Secretary-General’s remarks to the General Assembly on the UN80 Initiative [as delivered] | Secretary-General

Thank you for the chance to transient you on the UN 80 Initiative.

Since my final replace on 1 August, we have now made regular progress throughout all three workstreams.

Allow me to start with a number of phrases on Workstreams 1 and a couple of, earlier than turning to the principal focus of our dialogue: Workstream 3.

On the primary workstream – efficiencies and enhancements.

A month in the past, I transmitted to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, the well-known ACABQ, the advance unedited model of the revised estimates regarding the proposed programme price range for 2026 and the assist account for 2025/26.

The Committee has since began its assessment.

The report outlines focused efficiencies and price reductions to the common price range and for the primary six months of the assist account for subsequent 12 months.

It additionally presents preliminary measures to enhance the administration and operations of the Secretariat.  

As a outcome, we recognized focused efficiencies and price reductions of over 15 per cent within the proposed 2026 common price range;

And about 19 per cent in posts – in comparison with the permitted ranges for [2025]. 

These choices weren’t taken flippantly.

They have been calibrated to take care of stability throughout the three pillars of our work – peace and safety, human rights and sustainable growth – whereas reinforcing assist to growing nations and sustaining momentum for the 2030 Agenda.

We are notably eager on defending assist within the subject to growing nations, with a specific emphasis on the African continent, Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.

Both the Resident Coordinator system and the Peacebuilding Fund are additionally protected – and our new peacebuilding configuration enhances efficiencies and consolidates capacities for sustaining peace.

At the identical time, the revised estimates introduce preliminary measures to enhance effectivity.

These embrace relocating sure capabilities from higher-cost to lower-cost responsibility stations;

Consolidating administrative platforms, beginning with New York and Bangkok;

And unifying payroll throughout a world group in three places.

The goal is evident: to cut back duplication, strengthen high quality, and safeguard mandate supply whereas responding to Member States’ name for better effectivity.

Excellencies,

These proposals would have an effect on the day by day work and lives of employees throughout the Secretariat – from relocations and revised capabilities to, in some instances, separations.

We stay dedicated to supporting all colleagues via this transition and have put in place measures to help probably affected employees.

As you study the revised estimates and the associated report of the ACABQ within the weeks forward, my group and I stay totally at your disposal for clarifications and to assist your deliberations.

Turning to Workstream 2 – mandate implementation assessment. 

I commend the steps taken since our assembly in August – together with the institution of an off-the-cuff advert hoc working group, co-chaired by Jamaica and New Zealand.

Here too, you may depend on my group’s full assist as you perform this essential work.

The working group has offered a complete work plan from now till March 2026 together with a collection of briefings and consultations structured across the three phases of the mandate lifecycle.

The working group has already began a brand new collection of briefings this week – offering a superb discussion board for discussions and consensus-building, which can present an vital pathway to enhance mandate implementation.

In parallel, we’re advancing the proposals contained within the mandate implementation report that fall inside my authority.

These preliminary steps embrace:

Expanding the scope and functionalities of the mandate registries and transparency instruments;

Shortening our experiences;

Combining experiences overlaying comparable points when possible;

And publishing obtain statistics – to make sure better effectivity and transparency.

Now allow us to flip to Workstream 3 – structural modifications and programmatic realignments.

Excellencies,

You obtained my progress report “Shifting Paradigms: United to Deliver” and this occurred simply forward of the General Assembly’s High-Level Week.

The report is now out there in all six official languages.

It displays intense, months-long, system-wide work.

In May 2025, on the Chief Executive Board, I established seven thematic clusters, involving the entire UN system, bringing collectively experience and views from throughout the system.

Each cluster was tasked with figuring out how programmes is likely to be realigned and the way constructions could possibly be reshaped to ship better influence.

Inter-cluster periods additionally passed off to coordinate proposals throughout thematic areas.

We obtained many concepts from the system, earlier than holding a collection of discussions to refine them additional.

The progress report proposes three units of paradigm shifts for the UN system as an entire:

Shifts inside every pillar, shifts in how we work throughout pillars, and shifts how we allow our operations collectively.

Excellencies,

In listening fastidiously to your Heads of State and Government throughout High-Level Week, I heard a transparent and resounding message:

Many of you share the premise of my report – {that a} transformation in the best way the UN system organizes its work is urgently wanted to make the Organization match for immediately’s challenges.

