UNITED NATIONS — United Nations officers have circulated proposals for an enormous consolidation of U.N. operations and different sweeping reforms to root out inefficiencies, overlaps and value overruns because the world physique faces a vital funding crunch, in line with an inner memo obtained by The Related Press.
The proposals, that are within the early phases of debate and are removed from sure to be adopted, would quantity to one of many greatest overhauls of the U.N., which has been upended by funding cuts from its greatest donor, the US, below President Donald Trump’s administration.
The doc, labeled “strictly confidential,” falls below a reform initiative referred to as UN80 that Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres launched in March.
The urge for food for a most fast-tracked reform comes because the United Nations is about to have fun its eightieth anniversary this summer season, with its potential to work on resolving conflicts, assist feed and home the poor, destitute and displaced, and struggle illness, together with many different of its lofty humanitarian ambitions, more and more doubtful.
“The memo is the preliminary results of an train to generate concepts and ideas from senior officers on how you can obtain the secretary-general’s imaginative and prescient,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated.
He famous that it was only one manner the U.N. is engaged on modifications and that “this train is designed to make sure we’re accountable stewards of the monies from hardworking taxpayers all over the world who underwrite the whole lot we do via member state contributions.”
The memo notes “important overlaps, inefficiencies, and elevated prices within the UN system” and a “fragmented improvement system” — an allusion to the work to assist poorer or conflict-battered nations construct and rebuild.
The doc, in an obvious sign to help cutbacks by the U.S. and different Western nations, famous that “geopolitical shifts and substantial reductions in overseas support budgets are difficult the legitimacy and effectiveness” of the United Nations.
The U.N. proposals underscore the impression of Trump’s resolution to drag the U.S. again from its place because the world’s single largest support donor, as his administration slashes overseas help. However even earlier than the Republican president took workplace, many donor nations had diminished humanitarian spending, and U.N. companies struggled to achieve funding targets.
In previous a long time, Guterres and his predecessors have struggled to enact significant modifications to the worldwide physique, which was established following World Warfare II, and to convey it into a contemporary period, the place there are completely different powers, new expertise and higher world divisions. One key downside is that whereas the secretary-general is the U.N.’s chief government, energy rests with the 193 member nations, which have very completely different concepts concerning the U.N. and the world.
The United Nations additionally has confronted sharp criticism for its failure to protect worldwide peace and safety — its key mission — with critics pointing to the wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and Congo, to call a number of.
Among the many concepts being mentioned in New York is a proposal to type a single humanitarian entity, similar to by making a “streamlined” group that pulls collectively the U.N.’s support coordinator, refugee company and migration company and “leveraging” the experience of the U.N. World Meals Program.
The AP reported this week that a number of U.N. companies that present support to kids, refugees and different weak folks all over the world could be slashing jobs or reducing prices in different methods, forward of any mandates from headquarters. Amongst these organizations is the World Meals Program, which is anticipated to chop as much as 30% of its employees.
The top of the U.N. Excessive Commissioner for Refugees stated it might downsize its headquarters and regional places of work to cut back prices by 30% and minimize senior-level positions by 50%. Different companies, together with UNICEF and OCHA, additionally plan to make cuts.
Different concepts being mentioned in New York are choices for a merger of a number of organizations — probably together with the U.N. our bodies for peacekeeping; medication and crime; improvement help; and the workplace of the particular adviser on Africa — into one peace and safety entity.
Different choices may embody transferring U.N. peace and safety operations “nearer to the sphere,” with a extra regional, decentralized administration, and a “complete restructuring” of the political and peacekeeping operations.
Extra broadly, the proposed reforms would have an effect on the U.N.’s method to new applied sciences like synthetic intelligence and alter the inner tradition, all the way down to the way in which conferences could be structured, operations funded, budgets set and new organizations created sooner or later. Relocating some U.N. employees from dearer cities to lower-cost locales and merging operations in Rome have been amongst different cost-saving options.
The existence of the inner memo was first reported by Reuters.
