By Ayomide Otitoju
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday warned that long-overdue reforms at the global body would require “painful” decisions, including staff reductions and restructuring, as the organization grapples with chronic financial constraints exacerbated by policies from the Trump administration.
“Our shared goal has always been to make our organization more efficient — to simplify procedures, eliminate overlaps, and enhance transparency and accountability,” Guterres told member states during a briefing.
Citing an ongoing liquidity crisis, the UN chief stressed the urgency of revamping operations across departments to improve productivity while reducing costs. One of the key proposals includes the merger of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) with the Department of Peace Operations (DPO), a move that could eliminate up to 20 percent of positions within the two departments.
Guterres said the targeted reductions would serve as a benchmark for the broader “UN80” reform initiative, which is evaluating ways to streamline operations globally.
In addition, he raised the possibility of relocating staff from high-cost duty stations such as New York and Geneva to more affordable locations, citing unsustainable workloads and bureaucratic inefficiencies.
“It is as if we have allowed the formalism and quantity of reports and meetings to become ends in themselves,” he said. “Success is not measured by the volume of reports we generate or the number of meetings we convene.”
Guterres urged member states to embrace bold reforms despite the discomfort they may bring. “Uncomfortable and difficult decisions lie ahead,” he warned. “But the road of delay and indecision is a dead end.”
An internal UN working group memo, recently seen by AFP, outlines further potential changes under the UN80 initiative, including the consolidation of several UN agencies. While Guterres did not explicitly endorse the proposals, he indicated that thematic “clusters” within the system would present reform suggestions in due course.
