As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, Former Nigerian Minister and top UN diplomat, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has raised an alarm over a severe financial and liquidity crisis threatening the world body’s operations, warning that it could lead to deep budget cuts and massive staff layoffs.
Professor Gambari gave the caution while delivering a lead-off remark at the UNGA@80 Pact Innovation Forum High-Level Breakfast Dialogue held at the Baha’i International Community Office in New York.
The event brought together senior UN officials, ambassadors, and representatives from various governments to discuss the implementation of the Pact for the Future, a major agreement adopted by member states earlier this year.
The Former Diplomat, who is the Chairman of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy, and Development, described the current period as a consequential moment for the UN, which is facing a cash deficit that may force the Secretariat to shed at least 20% of its staff.
He attributed the sudden escalation from a long-standing financial problem to an extreme liquidity crisis largely to sudden and severe U.S. cutbacks to both its assessed and voluntary contributions across the UN system.
The former Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs revealed that major humanitarian agencies like the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) could see their annual budgets slashed by 30% to 40%.
The Nigerian diplomat urged member states to work closely with the UN Secretariat to ensure that the UN80 Initiative helps advance the ambitious goals of the Pact for the Future, which contains 56 actions and two annexes on the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.
The dialogue also featured remarks from other dignitaries, including the 73rd President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa, and Ambassador Sani Bala, Executive Director of the Savannah Centre.
