UN Secretary-General António Guterres updated Member States on progress under the three workstreams of the UN80 Initiative: efficiencies and improvements; mandate implementation review; and structural changes and programme realignments. Focusing on Workstream 3, the Secretary-General outlined proposals relating to peace and security, humanitarian operations, and sustainable development and human rights, as well as to shifts in key enablers for system-wide impact.

Speaking before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 15 October 2025, Guterres highlighted “steady progress” on all three workstreams. On Workstream 1 (efficiencies and improvements), he said the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) is reviewing the revised estimates relating to the proposed programme budget for 2026 and the support account for 2025-2026, including targeted efficiencies and cost reductions, and initial measures to improve the management and operations of the Secretariat.

On Workstream 2 (mandate implementation review), the Secretary-General welcomed the comprehensive work plan provided by the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Mandate Implementation Review, co-chaired by Jamaica and New Zealand. He outlined initial steps to advance the proposals falling within his authority, including: expanding the scope and functionalities of the mandate registries and transparency tools; shortening reports; combining reports covering similar issues; and publishing download statistics.

On Workstream 3 (structural changes and programme realignments), Guterres called attention to his recent progress report along seven thematic clusters. He said the report proposes three sets of paradigm shifts (shifts within each pillar, shifts in working across pillars, and shifts in collectively enabling operations), noting that this transformation must be anchored in the principles of:

• Advancing the purposes of and upholding the UN Charter across its three pillars;
• Strengthening the UN’s ability to support countries in delivering on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to respond effectively to emerging issues, including those identified in the Pact for the Future;
• Maximizing the concrete impact of activities and services for Member States; and
• Undertaking the reforms in strict accordance with the applicable rules and procedures.

The Secretary-General outlined some of the key proposals. On peace and security, he proposed to consolidate and reconfigure teams at Headquarters and special political missions through a “networked” model seeking to eliminate duplication and increase coherence.

On humanitarian operations, the Secretary-General presented the New Humanitarian Compact between UN humanitarian agencies, to bring the UN system together in a new Collaborative Humanitarian Diplomacy Initiative, fostering coordinated negotiation and unified messaging. Among others, he mentioned efforts to cut coordination bureaucracy, integrate the supply chains of the principal humanitarian agencies, and scale up the use of common services.

On sustainable development, Guterres highlighted proposals to:

• Restructure entities where there may be overlaps or duplications, starting with an assessment of the potential benefits of a merger between the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and a merger between the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN-Women, with initial findings and options to be presented to Member States in early 2026;
• Regroup and host more capacities around the locations of regional commissions, led by the Deputy Secretary-General; and
• Reconfigure country teams, with the Deputy Secretary-General to develop recommendations by early 2026.

As a contribution to this system-wide push, the Secretariat will establish Joint Knowledge Hubs, pooling more know-how on climate change, science, technology and innovation, and financing for development, among other key issues, avoiding present duplications. By way of example, the Secretary-General said the two UN reports on development in Africa – one by the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the other by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) – will be replaced by one. Similarly, a single report will substitute the two reports on global development – one from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and the other from UNCTAD.

On human rights, Guterres proposed establishing a Human Rights Group comprising entities from across the UN system, to ensure human rights considerations are systematically integrated into all UN policies and activities.

To strengthen the UN’s cross-pillar approach, the Secretary-General called for streamlining internal coordination and strengthening how the UN collaborates across development and humanitarian efforts.

Among the shifts in key enables for system-wide impact, Guterres outlined proposals to: shift towards shared administrative services; consolidate the fragmented information technology (IT) landscape to lower costs and enhance efficiency, including through a UN System Data Commons; and merge the UN Staff System College into the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to create a unified training pillar and integrate the UN Research Institute for Social Development into the UN University (UNU). He also proposed a review of the UN’s core and pooled funding mechanisms, to make them simpler, cheaper, and more impactful than fragmented financing. 

Emphasizing that the ultimate direction of the UN80 Initiative rests with Member States, Guterres said he will establish a dedicated UN80 implementation team. The team will work “to advance proposals so that they can be presented to the relevant intergovernmental organs for decision” and to move towards the implementation of the proposals falling within the Secretary-General’s authority. To ensure full engagement across the UN family, Guterres will present a UN80 action plan to the UN system’s Chief Executives Board in October. 

Noting “a progressive convergence between the three workstreams,” the Secretary-General said the measures under the UN80 Initiative “will produce a much more coherent, impactful and cost-effective UN system as a whole.”

Welcoming the UN80 initiative, UNGA President Annalena Baerbock emphasized the importance of Member States’ ownership, stressed the need to ensure the three workstreams are interconnected in the UNGA’s decisions, and warned against sacrificing the principles of the UN in the name of the “bottom line.” [UN Press Release]