SAN FRANCISCO, California / APEX, North Carolina, US, Might 16 (IPS) – Whereas it might be tough and painful, the UN Secretary-Common is true to embrace change, imagine Prof. Felix Dodds and Chris SpenceThe United Nations has been referred to as many issues in its time:
- A champion of human rights.
- The world’s peacekeeper and supplier of catastrophe aid.
- A pacesetter on local weather change, sustainable improvement, reducing poverty, and combating illness.
- The world’s single most necessary group.
But additionally:
- Bureaucratic.
- Byzantine.
- Disorganized.
- Duplicative.
- Fragmented.
- Irritating.
Which is it?
The proper reply is, in all probability each. In our opinion, the UN is important. Its position over the previous 80 years has been important in so some ways. As we argue in our books, Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy (2022) and Environmental Lobbying on the United Nations (2025) the world wants the UN, now greater than ever.
However we now have additionally skilled firsthand how maddeningly inefficient and bureaucratic it may be. No marvel some critics need to defund it.
One of many issues for the United Nations has been the expectations surrounding it. With each new world problem—from decolonization to local weather change—the group’s mandate has grown.
The United Nations feels each too massive and too small. After ongoing budgetary progress for the very best a part of 80 years, it’s sufficiently massive that many anticipate it to have the ability to take care of something that comes its means. The UN system as an entire has income of greater than US$74 billion—greater than many international locations. Nonetheless, the UN’s common (core) finances is comparatively small: $3.72 billion for 2025. What’s extra, it has usually solely gone up by the price of inflation for the final thirty years.
The place does the remainder of the cash go? So much is devoted to serving to creating international locations with their humanitarian, improvement, and environmental work. As well as, there’s a peacekeeping finances that pays for UN peacekeeping forces. This finances is presently $5.6 billion.
One other expense pertains to UN programmes specializing in particular matters, akin to improvement (UNDP), environmental safety (UNEP), or humanitarian support (UNHCR).
These programmes are funded by voluntary contributions from governments, and are managed by the precise UN programme’s devoted governing our bodies. UN companies are additionally technically separate from the “core” UN; they choose their very own leaders and have their very own governing our bodies.
Cuts Are Coming
Collectively, these many UN entities undertake loads of actions. Additionally they value so much. Now, nonetheless, many governments are decreasing their support budgets and several other, together with the US, are making wholesale cuts to their UN funding. This implies change is coming whether or not the group likes it or not.
Not like some earlier efforts at UN reform which have petered out—actually because governments and numerous UN entities couldn’t agree on their implementation—this time the UN appears to haven’t any selection however to adapt. For the primary time in its historical past, funding is prone to fall. The years of progress are clearly over. Budgets will quickly should be lower. Already, funding shortfalls are beginning to chew.
UN member states (that’s, governments) are assessed for annual UN “contributions” primarily based on a system that considers their nationwide earnings and numerous different components. However what if governments don’t pay what they owe?
By April 30, 2025, unpaid “assessments” (cash owed to the UN by particular person international locations) stood at US$2.4 billion, with the US owing $1.5 billion, China round $600 million, and Russia greater than $70 million. On high of that, the peacekeeping finances was $2.7 billion in arrears. In 2024, 41 international locations didn’t pay their mandated contributions.
In March 2025, UN Secretary-Common António Guterres launched “UN80”, a overview that seeks to verify the establishment continues to be fit-for-purpose because it seems in the direction of a financially-straightened future. To this point, every little thing appears to be on the desk: his overview is inspecting operational effectivity, how the group’s key duties or missions are carried out, and main structural reforms.
The Secretary-Common has acknowledged criticism about main overlaps between UN companies and programmes, in addition to inefficiencies, spiraling prices, fragmentation, outdated working strategies, and the speedy progress in high-level managerial and government jobs inside the system.
He’s contemplating main modifications, akin to merging a number of departments, companies and teams right into a a lot smaller quantity that will every cowl a serious space like Peace and Safety, Humanitarian Affairs, Human Rights, and Sustainable Growth.
