The UN has released an action plan for the UN80 Initiative – a system-wide reform effort seeking to adapt the UN “to become more agile, integrated, and equipped to respond to today’s complex global challenges amid tightening resources.” The action plan serves as a coordination framework across all three workstreams of the UN80 Initiative, a planning and accountability tool aligning responsibilities and actions across the system, and a transparency measure showing how the UN system will operationalize actions outlined in the Secretary-General’s reports.
Titled, ‘United to Deliver: UN80 Initiative,’ the Action Plan: outlines the UN80 Initiative architecture by explaining how oversight, coordination, and implementation are structured through the Steering Committee, Task Force, and Work Packages; and lists the specific work packages corresponding to a set of actions drawn from all UN80 workstreams.
The UN80 Initiative aims to:
- Achieve efficiencies and improvements (Workstream 1);
- Review mandate implementation (Workstream 2); and
- Introduce structural changes and programme realignments (Workstream 3).
Accompanied by an information annex, listing all the work packages and their corresponding actions and leads, the Plan is envisioned as a living document, with updates and details to be continuously added. The Action Plan was released on 7 November 2025.
Meanwhile, the co-chairs of the Informal Ad Hoc Working Group on the Mandate Implementation Review under Workstream 2 have been engaging with members to hear their views on mandate implementation, including possible principles and follow-up actions.
In a letter dated 12 November 2025, Permanent Representative of Jamaica Brian Wallace and Permanent Representative of New Zealand Carolyn Schwalger invited Working Group members to submit written contributions, following the second round of consultations on 14 November. During the consultations, discussions drew on a document outlining follow-up steps to the mandate delivery report. The document unpacks the issues identified in the report relating to the creation, delivery, and review of mandates. These include reports, funding modalities, and coordination of activities.
The co-chairs also recently heard from stakeholders on how to better support the creation, implementation, and review of UN mandates.
Briefings on the work of the Working Group provided by the UN Secretariat and experts are now available online, on a designated webpage. [UN80 Initiative] [SDG Knowledge Hub Coverage of UN80 Imitative]