The world organizationis celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2025 and savoring its accomplishments and longevity after decades of humanitarian work. But celebrations are marked by an uncertain future as budget cuts and reform appear inevitable. Member states are offered proposals in the form of a “mandate for change” that requires their support to keep the UN functioning and its purposes high as demanded by the UN Charter.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged that the organization is facing times of difficulties and asked in his project UN80 Initiative launched in May: “How can we be the most effective Organization that we can be? How can we be more nimble, coordinated and fit to face the challenges of today, the next decade, and indeed the next 80 years? The UN80 Initiative is anchored in answering these questions and equipping our organization in an era of extraordinary uncertainty.”
Guterres said the UN80 Initiative is structured around three key workstreams: “First, we are striving to rapidly identify efficiencies and improvements under current arrangements. Second, we are reviewing the implementation of all mandates given to us by Member States. And third, we are undertaking consideration of the need for structural changes and program realignment across the UN system.”
Guy Ryder, the Under-Secretary-General for Policy and chair of the UN80 Task Force, said in an interview published by UN News: “This is a good time to take a look at ourselves and see how fit for purpose we are in a set of circumstances which, let’s be honest, are quite challenging for multilateralism and for the UN.”
UN News reported about the proposals in the Mandate for Change that “Millions of lives have been improved by the mandates assigned to the UN. Yet duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks are stretching resources and undermining the organization’s ability to deliver for those who need it most. As part of the UN80 Initiative, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has presented a set of proposals to Member States to make the UN more efficient, coherent and impactful.”
UN News said, “Mandates – requests or directives for action issued by the General Assembly, the UN Security Council and the Economic and Social Council have multiplied significantly since 1945. Today, there are more than 40,000 active mandates, serviced by around 400 intergovernmental bodies. Together, they require more than 27,000 meetings a year and generate roughly 2,300 pages of documentation every day, at an estimated annual cost of $360 million.”
“Mandates guide the UN’s work in over 190 countries and territories, from peacekeeping to humanitarian response and development. But many are outdated or overlapping, and their complexity is increasing. Since 2020, the average word count of General Assembly resolutions has risen by 55 per cent, while Security Council resolutions are now three times longer than they were 30 years ago.
“Let’s face facts,” the UN chief said during a briefing to the General Assembly in August, “we cannot expect far greater impact without the means to deliver. By spreading our capacities so thin, we risk becoming more focused on process than on results.”
A lack of coordination adds to the strain. Several UN entities cite the same mandates to justify separate programmes and budgets, leading to duplication and reduced impact. More than 85 per cent of mandates contain no provisions for review or termination. “Effective reviews are the exception, not the rule,” the UN chief said. “The same mandates are discussed year after year – often with only marginal changes to existing texts.”