This transformation should be anchored in clear rules – the very rules which have guided our UN80 effort:

To advance the needs and uphold the UN Charter throughout all three pillars of our work;

To strengthen the UN’s skill to assist nations in delivering on the 2030 Agenda and to reply successfully to rising points – together with these recognized within the Pact for the Future;

To maximize the concrete influence of our actions and providers for Member States;

And to undertake the reforms in strict accordance with the relevant guidelines and procedures – together with the established practices of related intergovernmental our bodies.

Excellencies,

My imaginative and prescient for the United Nations system is evident: Entities that work collectively as one to ship higher – overcoming fragmentation, eliminating duplication, bettering funding fashions, and maximizing synergies.

Entities which can be extra streamlined – with fewer redundancies;

More collaborative – with completely different elements of the system working seamlessly collectively;

And cheaper – guaranteeing that assets entrusted to us ship most influence for the folks we serve.

My progress report units out greater than 70 particular person motion factors to assist notice that imaginative and prescient – throughout peace and safety, humanitarian operations, growth, and human rights, in addition to in our cross-pillar efforts and the enablers of our work.

I’ll spotlight a number of the key proposals.

First, within the peace and safety pillar. 

I suggest to consolidate and reconfigure groups at Headquarters, in addition to particular political missions beginning with Yemen, Cyprus and Central Africa – to remove duplication and enhance coherence in our assist to Member States.

Our peace operations should additionally proceed to evolve and adapt.

To this finish, I’m proposing that the supply of extra programmatic duties of multi-dimensional peace operations be delegated to the best-placed UN system entities – backed by their programmatic funding and the complete pressure of their mandates.

This “networked” mannequin would permit us to ship extra impactfully – however with much less value, much less duplication, and fewer challenges in transitions – whereas retaining full accountability to the mission mandate.

Today, we have now a number of conditions world wide the place we have now a division of the Mission that has the identical capabilities of an Agency working within the Country Team.  This doesn’t make sense.  It is significantly better to have the chance to delegate the capabilities of the Mission to the Agency that’s greatest positioned to implement them and that may clearly facilitate the transition when the Mission closes.

I’ll current a complete set of proposals following the conclusion of the Peace Operations Review mandated by the Pact for the Future.

Second, humanitarian operations. 

Humanitarian motion is on the point of collapse.

Needs are greater than ever, but funding for the UN system’s humanitarian operations is shrinking.

Now is the time for daring, systemic change, constructing on the Humanitarian Reset:

To ship quicker, at decrease value, and with better reliability – to the thousands and thousands of individuals whose lives depend upon us in moments of disaster.

With this purpose in thoughts, we have now established a New Humanitarian Compact between UN humanitarian businesses – a six-point blueprint to ship higher, restore belief in multilateral motion and maximize the influence of each greenback.

The Compact will deliver the UN system collectively in a brand new Collaborative Humanitarian Diplomacy Initiative – fostering coordinated negotiation and unified messaging, in order that we communicate and act as one for these in best want.

We will minimize coordination forms – by simplifying humanitarian response plans, conferences, and constructions.

We will combine the provision chains of the principal humanitarian businesses – enabling cheaper procurement, pooled freight, and shared logistics at international and nation ranges.

We additionally suggest to scale up the usage of frequent providers – from workplace area to fleets and safety preparations – in order that entities resembling OCHA, WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM and others can depend on a shared spine of assist providers.

Everything that’s particular of the exercise of an Agency needs to be developed by the Agency however all the pieces that’s frequent needs to be achieved along with a bigger enhance of effectivity and a significant discount of prices.

We will strengthen our joint capacities to leverage knowledge for quicker, earlier, extra focused and dignified motion, powered by a brand new Humanitarian Data Collaborative.

And we are going to align duties to cut back programmatic overlaps within the fields of meals, mobility, beneficiary knowledge, well being and diet.

Third, sustainable growth. 

The 2017 reform of the United Nations growth system reshaped how we assist the 2030 Agenda.

Yet the present context calls for way more.

Too usually, a patchwork of UN entities and specialised businesses presents governments with a maze of entry factors – and generally competing initiatives – after they search UN assist.

This undermines coherence, dilutes our influence on the bottom and weakens supply on nation priorities.

To tackle this problem, I’ve put ahead a number of proposals.

One is to restructure entities the place there could also be overlaps or duplications.

With that purpose in thoughts, within the first occasion, we suggest to conduct an intensive evaluation of the potential advantages of a merger between UNDP and UNOPS – to create a stronger engine for sustainable growth, with better attain and scale.

