UN at Risk of Funding Shortages, Urges Members to Contribute Promptly - Guterres

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter to the UN member states expressing his concern over the "troubling" financial situation of the organization and urged for the countries to pay their mandatory contributions promptly.

"Caused primarily by the delayed contributions of Member States to the Regular Budget, this new cash shortfall is unlike those we have experienced previously… 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," the UN press service quoted the secretary-general as saying.

According to the UN, there were 81 states who had not yet paid their contributions this month.

READ MORE: Guterres: UN Ready to Play Verification Role in N Korea Denuclearization Process

Guterres' spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during his regular briefing on Thursday that the cash flow has never been this low so low at this time of the year. In June last year, the member states paid over $1.70 billion in assessed contributions, while this year the payments were now standing at only $1.49 billion, the spokesman added.

The UN is financed via assessed and voluntary contributions made by member states. The assessed contributions are generally estimated by calculating the financial capacity of each member state and its gross national income. UN specialized agencies, such as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are funded by both voluntary and assessed contributions, while special programs, including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme are funded by voluntary contributions.