ИНТЕРНЕТ-НОВОСТИ

SDG progress ‘in danger’ of going backwards without change in direction, new UN report reveals

2030-09-12T05:11:00.000+03:00

11 September 2019
SDGs

The current worldwide sustainable development model is threatening to reverse years of progress, if strategies don’t drastically change, an independent group of scientists has concluded in a major new report launched on Wednesday.

The UN report will be at the centre of discussions during the UN summit on the SDGs later this month.

Worsening inequalities and potentially irreversible damage to the natural environment on which we all depend, demands concerted action, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), urged in a statement on the report findings, compiled by a team of 15 UN-appointed experts.

“Achieving human well-being and eradicating poverty for all of the Earth’s people—expected to number 8.5 billion by 2030—is still possible,” they highlighted, “but only if there is a fundamental—and urgent—change in the relationship between people and nature.”

The report, “The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development,” points to understanding the relationships between individual SDGs and the “concrete systems that define society today” to devise a plan to ameliorate global instability.

At the request of countries to evaluate progress of the 2030 SDG Agenda, adopted in 2015, the Global Report on Sustainable Development (GDSR) consists of surveys on scientific findings from ocean livelihoods, to sustainable consumption, production, and disaster risk management, among other issues.
Science-backed recommendations

The current roadmap for development has generated prosperity for “hundreds of millions,” the scientists said, but at the cost of other resources and a growing inequality that undermines global growth.

Boosting economies via increasing consumption for example, is exhausting the planet’s materials and creating toxic by-products which threaten to overwhelm the world. At the current rate of consumption, “use of material is set to almost double between 2017 and 2060, from 89 Gigatons to 167 Gigatons”, resulting in consequential “increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions, and other toxic effects” from resource extraction, they stressed.

The status quo must change, scientists said, in order to eschew further loss in “social cohesion and sustainable economic growth,” curb biodiversity losses, and save a “world close to tipping points with the global climate system.”

For this to happen, all sectors must come together in coordinated action, the report urges. Increasing investment in science for sustainability, is one key approach, and acknowledging that achievement of the SDGs requires economic growth be divorced from environmental degradation, while reducing inequalities.

The experts noted that “the extensive transformation that is needed will not be easy, and the report suggests that a deep scientific understanding is needed to anticipate and mitigate the tensions and trade-offs inherent in widespread structural change.”
Key points of intervention

According to the report, there are 20 points of intervention that can be used to accelerate progress toward multiple goals and targets in the next ten years.

Among these, basic services must be made universally available—healthcare, education, water and sanitation infrastructure, housing and social protection— as a prerequisite” toward eliminating poverty.

In addition, ending legal and social discrimination, scaling up trades unions, nongovernmental organizations, women’s groups and other communities will “be important partners in efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda”, the experts said.

Inefficient food and energy systems are depriving some 2 billion people of food security, while 820 million are undernourished, and 2 billion adults are overweight. Production processes are causing severe environmental impact.

Transitioning to renewable energy systems could help reduce the 3 billion who rely on pollutants for cooking, and avoid premature deaths, estimated at 3.8 million each year, they cited. Meanwhile, the energy access gap has left close to one billion without access to electricity at all. Increases in renewable energy supply in the past decade have corresponded with price drops in clean fuel technology—around 77 per cent for solar power and a 38 per cent drop for onshore wind.

With an estimated two-thirds of the global population projected to live in cities by 2050, the experts said achieving the 2030 Agenda will require “more compact and efficient” urban areas that will be nature-based in infrastructure—but the ecosystem’s services and resources “must be safeguarded.”

What the scientists call “the global environmental commons” - the rainforests, oceans, and atmosphere - need support from governments, international actors and the private sector to ensure good practices.

The full report and its recommendations will be presented during the High-Level Political Forum at the 2019 SDG Summit that will convene heads of State and Government in New York on 24 and 25 September.

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Kyrgyzstan wins seat on UN Security Council for first time ever

2026-06-06T07:46:42.000+03:00

By Vibhu Mishra

3 June 2026

UN Affairs

A closely watched Security Council election delivered a mix of continuity and change on Wednesday, as Austria, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago, Zimbabwe – and first-time member Kyrgyzstan, secured seats around the iconic horseshoe table.

A dramatic morning which saw multiple rounds of voting for the competitive seats, came amid widening geopolitical divisions and repeated deadlock within the UN body dedicated to resolving conflicts and preventing wars from erupting in the first place.

The five countries were elected by the 193-member General Assembly to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January 2027.

Austria and Portugal won the two seats allocated to the Western European and other States (WEOG) Group, while Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe were elected from the Latin American and Caribbean Group and the African Group respectively.

Kyrgyzstan secured the Asia-Pacific seat after defeating the Philippines in four rounds of voting.

Vote tally

Portugal and Austria prevailed in the first round, receiving 134 and 131 votes respectively – comfortably above the required two-thirds majority. Germany received 104 votes and was eliminated.

In the Latin American and Caribbean Group, Trinidad and Tobago secured 181 votes, while Guyana received one vote despite not being a candidate.

Zimbabwe, the sole candidate for the African Group seat, received 182 votes.

Kyrgyzstan makes history

The most competitive contest unfolded in the Asia-Pacific Group. Kyrgyzstan led the first ballot with 105 votes to the Philippines’ 85, before steadily increasing its support through three head-to-head rounds of voting, ultimately prevailing by 142 to 49 in the fourth round.

The election marks a historic milestone for Kyrgyzstan, which will serve on the Security Council for the first time since joining the United Nations in 1992.

Delegates from the Kyrgyz mission applauded and celebrated with other diplomatic well-wishers for several minutes following the result inside the gilded General Assembly Hall.

The other four newly elected members all have previous Council experience: Austria and Portugal have served three times each, Zimbabwe twice and Trinidad and Tobago once.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe The delegation of Zimbabwe celebrate after being elected.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe The delegation of Trinidad and Tobago celebrate after being elected.

Fifteen seats

The Council comprises 15 members: five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – with veto power and 10 non-permanent members elected for staggered two-year terms.

Seats are distributed among regional groups to ensure geographical representation.

The five countries elected on Wednesday will replace Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia when their terms conclude at the end of 2026.

Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Liberia will remain on the Council through the end of 2027, providing continuity in its work.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe The delegation of Portugal celebrate after being elected.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe The delegation of Austria celebrate after being elected.

Peace under pressure

The incoming members will take their seats at a moment when the Council faces some of its most difficult tests in years.

Its work has increasingly been shaped by geopolitical rivalries among major powers, particularly the five permanent members.

Deep divisions over conflicts including Ukraine and Gaza have led to stalemate, frustrating action, while the use of vetoes has at times prevented agreement on resolutions addressing major crises.

Growing calls for reform

The Council has also faced mounting calls for reform, with UN and world leaders arguing that its composition no longer reflects contemporary geopolitical realities.

Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly warned that international institutions remain “stuck in the world as it was in 1945, not the world of today,” including the Security Council itself.

African countries have been among the strongest advocates for change, arguing that a continent of 54 Member States remains underrepresented in the Council's permanent decision-making structures. Calls for expanded representation from developing countries overall have also grown louder.

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Security Council: New faces, old tensions as five nations take their seats

2026-01-03T01:22:40.337+03:00

Security Council: New faces, old tensions as five nations take their seats

UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras

A wide view of the Security Council Chamber. (file photo)

By Vibhu Mishra

2 January 2026

Peace and Security

From deploying peacekeepers to conducting quiet – but at times heated – diplomacy, the UN Security Council sits at the heart of global decision-making on war and peace. As of January, five new countries will have a seat around the iconic horseshoe table.

Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia and Liberia have begun two-year terms as non-permanent members, replacing Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia, whose terms ended last month.

They join the other five non-permanent members – Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia – who will serve through the end of 2026, alongside the five nations who are a constant presence – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The P5, as permanent members are called, hold veto power, allowing any one of them to block the adoption of a substantive resolution, regardless of majority support.

What the Security Council does

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It is the only UN body whose decisions are legally binding on all Member States.

It can investigate disputes, urge parties to resolve conflicts, impose sanctions, authorise peacekeeping operations and – in exceptional circumstances – approve the use of force. Its resolutions shape international responses to armed conflicts, terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

The Council’s work unfolds both in public and behind closed doors: open meetings allow Member States, the media and the public, access to debates and briefings, while closed consultations give diplomats space to negotiate sensitive issues privately.

The Council has a calendar of meetings but can also convene emergency sessions at short notice.

UN Photo/Loey Felipe

An open meeting of the Security Council. Its 15 members and the Secretary-General seated at the iconic horseshoe table, along with an invited participant (far right).

Inside the Security Council Chamber

The mural: A vast painting dominates the chamber, depicting a phoenix rising from the ashes as a symbol of renewal – humanity’s struggle from conflict toward peace.
The doors: The heavy wooden doors, inlaid with images of torches and swords – symbols of war – emphasise the Council’s responsibility to preserve peace.
The horseshoe table: The curved table ensures there is no head position, symbolic of formal equality, even as diplomatic power dynamics play out in practice.

Read more about the Chamber here.

Prestige and responsibility

Non-permanent members are elected annually by the 193-member General Assembly through a secret ballot. Seats are allocated by regional group, and candidates must secure a two-thirds majority to win election.

Membership involves considerable costs, covering meetings, travel, logistics and staff. More than 50 UN Member States have never served, underscoring the significance and capital involved in occupying a seat – Latvia makes history this January, joining for the first time.

Countries that are not Council members may take part in discussions without a vote when their interests are affected or when they are party to a dispute under consideration.

Growing deadlock, vetoes

The new members take their seats amid growing geopolitical divisions, with deep disagreements over conflicts such as Ukraine and the Middle East increasingly limiting unified action.

This deadlock is reflected in the growing use of the veto.

In the years following the end of the Cold War, vetoes were rare, often numbering one or two per year - and sometimes none at all. Since the mid-2010s, hands have been raised inside the chamber more often: seven times in 2023 and eight in 2024.

Diplomats often point to this trend as evidence of widening geopolitical rifts, which have made consensus harder to achieve and limited the Council’s ability to respond decisively.

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

The seat of the President of the Security Council and the gavel used to conduct its meetings.

Somalia at the helm

Each month, one Council member serves as President, a role that rotates in English alphabetical order among the 15 members. For January, it is Somalia.

The Presidency sets the programme of work, chairs meetings and issues statements on behalf of the Council. It is a role described as “wearing two hats”: acting both as a neutral facilitator for the Council as a whole and as a representative of their own national government.

After a turbulent 2025 that saw escalating warfare and shrinking resources, 2026 will test whether members can help build momentum and open space for decisive action, in a body increasingly shaped by entrenched positions.

