Let’s face it ; saving the world isn’t cheap, especially when half the planet keeps “forgetting” to Venmo their part yet, the UN is rolling up its sleeves and trying to pull off the impossible: a global glow-up on a shoestring budget.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has launched the UN80 Initiative, which is part strategic reform, part organizational therapy session, and fully overdue. With financial stress breathing down its neck, the UN is cutting costs, reviewing thousands of dusty mandates, and trying to become more efficient all while juggling unpaid dues that would make any accountant weep.
In other words, the UN is doing what many of us do when rent’s due and payday is far away: downsizing, prioritizing, and hoping that someone — anyone finally pays their share.
First on the reform menu? Trimming the fat. The UN is asking tough questions like, “Why do we have five departments doing the same job, and can we please stop paying New York rent for all of them?”
Under the UN80 Initiative, peacekeeping and political departments are bracing for a potential 20% staff reduction — not because peace is easier now (spoiler: it’s not), but because there’s just no money to keep doing the same thing five times over.
The UN is also relocating staff away from what it politely calls “high-cost duty stations” (read: cities where a sandwich costs more than a small country’s GDP). Some departments might even be consolidated into one yes, even the mighty counter-terrorism portfolios are being told to play nicely and share a single office.
And in case you were wondering: yes, there will be spreadsheets. Lots and lots of spreadsheets.
The second reform stream is a treasure hunt through the 3,600 mandates currently clogging up the Secretariat. That’s 3,600 individual tasks given to the UN by Member States, many of which overlap, contradict, or haven’t been reviewed since faxes were considered cutting-edge.
But here’s the catch: Guterres can’t touch the mandates themselves only the countries who issued them can. So he’s gently nudging them with all the subtlety of a velvet hammer: “Hey, maybe clean up your own homework?”
Because as it stands, the UN has to do what it’s told even when those orders are 20 years old and come with zero budget.
The third piece of the puzzle is full-blown structural reform. So far, nearly 50 bold suggestions have landed on the Secretary-General’s desk. These cover everything from peace and security to development, human rights, humanitarian aid, training, and research.
In essence: if it’s part of the UN alphabet soup (UNDP, UNOCT, OHCHR, etc.), it’s under review.
Guterres is calling for big-picture thinking and based on initial responses, UN officials are rising to the occasion. Translation: expect big changes, eventually, once the committees finish reviewing the working group on reforming the reform committees.
Meanwhile… About That $2.4 Billion
Of course, all this reforming assumes there’s money in the bank. Spoiler alert: there isn’t.
As of April 2025, the UN had received only $1.8 billion out of its $3.5 billion budget. That’s a casual $2.4 billion in unpaid dues. And just in case you thought this was an emerging economy issue — think again:
- 🇺🇸 USA: Owes $1.5 billion
- 🇨🇳 China: $597 million
- 🇷🇺 Russia: $72 million
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: $42 million
- 🇲🇽 Mexico and 🇻🇪 Venezuela: $38 million each
The UN peacekeeping budget is also taking a beating, with $2.7 billion in unpaid contributions, and the International Tribunals are short $79 million. That’s right even justice is on a payment plan now.
Guterres, ever the diplomat, reminded Member States that the liquidity crisis is “caused by one simple fact – the arrears.” Translation: “We’d love to save the world, but y’all haven’t paid the bill.”
The Secretary-General is promising humane and professional restructuring which is HR-speak for “we’re trying really hard not to lay people off without warning.” UN staff are being consulted, ideas are flying in, and there’s still hope that this is more transformation than triage.
And no, Guterres isn’t ditching the UN’s core pillars to save a buck. While some suggest focusing solely on peace and security, he insists that development and human rights are just as vital.
Because let’s be honest — you can’t have lasting peace in a world where people are starving, ignored, or silenced.
It might be. If the reforms stick and if the money actually shows up, the UN could become leaner, faster, and more effective. A 21st-century organization for 21st-century problems.
If not? Well, let’s just say that the champagne dreams might have to stay paired with instant noodles a little while longer.
Want to see how you can support the UN in building a better, more accountable system? Step one: don’t ghost the receipts.