At present, many entities have overlapping duties in every of those areas and there are actually dozens of various teams lively in every one.
Such mergers appear smart and lengthy overdue. Internally, it is going to seemingly trigger loads of anguish and stress amongst employees, since it is going to actually lead to layoffs. This have to be undertaken with a pro-staff method; many who work for the UN have devoted their lives to the group, and any employees modifications ought to attempt to respect their service.
Sadly, the cuts in funding imply a sure stage of job losses are inevitable. That stated, we imagine it is much better for the UN to tackle the problem deliberately and with the clear aim of enhancing the group’s effectivity and impression, than for it to undertake a “defensive” posture and resist change whereas funding falls anyway.
Are there methods some cuts may very well be offset by discovering extra methods to fund the UN and its numerous actions? Whereas these are unlikely within the brief time period, it’s price actively contemplating what new earnings streams could be doable and the way they might play a job in funding new or current mandates. In future, any new exercise or mandate being thought of by the UN ought to actually embody a clearly-funded finances.
A Sustainable United Nations?
A serious lens we wish to see utilized to any reform is judging the UN’s actions by its areas of comparative benefit. What are actions the UN does higher than anybody else? Conversely, in what areas does the UN underperform, and even duplicate, others? Are there areas the UN provides so little worth that it ought to exit altogether? UN management will should be clear-eyed concerning the realities of this as they take a look at the modifications wanted.
One space by which we imagine the UN excels is in coordinating worldwide motion on matters that transcend nationwide boundaries. This contains sustainable improvement and main environmental crises like local weather change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss. As we argue in our books and former articles, the UN’s convening energy has made an enormous distinction in making an attempt to sort out these advanced, world challenges.
Even right here, nonetheless, enhancements may be made. For example, may or not it’s doable to consolidate the numerous UN entities coping with problems with sustainable improvement and the setting? At present, there are a number of dozen, together with DESA, FAO, IFAD, UNDRR, UNDP, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, UNIDO, and plenty of others.
At this level, it might be simpler for the UN Secretary-Common to start out by reforming the UN secretariats and programmes relatively than the UN “companies” (akin to FAO, ILO, UNESCO, and WHO). It is because UN companies usually have wider mandates, extra advanced buildings, larger autonomy, and longstanding assist from vested pursuits. So, it might be extra sensible to start out with elements of the system that may be simpler to vary and rationalize.
Along with potential consolidation, are there financial savings available by shifting to decrease value facilities? This might embody increase UN headquarters in locations like Nairobi, the place UNEP and UN-Habitat are positioned, and which is extra reasonably priced than, say, Geneva or New York.
Shifting programmatic work to the UN regional fee headquarters in locations like Chile, Ethiopia, and Thailand can also lower your expenses. In Europe, it might be price contemplating whether or not there are cheaper choices than Geneva or Paris (each within the high ten cities globally for prices), in contrast with, say, Bonn, the place the UN’s local weather secretariat, the UN Conference to Fight Desertification and a few smaller UN our bodies akin to UN Volunteers, are positioned.
Even inside particular areas just like the UN’s local weather change work, there are a number of mandates, overlaps, and ongoing questions. Ought to the UN’s local weather secretariat in Bonn be introduced underneath the umbrella of the UN Atmosphere Programme, as an illustration?
The UNFCCC has a policy-making mandate, however can the scope and scale of the UN negotiations on local weather change be pared again, particularly now we’re imagined to be largely completed with negotiations and centered on implementation?
For example, might we alter how the annual UN local weather summits (also called “COPs”) are organized, in order that the “Blue Zone”, which is the UN-controlled space put aside for diplomatic negotiations, incorporates the Motion Agenda of Implementation, a voluntary initiative launched in 2021 that features a broader group of stakeholders. This could be extra inclusive, and will assist us transfer away from the technical, government-to-government negotiations that we’re imagined to have largely concluded by now.