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Results expected 5 January after landmark elections in Central African Republic

2026-01-01T06:58:56.014+03:00

Results expected 5 January after landmark elections in Central African Republic

MINUSCA

A woman, carrying a baby, casting her votes during the elections.

By Vibhu Mishra

31 December 2025

Peace and Security

Voting proceeded largely as planned in the Central African Republic’s first-ever combined presidential, legislative, regional and municipal elections, and ballot counting is now complete, the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA) said on Wednesday, with results expected to be announced on 5 January.

According to MINUSCA, preliminary reports from observers indicate that more than 99 per cent of polling stations across the country opened as scheduled on election day.

The transfer of envelopes containing the results from 19 prefectural capitals to the national capital, Bangui, is now underway, with logistical and security support from the mission.

The 28 December vote marked an unprecedented moment in the country’s political history, bringing together four ballots in a single electoral exercise. Municipal elections, in particular, had not been held in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 1988 and were a key provision of the 2019 Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation.

Vast, sparsely populated and landlocked, CAR is crisscrossed by dense forests, rivers and long, often impassable roads. Outside Bangui, many communities are reachable only by air or days-long journeys.

MINUSCA

Ballots are counted under flashlights after the elections in Central African Republic.

Extensive UN support for complex operation

MINUSCA said it worked closely with national authorities and UN agencies to support the electoral process, delivering all voting materials on time despite difficult terrain and security constraints.

In total, the mission carried out 84 flights and eight road convoys to transport more than 230 tonnes of election materials, including ballot papers, indelible ink, voter cards, voting booths and ballot boxes.

Electoral materials were delivered to 6,679 of the country’s 6,700 polling stations, allowing them to function normally across 20 prefectures.

On the technical and operational front, some 34,500 people – including electoral agents, supervisors and polling station staff – were trained with UN support.

Security measures

Security for the polls was reinforced through the deployment of additional national troops and police, supported logistically by MINUSCA, alongside strengthened patrols by UN peacekeepers and police personnel.

The mission also provided Central African armed forces and internal security personnel with vehicles and motorcycles to reach remote and isolated areas.

Speaking at a press conference in Bangui on Wednesday, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for CAR, Valentine Rugwabiza, said the mission had successfully fulfilled its mandate despite operating in a challenging environment.

MINUSCA

UN peacekeepers on patrol at a polling centre in the capital Bangui during the elections.

Incident in Haut-Mbomou

Ms. Rugwabiza strongly condemned an attack in Bambouti, in the south-eastern Haut-Mbomou prefecture near the border with South Sudan, which prevented voting from taking place in that locality due to insecurity.

The attack, carried out by the Azandé Ani Kpi Gbe (AAKG) armed group, also involved hostage-taking, including the sub-prefect.

She said MINUSCA has been working around the clock since Sunday to facilitate the release of those taken hostage.

Results expected next week

The National Elections Authority (NEA) is expected to announce the preliminary results of the presidential election on 5 January 2026.

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The General Assembly has approved a $3.45 billion regular budget for the United Nations for 2026

2025-12-31T07:25:36.434+03:00

30 December 2025

UN Affairs

The General Assembly has approved a $3.45 billion regular budget for the United Nations for 2026, following weeks of intensive negotiations and one of the Organization’s most important reform initiatives, UN80.

The budget – approved by the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday – authorizes $3.45 billion for the coming year, covering the Organization’s three core pillars of work: peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.

The budget largely reflects the Secretary-General’s proposed 15 per cent reduction in financial resources and a nearly 19 per cent cut in staffing.

The regular budget finances the UN’s core activities, including political affairs, international justice and law, regional cooperation for development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and public information.

It is separate from the United Nations peacekeeping budget, which operates on a 1 July to 30 June fiscal cycle, while the regular budget follows the calendar year.

Consensus after intense negotiations

Addressing delegates as the Fifth Committee – the Assembly’s main administrative and budget body – wrapped up negotiations, UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan praised the Committee for steering a complex and compressed process to a timely conclusion.

“It has been a year of challenges,” he said, noting that the Secretariat had been tasked with assembling an entire budget in less than six weeks, producing hundreds of tables and responding to thousands of questions from oversight bodies and Member States.

He underscored that, despite often arduous negotiations, the Committee had once again reached agreement by consensus, a hallmark of the budgetary process. “That is something remarkable that you should not underestimate,” he told delegates.

Challenges ahead

Looking ahead, the Controller warned that the adoption of the budget marks the beginning – not the end – of a demanding implementation phase.

As of 1 January 2026, he said, 2,900 positions will be abolished, while more than 1,000 staff separations have already been finalized, requiring careful management to ensure affected personnel continue to receive salaries and entitlements during the transition.

Mr. Ramanathan also welcomed what he described as a record level of potential advance payments by Member States toward the 2026 budget and appealed for continued prompt payment of assessed contributions.

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UN chief urges world leaders to ‘get priorities straight’ as New Year message calls for peace over war

2025-12-30T06:19:00.184+03:00

29 December 2025

UN Affairs

As the world enters 2026 amid mounting crises, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a stark but hopeful New Year appeal, urging global leaders to shift resources away from destruction and towards development, peace and people.

“The world stands at a crossroads,” he said, warning that conflict, climate breakdown and systemic violations of international law are eroding trust in leadership worldwide.

“People everywhere are asking: Are leaders even listening? Are they ready to act?” he said.

Mr. Guterres underscored the scale of global suffering, noting that more than a quarter of humanity now lives in conflict-affected areas. Over 200 million people require humanitarian assistance, while nearly 120 million have been forcibly displaced by war, crises, disasters or persecution.

Against this backdrop, he pointed to what he described as a profound imbalance in global priorities.

“As we turn the page on a turbulent year, one fact speaks louder than words: global military spending has soared to $2.7 trillion,” he said, nearly 10 per cent higher than the pervious year.

That figure, he stressed, is 13 times higher than total global development aid and equivalent to the entire gross domestic product (GDP) of the African continent. If current trends continue, military spending could more than double to $6.6 trillion by 2035, even as humanitarian needs continue to rise.

A path to hope

Despite the grim statistics, the Secretary-General underscored that solutions are within reach.

In September 2025, he launched the report The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future. The report shows how relatively small shifts in spending could deliver transformative results.

Less than four per cent of current military expenditure could end world hunger by 2030, it finds, while just over 10 per cent could fully vaccinate every child. Redirecting 15 per cent would more than cover the annual cost of climate adaptation in developing countries.

“It’s clear the world has the resources to lift lives, heal the planet, and secure a future of peace and justice,” Mr. Guterres said.

Call to action

Looking ahead, he had a direct message to leaders globally.

“On this New Year, let’s resolve to get our priorities straight. A safer world begins by investing more in fighting poverty and less in fighting wars. Peace must prevail,” he urged.

Addressing people everywhere, he added: “Play your part. Our future depends on our collective courage to act.”

“In 2026,” he concluded, “I call on leaders everywhere: Get serious. Choose people and planet over pain. Let’s rise together – for justice, for humanity, for peace.”

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UN, US sign $2 billion humanitarian funding agreement for 17 crisis-hit countries

2025-12-30T06:15:41.803+03:00

High energy biscuits are distributed to newly displaced families in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

29 December 2025

Humanitarian Aid

The United Nations and the United States on Monday formalized an agreement under which the US committed $2 billion in humanitarian assistance for global relief programmes, a move the UN’s top relief official hailed as a landmark commitment to saving lives amid escalating humanitarian needs worldwide.

Speaking at the signing in Geneva, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher paid tribute to humanitarian workers operating under increasingly difficult conditions, describing the past year as “a very, very tough year for everyone engaged in humanitarian action.”

Despite the challenges, he said the agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding or MOU, offered grounds for optimism.

“Millions, millions more will get that support that they so badly need,” Mr. Fletcher said, adding that the funding would help save tens of millions of lives in the year ahead.

The agreement covers 17 crisis-affected countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Ukraine, Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Mozambique, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Bangladesh, Syria, Uganda, Kenya and Chad, as well as the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Saving lives

Mr. Fletcher said the true impact of this “landmark agreement” would be its impact on the ground. “A number that really matters...is that millions of lives will be saved,” he said.

He noted that the funding supports the UN’s 2026 plan to reach 87 million people with emergency assistance. That plan, he said, has been “hyper-prioritized” to reduce duplication, streamline bureaucracy and maximize efficiency across the humanitarian system.

The agreement is a major vote of confidence in the ‘Humanitarian Reset’ – which Mr. Fletcher had announced in March 2025 – to deliver aid faster, smarter and closer to people who need it most.

Accountability

Reform and accountability featured prominently in his remarks.

Mr. Fletcher emphasized that donors expect results, saying accountability mechanisms would ensure that “every dollar we spend” is tracked to confirm that it is saving lives. He also underlined that the agreement does not imply alignment on all issues but reflects a shared focus on urgent life-saving priorities.

He also highlighted the link between humanitarian action and diplomacy, calling for 2026 to be “a year of diplomacy and peacemaking.” Ending conflicts, he said, remains the most effective way to reduce humanitarian need.

“This lifesaving announcement is not the end of the process,” Mr. Fletcher concluded. “It is the beginning.”

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Ex-UN chief Ban warns Security Council risks irrelevance without reform

2025-12-16T07:03:00.002+03:00

A wide view of the UN Security Council open debate on "Leadership for Peace".

By Vibhu Mishra

15 December 2025

Peace and Security

Gathered around the Security Council’s iconic horseshoe table, ambassadors were challenged on Monday to look backwards – when, despite deep rivalry and distrust, the body chose leaders capable of steering the world away from catastrophe towards active cooperation.

That call came during an open debate on “Leadership for Peace,” where former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and academic Anjali Dayal pressed members to confront both the external crises facing the UN and internal constraints that have weakened its ability to act.

Mr. Ban, now an emeritus member of The Elders group, warned that global conditions have worsened since he left office at the end of 2016, marked by deepening confrontation among major powers, eroding multilateralism and conflicts in which civilians continue to pay the highest price.

“This deeply disappointing situation is characterized by confrontation rather than cooperation among major powers,” he told the Council, mass civilian casualties in Gaza and weakening international cooperation – even as the global climate crisis accelerates.

Lurching towards irrelevance

The former UN chief said the overall crisis cannot be separated from the Security Council’s own failures.

“The Security Council’s ongoing failure to properly function constitutes the most egregious cause,” he said, highlighting the repeated use of veto by permanent members “to shield themselves, their allies and their proxies from accountability.”

Without meaningful reform, Mr. Ban warned, civilians will remain unprotected and impunity will persist. “Without it, the UN risks lurching towards either collapse or irrelevance,” he said.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addresses the Security Council.

Reduce political pressures

Turning to the selection of the next Secretary-General, Ban called for a single, non-renewable seven-year term to strengthen the independence of the office.

