New York, 24 October 2025 – The United Nations was established on this date in 1945 when its founding Charter went into effect after World War II came to an end with the responsibility to prevent the scourge of another world war. There had been no world war in eight decades, but the Security Council’s “legitimacy is fragile,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
The Security Council is comprised of five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France – and 10 members elected for two-year term each. The council’s decisions are binding on UN member states but any of the five permanent members can veto those decisions, a power not given to non-permanent members. Division among the permanent members has paralyzed the council and the organization, particularly in diplomatic efforts to end the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
October 24 each year is designated United Nations Day. As it prepared to celebrate this year its 80th birthday, the UN has seen its work and programs, particularly global humanitarian activities, threatened by deep funding cuts by the Trump administration since early 2025.
Guterres told an open meeting of the Security Council that “on many pivotal occasions” it delivered the task of maintaining peace and security in the world, and that the council exists for people and it has built a “lasting global framework to combat terrorism.”
“Above all, you have given us 80 years without the chaos of a great power war,” Guterre said. “The Council is a vital necessity, and a powerful force for good. But at the same time, its legitimacy is fragile. Too often, we have seen members of this body act outside the principles of the Charter principles we have all freely agreed to as sovereign nations. When that happens, it not only stalls action in the moment; it erodes trust in the entire United Nations project. It also puts us all in great danger.”
“When one nation flouts the rules, others think they have license to do the same. And history tells us, with brutal clarity, where that road leads,” he said. “Reform of the Security Council is imperative, and long overdue, for the maintenance of global order and safety.”
Guterres’ Pact for the Future has called for enlarging the 15-nation council to include more than 20 countries, with more permanent and non-permanent members. He said an African nation and another from Latin America and Caribbean should be made a permanent member of the council.
The UN chief called for “a Security Council fit for purpose, the world is in grave danger. It is our duty to forge a body that can meet the challenges of the next 80 years — one that delivers justice and safety for all.”
Guterres warns UN is facing a “race to bankruptcy” – While celebrating its 80th anniversary, the UN and many of its specialized agencies are facing funding shortages that have already curtailed its programs. On October 17 Guterres told a committee of the UN General Assembly which handles UN finances and administration that the UN may face bankruptcy unless its member states pay their dues in full and on time.
Guterres presented a sharply reduced $3.238 billion regular budget for 2026 for its administration and staff known as the UN Secretariat after revising the original budget proposal for 2026 which was estimated at $3.715 billion, a drop of over 15 per cent.
UN News said the revised regular budget called for reducing staffing from the original 2026 proposal funding 13,809 posts (10,667 regular posts plus 3,142 Special Political Mission posts) to 11,594 posts – an 18.8 per cent cut compared with 2025.
It said the UN entered 2025 with a $135 million deficit and by the end of September had collected only 66.2 per cent of the year’s assessments, down from 78.1 per cent at the same point in 2024. As of mid-October 2025, only 136 of the 193 countries that are UN members had paid their assessments in full, including the United States, China, Russia and Mexico which had yet to complete their payments.
The UN peacekeeping operations, which employed tens of thousands of peacekeepers worldwide, are facing deep cuts because UN member states failed to pay their assessments to the programs.
(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)
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