Program Areas

Program Areas

The United Nations braces for dramatic cuts and massive restructuring

A view of delegates in the General Assembly Hall on 18 September 2020. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

The United Nations is preparing for its most sweeping restructuring in decades as it grapples with a spiraling financial crisis and waning support from key contributors. Under Secretary-General António Guterres’ so-called “UN80” initiative, the UN Secretariat could see a 20% budget cut and the elimination of nearly 7,000 jobs by 2026.

According to a memo by the UN’s controller seen by Colum Lynch at Devex, the cuts target mid- to high-level posts across the Secretariat’s 35,000-strong workforce. Internal memos, confirmed by Reuters‘ John Shiffman, instruct department heads to identify the necessary reductions by June 13, ahead of the next budget cycle beginning in January. 

A funding collapse driven by politics

The financial shortfall making drastic cuts necessary is driven in large part by the United States. US President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed eliminating nearly 90% of funding for international organizations, including the UN. An internal memo reviewed by Adam Taylor and John Hudson of The Washington Post outlined intentions to discontinue US funding for the UN, NATO and twenty other organizations. In the meantime, the plan was approved by a vote of the US House of Representatives earlier in May. If confirmed by the Senate, this would mean the UN losing its main contributor accounting for 13 billion US dollars of funding or more than a quarter of its collective budget.

In addition, US arrears at the UN currently top 1.5 billion US dollar, and the liquidity crisis is worsened by delayed payments from China, the second-largest contributor. There appears to be no hope that other UN member states will step in to make up for the expected funding gaps. According to Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group, diplomats and UN staff talk about the need of doing “less with less” but no one “seems to know exactly what it will mean”. 

While Guterres has framed the UN80 reforms as a proactive modernization effort, observers see them as a direct response to this funding retreat. As pointed out by Damian Lilly in The Global Observatory, the Secretary-General’s rhetoric of “fit for purpose multilateralism” masks the urgency of keeping the UN solvent amid collapsing financial contributions. 

Critics have decried the rushed nature of the reforms. The Devex report cites UN staff union leader Ian Richards, who warned that “managers still have no idea how to implement this.” Former UN relief chief Martin Griffiths called it a “plan about cuts, not reform.” While the proposed downsizing appears to exempt top-paid Under-Secretary-Generals, it threatens departments including peacekeeping, disarmament, development, and human rights. Insiders according to a PassBlue report warn that core functions and mandates will be affected.

Structural reform or bureaucratic reshuffle?

UN80 envisions consolidating overlapping mandates, merging functions, and streamlining field operations. Lilly details in his report reform ideas such as merging the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs with the Development Coordination Office, and possibly folding UNAIDS into WHO.

Other suggestions include combining the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization – both cash-strapped and increasingly duplicative – or enhancing collaboration between UN agencies such as those working on migration, IOM and UNHCR. A central UN Executive Secretariat is also being considered to replace fragmented governance structures.

But structural change, reform veterans warn, won’t be enough. Jordan Ryan, former UN Assistant Secretary-General, argues in The Global Observatory that successful integration requires leadership, not just new organizational charts. Drawing on the 2021 UN Integration Review, he advocates for a system-wide business case protocol, behavioral reforms, and decentralized decision-making to ensure reforms are responsive to field realities.

Rethinking and opening up the UN

According to Andreas Bummel, Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders, a strong UN was needed, in particular to advance multilateral cooperation, sustainable development, human rights and humanitarian work. Efforts to modernize and streamline the UN should be welcomed and supported in principle. But pursuing them under dramatic financial pressure to implement deep cuts was concerning and difficult.

“What the UN needs is a rethink. A rethink of how it is funded, how it functions, and how it connects with the people it is meant to serve”, he said. “This crisis should be a wake-up call,” he added. “It’s long overdue to bring citizens into the conversation about the UN’s future. Strengthening democratic participation and representation could help restore legitimacy and, in turn, increase support for a strong and well-funded United Nations.”

Recently, Democracy Without Borders, together with Democracy International, presented a report recommending that the UN begin using Global Citizens’ Assemblies to gather public input on key global issues, pointing out this would be “money well invested”. The organization also advocates for the establishment of a UN Parliamentary Assembly to include elected representatives, as well as the introduction of a UN World Citizens’ Initiative to allow citizens to propose matters for consideration by the General Assembly.

These proposals are also endorsed in the People’s Pact published by the Coalition for the UN We Need as a civil society alternative to the UN’s official Pact for the Future in September 2024. The People’s Pact also calls for “new and innovative forms of global taxation and financial reallocation” to support sustainable UN funding, among other things.