The current practice of two five-year terms, he said, leaves Secretaries-General “overly dependent on this Council’s Permanent Members for an extension,” even though the arrangement is a convention rather than a requirement of the UN Charter.

“The General Assembly holds the power to set the terms of the appointment itself,” Mr. Ban noted, urging member states to use that authority to empower the next UN leader more fully.

UN Photo/Mark Garten

Former Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (left) and Ban Ki-moon (right) with Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN Headquarters, in New York.

The selection process

Secretary-General António Guterres’ second term expires at the end of next year, and the formal selection process is already under way.

In November, the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council launched the process together, in line with General Assembly resolution 79/327, which emphasises transparency and inclusivity.

Under the established procedure, candidates are nominated by Member States or groups and are required to submit a vision statement, curriculum vitae and campaign financing disclosures. The President of the General Assembly convenes publicly broadcast interactive dialogues with all candidates, while engaging closely with Member States throughout the process.

As of mid-December, only Rafael Mariano Grossi – the Director-General of the UN nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – has been nominated by Argentina.

You can find the list of candidates on the UN website here.

UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Anjali Dayal, Associate Professor for International Politics at Fordham University, addresses the Security Council.

Unprecedented strain

Anjali Dayal, Associate Professor for International Politics at Fordham University, told the Council that the next Secretary-General will assume office at a time of unprecedented strain, including a deepening funding crisis that is already shrinking the UN’s capacity to deliver essential services.

“That will result not just in shrinking this Organization, but also in less of the work that only the UN can do at scale,” she said, pointing to fewer vaccinations, reduced humanitarian aid and diminished mine-clearance efforts, even as global needs grow.

Ms. Dayal said history shows that even in periods of intense division, the Council has been capable of choosing leaders who advanced peace and cooperation.

She recalled the protracted deadlock that preceded the selection of Javier Pérez de Cuéllar in 1981 and the critique of U Thant, yet they deftly maneuvered an end to the Iran-Iraq war, resolve conflicts in Cambodia and Nicaragua, and help end the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Jaw-jaw better than war-war

Those examples, she said, underscore that the Secretary-General’s influence lies less in material power than in the ability to shape ideas, narratives and long-term cooperation – “to make conference rooms always more attractive than the battlefield.”

For Mr. Ban, that responsibility ultimately rests with the Council itself. Reforming veto use and renewing support for UN leadership, he said, are essential if the Organization is to remain relevant in the twenty-first century.

“The path of each for themselves is no different from the path of mutual destruction,” he warned.

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Dialogue is ‘not naïve – it’s necessary’ as global divisions deepen, UN Riyadh forum hears

2025-12-15T07:30:00.002+03:00

UNAOC

UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivers remarks to the opening of the 11th UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

By Reem Abaza in Riyadh

14 December 2025

Culture and Education

The 11th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations opened in Riyadh on Sunday with a blunt message for a world riven by distrust: dialogue is not a luxury – it’s a survival strategy.

The 11th Global Forum opened in Riyadh on Sunday with a blunt message for a world riven by distrust: dialogue is not a luxury – it’s a survival strategy.

Over the next two days, participants gathered in the Saudi capital are expected to insist that cooperation across cultures, religions, and communities remains the only viable way to navigate an era marked by rising polarization and conflict.

Speaking at the opening session, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres pushed back against the notion that the Alliance’s mission is unrealistic or, as critics suggest, “too soft for our hard world.”

Those who dismiss dialogue as naïve, he warned, are mistaken. Diplomacy and cooperation, he said, are not optional, they are essential.

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Two decades have passed since then‑Secretary‑General Kofi Annan launched the initiative in 2005 with support from Spain and Türkiye. The geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically since, yet the Alliance’s core purpose remains constant: countering extremism and intolerance and helping societies of different cultures and faiths live together in dignity.

The UN chief described the paradox of an age in which humanity is “more connected, yet never more fragmented,” and outlined two divergent futures: one defined by fear, walls, and escalating wars; and another built on bridges between cultures.

Only the second path, he stressed, leads to sustainable peace: “No more 7th of Octobers. No more Gazas destroyed. No more El‑Fashers starved. No more communities massacred, expelled, or scapegoated.”

The Secretary-General pointed to three forces capable of driving positive global change: young people, women and girls, and people of faith. He urged delegates to advance the Alliance’s mission “with courage, clarity, and hope.”

Riyadh Communiqué: a call for coexistence

Countries participating in the Forum endorsed the Riyadh Communiqué, which calls for combating all forms of religious intolerance as a global priority.

The document underscores the central role of education in fostering dialogue, human rights, and peaceful societies, and reaffirms the Alliance’s founding aim: strengthening cooperation among cultures and religions while promoting respect, mutual understanding, and inclusion.

Equal voices, shared responsibility

UNAOC High Representative Miguel Moratinos, who also serves as the UN Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, opened the session by stressing that every culture must have an equal voice in shaping the world’s future.

No single perspective should dominate, he said; instead, a truly peaceful and inclusive global community must draw on the wisdom and values of all civilizations.

Mr. Moratinos warned of “the return of hatred,” urging vigilance against growing discrimination. Quoting a verse from the Qur’an’s Surat Al‑Hujurat, he emphasized that human diversity is a source of strength, not division.

He underscored that Islam is a religion of peace and reiterated that Islamophobia must have no place anywhere. At the same time, he insisted that antisemitism must be eradicated, adding: “Legitimate criticism of governments should not be perceived as antisemitic nor as a motive to demonize entire communities.”

Saudi Arabia’s message: Lean into dialogue, don’t retreat

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, reaffirmed the Kingdom’s “longstanding commitment to intercultural dialogue.” He said Saudi support for the Alliance reflects a firm belief that engagement among cultures and civilizations is essential to peace, cooperation, and conflict prevention.

He highlighted several Saudi initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue and countering extremism and warned of the increasing spread of religiously and nationally motivated extremist movements, as well as a worrying rise in hate speech and Islamophobia over the past two decades.

Rather than prompting disengagement, he said, these challenges must push nations to reinforce – not abandon – the values of dialogue, communication, and coexistence.

Representatives from Spain and Türkiye, the Alliance’s original co‑sponsors, also spoke, reaffirming the enduring importance of inclusion, mutual respect, and sustained dialogue.

Deepfakes, hate speech, and the push for regulation

The opening day of the Forum also turned its attention to one of the fastest‑moving challenges shaping today’s information landscape: AI‑driven misinformation.

Speakers warned that deepfakes, algorithm‑amplified hate speech, and unregulated systems are already reshaping public debate – and not for the better.

Ismail Serageldin, co‑chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center and former Vice President of the World Bank Group, said the use of artificial intelligence is now unavoidable.

He urged the public not to fear new technologies, likening the current moment to the invention of the calculator, when many predicted the end of accounting jobs.

“Instead,” he noted, “they adapted,” and he argued society will do the same today. With the right safeguards, he added, AI could even help people achieve a better work‑life balance.

Mr. Serageldin went on to underscore that AI will not replace humans, but people who understand how to use it will gain a decisive advantage. Smart regulations must protect the public without smothering innovation or creativity, he explained.

Achraf Tasfaout, a data scientist working in the banking sector, warned that AI is accelerating the spread of hate speech and making it harder for people to tell real content from deepfakes.

He called for clear rules that set boundaries for safe use while still enabling new ideas to flourish. Policymakers and journalists, he said, have a crucial role to play in defending society. Moreover, young people, as the most active users of AI, will be central to creating the solutions. He added that AI itself can be harnessed to counter many of the problems it creates.

Atif Rashid, Editor‑in‑Chief of Analyst News, cautioned that AI systems are being released “too quickly,” often without essential safety measures. He said it can feel as if “humans are guinea pigs” in a global experiment, with regulation arriving only after widespread public exposure.

Mr. Rashid pointed to examples where AI has encouraged harmful behavior, which he described as ‘AI psychosis’, and stressed that new systems must be designed to serve all of humanity, grounded firmly in human values.https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166594

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Secretary-General's remarks to the High-level Pledging Event on the Central Emergency Response Fund for 2026

2025-12-10T07:51:00.001+03:00

9 December 2025

New York UN

Secretary-General's remarks to the High-level Pledging Event on the Central Emergency Response Fund for 2026

Statements | António Guterres, Secretary-General

Welcome to this High-Level Pledging Event for the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund – our global emergency lifeline.

We meet in very difficult times.

Humanitarian needs are rising.

Crises are multiplying.

And the humanitarian system’s tank is running on empty – with millions of lives hanging in the balance.

Yesterday, the Global Humanitarian Overview for 2026 estimated that we will need 23 billion US dollars to reach 87 million people in most desperate need.

Within that wider effort, CERF is our flexible, first-responder fund.

Since 2006, it has provided nearly 10 billion US dollars in life-saving assistance in more than 100 countries – working with over 20 UN agencies and hundreds of partners and reaching tens of millions of people every year.

CERF works – because it is fast, flexible and fair, often arriving before other sources of support.

When full-scale war erupted in Ukraine, CERF acted within hours.

In Bangladesh, CERF released funds just 16 minutes after early flood warnings – enabling aid workers to deliver cash, water and food before roads were cut off.

This year alone, CERF has allocated some 110 million US dollars to neglected and underfunded emergencies – from Afghanistan to Somalia and beyond.

It stepped in as soon as humanitarian access opened in Gaza to help ensure essential fuel supplies to keep hospitals, water systems, and other critical services running.

And in Sudan, it helped scale up support for 2.5 million people needing food, water and health support as violence intensified in El Fasher and across Darfur.

In many places, CERF has made the difference between life-saving help and no help at all.

Through the CERF Climate Action Account, humanitarian projects are helping communities brace for floods, droughts and storms before disaster strikes.

And as Hurricane Melissa approached the Caribbean, CERF helped countries act early – providing funds, evacuation support and essential supplies that gave families invaluable time before landfall.

CERF continues to evolve – advancing innovative approaches, relying more on local partners, putting more cash in the hands of the most vulnerable, and tailoring support to women and girls.

It remains one of our most efficient instruments– with strong oversight and a proven record of getting funds where they are most needed, when they are most needed.

Today, the humanitarian system faces its greatest test.

Across the system, we are stretching every dollar as far as it can go.

Together with you – Member States, NGOs and UN agencies – we are working to make CERF even more efficient, proactive, and accountable.

The New Humanitarian Compact, a key element of the UN80 initiative, points in the same direction – making humanitarian action faster and more reliable by cutting coordination bureaucracy, joining up supply chains and common services, and using shared data to act as one.

But even the most efficient engine cannot run without fuel.

In 2025, donor contributions fell sharply – like never before.

This year’s projected contributions are expected to be the lowest since 2015 – a dangerous trend that weakens our ability to respond.

As a result – countless more people have died, others have gone hungry, or been left without health services, shelter and protection.

This is a moment when we are asked to do more and more, with less and less.

This is simply unsustainable.

