The budget largely reflects the Secretary-General’s proposed 15 percent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 percent cut in staff.
The regular budget funds the core activities of the UN, including political affairs, international law and justice, regional development cooperation, human rights, humanitarian affairs, and public information.
It is independent of the United Nations peacekeeping budget, which operates on a fiscal 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 main administrative and budgetary body) concluded negotiations, UN Comptroller Chandramouli Ramanathan praised the Committee for steering a complex and compressed process to a timely conclusion.
“It has been a challenging year,” he said, noting that the Secretariat had been tasked with producing a complete 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 arduous negotiations, the Commission had once again reached an agreement by consensus, a hallmark of the budget process. “This is something remarkable that should not be underestimated,” he told delegates.
Challenges ahead
Looking ahead, the Comptroller warned that the approval of the budget marks the beginning, not the end, of a demanding implementation phase.
From January 1, 2026, it said, 2,900 positions will be cut, while more than 1,000 staff separations have already been finalized, which will require careful management to ensure affected staff continue to receive salaries and benefits during the transition.
Mr Ramanathan also welcomed what he described as a record level of potential advance payments by Member States towards the 2026 budget and appealed for continued timely payment of assessed contributions.