8 percent as unpaid dues to member states rise to $1.59 trillion.

The UN chief on Monday announced next year’s budget, which he set at $3.24 billion – a decrease of $577 million from 2025.

The shortfall was due to unpaid dues from the United States, China, Russia and Mexico as of September, according to a separate UN statement.

Guterres said the budget of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees – UNRWA – would remain intact due to the high level of demand in Palestine.

“I have decided to exempt UNRWA from any cuts, which would have dramatic consequences for the backbone of the entire humanitarian response in Gaza,” Guterres said. The budget for “development accounts and advocacy for Africa’s development” will also remain at the 2025 level, he said.

The United Nations would offset the reduction by cutting 2,681 positions across several UN agencies, he said, “in line with tasks that, in our opinion, could be better performed by others or reduced by efficiencies”.

The Secretary-General said that about 18 percent of the positions in the United Nations are already vacant due to the ongoing liquidity crisis due to unpaid dues and other debts of member states. They do not necessarily relate to the positions that have been targeted for cuts, he said.

“Those vacancies do not correspond to a political decision oriented by any strategic priority, but simply to the fact that people left, and we do not have the money to pay for replacements because of the liquidity crisis,” he said.

He said the budget for special political missions would also be reduced to $543.6 million in 2026, down $149.5 million, or 21.6 percent, from a year earlier.

The reductions will be made by closing some missions and curtailing operations of other ongoing missions.

The United Nations has gradually reduced its presence in New York, home to the UN headquarters, which has one of the most expensive commercial real estate in the world.

Guterres said the UN planned to terminate the two leases in New York by the end of 2027, which would save $24.5 million annually from 2029. He said the UN had already saved $126 million since 2017 by closing other New York offices.