Today, I urge you: help us reach the 1 billion US dollars target for CERF endorsed by the General Assembly – and keep humanitarian funding predictable for the years ahead.

In creating CERF twenty years ago, the international community made a simple promise: when disaster strikes, help will come.

CERF has worked to keep that promise – from conflicts and climate shocks to earthquakes and epidemics – helping to save lives, feed families, keep hospitals running.

Today, I ask you to renew that promise:

Contribute to the Central Emergency Response Fund.

Keep hope alive for millions of people who depend on us.

Thank you.

https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/2025-12-09

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Secretary-General Introduces Revised Estimates Report for 2026 Proposed Programme Budget, Support Account for 2025/26, Highlighting Urgency of UN80 Initiative

2025-12-02T07:21:09.423+03:00

Press Release

SG/SM/22937

1 December 2025

Secretary-General Introduces Revised Estimates Report for 2026 Proposed Programme Budget, Support Account for 2025/26, Highlighting Urgency of UN80 Initiative

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) on the revised estimates, UN80, relating to the proposed programme budget for 2026 and the support account for 2025/26, in New York today:

It is a pleasure to formally introduce the revised estimates report relating to the proposed programme budget for 2026 and the support account for peacekeeping operations for the 2025/26 period.

A few weeks ago, I introduced the proposed programme budget for 2026 which had been for the most part prepared before the launch of the UN80 Initiative.

As such, the initial budget proposal did not yet reflect the first outcomes of the Secretariat’s comprehensive review of its resource requirements for 2026.

The revised estimates report before you today does so — highlighting both the urgency and the ambition of the UN80 Initiative.

It responds to your call for a more effective, agile and resilient Secretariat and contains proposals to align resources with organizational priorities, modernize our internal operations and reflect a pragmatic response to the evolving fiscal context.

The report consists of two interlinked components:

First, initial measures to improve the management and operations of the Secretariat resulting from the first workstream of the UN80 Initiative;

And second, targeted efficiencies and cost reductions to the proposed programme budget for 2026 and the support account budget for 2025/26.

Building on earlier management reforms and significant investments in [Enterprise Resource Planning] ERP and [Information and Communications Technologies] ICT infrastructure, the proposals include:

The creation of a common administrative platform to provide administrative services to Secretariat entities located in each duty station, beginning with New York and Bangkok. This represents a considerable improvement of our efficiency, putting together what is done separately by different entities with naturally much more costs.
The consolidation of payroll processing into a single global team operating across three centres — UN Headquarters, the Regional Service Centre in Entebbe, and the United Nations Office at Nairobi.
And a systematic review by entities in New York and Geneva of functions that could be performed effectively in lower cost duty stations.

This is part of a broader strategy to reduce our commercial footprint and achieve a long-term cost reduction.

Since 2017, the Secretariat has saved $126 million from terminating commercial leases in New York.

Further consolidation in existing premises — including terminating leases in two buildings by late 2027 — is projected to save an additional $24.5 million annually from 2028.

And this naturally represents the need to progressively reduce areas that will do better in other locations than in New York.

Allow me to now turn to targeted efficiencies and cost reductions.

The review we conducted earlier in the year aimed to identify measurable efficiencies across the Secretariat, in a holistic manner and irrespective of funding sources.

The reductions therefore are not limited to the proposed programme budget for 2026, and the report includes reductions for the last six months of the support account period.

I would emphasize that we have been very deliberate in putting forward a strategic proposal, not one that takes an across-the-board approach.

While the proposed reductions are substantial, they have been carefully calibrated to preserve balance across the three pillars of the Organization — peace and security, sustainable development and human rights.

For example, I made the decision to exempt [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] UNRWA from any reductions that would have dramatic consequences on the backbone of the entire humanitarian response in Gaza.

The Development Account and advocacy for Africa’s development were also exempted from reductions that would inevitably impact directly our support to Member States, hindering efforts towards the 2030 Agenda [for Sustainable Development], the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

We also seek to further strengthen direct support to countries, in particular the most vulnerable, in the pursuit of their development aspirations.

This includes a $1 million increase to the Regular Programme of Technical Cooperation, and a $300,000 increase to the Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

These countries are the most impacted by climate action, are the ones that are in a more fragile situation in many aspects and they always corresponded [to] the priority of my mandate. The same applies, and it is the decision of the General Assembly, the African continent that we were particularly careful in creating the conditions to be more active, both in relation to the African continent and in relation to small island developing States, landlocked developing countries and least developed countries.

Overall for the regular budget, I am proposing to bring the resource requirements for 2026 down to $3.238 billion — a reduction of $577 million, or 15.1 per cent, compared with the 2025 appropriation.

The proposed staffing table is revised to 11,594 posts — including Special Political Missions — a reduction of 2,681 posts, or 18.8 per cent, compared with the approved staffing table for 2025.

To deliver these changes responsibly, the report also includes one-time costs related to separations and relocations, as well as requests for time-limited transitional capacities that will be needed in the areas of human resources, administration of justice and legal affairs.

To that end, I am requesting an appropriation in the amount of $5.4 million and a commitment authority for 2026 to cover eligible one-time costs triggered by separations resulting from approved post abolishments or relocations for the programme budget.

Given dependencies — such as incumbency status of posts proposed for abolition or relocation and the outcome of early separation programmes — the estimates for one-time costs will be updated as implementation advances.

I have to say that we had a particular concern in relation to the impact on staff. The present situation is strictly for liquidity reasons. It is a situation in which we have about 18 per cent of vacancies. But those vacancies do not correspond to a political decision oriented by a strategic priority, but simply by the fact that people left and we have not the money to pay for the replacement because of the liquidity crisis. What we are doing now is a reduction of 18.8 per cent posts — not those that are now vacant, but those that correspond to functions that, in our opinion, can be done better by others or can be reduced by efficiencies in the way that we work. But this has an advantage, and I note the concerns of the members of the Fifth Committee about the impact on staff and especially the request of the geographic distribution. The fact is that we have established already programmes for voluntary separation that are being quite successful, and at the same time, we will have a mechanism allowing for those whose posts are abolished to have the conditions to compete in a positive way to the posts that are vacant. And it is my deep belief that in the end, the number of members of the staff that will be released will be relatively small. And we are making everything in the way we handle the voluntary separation and in the way we will handle the filling of the vacancies and we are doing everything to guarantee that there will be no deterioration in relation to the necessary equilibrium of geographic distribution, and if possible, to have some improvement in relation to that geographic distribution. Two main concerns of our work: Limit as much as possible the impact on staff through the voluntary separations and the possibility of occupational vacancies; second, utilize these instruments in order to guarantee that there will not be this equilibrium that will undermine the geographic distribution which, by the way, is still far from being entirely correct. So, this is to be an absolute priority and all the instructions given to the services are in order to guarantee that this objective is attained.

For the special political missions, the revised proposed budget amounts to $543.6 million, reflecting a reduction of $96.3 million or 15.0 per cent compared with the initial proposed programme budget for 2026, and a reduction of $149.5 million or 21.6 per cent compared with the appropriation for 2025.

The proposed reduction compared to 2025 comprises: A net decrease of $84.7 million due to the closure of missions, and a net decrease of $64.8 million for continuing missions.

This would be achieved through conscious efforts to optimize staffing components, critically review needs, align with historical patterns and seek opportunities to strengthen a culture of efficiency.

For the special political missions, the revised estimates include a proposed net decrease of 1,215 posts and positions — from 4,086 approved for 2025.

This reflects both the closure of missions and efforts to streamline the staffing component and strengthen national capacity.

For the support account for the period January to June 2026, the revised estimates amount to $188.9 million, representing a decrease of $23.9 million or 11.2 per cent.

This includes a decrease of 206 posts, or 13.5 per cent, compared with the approved staffing table for 2025/26.

The staffing changes reflect an overall downward adjustment in line with the new staffing model endorsed as a framework by the General Assembly.

The revised level for January to June 2026 represents the largest share of reductions attributable to that model, with further operational efficiencies complementing the adjustment.

One-time costs for the support account will be accommodated within its 2025/26 approved budget and financial implications set out in the performance report.

The targeted reductions being proposed reflect hard choices taken across entities to streamline structures, eliminate duplication, and prioritize resources for greatest impact.

Reductions of this scale will inevitably have programmatic and operational impacts across entities and come with adjustments in the way the Secretariat delivers on mandated activities.

Accordingly, entities have identified the anticipated impact on their deliverables and put forward how they are planning to adapt their activities and their mitigation strategies.

These measures constitute substantial budgetary reductions that affect real people, families and futures — and we must never lose sight of this human dimension.

In your engagements with us, you have stressed the importance of maintaining our efforts to advance equitable geographical distribution in our workforce.

I wish to assure you again that we will make every effort to mitigate the impact of reductions in the overall composition of our workforce, and to ensure that colleagues affected are supported through the transition.

To advance these objectives, we have launched two early separation programmes, which will generate additional vacancies for placement and for accommodating staff — through lateral placements within their entities, and then across entities and duty stations.

These mitigation measures will allow us to significantly reduce the number of involuntary separations and that will also diminish the impact on the overall geographic balance and reduce the cost of terminations.

This will mean that, once triggered, the downsizing policy will be applied to a smaller number of staff, and will help ensure fairness and due process.

Looking ahead, Workstreams 2 and 3 of the UN80 Initiative are also under way.

To ensure a coherent organization of the different actions across all three workstreams and the UN system, the UN80 Initiative Action Plan was released three weeks ago.

This coordination framework, developed following extensive consultations across the UN system, is also a planning and an accountability tool, which will allow us to align responsibilities and actions.

I welcome the establishment of the ad hoc working group of Member States and its ongoing work to carry forward the process in Workstream 2 — on improving every step in the mandate life cycle.

The process will provide an important opportunity to enhance mandate implementation — and my team will continue to provide full support.

Simultaneously, I have committed to 15 actions focused on enhancing mandate visibility, improving our reporting, strengthening how we manage mandate delivery and harmonizing how results are measured and communicated across the UN system.

And allow me to say something that I believe is very important to all the members of the Fifth Committee: We are reducing the budget. Is that going to have a negative implication in the capacity to deliver our mandate? Well, unfortunately our reduced budget is still bigger than the expenditure we are forecasting for 2025 because of the liquidity crisis. With one difference — with the present situation, we are spending less than we will spend next year if the budget is fully funded, and on the other hand, the staff that is missing is not based on solid criteria in relation to optimization of the distribution of the staff for the different functions and for the implementation of the mandate, but result of the vacancies created by people that leave — which means that I am absolutely sure that there will be a considerable improvement in mandate implementation with these revised estimates than what we have in 2025 and they were exactly designed in order to guarantee that there will be no negative implications in relation to the implementation of mandates. Obviously, we will fully respect the work of […] and eventually there will be changes in the mandate, and if there are changes in the mandate, there will be changes in the way we implement them. But what we are now [doing] is preparing a budget that is prepared to guarantee the full implementation of the mandates that we have at the present moment.

