The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and 565 organisations  signed a joint statement calling on the United Nations’ Member States to urgently fulfil their financial obligations and prevent what advocates describe as an “imminent financial collapse” of the multilateral system. They urged the UN Member States: “Defend Multilateralism, Democracy and Human Rights. Pay Up Now!

Read the statement here.

The statement, endorsed by 566 organisations and 697 individuals from 123 countries, warns that chronic underfunding and delayed payment of assessed contributions are pushing the UN into a deepening liquidity crisis that threatens core operations, including peacekeeping, human rights protection, humanitarian coordination, and climate action.

Financial crisis threatens core UN functions

According to the statement, austerity measures initiated in 2024 have continued into 2025, with layoffs and unfilled positions failing to bridge the funding gap. If urgent corrective action is not taken, core UN operations could face serious disruption in the coming months — including the possibility of partial closure of UN Headquarters.

The coalition stresses that this is not merely a budgetary issue but a structural threat to global governance at a time of escalating crises: climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, armed conflict, rising authoritarianism, and widening inequalities.

Underfunding as political pressure

The joint statement identifies the deliberate withholding or delay of assessed contributions by powerful Member States as the principal cause of the crisis. Assessed contributions to the UN’s regular budget are legally binding obligations under the UN Charter.

As cited in reporting by The New York Times, more than 95 percent of outstanding dues to the UN regular budget are owed by the United States. While recent public statements indicate that partial payments may be forthcoming, the coalition emphasises that announcements of intent are insufficient. Full and timely payment is required to restore institutional stability and credibility.

Multilateralism at a crossroads

While acknowledging that the UN requires reform — including addressing power imbalances and accountability gaps — the signatories emphasise that it remains the only universal, rules-based intergovernmental platform capable of addressing transboundary global challenges.

The statement warns that weakening multilateralism without a democratic alternative risks accelerating the shift toward fragmented, elite-driven or authoritarian governance models. At a time when planetary boundaries are being crossed and democratic backsliding is deepening in multiple regions, the erosion of multilateral institutions would widen inequalities and undermine global cooperation.

Feminist movements raise alarm

For feminist organisations, the financial crisis has direct implications for gender equality, human rights protections, and the integrity of ongoing UN reform processes, including the UN80 agenda. A weakened UN, the coalition argues, jeopardises hard-won gains in gender architecture, accountability frameworks, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

“Reform must not happen under financial duress,” the statement asserts, cautioning that restructuring global governance under threat of collapse risks privileging power over participation and expediency over democratic accountability.

The signatories call on:

• Member States with outstanding dues, particularly major contributors, to immediately fulfil their assessed contributions in full.
• Other Member States to take temporary collective measures to stabilise the UN’s core budget, without normalising chronic non-payment.
• Philanthropic actors to consider temporary, unconditional bridge funding strictly within existing UN frameworks, without influencing mandates or accelerating privatisation of multilateral governance.

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