The budget – approved Tuesday by the 193 members of the General Assembly – authorizes $3.45 billion for the coming year, covering the Organization’s three main pillars of work: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.
The budget largely reflects the Secretary-General’s proposed reduction of 15 percent in financial resources and almost 19 percent in staffing levels.
The regular budget funds the core activities of the UN, including political affairs, international justice and law, regional development cooperation, human rights, humanitarian affairs and public information.
It is separate from the budget for UN peacekeeping operations, which operates on a budget cycle from July 1 to June 30, while the regular budget follows the calendar year.
Consensus after intense negotiations
Addressing delegates as the Fifth Committee – the Assembly’s principal administrative and budgetary body – concluded negotiations, UN Comptroller Chandramouli Ramanathan praised the Committee for leading a complex and compressed process to its timely conclusion.
“It has been a year of challenges,” he said, noting that the Secretariat had been tasked with assembling a comprehensive budget in less than six weeks, producing hundreds of tables and answering thousands of questions from oversight bodies and Member States.
He stressed that, despite often difficult negotiations, the Committee had once again reached an agreement by consensus, characteristic of the budget process. “This is something remarkable that should not be underestimated,” he told delegates.
The challenges ahead
Looking ahead, the Comptroller warned that adoption of the budget marks the beginning – not the end – of a demanding implementation phase.
By January 1, 2026, he said, 2,900 positions will be eliminated, while more than 1,000 staff departures have already been finalized, which will require careful management to ensure that affected staff continue to receive their salaries and benefits during the transition.
Mr Ramanathan also welcomed what he described as a record level of potential advances from Member States for the 2026 budget and called for continued prompt payment of assessed contributions.
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