The UN, which faces greater budgetary limitations, could reduce the size of the Secretariat by 20%, that is, thousands of eliminated positions, as part of the reform initiated to make the organization more effective, according to an internal memorandum seen by AFP on Thursday.
“The Secretary -General has established an ambitious objective, achieving a significant reduction (between 15% and 20%) of the ordinary budget by 2026, including a 20% reduction in the positions for the Secretariat,” writes the UN controller Chandramouli Ramanathan in this message addressed this week to the dozens of the departments.
The UN Ordinary Budget by 2025 increases to $ 3.7 billion. The Secretariat, one of the main bodies responsible for many tasks confident by the General Assembly or the Security Council, used at the end of 2023, about 35,000 people mainly in New York, but also in Geneva, Vienne or Nairobi.
“Painful changes”
As part of the “UNU80” initiative, aimed at improving the organization’s efficiency in a difficult budget context, its general secretary Antonio Guterres recently warned that “painful” changes occurred, even in terms of workforce, evoking a 20%figure. The memorandum dated May 27 asks all department leaders to be eliminated on June 13 will be eliminated, focusing on “non -critical” duplications or functions. “I have his cooperation for this collective effort,” writes Chandramouli Ramanathan, recognizing a “adjusted calendar.”
The effective discounts, if approved by the General Assembly that will have to adopt the 2026 Budget, will enter into force on January 1, 2026 for already vacant positions, later and in accordance with the internal rules for the positions maintained. The memorandum specifies that agencies such as the High Commission for Refugees, the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and the UNN-FEMMES, who receive funds from the UN regular budget, will receive separate instructions.
The UN has been facing a chronic liquidity crisis for years, linked to the fact that certain member states do not pay all their contribution, and that others do not pay on time.
Therefore, the United States, the first taxpayers to the UN ordinary budget (up to 22% in accordance with the action established by the General Assembly), accumulated $ 1.5 billion at the end of January, according to a UN spokesman. And in 2024, China, second taxpayer (20%), paid for its expiration until the end of December. To these liquidity problems are added financing fears for the administration of Donald Trump. Many UN agencies are already beaten by mass cuts in American aid abroad.
Source: BFM TV
