Outlining his proposal on the Common Meeting’s Fifth Committee, the forum for administrative and budgetary matters, António Guterres stated the proposal for UN’s common funds comes with a way of urgency, amid multiplicity of challenges.
“In a context of main international shocks, the United Nations is extra wanted than ever,” he said.
The proposal displays the priorities set out in current landmark agreements, he emphasised, citing the Pact for the Future and its annexes, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations.
“[These] signify a dedication in the direction of updating and reforming worldwide cooperation to make it extra networked, efficient, truthful and inclusive,” he added.
The common funds (RB) encompasses UN programmes spanning numerous domains, resembling political affairs, worldwide justice and legislation, regional cooperation for improvement, human rights and humanitarian affairs, and public data.
Group maintains a separate budget for peacekeeping operations, which follows a fiscal cycle from July 1 to June 30, whereas the common funds aligns with the calendar 12 months.
Price range highlights
Excluding the Special Political Missions (SPMs), the proposed funds for 2025 features a complete of 10,494 posts, representing a internet enhance of 115 posts for brand new or strengthened mandates.
$711 million is proposed for SPMs, reflecting a $31 million lower as a result of discontinuation of field operations in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the investigative team in Iraq (UNITAD).
The funds proposal additionally contains, amongst different programmes, $50 million for the Peacebuilding Fund to deal with ongoing funding gaps; a rise of $8 million for the UN human rights workplace, OHCHR, to help regional initiatives; and an extra $8.3 million to help the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria.
The proposed funds additional contains $3.5 million in extra humanitarian assets for the disaster Gaza, together with a rise of $2.5 million for the UN Reduction and Works Company (UNRWA), a lifeline for Palestine refugees.
The 2025 funds proposal additionally contains measures to put the System-Wide Evaluation Office on firmer footing with RB funding, alongside a $2 million enhance for the Workplace of Inside Oversight Companies (OIOS) and the Ethics Office to bolster capacities.
Give attention to improvement
Sustainable improvement stays a core precedence, with a rise of about $4.5 million, marking the sixth consecutive annual enhance.
The Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation (RPTC) will obtain a $2 million enhance, and an extra $500,000 is proposed for technical help and recommendation to nations on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Improvement and African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The proposal additionally contains a rise of $1 million for the Development Account to boost focused, country-level help.
Mr. Guterres additionally highlighted the “continual funding shortfall” going through the Resident Coordinator system and want for “a sustainable and predictable funding mechanism”, via partial RB financing.
Liquidity challenges
Mr. Guterres concluded by urging Member States to fulfil their financial obligations in full and on time, stressing that the UN’s capability to fulfill its mandates depends upon the supply of funds.
He defined that the Group began 2024 with solely $67 million in money, down from $700 million the earlier 12 months, “making it extraordinarily susceptible to antagonistic adjustments in fee patterns of assessed contributions”.
To stave off implementation constraints subsequent 12 months, Mr. Guterres proposed that the Common Meeting quickly droop the return of credit for 2023 towards the 2025 evaluation. The credit can be held in a reserve and launched as circumstances enhance.
“In the end, the effectiveness of programme supply and use of monetary assets in 2025 will rely upon the supply of money,” he stated.