Under-Secretary-General for Policy and Chair of the UN80 Task Force Guy Ryder briefed UN Member States on the UN80 initiative – a reform agenda launched by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in March. “As the weeks go by,” he said, work “will be shifting more and more to the Member States’ space, and that’s when we’ll see results.”

UN80’s three workstreams focus on efficiencies and improvements, a mandate implementation review, and structural changes and programme realignments across the entire UN system.

During an informal UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on 24 June 2025, Ryder noted that while the initiative aims to downsize in economy, its overall intention is “to strengthen and improve the workings of the UN system.”

UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan updated Member states on proposals to enhance efficiency under the first workstream. He said a working group, established “to develop concrete proposals to enhance efficiency, reduce duplication, standardize services, and relocate functions to existing lower-cost duty stations where appropriate,” is finalizing the proposals that will be submitted to the Secretary-General. “If approved, they will be incorporated into the revised estimates for the 2026 proposed programme budget for the consideration of the General Assembly by 1 September,” said Ramanathan. He also indicated that apart from UN80, the UN is reviewing the programme budget proposals for 2026, with a view to achieve 15-20% reductions.

On mandate implementation review under the second workstream, Ryder said the Secretariat services around 400 intergovernmental bodies and approximately 27,000 meetings a year, processing an average of 2,300 pages of documentation daily. These efforts amount to around USD 360 million annually. Ryder indicated that a mandate resource registry has been set up, and a report on the way forward should be available by the end of July.

Work under the first two workstreams will help “inform broader thinking around structural changes and programme realignment across the UN system,” according to a UN news story. “Proposals under the third workstream will be put forward to Member States in the coming months and into next year,” it notes.

During the meeting, several delegations, including the Group of 77 and China (G77/China), expressed concern about budget cuts and staff reductions, requesting more information about the proposals.

“Yes, we do face financial challenges,” Ryder acknowledged. “But this is not a cost-cutting, downsizing exercise. We want to make the UN stronger,” he emphasized. “The UN80 Initiative wants to improve the impact and effect of multilateralism and the UN,” as called for in the Pact for the Future. [UNGA Update on UN80 Initiative] [UN80 Initiative Guy Ryder Interview] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on UN80 Update in May] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on UN80 Update in April]