Can the next UN chief fix a broken Security Council and an empty bank account?
24/7/2026: Six candidates vying to become the next UN Secretary-General have faced questions in a public dialogue. Highlights of their answers reflect public expectations of the successor to António Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister who has led the UN for nearly 10 years.
Source: PassBlue
UN takes key step to ease its financial crisis
7/7/2026: The UN General Assembly has approved a technical amendment to its rules, designed to ease its funding shortfall. Defaults on membership dues by the US and late payments by China have forced the UN to cut back on peacekeeping operations and human rights work.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Challenges for the Human Rights Council as it turns 20
19/6/2026: It is 20 years since the UN Human Rights Council began its work as the world’s principal forum tasked with promoting and defending fundamental rights everywhere. The current UN-wide funding crisis represents an existential challenge to the Council's human rights investigators who are mandated to monitor situations of concern and encourage action.
Source: UN News
Guterres warns that warmongers undermine UN Charter
26/5/2026: The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the Security Council that fundamental principles of the UN Charter such as sovereignty, territorial integrity and the prohibition on the use of force are being “challenged or ignored.” Increasing tensions over the interpretation and application of international law have resulted in the highest number of conflicts since the founding of the UN.
Source: UN News
After Beijing: UN architecture is still adrift
18/5/2026: The future of the UN's global governance architecture was not discussed at the recent two-day Beijing summit between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping. Our global governance institutions are not simply under strain but drifting toward a rupture that historically has preceded systemic collapse.
Source: PassBlue
US threatens to halt UN funding unless conditions met
27/4/2026: Earlier this year, the UN Secretary-General warned that the UN faced “imminent financial collapse” unless its member nations pay their dues. The US owes $4 billion but now the Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding unless the UN agrees to a slate of nine “quick win” reforms.
Source: Devex
Frustration at UN stalemates inspires alternative talks on phasing out fossil fuels
24/4/2026: UN climate negotiations require consensus, enabling oil-producing countries to block the necessary action on fossil fuels. The world’s first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference is under way in Colombia where a “coalition of the willing,” including 54 countries, will try to chart an alternative way forward.
Source: The Guardian
US alleges that global aid has failed to improve lives of poor
14/4/2026: The Trump administration is poised to unveil a new global trade initiative aimed at scaling back the obligation of high-income countries to spend tens of billions of dollars each year in foreign aid. In inviting UN member states to sign a declaration of principles, the Trade Over Aid initiative presents a sharp-tongued attack against the value of global charity, alongside a frothy paean to the virtues of the free market.
Source: Devex
UN80 Is the Wrong Answer to the Right Question
5/4/2026: The US initiated war with Iran while diplomatic negotiations were in progress and without UN Security Council authorization. What is required for the UN is not incremental reform, such as the UN80 plans, but reinvention.
Source: PassBlue
Rising anger over one-sided US health funding pacts with African countries
27/2/2026: At least 17 African countries have signed bilateral agreements with the current US administration, collectively securing $11.3bn in health aid. But there is growing outrage at US demands to share biological resources and patient data, and other conditions.
Source: The Guardian