On Workstream 3 focusing on changing structures and realigning programmes, I have presented a report which reflects a system-wide effort with a single purpose: to change how we work.

The proposals span across the Secretariat, funds, programmes, specialized agencies and related organizations.

They represent a paradigm shift _— within pillars, across pillars and through the enablers that support our work — to reduce fragmentation, duplication and inefficiency.

Any budgetary implications arising from Workstreams 2 and 3 will be assessed rigorously and reflected in future budget proposals for your consideration for 2027.

The revised estimates report before you is not a routine technical revision.

For the first time, the revised estimates reduce global regular budget resource requirements compared to what was originally proposed, and reductions for the support account for a period already approved by the Assembly.

I want to repeat that this is a deliberate and considered adjustment to an already conservative proposal for 2026.

It reflects both the urgency and ambition of the reforms we are undertaking, while also emphasizing a particular sense of responsibility to the most vulnerable in need of UN support.

The goal is not temporary adjustment — but lasting cost reductions and modernization of Secretariat operations.

That also means ensuring capacities needed for the future — for example in technology, data and protection safeguards.

The United Nations operates in a world of great political and financial uncertainty.

Resources are shrinking across the board — and have been for years.

Meanwhile, the needs of Member States and the people we serve are increasing, making our mission even more urgent and more relevant.

The proposals contained in the revised estimates represent our commitment to rebuild trust — by demonstrating that every contribution is well-used and every decision delivers results for the people we serve.

Liquidity remains fragile, and this challenge will persist regardless of the final budget approved by the General Assembly — given the unacceptable volume of arrears.

We ended 2024 with $760 million in arrears, of which $709 million is still outstanding from 2024. We have also not received $877 million of 2025 dues, and so, thus, arrears now stand at $1,586 million.

I have repeatedly appealed to Member States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time.

We continue to manage cash flows carefully, well below budget levels, and have proposed temporarily suspending the return of credits to safeguard liquidity and avoid disruption of programme implementation.

It is difficult for us to give back money that we have not because we didn’t receive it, and so it is very important to find a solution for this question — a temporary solution — based on an account in which the rights of Member States are clearly established and returns will be paid as soon as our liquidity situation allows.

The UN80 Initiative is our blueprint for a stronger, more effective, results-oriented and cost-effective UN — one that is more agile, responsive and resilient.

Together, we can ensure that the United Nations is not only fit for purpose — but also fit for the future.

Once again, I extend my profound gratitude for your engagement, your expertise, your partnership in this shared endeavour and the considerable effort to review these proposals on a compressed schedule. Thank you.

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В ООН дали старт процессу отбора кандидатов на пост Генерального секретаря

2025-11-26T09:30:15.067+03:00

Штаб-квартира ООН в Нью-Йорке.

Фото ООН Штаб-квартира ООН в Нью-Йорке.

25 ноября 2025

ООН

Во вторник Председатель Генеральной Ассамблеи ООН и Председатель Совета Безопасности – двух основных органов Организации Объединенных Наций – официально дали старт процессу отбора кандидатов на пост Генерального секретаря, направив странам-членам соответствующее письмо. Напомним, что полномочия нынешнего главы ООН истекают в конце 2026 года.

Авторы письма предлагают государствам-членам выдвигать своих кандидатов на пост Генсека. Отмечается, что человек, занимающий эту важную должность, должен соответствовать самым высоким стандартам эффективности и компетентности, а также демонстрировать приверженность принципам Устава ООН.

Кандидат должен обладать качествами лидера и профессиональными навыками в области дипломатии, коммуникаций, знать несколько языков и иметь большой опыт работы в сфере международных отношений.

Авторы послания также с сожалением отмечают, что пост Генсека ООН никогда не занимала женщина, и призывают стран-члены Организации всерьез задуматься о выдвижении женщины в качестве кандидата. «Мы также обращаем внимание на важность регионального аспекта при выборе Генерального секретаря», – говорится в письме.

Кандидат может быть выдвинут страной или группой стран, но каждое государство имеет право номинировать одного человека.

Кандидаты, согласно утвержденной Генассамблеей процедуре, обязаны представить при выдвижении свое концептуальное заявление, которое будет опубликовано на специальной веб-странице Организации Объединенных Наций, а также раскрыть источники финансирования. Председатель Генеральной Ассамблеи проведет интерактивный диалог в режиме веб-трансляции с каждым кандидатами.

Генерального секретаря, согласно Уставу ООН, назначает Генеральная Ассамблея ООН по рекомендации Совета Безопасности.

https://news.un.org/ru/story/2025/11/1466910

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UN presents UN80 Initiative Action Plan, setting coordinated path for system-wide reforms

2025-11-22T08:04:24.681+03:00

UN Photo

Steel workers hoist a girder in place in the meeting hall area of the UN Headquarters where construction was completed in June 1951.

21 November 2025

UN Affairs

The United Nations outlined how it intends to advance one of its most comprehensive system-wide reform efforts in decades, as Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder presented the UN80 Initiative Action Plan. The plan brings the Secretary-General’s major UN80 reform proposals into a single, coherent structure to streamline efforts that will make the UN system deliver better.

The plan does not introduce new proposals but sets out how the UN system intends to advance the ones already on the table: 87 actions, grouped into 31 work packages across 3 workstreams, stretching from peace operations and humanitarian response to technology, shared services and institutional mergers.

“Its purpose is to bring structure, transparency and coherence and an operational framework to move ahead with all aspects of the UN80 Initiative - and also to enable you to see how each element will move forward: who is responsible for what, and on what timeline” Mr Ryder told Member States during an Informal Meeting of the General Assembly.

A plan for how the UN changes

The Action Plan sits at the heart of the UN80 Initiative, a bold, system-wide transformation to make the UN system work better - so that every dollar, decision and mandate delivers greater results for people and the planet.

Launched in March 2025, and welcomed by the General Assembly in resolution 79/318, the Initiative is not about redefining what the UN system does. The focus is on how it is structured, managed, and coordinated: modernising outdated arrangements, reducing bureaucracy, fragmentation and duplication, and strengthening impact.

The UN80 Initiative advances through three workstreams – all united in the Action Plan: proposals to improve efficiency across the UN system, with initial proposals reflected in the revised estimates for the 2026 Secretariat proposed programme budget; the Report of the Mandate Implementation Review, now under consideration by the Member State–led Informal Ad Hoc Working Group; and “Shifting Paradigms: United to Deliver,” the Secretary-General’s report outlining potential structural and programmatic realignments.

The Action Plan brings these three workstreams under one roof, translating their recommendations into a clear structure that identifies responsibilities, timelines and the intergovernmental bodies that will consider the proposals.

“If we maintain the momentum and approach this initiative in the right spirit, the months ahead can be a moment of real transformation”, Mr Ryder told Member States.

From three reports to 31 work packages

In practical terms, the Action Plan is a roadmap. It takes up the dense architecture of the UN80 Initiative and breaks it down into work packages, ranging from discreet technical changes to far-reaching system shifts.

Some of the most consequential packages focus on what senior officials call the “big tickets” for a more coherent UN system. On the peace and security side, this means new models for peace operations, including how tasks and resources are delegated to entities best placed to deliver. In the humanitarian sphere, it advances the New Humanitarian Compact to simplify emergency response plans, integrate supply chains, expand common services so that every dollar can deliver more.

Another cluster of work packages centres on how the UN development system is configured, including a “reset” of regional capacities and a reconfiguration of UN Country Teams that better combines expertise and cost-effectiveness.

The plan will also advance the assessments of possible mergers between UNDP and UNOPS, and UNFPA and UN Women, and the path forward for UNAIDS.

Critically, the Action Plan gives prominent place to joining up all “operational enablers” that underpin the UN system’s daily work: common data; shared technology platforms; unified services for supply chains and all other back-office functions; and a simpler approach to training and research.

Steering Committee and Task Force at the centre

A new Steering Committee, chaired by the Secretary-General every month, will ensure strategic direction and coherence among UN system leaders.

Beneath it, the UN80 Task Force, chaired by Mr Ryder, will meet weekly to coordinate implementation, monitor timelines and prepare recommendations for the Steering Committee’s review.

“As a basic principle, all actions will be undertaken in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures, as set out in the Charter, as well as the decisions, resolutions and established practice of the competent intergovernmental organs”, Mr Ryder recalled.

He noted that the Action Plan contains proposals falling under three different decision-making scenarios. The first scenario relates to proposals that fall within the Secretary-General's authority. The second relates to proposals that require further work, including the potential mergers outlined in the workstream 3 report. The third scenario relates to proposals involving financial considerations relating to the programme and peacekeeping budgets and are submitted to the General Assembly for review and approval in accordance with standard procedures.

Not a cure for the cash crunch – but part of the answer

The plan is being rolled out at a time when the UN System continues to grapple with serious funding cuts, with system resources estimated to fall 25 per cent (from $66 to $50 billion) in 2026, compared to 2024.

The Secretary-General has been explicit that the UN80 Initiative is not a solution to the UN system's financial crisis but a commitment to protect maximum impact, including in the most vulnerable settings.

A public dashboard for a complex overhaul

To help make sense of a reform that touches almost every corner of the UN system, the Secretariat has launched an interactive UN80 Initiative Actions dashboard.

The online platform allows users to see, at a glance, each work package, its objectives and leadership, and how it connects back to the three foundational reports. The dashboard will be expanded with timeline and milestones and updated regularly as work advances.

For an initiative whose success will ultimately be measured not in new documents but in real-world impact, the Action Plan is a turning point: moving from design into a phase where progress, gaps, and results will be tracked in one place.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166429

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Guterres calls for urgent reform of the Security Council

2025-10-26T06:41:00.001+03:00

24 October 2025

Peace and Security

Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday warned that the “fragile” legitimacy of the Security Council could endanger global peace if it remains gridlocked and fails to fulfil its primary purpose.

Mr. Guterres was addressing ambassadors in the iconic chamber in New York on United Nations Day, marking 80 years since its founding. He spoke via video link from the capital of Viet Nam, Hanoi, during a robust open debate on how the UN navigates an uncertain future.

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As the UN’s primary body for maintaining international peace and security, the council wields significant power, including the authority to impose sanctions and authorize military action.

Five of its 15 members have a permanent seat and were granted veto power under the UN Charter.

While the Council has played a central role in peacekeeping, conflict resolution and upholding international law, its veto system has often stalled action and sparked criticism.

The body’s structure is viewed by many countries and top officials as unrepresentative, leaving regions like Africa and Latin America without a permanent voice.

Invoking those who have looked to the council over 80 years to end wars, Mr. Guterres said that “the privilege to sit at this table carries a duty – above all – to honour the faith of those people,” he said. “Without a Security Council fit for purpose, the world is in grave danger.”

