UN funding failure is the main topic of frustration for Secretary-General António Guterres this week as he delivered a very sharp speech at the 39th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on February 14 2026. He told the gathered leaders that it is simply unconscionable that the international community has not yet agreed on a solid way to pay for the new African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia which is known as AUSSOM. This UN funding crisis comes after the Security Council missed several important deadlines to use a new system that would allow UN money to cover seventy five percent of the costs for African-led peace missions. Guterres made it clear that if a mission designed to fight terrorism and bring peace to a whole region does not deserve global support then nothing else will. He looked very disappointed as he explained that the lack of consensus among the big powers in New York is leaving the soldiers in the field without the tools and the pay they need to do their dangerous jobs safely. It is a moment of high tension because the transition from the old mission to the new one is happening right now and any UN funding crisis could lead to a massive security gap that the local fighters are not ready to fill yet.
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The Secretary-General emphasized that this UN funding crisis is part of a larger problem where Africa is often excluded from the big decisions that affect its own people and its own future. He argued that the current global financial system is totally unjust and that it is about time for the Security Council to reflect the reality of 2026 instead of sticking to the old rules from 1946. By highlighting the UN funding crisis for the Somalia mission he is trying to put pressure on the permanent members like the United States and Russia to stop arguing and start signing the checks. He pointed out that while the diplomats in the big cities are debating the wording of resolutions the people in the Horn of Africa are facing real threats every day from groups like Al-Shabaab. This UN funding failure means that the dream of “Silencing the Guns” across the continent is being held back by a few powerful countries that are worried more about their budgets than about human lives.
The consequences of the UN funding failure on AUSSOM
One of the most worrying things about the UN funding failure is that the troop-contributing countries might decide to pull their soldiers out if they are not sure who is going to pay their salaries and buy their equipment. These brave men and women are the main line of defense for the government in Mogadishu and without them the progress made over the last decade could vanish in just a few months. The UN funding failure has already forced some commanders to scale back their operations which gives the extremists more room to move around and plan new attacks in the city. Guterres said that it is a shame to see such a successful partnership between the UN and the AU be put at risk because of a simple lack of political will to implement a fair funding model. He urged the world to see that the UN funding failure is a threat to everyone because a less stable Somalia means a more dangerous world for every nation nearby.
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Alternative solutions after the UN funding failure
Since the Security Council has not yet solved the problem some African leaders are looking for other ways to fix the UN funding failure by reaching out to private donors and other friendly countries in the Middle East and Asia. There is a plan to hold a special pledging conference in the coming months to try and raise the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to keep the mission running through the end of the year. However these short-term fixes are not as good as the permanent solution that the UN funding failure is blocking right now which is a predictable and reliable budget from the United Nations itself. The Secretary-General promised to keep fighting for this cause because he believes that the success of the mission is the only way to ensure that the transition of security to the Somali people happens in an orderly and safe way.
As the summit continues it is clear that the UN funding failure has become a symbol of the frustration that many developing countries feel toward the current international order. They are tired of being told what to do by a council that does not even give them a permanent seat at the table to speak for themselves. The UN funding failure is a wake-up call that the system needs to change fast if it wants to stay relevant in a world that is moving at the speed of light. Guterres ended his talk by saying that Africa will always be a top priority for his office and that he will not stop until the UN funding failure is a thing of the past and the mission in Somalia has everything it needs to win the peace
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The reality of the situation is that the clock is ticking and the enemies of peace are not waiting for the diplomats to finish their lunch. The UN funding failure is a serious mistake that needs to be fixed before it turns into a much bigger tragedy for the millions of people who are counting on the international community for help. We will have to wait and see if the big powers listen to the warning of the Secretary-General or if they will continue to look the other way while a vital mission struggles to survive.