The UN local weather treaty (UNFCCC) can be the one so-called “Rio” treaty (the others take care of biodiversity and desertification) not underneath UNEP’s purview. Bringing the UNFCCC underneath UNEP would allow higher coordination between the Rio Conventions and transfer in the direction of the clustering of environmental conventions. This was truly proposed way back to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Growth.
UNEP has prior expertise in working to higher coordinate amongst totally different environmental treaties: it oversaw the clustering of the assorted chemical-related conventions and the start of the clustering of the biodiversity-related treaties, too. If UNEP was empowered to coordinate the chemical compounds, biodiversity and local weather conventions, it might save funds and guarantee higher and more practical supply.
Elsewhere, what about merging UNAIDS (the UN program on HIV/AIDS) inside a big physique, just like the World Well being Group or UN Growth Programme? A match with the WHO appears notably logical to us. Ought to UN Girls and the UN Inhabitants Fund (UNFPA) additionally be part of collectively? Once more, this may increasingly convey inner difficulties, however in instances of economic duress it appears worthy of consideration.
The concept of higher coordination between UNEP and UN-Habitat on sustainable city improvement additionally appears rational. May this be taken a step additional right into a merger? UN-Habitat was as soon as a part of UNDP, however these days it focuses so much on sustainable improvement on the native stage. This is a vital job, however can it have the impression it wants as a smallish, standalone programme, or wouldn’t it be higher off inside a much bigger entity?
Making the SDGs Sustainable
Though this overview doesn’t appear to be centered on the our bodies that govern UN entities, we wish to see a overview on this space. Maybe the brand new UN Secretary-Common, who is because of be named in 2026 and begin work in 2027, might take a look at these our bodies as part of a high-level panel? Such an end result may very well be a part of the overview of the Sustainable Growth Agenda, which is slated to start out in 2027 within the lead-up to the Sustainable Growth Objectives (SDG) Summit in 2030.
There are additionally inquiries to be requested about whether or not the UN Excessive-Stage Political Discussion board is match for function? Because the UN’s chief platform for monitoring and assessing implementation of the SDGs, the HLPF appears to have misplaced political assist over the previous few years.
Partly, it is because its policymaking is predominantly carried out earlier than the “major occasion” in July, which means stakeholders have nice issue attending and interesting with authorities delegates whereas the detailed work is being carried out.
Earlier than the HLPF was established in 2013, the earlier UN physique answerable for sustainable improvement was the UN Fee on Sustainable Growth (CSD). Its preparatory policymaking occurred over two weeks each February or March, earlier than it met once more in April, Might, or June to finalize coverage. It had an method of reviewing the implementation and the coverage 12 months, centered on creating suggestions and techniques to beat challenges.
Maybe this mannequin could be a greater one? Or maybe a Council of the UN Common Meeting just like the Human Rights Council needs to be thought of? This can be too “within the weeds” for the Secretary-Common’s UN80 overview to tackle, however the strategy of reviewing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Growth within the coming years ought to actually take a look at these two choices.
Within the meantime, we hope the UN Secretary-Common will use this second of economic duress as a chance to revitalize the group, take the exhausting selections wanted, and go away the UN leaner, more practical, and extra fit-for-purpose when he departs in late 2026 than when he took on the position again in 2017. On this more and more advanced and insecure world, a leaner, extra centered and politically-supported UN can and will take a number one position not solely in addressing key challenges within the years forward, however in pursuing its long-term imaginative and prescient of a extra sustainable, simply and truthful world for all.
Prof. Felix Dodds and Chris Spence have participated in UN negotiations on the setting and sustainable improvement because the Nineties. They co-edited Heroes of Environmental Diplomacy: Profiles in Braveness (Routledge, 2022). Their subsequent guide, Environmental Lobbying on the United Nations: A Information to Defending Our Planet, is scheduled for launch in June 2025.
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