UN budget cuts, staff layoffs will also be announced

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the amount of outstanding contributions from member countries has increased to $ 1.59 trillion. To address the resulting financial strain, the UN will reduce its budget by 15.1 percent and the number of staff by 18.8 percent in 2026.

On Monday (December 1), Guterres presented the budget for next year. The UN budget for 2026 has been set at $ 3.24 billion. This is $ 577 million less than in 2025. A separate UN statement said that the main shortfall was created by the arrears of contributions from the United States, China, Russia and Mexico as of September this year. However, the UN has taken care that the budget shortfall does not affect Palestinian refugees. Secretary-General Guterres said that the budget of the UN agency (UNRWA) that works with them will remain unchanged.

He said, “UNRWA is the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza. Therefore, reducing its budget will have a serious impact. That is why I have decided to keep the agency out of the budget cuts.” Similarly, the budget for the ‘Development Account and Advocacy for Africa’ program will be kept at the 2025 level.

To make up for the budget shortfall, the UN will eliminate a total of 2,681 posts in various agencies. In Guterres’ words, “These posts are responsibilities that can be performed more efficiently by others or can be reduced by increasing structural efficiency.”

He added that about 18 percent of the UN’s posts are already vacant due to the ongoing financial crisis caused by arrears in contributions and other debts from member states. However, these vacancies are not directly related to the target of the cuts.

Guterres said, “These vacancies are not the result of a strategic decision; Rather, the staff have left and we have not been able to replace them due to the financial crisis.’

The budget for special political missions will also be reduced to $543.6 million in 2026—a decrease of $149.5 million, or 21.6 percent, from the previous year. The decision will result in the closure of some missions and the limitation of the activities of others.

In addition, the UN presence in New York is being gradually reduced. The UN headquarters is located in one of the most expensive cities in the world. Guterres said that by the end of 2027, the UN plans to cancel the leases of two offices in New York, which will save $24.5 million a year from 2029. He also noted that $126 million has already been saved by closing other offices in New York since 2017.

Al Jazeera reported.