Similarly, we are going to conduct an intensive evaluation of the advantages of a merger of UNFPA and UN Women and their respective mandates and capacities.

Bringing these collectively might present the United Nations with a unified and extra highly effective voice on gender equality and the rights of girls and ladies.

I consider it’s price exploring how these constructions is likely to be reconfigured for better effectivity and influence for sustainable growth.

We will conduct complete assessments and current preliminary findings and choices to Member States in early 2026.

We are additionally open to contemplating every other mergers Member States may counsel based mostly on their very own analysis of the system.

At the regional degree, I suggest a reset, to regroup and host extra capacities across the places of Regional Commissions and different choices the place viable, led by the Deputy Secretary-General.

At the nation degree, I additionally suggest a reconfiguration of our nation groups.

Today, in lots of nations, we see greater than 20 UN growth system entities current – usually with restricted budgets and dear administrative footprints.

We want leaner, extra impactful nation groups – with much less spending on bodily presence and extra assets for experience and influence.

The Resident Coordinators should function the single-entry level – guaranteeing that Member States can entry the complete breadth of UN experience.

To that finish, the working group led by the Deputy Secretary-General can even develop suggestions for a reconfiguration of the nation groups by early subsequent 12 months.

In assist of those efforts, our specialised businesses, with their deep technical experience, will assist develop a brand new mechanism to proactively ship extra “expertise on demand” via the system together with at nation degree.

This is a particularly vital measure as a result of till now, specialised businesses which have been created throughout completely different moments up to now that usually depend upon governing our bodies associated to completely different ministries in governments must a sure extent, have been residing in isolation in relation to the remainder of the system.  But they’ve huge capacities that can be utilized by the entire system, each on the international and nation degree and that’s the reason we’re creating this mechanism of experience on demand, placing the specialised businesses on the service of the UN System as an entire. 

In the UN Secretariat, as a contribution to this system-wide push, we can even set up Joint Knowledge Hubs – pooling extra know-how on key points resembling local weather change, science, expertise and innovation, or financing for growth, avoiding current duplications.

I’ll offer you two examples.  Today, we have now two experiences on growth in Africa, one in UNCTAD, one within the African Economic Commission.  Obviously, any longer, we can have just one report.  We have two experiences on international growth, one from DESA, on from  UNCTAD.  Obviously, any longer, we’ll have just one report.  When we have now a number of departments that cope with the identical points, it is sensible that we cease this duplication and we deliver collectively these capacities in hubs specialised within the areas which can be extra vital for the implementation of the Agenda 2030.   

Turning now to human rights. 

We have already got a robust UN structure in place, led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

To construct on this basis and additional enhance coordination throughout the system, I suggest establishing a Human Rights Group comprising entities from throughout the UN system.  

This mechanism would be sure that human rights concerns are systematically built-in into all UN insurance policies and actions.

Excellencies,

I’ve outlined some choices to strengthen every of our three pillars.

But we should additionally reinforce our cross-pillar strategy – to remove duplication and to deepen cooperation.

More than two-thirds of UN system-wide spending goes to complicated settings – the place peace, growth, humanitarian motion and human rights converge.

In such contexts, all the system should work as one.

Starting on the international degree, we are going to streamline our inside coordination – decreasing overlap amongst senior management fora;

Establishing regional cross-pillar platforms;

And unifying coordination for prevention beneath one platform – so the UN system acts as one the place peace, growth, humanitarian motion and human rights intersect.

I additionally suggest strengthening how we collaborate throughout growth and humanitarian efforts, via a Shared Platform Initiative that may simplify the techniques and instruments for our Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators.

Finally, let me contact upon the essential shifts in key enablers for our system-wide influence:

Administrative assist providers, expertise, knowledge, funding, coaching and analysis.

On operational assist, we envision an irreversible shift in direction of shared administrative providers throughout the UN system, each in international operations and in nation back-offices, constructing on the work of the UNSDG.

This needs to be enshrined in a brand new Unified Services Roadmap, and with the New Humanitarian Compact as a catalyst.

On expertise, specifically, we are going to consolidate the fragmented IT panorama throughout the UN system to decrease prices and improve effectivity.

The financial savings we obtain can then be reinvested in a brand new Technology Accelerator Platform – strengthening our enterprise practices and scaling up our joint capacities in leveraging digital capability and Artificial Intelligence – constructing on the event already achieved by sure departments and businesses.