Debate over fundamentals

Presiding over the council for October, Russia praised the UN’s achievements but criticised the actions of Western governments, while elected (non-permanent) member Guyana, said the body was unrepresentative, advocating for greater and meaningful global representation.

The United States focused on operational reform, accountability, and called for a merit-based selection of the next Secretary-General – who takes the helm in January 2027 – emphasising the primacy of national sovereignty and transparency in the selection process.

The US representative called for an end to a selection process based on regions taking it in turns, arguing it was time to choose from a global roster of candidates.

For a full readout of the meeting click here.

UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Secretary-General António Guterres (on screen) addresses Security Council members.

A UN for the weak, not the powerful

The UN chief painted a vivid picture of how Council decisions can impact citizens worldwide:

“The Security Council is not about hegemons and empires. It is about parents who have lost their children, refugees flung far from their homes, soldiers who have sacrificed their limbs.

“In every shadow of this Chamber, you are surrounded by the ghosts of the dead. But beside them stands something else – the hopes of the living.”

He urged Council members to listen to those hopes.

“Listen closely and you will hear the cries of your citizens who rally for peace; the whispers of families who long for safety...The United Nations emblem does not bear the laurel wreath of a victor, but the olive crown of a peacemaker.”

But its legitimacy is fragile

Mr. Guterres highlighted the Council’s successes over eight decades, from helping Cambodia emerge from genocide to supporting South Africa’s transition from apartheid and deploying missions in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, and Liberia.

Yet its legitimacy remains fragile, he stressed, noting that violations of the UN Charter by some Member States erode trust and risk global stability.

He called for and expanded membership to better reflect the world’s demographics, including permanent representation for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mr. Guterres also encouraged discussions on proposals to limit the use of the veto.

UN Photo/Manuel Elías

A wide view of the Security Council as Secretary-General António Guterres (on screen) addresses members.

Russia: Divisive Western powers

Russia’s Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia praised the UN’s achievements but cautioned against the actions of Western powers.

“In an effort to maintain its waning influence, the West divided the world into ‘us’ and ‘them’ – ‘democracies’ and ‘autocracies’ – a group of those who are chosen, and those who are violating their imposed order,” he said.

As a result, many of the UN Charter’s principles remain concepts, not a reality. “Adventures” – from the Iraq invasion and Colour Revolutions to the recent invasion of Iran – have only led to tragedy, he said.

Guyana: Reform now

Guyana’s Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett echoed calls for reform, describing the current configuration of the Council as unrepresentative.

“The Security Council must be reformed. Notwithstanding the expansive breadth of the work of the UN, the reality is that this success or failure of the United Nations as a whole is judged in large measure through the action, or lack thereof, of the Security Council,” she said.

She called for permanent seats for Africa and Latin America and a rotating seat for small island developing States, emphasising that national interest and international cooperation are complementary.

US: UN ‘has lost its way’

The United States, represented by Ambassador Dorothy Shea, focused on accountability. She said the UN had become a “bloated bureaucracy” that has lost its way, calling for mandates with clear political objectives and measurable benchmarks.

“The UN should serve Member States rather than have Member States beholden to an unaccountable bureaucracy,” she said.

On the next Secretary-General, Ambassador Shea said the US seeks a leader who will restore the UN to its founding purpose, respecting state sovereignty and prioritising accountability and transparency.

She added that the selection process should be merit-based, drawing candidates from all regional groupings, and that the next Secretary-General should “bring the UN back to basics and by so doing, help achieve the bold vision of peace and prosperity to which we all committed.”

A humble ballot box

UN Photo

A photograph of a UN Security Council meeting on atomic energy in 1947.

At the start of the meeting, the UN chief recalled a remarkable moment from the UN’s early days: the first Security Council ballot box in 1946. To everyone’s surprise, a slip of paper was already inside – a note from Paul Antonio, a local New York mechanic who had made the box.

“May I, who have had the privilege of fabricating this ballot box, cast the first vote? May God be with every member of the United Nations Organization, and through your noble efforts bring lasting peace to us all – all over the world,” Mr. Antonio wrote.

“Paul Antonio – the mechanic never sat at this table He never gave a speech or signed a treaty,” Mr. Guterres told ambassadors.

“But he believed in everyone here. He believed in you. I urge you: honour that trust. Make this chamber worthy of the hopes of every man, woman and child.”

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Глава МИД Азербайджана призвал поддержать кандидатуру Баку для проведения «ЭКСПО – 2025»

2025-09-29T06:39:00.000+03:00

Фото ООН

Министр иностранных дел Азербайджана Эльмар Мамедъяров выступил в Генассамблеи ООН

28 сентября 2018

ООН

Азербайджан поддерживает инициативы главы ООН по предупреждению войн и поддержанию мира, привержен выполнению Целей устойчивого развития и продвигает идеи мультикультурализма. Об этом заявил министр иностранных дел Азербайджана Эльмар Мамедъяров, выступая в ходе общих прений 73-й сессии Генассамблеи. При этом он напомнил об «оккупации Арменией» одной пятой территории Азербайджана и призвал международное сообщество «усилить давление на Ереван, чтобы добиться выполнения соответствующих резолюций Совета Безопасности».

Министр иностранных дел Азербайджана рассказал с трибуны Генассамблеи об успехах его страны в развитии экономики и ее участии в многочисленных региональных проектах – строительстве транспортных коридоров, объектов инфраструктуры и создании высокотехнологичных коммуникационных магистралей.

По его словам, устойчивый экономический рост позволяет Азербайджану оказывать помощь развивающимся странам, а также государствам, которые справляются с последствиями стихийных бедствий. Азербайджан, по его словам, борется с коррупцией и активно сотрудничает с правозащитными механизмами ООН.

Глава МИД Азербайджана сообщил, что Баку претендует на проведение международной выставки «ЭКСПО – 2025» и призвал страны, которым в ноябре предстоит определить победителя, поддержать кандидатуру Азербайджана. «Страны Восточной Европы, Кавказа и бассейна Каспия никогда не принимали у себя ЭКСПО», - сообщил Мамедъяров, подчеркнув, что избрание Баку позволит расширить географию проведения выставки.

По словам министра, Азербайджан как «один из признанных центров мультикультурализма» провел многочисленные международные мероприятия, направленные на укрепление межкультурного диалога. «Представители всех этнических и религиозных групп проживают в Азербайджане в мире и гармонии», - подчеркнул он.

Вместе с тем, глава МИД Азербайджана напомнил, что пятая часть территории его страны находится «под оккупацией со стороны Армении», а «один из девяти жителей страны является беженцем или внутренним переселенцем». Он призвал международное сообщество оказать давление на власти Армении, чтобы добиться немедленного выполнения соответствующих резолюций Совета Безопасности ООН.

«Новое руководство Армении должно понимать, что его обещания армянскому народу о превращении Армении в экономически развитое и процветающее государство невозможно выполнить, не установив мир и добрые взаимоотношения с соседями, не уважая их суверенитет и территориальную целостность», - подчеркнул Эльмар Мамедъяров.

Как заявил министр, в Азербайджане считают, что не существует «альтернативы миру, стабильности и взаимовыгодному региональному сотрудничеству».

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AI must not decide humanity’s fate, UN chief warns Security Council

2025-09-27T06:05:00.001+03:00

Unsplash/Chris Yang

AI can help prevent crises and drive progress – but without guardrails, it risks fueling conflict, disinformation and instability.

By Vibhu Mishra

24 September 2025 Peace and Security

Artificial intelligence holds vast potential but poses grave risks if left unregulated, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.

“AI is no longer a distant horizon – it is here, transforming daily life, the information space, and the global economy at breathtaking speed,” Mr. Guterres said at the Council’s high-level debate on the technology’s security implications for transforming warfare.

“The question is not whether AI will influence international peace and security, but how we will shape that influence.”

Used responsibly, the UN chief said, AI can help anticipate food insecurity, support de-mining operations, and identify outbreaks of violence before it spills out of control.

“But without guardrails, it can also be weaponised,” he cautioned, pointing to AI-enabled targeting in recent conflicts, cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, and deepfakes capable of fuelling polarisation or derailing diplomacy.

“The ability to fabricate and manipulate audio and video threatens information integrity, fuels polarisation and can trigger diplomatic crises…humanity’s fate cannot be left to an algorithm,” he stressed.

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Decisions must rest with us

Mr. Guterres set out four priorities for governments: maintaining human control over the use of force, building coherent global regulatory frameworks, protecting information integrity, and closing what he called the “AI capacity gap” between rich and poor nations.

“I reiterate my call for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems operating without human control, with a view to concluding a legally binding instrument by next year,” he said.

He also insisted that decisions on nuclear weapons “must rest with humans – not machines.”

The Secretary-General highlighted steps already underway, including the creation of an independent scientific panel on AI and a new global dialogue on AI governance – due to take place in New York on Thursday.

“Together, these initiatives aim to connect science, policy and practice; provide every country a seat at the table; and reduce fragmentation,” he said.

A call to broaden access

Yejin Choi, Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, told the Security Council that current progress in AI is too concentrated among a handful of companies and countries.

“When only a few have the resources to build and benefit from AI, we leave the rest of the world waiting at the door,” she said.

“Let us expand what intelligence can be – and let everyone everywhere have a role in building it.”

AI must reinforce inclusion

Ms. Choi urged governments and international institutions to invest in alternative approaches beyond scaling ever-larger models, arguing that smaller, more adaptive systems could lower barriers to entry.

Let us expand what intelligence can be, and let everyone have a role in building it
– Professor Choi

She also pressed for stronger representation of linguistic and cultural diversity, noting that today’s leading AI models “underperform for many non-English languages and reflect narrow cultural assumptions.”

Act without delay

Secretary-General Guterres closed by warning the window for effective regulation is closing fast.

“From nuclear arms control to aviation safety, the international community has risen to the challenge of technologies that could destabilise our societies – by agreeing to rules, building institutions, and insisting on human dignity,” he said.

“The window is closing to shape AI – for peace, for justice, for humanity. We must act without delay.”

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Lee Jae Myung, the President of the Republic of Korea, chairing the Security Council meeting.

The Security Council session was held on the margins of the ongoing high-level week of the General Assembly’s 80th session.

The meeting was convened by Republic of Korea (Council President for September) and attended by heads of states and governments, including Lee Jae Myung, the President of the Republic of Korea, who chaired the meeting

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Iran’s uranium stockpile grows following three years of denied access

2025-09-21T08:03:00.001+03:00

IAEA/Paolo Contri

The Busher nuclear power plant in Iran. (file photo)

3 June 2024

Peace and Security

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium continues to increase, the head of the UN atomic watchdog agency said on Monday, adding that it has been three years since the agency was able to access the country.

