UNITED NATIONS – World leaders gathered at the United Nations this week amid escalating global crises and a looming financial shortfall for the organization itself, raising questions about its future effectiveness. The annual General Assembly convened as conflicts rage in Sudan, Somalia, and Haiti, while progress toward gender equality stalls, and the UN faces important budget cuts.
The assembly takes place at a critical juncture. War in sudan, sparked by a power struggle between rival military factions, has triggered the world’s worst displacement crisis. In Somalia, the extremist group Al-Shabab continues to exert influence. Haiti remains largely under the control of gangs, who dominate over 90% of the capital and are expanding their reach. Concurrently, the UN is grappling with a mandated 15% reduction in its 2026 regular operating budget – a cut to $3.2 billion – and a 19% reduction in staff positions, totaling 2,681 posts, due to funding cuts from the U.S. and other nations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is using the assembly to advocate for reforms aimed at making the UN more responsive to current global challenges. He has warned that, at the current rate, achieving gender equality – a key goal of the 1995 Beijing women’s conference, which is being commemorated this week on its 30th anniversary – is 300 years away.
Richard Gowan, a UN expert, acknowledged the organization is facing “an extraordinarily difficult period” and will inevitably have to shrink and adapt. While he doesn’t anticipate nations abandoning the UN, he noted its influence on peace and security issues has diminished. “The U.N.’s resonance on peace and security issues is unquestionably not what it was,” Gowan said, “but I think that the organization will continue to muddle through.”
The Associated Press’s Edith M. Lederer has covered international affairs at the UN for over five decades.