United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for urgent and comprehensive reforms across the UN system, emphasizing the need to enhance the organization’s effectiveness, streamline coordination, and align its operations with today’s global challenges.
Speaking before the General Assembly, Guterres outlined a vision for a more integrated and results-driven UN. “My vision for the system is clear: entities working together as one to deliver better performance-overcoming fragmentation, eliminating duplication, improving funding models, and maximizing collaboration,” he said, according to the United Nations News Center.
Guterres highlighted the need to improve coordination among the UN’s three core pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.
As part of these reforms, the Secretary-General announced the establishment of a dedicated “UN80 Executive Team” to push forward specific reform proposals. These will be either submitted to relevant intergovernmental bodies or implemented directly when within the Secretary-General’s mandate.
The reform effort is being guided by three major workstreams: Modernizing operational methods and boosting efficiency across the UN Secretariat and agencies, including through unified digital management platforms.
Strengthening the mandate cycle to enhance coherence and accountability throughout the system. And aligning structures and programs with strategic priorities to improve outcomes and responsiveness.
Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly, described the reforms outlined in Guterres’s report as “more than just a cost-cutting exercise,” adding that the “UN80 initiative” is about “efficiency, flexibility, and the ability to leverage the latest technologies.”
She also acknowledged the UN’s fragile financial state, reminding Member States that they bear a collective responsibility: “This is about the people the United Nations is meant to serve.”
