United Nations: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the UN was running out of money and was urging members to pay up amid a looming financial crisis for the international body.
In a letter to staff this week, seen by Fox News, Guterres says he has warned member states of a "troubling financial situation facing the United Nations," which he said was caused by late payments to the UN by member states.
"Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning; we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer," he says.
Guterres went on to say that the organisation would be taking measures to look at reducing costs, in a way that won't affect their mission.
He said he also will be proposing to states various steps to strengthen financial stability at the UN.
Trump administration threats to cut funding do not appear to be directly linked to the cash crunch.
While the administration has been eyeing carefully its payments to various U.N. funds and agencies, the US has not yet reduced or delayed its payments to the budget, though due to the fall start of the US fiscal year, payments usually come later in the year.
Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that the issue was "late payments and payments not yet received to the regular budget." "Late payment has an impact obviously on our cash flow. It may have an impact on our ability to deliver mandates," he said.
However, Hugh Dugan, a former US diplomat at the UN, said that other countries could be mimicking what is perceived as the US backing away from its commitments at the body of diplomacy and international relations.
"A look at the record shows that Trump has continued to fund it at historic levels, chose it to sanction North Korea, and uses it as a platform to defend Israel. However, there is a wide misperception fed by Trump detractors and a combative media that his Administration has walked away from the UN," Dugan, who is also a professor at Seton Hall University's School of Diplomacy and International Relations, said.
"Other countries mimic the US, and what they hear has led them to go slow on support and check writing," he said.
Earlier this year, the US withheld funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
