UN chief warns of ‘painful' reforms, including staff cuts

Arab News

12-05-2025

UNITED NATIONS, United States: United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Monday said reforming the global body will require 'painful' changes, including staff reductions, to improve efficiency and deal with chronic budget constraints exacerbated by Trump administration policies.
In March, the secretary-general launched the UN80 initiative to streamline operations.
'Our shared goal has always been to make our organization more efficient, to simplify procedures, eliminate overlaps, and enhance transparency and accountability,' Guterres said Monday during an update to member states.
'The liquidity crisis we now face is not new. But today's financial and political situation adds even greater urgency to our efforts.'
He warned 'we know that some of these changes will be painful for our UN family.'
The proposed restructuring within the Secretariat includes merging units from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) with the Department of Peace Operations (DPO).
'I believe we'll be able to eliminate 20 percent of the posts of the two departments,' he said, adding that the level of reduction outlined for DPPA and DPO 'must be seen as a reference for the wider UN80 exercise.'
Guterres also raised the possibility of relocating positions from New York and Geneva to less expensive cities.
Member states will have to decide on their own changes.
The internal workload has also stretched the capacity of the UN system 'beyond reason,' Guterres said.
'It is as if we have allowed the formalism and quantity of reports and meetings to become ends in themselves. The measure of success is not the volume of reports we generate or the number of meetings we convene,' he said.
Guterres called on member states to make tough decisions.
'Many of you have agreed that this must be the moment to be bold and ambitious. That is what our Organization needs — and that is what our times demand,' he said.
'Make no mistake — uncomfortable and difficult decisions lie ahead. It may be easier — and even tempting — to ignore them or kick the can down the road. But that road is a dead end.'
In a memo seen recently by AFP, an internal working group in charge of the UN80 initiative suggested some major reforms, including merging UN agencies.
Guterres did not directly address those changes but indicated that 'clusters' working on similar issues would propose reforms, and potentially some structural changes.