Addressing the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director General Rafael Grossi indicated no progress had been made in resolving outstanding issues.

He mentioned that Iran is still not implementing provisions of the nuclear safeguards agreement, and that withdrawal of designations for several IAEA inspectors are yet to be reversed.

“These outstanding safeguards issues…need to be resolved for [IAEA] to be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful,” Mr. Grossi emphasized.

He also voiced concerns about public statements made in Iran regarding its technical capabilities to produce nuclear weapons and potential changes to its nuclear doctrine, which only deepen apprehensions about the “correctness and completeness” of the country’s safeguards declarations.

Ukraine’s power plants

Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine.

Turning to Ukraine, the IAEA chief warned the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant “remains precarious” and that all seven Pillars of Nuclear Safety and Security have been “fully or partially compromised”.

These include physical integrity; functional safety and security systems and equipment; radiation monitoring and emergency response; secure and reliable off-site power supply; trained staff; an uninterrupted logistic supply chain; and open communication.

“The attacks and the frequent disconnection of the off-site power lines due to military activity are creating a grave situation,” Mr. Grossi said.

All six reactor units at the plant have been in cold shutdown since April, a safety measure long recommended by the IAEA. Despite this, the agency’s ability to ensure the plant’s safety and security remains compromised due to restricted access, he added.

He further reported that Ukraine’s other four nuclear power plants continue to face compromised supply chains for spare parts and high levels of stress among staff.

DPR Korea’s nuclear programme

Mr. Grossi also voiced concern over the continued and further development of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear programme.

The IAEA has observed intermittent cooling water discharge, consistent with the operation of the Light Water Reactor (LWR) at Yongbyon, along with ongoing activities at the reported centrifuge enrichment facility.

The Nuclear Test Site at Punggye-ri remains occupied and prepared to support a new test.

“The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear programme is a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions and is deeply regrettable,” Mr. Grossi said, urging the country to comply fully with its obligations and to cooperate promptly with IAEA.

Rafael Mariano Grossi (right), IAEA Director General, delivers his opening statement at the 1717th Board of Governors meeting held at the IAEA Headquarters, in Vienna.

Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant

In Japan, IAEA continues to monitor the discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System)-treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which suffered a meltdown 13 years ago, he reported.

Mr. Grossi confirmed that the discharge is progressing in accordance with the safety plan approved by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority.

“Expert independent analysis of the six batches released so far have confirmed the tritium concentration in each batch of ALPS-treated water released to date is far below Japan’s operational limit.”

Nuclear technology for sustainable development

In his concluding remarks, the head of IAEA underscored the agency’s key role in promoting sustainable development.

“The IAEA is a crucially important vehicle for advancing sustainable development and international peace and security,” he said, urging member states to continue their support for the agency’s indispensable work.

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UN80 Initiative: New report charts proposals for change across UN structures and programmes

2025-09-19T06:30:00.005+03:00

UN Photo

The corner-stone of the UN headquarters building was laid on UN Day at a special open-air General Assembly meeting held on 24 October 1949.

18 September 2025 UN Affairs

The Secretary-General shared a progress report on Thursday on structural reforms and programme realignments under the UN80 Initiative, setting out proposals to make the United Nations more coherent, effective and better equipped to respond to global challenges.

The report, Shifting Paradigms: United to Deliver, outlines possible adjustments in how the UN is structured, how its entities collaborate, and how it operates. It is the third major output of the Initiative, following earlier reports on efficiency measures and on mandate implementation review. Issued just before the General Assembly’s High-Level Week, the document is intended to inform Member States' deliberations.

“This is a work in progress,” Mr Guterres says in the preface. “We look forward to working with Member States – as owners of the process – to realize our common ambition: a United Nations system that is more coherent, more effective, and better equipped to serve ‘We the Peoples’.”

Main areas of focus

The proposals address all three pillars of UN work – peace and security, sustainable development and human rights – as well as humanitarian action, ways to strengthen cross-pillar collaboration and system-wide enablers. It calls for fewer silos, less duplication and more effective collaboration, noting that the UN system, built up over 80 years, must adapt to today’s far more complex challenges.

In peace and security, the report proposes consolidating offices and leadership layers, establishing centres of excellence for peacebuilding and for Women, Peace and Security, and preparing leaner, more integrated peace operations.
A New Humanitarian Compact is proposed to streamline planning, integrate global supply chains, expand common back-office services and strengthen humanitarian diplomacy, with the goal of serving over 100 million people more quickly and effectively.
On sustainable development, the Secretary-General recommends assessing potential mergers of agencies, pooling expertise through new joint knowledge hubs, and reconfiguring regional and country-level operations for greater impact.
In human rights, the report proposes creating a UN Human Rights Group, led by the High Commissioner, to coordinate system-wide action and reduce duplication.
Among the system enablers, the report highlights the creation of a UN System Data Commons, a Technology Accelerator Platform, unified back-office services, streamlined training and research, and reforms to strengthen pooled and core funding.

Next steps

Several proposals in the report lie within the Secretary-General’s authority and can be advanced without delay. Most, however, rest with Member States. Mr. Guterres has been invited by the President of the General Assembly to brief on the report on 15 October 2025.

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A mandate for change: UN releases proposals for streamlining of tasks as part of major reform agenda

2025-08-02T10:22:00.001+03:00

UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata

Thousands of pages of documents used to be printed every day at the UN as pictured in June 1969.

1 August 2025

UN Affairs

Millions of lives have been improved by the mandates assigned to the UN. Yet duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks are stretching resources and undermining the organization’s ability to deliver for those who need it most. As part of the UN80 Initiative, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has presented a set of proposals to Member States to make the UN more efficient, coherent and impactful.

Mandates - requests or directives for action issued by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council - have multiplied significantly since 1945. Today, there are more than 40,000 active mandates, serviced by around 400 intergovernmental bodies. Together, they require more than 27,000 meetings a year and generate roughly 2,300 pages of documentation every day, at an estimated annual cost of $360 million.

A growing challenge

Mandates guide the UN’s work in over 190 countries and territories, from peacekeeping to humanitarian response and development. But many are outdated or overlapping, and their complexity is increasing. Since 2020, the average word count of General Assembly resolutions has risen by 55 per cent, while Security Council resolutions are now three times longer than they were 30 years ago.

“Let’s face facts,” said Secretary-General António Guterres during a briefing to the General Assembly on Friday, “we cannot expect far greater impact without the means to deliver. By spreading our capacities so thin, we risk becoming more focused on process than on results.”

A lack of coordination adds to the strain. Several UN entities cite the same mandates to justify separate programmes and budgets, leading to duplication and reduced impact. More than 85 per cent of mandates contain no provisions for review or termination. “Effective reviews are the exception, not the rule,” Mr. Guterres said. “The same mandates are discussed year after year – often with only marginal changes to existing texts.”

UN Photo/Milton Grant

The UN has carried out mandates across the world including certifying the election in Namibia in 1989.

The UN80 Initiative: a systemic approach

The Report of the Mandate Implementation Review, released on 31 July, is part of the Secretary-General’s broader UN80 Initiative - a multi-year effort to modernize how the UN works. Rather than assess mandates individually, the report takes a “lifecycle” approach, looking at how mandates are created, implemented and reviewed, and proposing ways to improve each stage.

“Let me be absolutely clear: mandates are the business of Member States,” Mr. Guterres told the General Assembly. “They are the expression of your will. And they are the sole property and responsibility of Member States. The vital task of creating, reviewing or retiring them lies with you – and you alone. Our role is to implement them – fully, faithfully, and efficiently.”

“This report respects that division,” he added. “It looks at how we carry out the mandates you entrust to us.”

From creation to delivery

To address duplication and complexity, the report calls for digital mandate registries that make it easier to track what has been adopted across different bodies. It also encourages shorter, clearer resolutions with realistic resource requirements. “We cannot expect far greater impact without the means to deliver,” Mr. Guterres said.

The report also highlights the growing operational burden of meetings and reports. Last year, the UN system supported 27,000 meetings and produced 1,100 reports - three out of five on recurring topics. “Meetings and reports are essential,” Mr. Guterres said. “But we must ask: Are we using our limited resources in the most effective way?”

The UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, was mandated by the Security Council.

Funding and impact

Proposals include reducing the number of reports and meetings, streamlining formats and monitoring report usage to ensure relevance. The Secretary-General is also calling for stronger coordination among UN entities to avoid overlap and ensure each mandate is linked to clear deliverables.

The report warns that fragmented funding is undermining coherent delivery. In 2023, 80 per cent of the UN’s funding came from voluntary contributions, 85 per cent of which were earmarked. “Fragmented funding, combined with fragmented implementation, leads to fragmented impact,” said Mr. Guterres. “Each of us has a role to play to address this. And each of us must act on the levers within our control.”

Putting people first

For the Secretary-General, reforms are not only about process but about impact. “Mandates are not ends in themselves,” he said. “They are tools – to deliver real results, in real lives, in the real world.”

He praised UN staff as central to this effort. “None of the work in implementing mandates is possible without our staff – the women and men of the United Nations,” Mr. Guterres said. “Their expertise, dedication and courage are indispensable to this endeavor. If we are to improve how we implement mandates, we must also support and empower the people who carry them out.”

UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Many of the UN's mandates are agreed at the Security Council at UN Headquarters in New York.

A call to Member States

In his concluding remarks, the Secretary-General underscored that the next steps must come from Member States. “The path forward is yours to decide,” he said. “My responsibility is to ensure that the Secretariat provides the capacities and inputs required by the course of action that you choose.”

The report invites Member States to consider a time-bound intergovernmental process to carry proposals forward and ensure that this effort succeeds where earlier ones have fallen short. The upshot, the report says, would be a more agile, coherent and impactful UN that is better at delivering programmes and services.

UN80

The UN80 Initiative is a system-wide push to streamline operations, sharpen impact, and reaffirm the UN’s relevance for a rapidly changing world. It is divided into three workstreams:
The first is focused on improving internal efficiency and effectiveness, cutting red tape, and optimizing the UN’s global footprint by relocating some functions to lower-cost duty stations.
The second is a mandate implementation review, which involves examining thousands of mandate documents underpinning the UN Secretariat’s work (a mandate refers to a task or responsibility assigned to the organisation by the Member States, usually through resolutions adopted by UN organs such as the General Assembly or the Security Council).
The third explores whether structural changes and programme realignment are needed across the UN System.
The work under the first two workstreams will help inform broader thinking around structural changes and programme realignment across the UN system.

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World News in Brief: Violence in Haiti, rising insecurity in DR Congo, expert panel on nuclear war

2025-07-20T06:34:00.005+03:00

An adult and child rest at centre for displaced people in Haiti.

18 July 2025

Humanitarian Aid

The UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA is stressing the need to scale up support for displaced families in Haiti amid ongoing insecurity and violence.