This joint programme will leverage UN 2.0 capabilities and can be led by these entities from the Secretariat, specialised businesses, funds and programmes which have already developed essentially the most superior capabilities on this subject that should be put on the service of the entire UN System to speed up its expertise transformation.

At the identical time, we are going to advance a UN System Data Commons – to be able to discover all our knowledge, statistics and shared experience simply in a single place.

On analysis and coaching, we suggest to consolidate a number of entities into two stronger pillars:

Merging the UN Staff System College into the UN Institute for Training and Research to create a unified coaching pillar;

And integrating the UN Research Institute for Social Development into the UN University.

Finally, we suggest a assessment of our core and pooled funding mechanisms, to make them less complicated, cheaper and extra impactful for contributors than fragmented financing.

They should be essentially the most compelling decisions.

Madam President, Excellencies,

You have heard numerous concepts and proposals.

Let me as soon as once more emphasize that the final word path of the UN80 Initiative rests with you, the Member States of the United Nations.

As I mentioned in my report, the proposals have been framed with a view to be sure that all reforms are undertaken in accordance with the relevant guidelines and procedures – together with the Charter of the United Nations and choices, resolutions and established observe of the competent intergovernmental organs.

It is your prerogative – and your accountability, as reaffirmed by the General Assembly’s decision 79/318.

During the High-Level Week, lots of your leaders underscored one other message:

That we should flip disaster into alternative – to safeguard multilateralism and to strengthen the United Nations to satisfy the challenges that lie forward.

I hear that very same message echoed by the men and women of the United Nations who serve throughout responsibility stations world wide…

Often in hardship… all the time with dedication.

They ship important providers, shield these in hurt’s approach, and work tirelessly for peace.

They, too, aspire to serve a United Nations that delivers extra successfully.

I intend to make full use of the remaining time in my mandate to safe concrete realignments that may strengthen this Organization – and to make sure that my successor inherits a United Nations firmly set on the trail of renewal and transformation.

I stay up for listening to from you immediately.

Building in your insights, I’ll set up a devoted UN80 implementation group.

Its activity can be to advance proposals in order that they are often offered to the related intergovernmental organs for resolution;

And, the place proposals fall inside my authority, to maneuver ahead with the mandatory steps for his or her implementation.

Later this month, I intend to current a UN80 motion plan to the UN system’s Chief Executives Board – to make sure full engagement throughout the United Nations household.

Following that dialogue, I’ll current to you concrete deliverables and timelines for advancing numerous the proposals contained on this report.

Over the approaching months, we are going to proceed to seek the advice of Member States and our employees, and offer you common updates on the efforts undertaken via the UN80 Initiative.

Proposals beneath Workstreams 1 and a couple of are continuing via established channels within the Fifth Committee and the Ad Hoc Working Group of the General Assembly for dialogue and decision-making.

Many of the proposals beneath Workstream 3 are broader in scope.

They contact upon a number of entities of the UN system, and that are topic to a wide range of governing preparations.

For this motive, we are going to introduce developed proposals in several fora, as applicable for every proposal.

As we transfer ahead, we are going to make each effort to uphold the Organization’s rules relating to geographic and gender range, in addition to our dedication to youth and incapacity inclusion.

Please relaxation assured that each one relevant guidelines and procedures can be totally revered, and that Member States can be consulted at each step of the best way all through the method.

I stay up for your regular steerage as we supply this work ahead collectively.

Madam President, Excellencies,

You may need observed already a progressive convergence between the three workstreams.

The revised estimates earlier than you already embrace the outcomes of some restructuring actions and programme realignments.

More will observe within the programme price range for 2027. 

The work you might be at the moment endeavor within the working group on mandates will permit for enhancements in all the life cycle of mandates – creation, implementation, and supply.

At the identical time, the conclusions of Member States on mandates will information additional programme realignments and structural modifications to be undertaken and can have clear budgetary implications.

Taken collectively, the measures of the three workstreams will produce a way more coherent, impactful, and cost-effective UN system as an entire.

I consider that the General Assembly is the best place for the general oversight of the work forward.

As you replicate on the proposals contained within the report, my group and I stay totally at your disposal for any consultations it’s possible you’ll want to maintain.

And if Member States ought to really feel that these proposals usually are not bold sufficient, I stand able to work hand in hand with you to pursue any options it’s possible you’ll want to take into account to satisfy the challenges earlier than us.

The path ahead is yours to resolve.

The decisions you make will form the way forward for this initiative and the capability of the United Nations to ship on the guarantees of the Charter within the years forward.

I stay up for your concepts and to your steerage.

Thank you.