The United Nations is moving forward with plans to eliminate senior leadership roles during the coming two years as part of sweeping organizational changes, the Secretary-General announced Thursday.
Antonio Guterres, who will complete his decade-long tenure as U.N. chief by the end of 2026, is pushing for significant reform and budget reductions while the organization faces a financial emergency caused in part by outstanding dues, including from top contributor the United States.
The Secretary-General has praised major achievements in the ‘UN80’ reform initiative thus far, pointing to reductions in the 2026 budget and the relocation of more than 2,000 positions from high-cost cities such as Geneva and New York to more affordable locations.
However, additional steps are necessary, he informed the General Assembly in New York, emphasizing that member nations hold the power to drive change.
“Genuine reform requires tough choices. This is no time for complacency, self-interest, or foot-dragging,” he said.
The 2027 budget will feature efforts to eliminate organizational layers and begin reducing senior-level positions, with continued cuts planned for 2028, Guterres explained, though he did not provide specific details. Job transfers to less expensive locations will also continue, he noted.
Budget documents show that U.N. cost-reduction plans for 2026 implemented much smaller reductions to senior staff compared to lower-level employees, despite a growing number of high-level positions in recent years.
Numerous senior roles are informally designated for major powers who fiercely protect them as sources of status and power.
Guterres called on nations to pursue more aggressive reforms, stating that “bureaucratic inertia and defensiveness” were blocking some changes, including combining or shutting down U.N. agencies.
“At this stage, the overall direction and scale of UN80 lie in the hands of Member States to determine,” he said.
The United States, which owes the organization approximately $4 billion and has announced intentions to leave many U.N. organizations, has consistently demanded a more effective United Nations concentrated on peace and security matters.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed support for reform objectives this week. “Overlapping bodies and mandates in the U.N. system should be streamlined, resources be better integrated and a culture of efficiency be promoted,” he told reporters in New York.
Several of the five contenders seeking to succeed Guterres as secretary-general have also indicated the necessity to reform or reinvent multilateralism.
