The United Nations, anticipating that President Trump will cut the contributions of the United States to the global organism, told his departments to process plans for budget cuts, also through staff transfers from New York and Geneva to less expensive cities.
The instructions-delineate in a two-page note of April 25 who was revised by the New York Times-S-shed by the office of the Secretary General António Guterres to the leaders of all the agencies that refer directly to him. The memo has set a deadline for May 15 for all proposals so that they can be added to the 2026 budget.
“Your goal is to identify as many functions as possible that could be transferred to existing low -cost positions”, reads the memo, “or otherwise reduced or abolished whether they are duplicates or no longer vital”.
In February, President Trump signed an executive order asking for a review of the overall funding of the United States and ties with the United Nations has withdrawn the United States from various United Nations organizations, including those that deal with human rights, reproductive rights of women, climate change, Palestinian aid and global health. In his first term, he also reduced the contributions of the United States to peace maintenance efforts.
Three high officials of the United Nations declared Tuesday that the drastic reduction measures of the costs established in the memo had taken the agency departments by surprise and went beyond what they expected. The officials, who required anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said that the directive was largely seen as a way for the United Nations to prepare for potential additional cuts by Mr. Trump and to isolate it proactively from the financial blow.
But the United Nations officials said that the budget cuts were ordered only in part in response to the moves of Mr. Trump. The directive comes while the United Nations are adapting to a series of financial problems, they stated, from the withdrawal and reduction of financial contributions by important donors such as the United States and Europe to a cash flow crisis caused by not paying the annual shares in time and in full.
Guterres announced on March 12 that he was launching an initiative called a 80-key for the 80th anniversary of the organization-to create economic measures and improve efficiency within the organization.
“These are moments of intense uncertainty and unpredictability,” said Guterres at the moment. “The resources are reduced throughout the line – and have been for a long time.”
He also said that a reduction in funding from the United States and other countries has “naturally led to the need for agencies that provide those services to reduce staff, to reduce their size and eliminate many activities”.
Stéphane Dujarric, the United Nations spokesperson, said that the April 25 reminder was derived from the initiative of the UN80.
Richard Gowan, director of the United Nations for the International Crisis Group, said that while the United Nations represented the moves as an internal revision, in reality, had derived from pressure and anxiety for the Trump administration.
“The US cuts, the range of cuts and the scale of the cuts really shocked the United Nations,” said Gowan in an interview. “So Guterres now runs frankly to recover a very bad situation.”
The United States contribute with the United Nations, representing almost 25 percent of its overall budget, which in 2024 amounted to around $ 3.6 billion and went to administrative and peace maintenance needs. America is also an important donor of various United Nations agencies for humanitarian rescue work; In 2022, the United States contributed about 18 billion dollars to the United Nations throughout the line.
Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden have also announced deep cuts in international aid, also to the United Nations, in order to focus on internal needs and defense priorities. China, an important contribution to the United Nations, has traditionally intensified the funding towards programs that align with its own interests, such as the maintenance of peace.
Now, the United Nations estimate that it should face a 20 % budget reduction for 2026 following financing cuts, according to Mr. Gowan, which is equivalent to billions of dollars in losses.
Some agencies, including UNICEF and the office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, have claimed to have already started the revisions of reducing the costs separated by the Guterres directive.
A high UNICEF official said that the agency was anticipating at least a 20 % budget reduction for 2026. UNICEF is also taking into consideration the possibility of transferring a considerable part of its staff to Valencia, Spain, from New York, said the elderly official. The goal, he added, was to guarantee that any budget deficit would have had the least possible effect on the programs that children are needed.
UNICEF is financed through donations by Member States, private sector and individuals. It does not receive money from the overall Budget of the United Nations.
Even before the reminder was sent, Guterres declared last month that the fund of the United Nations population, which focuses on the health of women and reproductive rights, would have moved the entire operation to Nairobi, in Kenya, from New York.
Tom Fletcher, the main humanitarian chief of the United Nations, also announced to the staff this month that the Agency was reducing its operations in different countries; maintaining a freezing of intake and travel restrictions; and reduce the 20th percent staff.