UN Secretary-General António Guterres introduced the proposed programme budget for 2026 to the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary). The UN80 Initiative provides “the truly unique context” for the USD 3.715 billion budget proposal, “driven by a strong sense of urgency and… ambition to make the Secretariat more effective, agile, resilient and cost-efficient.”

In his remarks to the Fifth Committee on 17 October 2025, the Secretary-General said the proposed programme budget consists of three parts:

• The once-every-three-years plan outline that sets out the long-term priorities and objectives of the Organization, including key actions from the Pact for the Future;
• The programme plan for 2026, demonstrating an enhanced focus on mandate delivery and increased results orientation – and programme performance information for 2024; and
• The resource requirements for the programmes and subprogrammes.

Guterres highlighted that the proposed programme plans for next year reflect the Pact for the Future, including:

• Efforts to reform the international financial architecture, move beyond gross domestic product (GDP), promote data governance, and ensure that the digital economy benefits all, supported by entities across the development system;
• Efforts to strengthen preventive diplomacy, mediation, and peacebuilding support by the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs;
• Efforts to ensure that peace efforts are inclusive, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of all by embedding women and youth in the UN’s peace and security agendas; and
• Efforts by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to expand its regional presence to deliver mandates more effectively and efficiently.

The Secretary-General highlighted efforts across the Secretariat to build capacity in innovation, data analytics, digital transformation, strategic foresight, and behavioral science for a UN that is more agile and responsive.

Noting that his proposed programme budget for 2026 is “slightly below” the 2025 approved budget, Guterres said the figure, inter alia, includes funding for 37 special political missions, provides for 14,275 posts, and includes a USD 53 million commitment authority for 2026 to support the resident coordinator system (the same as in 2025).

The Secretary-General underscored that this budget proposal “continues to advance [his] vision for UN 2.0” that encompasses a forward-thinking workforce culture and cutting-edge skills, gender equality, and geographical representation.

Guterres informed Member States that the Secretariat’s comprehensive review of its resource requirements for 2026, carried out following the submission of the programme plans to the Committee on Programme and Coordination and the resource requirements to the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), is part of “efforts to identify measurable efficiencies across the Secretariat.”

Among the proposals contained in the revised estimates report for the proposed programme budget for 2026 and the support account for peacekeeping operations for the 2025-2026 period, under consideration by ACABQ, the Secretary-General highlighted a reduction in the resource requirements for 2026 to USD 3.238 billion – a decrease of USD 577 million (15.1%) compared with the 2025 appropriation, due to optimizing resources, streamlining administrative services, consolidating functions, reducing overlap, and exploring lower-cost delivery models.

He said these revised estimates include initial proposals under Workstream 1 of the UN80 Initiative on creating common administrative platforms to provide administrative services to Secretariat entities located in each duty station, consolidating payroll processing into a single global team across three locations, and conducting a systematic review by entities in New York and Geneva to identify functions that could be performed effectively in lower-cost duty stations. Guterres indicated that any budgetary implications arising from the UN80 Initiative’s Workstreams 2 and 3 will be assessed and reflected in future budget proposals.

Underscoring that “effective delivery in 2026 will depend on the timely and full payment of assessed contributions,” the Secretary-General said by the end of September, the UN had collected only 66.2% of the year’s assessments. Lamenting this “deterioration in the financial situation,” compounded by high arrears, he proposed that the UNGA temporarily suspend the return of credits against the 2026 assessment and urged Member States to meet their financial obligations “in full and on time.”

The Fifth Committee began its line-by-line consideration of the proposed budget on 17 October. Discussions will continue over the next several weeks. [UN News Story]