UN secretary-general António Guterres has outlined a set of proposals to strengthen the UN’s effectiveness and improve coordination across its three core pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.

Mr Guterres briefs the UN General Assembly on the UN80 Initiative. He briefed the member states on Wednesday in  New York on the structural reforms and programme realignments that are needed across the UN System to make it fully fit for today’s challenges.

“My vision for the United Nations system is clear: Entities that work together as one, to deliver better, overcoming fragmentation, eliminating duplication, improving funding models, and maximising synergies,” he told the General Assembly.

The UN chief stressed the need for a more streamlined, collaborative, and cost-effective approach, “ensuring that resources entrusted to us deliver maximum impact for the people we serve”.

As part of the reform drive, Mr Guterres announced the creation of a dedicated UN80 implementation team to advance reform proposals, either by bringing them to decision-making intergovernmental bodies or moving forward unilaterally where it is within his authority.

“The ultimate direction of the UN80 Initiative rests with you, the member states of the United Nations,” Mr Guterres said.

The briefing is part of the UN80 initiative, which aims to streamline operations, sharpen impact, and reaffirm the UN’s relevance in a rapidly changing world.

This is the third of three work streams created to guide the reform process.

Workstream 1 focuses on modernising business operations and improving efficiency across the Secretariat and the UN System, including through consolidated administrative platforms, relocations to lower-cost duty stations, and reduced real estate costs, while safeguarding core programme delivery.

Initial proposals included in the revised estimates for the 2025 budget are now before the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, with decisions expected by December this year.

Workstream 2 examines the full lifecycle of mandates to strengthen coherence, accountability, and impact.

Its initial recommendations are under consideration by an Informal ad Hoc Working Group  of the General Assembly, co-chaired by Jamaica and New Zealand, which is leading a “discovery phase” through the end of 2025.

Among the over 70 proposals  included in the first progress report for workstream 3 is the plan to consolidate and reconfigure peace and security teams at Headquarters in New York, as well as special political missions in Yemen, Cyprus, and Central Africa.

Other potential reforms include a merger between the UN Development Programme and the United Nations Office for Project Services, a move  Guterres said would “create a stronger engine for sustainable development, with greater reach and scale”.

He also pointed to the possibility of merging UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund to form “a unified and more powerful voice on gender equality and the rights of women and girls”.  

(NAN)