The secretary general of the United Nations said that its cash supply has been severely depleted because of what he described as delayed contributions by many member states, and he warned the organization’s employees that they must find ways to cut expenses, The New York Times reported. “Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning,” Secretary General António Guterres said. “We are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer.” According to a tally known as the “honor roll” on the United Nations website, 112 of the organization’s 193 members have paid their annual assessments in full. The U.S., by far the biggest single contributor at 22 percent of the budget, has not yet paid, but diplomats said the Americans typically completed their payments toward the end of the year. Guterres did not single out any particular country among the 81 that had not yet paid, and he acknowledged that countries followed different fiscal calendars. Nonetheless, he said, “this new cash shortfall is unlike those we have experienced previously.” Under Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, if a member is in arrears in an amount that equals or exceeds the assessment due for the previous two years, that member could forfeit its General Assembly vote unless there are extenuating circumstances. Guterres said that he had appealed to those members who had not yet paid their annual assessments to do so “on time and in full,” and that he had “highlighted the risk the current situation poses to the delivery of mandates and to the reputation of our organization.”
