UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced that the world body is developing a roadmap to unify its structures, streamline operations and expand its digital platforms, reported Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Briefing Member States in New York on Monday on the UN80 Initiative, Guterres outlined a wide-ranging effort to revamp how the UN system operates – cutting costs, streamlining operations, and modernising its approach to peace and security, development and human rights.
Launched in March, the UN80 Initiative centres on three priorities: enhancing operational efficiency, assessing how mandates – or key tasks – from Member States are implemented, and exploring structural reforms across the UN system.
The conclusions will be reflected in revised estimates for the 2026 budget in September this year, with additional changes that require more detailed analysis presented in the proposal for the 2027 budget. Guterres said the changes are expected to yield “meaningful reductions” in the overall budget.
Briefing on the UN80 Initiative, the UN Secretary-General said: “The measure of success is not the volume of reports we generate or the number of meetings we convene. The measure of success — the value, purpose and aim of our work — is in the real-world difference we make in the lives of people.
“The UN80 Initiative is a significant opportunity to strengthen the UN system and deliver for those who depend on us. It is central for implementing the Pact for the Future. It is crucial for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. The needs of the people we serve must remain our guiding star.”
Three pillars
He added, “We must always stick to principles. We must never compromise core values. We must forever uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. We will advance all this work so that our three pillars — peace and security, development and human rights — are mutually reinforced, and the geographical balance of our workforce and our gender and disability strategies will be preserved.”
Guterres outlined the first workstream of the UN80 Initiative, aimed at improving efficiencies through service consolidation, relocation to cheaper locations, and greater use of automation and digital platforms.
Guterres said departments at the UN’s headquarters in New York and Geneva have been asked to review whether some teams can be relocated to lower-cost duty stations, reduced or abolished.
The second workstream involves a review of how existing mandates are being carried out – not the mandates themselves, which are the purview of Member States only.
A preliminary review identified more than 3,600 unique mandates for the Secretariat alone. A full and more detailed analysis is now underway.
Guterres emphasised that the sheer number of mandates – and the bureaucracy needed to implement them – places a particular burden on smaller Member States with limited resources.
Structural reform
“The third workstream – focused on structural reform – is already underway,” Guterres said. Nearly 50 initial submissions have already been received from senior UN officials, reflecting what Guterres described as “a high level of ambition and creativity.”
Key work areas have been identified for review. These include peace and security, development, human rights, humanitarian, training and research and specialised agencies.