Displaced Haitians are dispersed among the 250 active displacement sites across the country, most of which are informal. Just over a fifth of these sites are managed by humanitarian organizations, meaning that many are living in precarious conditions.

In June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites, over 80 per cent of which were related to essential needs such as lack of water, food, shelter or healthcare.

OCHA noted that nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, the highest number ever recorded in the country due to violence.

Constrained UN response

The UN and partners have supported more than 113,000 displaced Haitians this year, providing essential services such as water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare.

The humanitarian response is severely constrained by limited funding and persistent insecurity, hampering humanitarian access to the most affected areas and delaying the delivery of aid.

Despite the challenges, the agency continues to work closely with Haitian authorities and humanitarian partners to coordinate relief efforts and mobilise additional resources to support displaced communities.

DR Congo: Ongoing violence in the east drives displacement, impedes aid delivery

Ongoing violence in North and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to claim the lives of civilians and to trigger new displacement.

In North Kivu, UN partners on the ground in Rutshuru and Lubero territories reported that fighting between M23 and other armed groups was ongoing until Tuesday, resulting in eight civilian deaths and 42,500 displaced people as of earlier this week.

Since early July, heavy clashes between M23 and other armed groups in South Kivu have also persisted, as local partners said the fighting has displaced at least 37,000 people from their homes.

Aid access restrictions

The surge in violence is making it harder for humanitarians to deliver assistance to vulnerable communities.

While partners and teams on the ground are doing their best to maintain services for those affected, access restrictions and severe funding shortages pose significant obstacles.

A humanitarian convoy coordinated by OCHA along the road between the provincial capital Bukavu and the city of Uvira, primarily planned for this Friday, has been postponed due to a lack of security guarantees on that route.

Many UN partners on the ground are forced to scale back their operations, disrupting essential services for those in need.

OCHA called on the international community to take urgent action to address these severe funding gaps and avert a humanitarian tragedy.

New panel to examine the effects of a nuclear war

The UN Secretary-General has appointed an independent scientific panel of 21 experts to examine the physical and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale in the days, weeks and decades following such an event.

The creation of the panel, mandated by a General Assembly resolution, comes at a time when nuclear guardrails are being eroded and “the risk of nuclear war is higher than at any point since the depths of the Cold War,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Friday during the daily media briefing from Headquarters in New York.

The panelists will seek input from a wide range of stakeholders – including international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), civil society and affected communities.

Members will hold their first meeting in September and will submit a final report to the General Assembly in 2027.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165439

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Press Conference by Security Council President on Programme of Work for July

2025-07-04T08:28:00.001+03:00

Press Conference

Security Council

1 July 2025

The Security Council will convene its signature event on 22 July — a high-level open debate on promoting international peace and security through multilateralism and the peaceful settlement of disputes — the Council’s President for the month said at a United Nations Headquarters press conference today.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmad (Pakistan), who holds the 15-member organ’s rotating presidency for this month, said the open debate — held under the overarching theme of maintaining international peace and security — will be chaired by his country’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Ishaq Dar. The Secretary-General is expected to brief the Council. “The debate stems from the fact that today’s crises often emerge from unresolved disputes, erosion of international obligations and underutilization of peaceful means enshrined in the Charter,” he said. The discussion will examine the effectiveness of existing dispute settlement mechanisms, identify barriers to implementing Council resolutions and explore ways to strengthen preventive diplomacy, mediation and technical support. It will also reaffirm the commitments made in the Pact for the Future towards preventive diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

The Council will further hold a signature event on “Cooperation between the UN and regional and subregional organizations”, chaired also by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. It will spotlight UN’s engagement with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which represents 57 member States across four continents and has played an increasingly important role in conflict prevention and mediation, humanitarian response and post-conflict recovery. This meeting will explore ways to institutionalize and deepen this cooperation, particularly in relation to peace processes in various contexts.

On 23 July, the Council will hold its quarterly open debate on the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, which will be elevated to the ministerial level. The meeting will reaffirm the Council’s responsibility to protect civilians, uphold international humanitarian law and push for an immediate ceasefire, along with just and lasting solutions based on UN resolutions concerning the Palestinian question.

Throughout July, the Council will consider several country-specific and thematic issues, primarily through mandated briefings and situational updates. These will include discussions on Colombia, Haiti, Cyprus, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and the International Criminal Court, as well as consultations on Lebanon within the framework of resolution 1701 (2006). The President of the Security Council reaffirmed his readiness to convene additional meetings should developments on the ground — particularly in Africa, the Middle East or Asia — warrant timely engagement. On 29 July, the Council will also hold a briefing on UN Peace Operations, in the context of the Secretary-General’s ongoing review.

“We are committed to an open and consultative Presidency,” he stated, outlining the Council’s working methods, which are grounded in transparency, inclusivity and close coordination among all 15 members. He noted that the Council remains alert and responsive to global developments, with a particular focus on conflict zones such as in the Middle East, Africa, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He also responded to several questions posed by media correspondents, many of which concerned the situation in Gaza. In his national capacity, he said the objective of the draft resolution — jointly proposed by China, the Russian Federation and his own country — is to achieve a ceasefire to the conflict.

In response to a question about the future role of Hamas in Gaza, he emphasized that this is an intra-Palestinian matter that “should be left to the Palestinians [themselves]”.

Addressing a query about the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Children and Armed Conflict’s recent report on children in Gaza, which the reporter described as “unfair”, he stressed that mandates such as children and armed conflict must be upheld universally and without selectivity. “[By] failing to do that, […] we are undermining these important mandates,” he warned.

On the conflict between Israel and Iran, he spoke in his national capacity to reaffirm Pakistan’s principled position, grounded in international law and the Charter of the United Nations. He noted that some discussions have deviated from Iran’s legitimate rights, highlighting that Tehran remains a party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. “The best way to address the Iranian nuclear issue in all its complexity is through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said. However, he added, this path was seriously disrupted by the recent attacks, while expressing hope that “a window of opportunity” still exists to resume dialogue and reach a conclusive resolution in accordance with international law.

Regarding the UN’s cooperation with regional and subregional organizations, he pointed to OIC’s growing role in areas such as counter-terrorism, counter-extremism and humanitarian affairs. He emphasized the importance of deepening engagement between OIC and the Security Council.

When asked about how the issue of Kashmir could be addressed in the Council, he responded in his national capacity that the dispute remains unresolved and continues to be a source of tension between India and Pakistan, hindering broader regional relations. He emphasized that it is the Council’s responsibility — especially that of its permanent members — to take meaningful steps towards implementing their own resolutions.

https://press.un.org/en/2025/250701_sc.doc.htm

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New UN report charts path out of debt crisis threatening global development

2025-06-28T07:49:00.002+03:00

Developing countries like Bangladesh (pictured) spend large amounts of money servicing international debt, diverting vital resources away from development efforts.

27 June 2025

Economic Development

A decade after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), development is facing serious headwinds – including what UN officials describe as a “silent crisis” of surging debt service payments in low-income countries.

On Friday, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed launched a new report, Confronting the Debt Crisis: 11 Actions to Unlock Sustainable Financing.

She was joined by experts Mahmoud Mohieldin and Paolo Gentiloni, along with Rebeca Grynspan, Head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

A growing crisis

“Borrowing is critical for development,” Ms. Mohammed said, but today, “borrowing is not working for many developing countries, over two-thirds of our low income countries are either in debt distress or at a high risk of it.”

The crisis is accelerating, Ms. Grynspan warned.

More than 3.4 billion people now live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education – 100 million more than last year.

Debt service payments by developing countries have soared by $74 billion in a single year, from $847 billion to $921 billion.

“The nature of this crisis is mostly connected to the increase of debt servicing costs,” Mr. Gentiloni explained. “Practically, the debt services costs doubled in the last ten years.”

Prepared by the UN Secretary-General’s Expert Group on Debt, the report reinforces the commitments put forward in the Compromiso de Sevilla, the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development – taking place next week.

A path forward

The report outlines 11 actions that are both technically feasible and politically viable.

Mr. Mohieldin explained that the recommendations fall under two key goals: providing meaningful debt relief and preventing future crises.

It identifies three levels of action:

At the multilateral level: repurpose and replenish funds to inject liquidity into the system, with targeted support for low-income countries.

At the international level: establish a platform for borrowers and creditors to engage directly.

At the national level: strengthen institutional capacity, improve policy coordination, manage interest rates, and bolster risk management.

“These are eleven proposals that are doable and that only need the political will of all the actors to be able to make them real,” Ms. Grynspan stressed.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165051

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http://webtv.un.org/en сайт не работает

2025-06-16T18:51:00.001+03:00

Доброе утро. Опять всё исчезло. Одни и те же постоянно портят приложение

2025-06-14T07:06:00.002+03:00

Доброе утро. Опять всё исчезло. Одни и те же постоянно портят приложение

Meeting in Wake of Israeli Air Strikes on Iran, Delegates in Security Council Urge De-escalation, Diplomacy to Prevent Further Strain in Conflict-Ridden Region

2025-06-14T06:16:00.001+03:00

9936th Meeting (PM)

SC/16085

13 June 2025

Meeting in Wake of Israeli Air Strikes on Iran, Delegates in Security Council Urge De-escalation, Diplomacy to Prevent Further Strain in Conflict-Ridden Region

Meeting in the hours following Israel’s air strikes against targets in Iran, the Security Council today heard — and its members largely agreed — that de-escalation and diplomacy are imperative to avoid further strain in a region already groaning under the weight of compounding conflict.

“Today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. local time, the Israeli military launched waves of air strikes across Iran,” reported Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. These attacks — “which are reportedly continuing this afternoon”, she added — have targeted headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, military bases, radar installations and nuclear facilities. They have reportedly caused significant damage — including dozens of civilian casualties — and in retaliation, Iran launched some 100 drones towards Israel. “As I speak, there are reports of Iranian missiles heading towards Israel,” she said.

She noted that the Israel Defense Forces have called this a “precise, pre-emptive strike”, prompted by the “imminent threat from Iran’s nuclear programme”. Multiple nuclear installations were struck, including in Natanz — one of that programme’s “central sites”, she said. Israel’s Prime Minister has stated that Israeli forces also attacked Iran’s ballistic-missile capabilities and top Iranian nuclear scientists. She recalled that the Prime Minister stated these attacks were intended to “ward off an existential threat” and vowed that “the battle would continue for as many days as it takes”.

Middle East on High Alert

“The impact of these attacks has already been felt throughout the region,” she observed, as neighbouring countries have closed their airports and placed their security forces on high alert. Further, the Houthis have reportedly launched missiles towards Israel, and Iran’s Supreme Leader has promised “severe punishment” for that State. Noting that talks between Iran and the United States were to resume in Oman shortly, she urged the continuation of these diplomatic efforts. She concluded: “We must, at all costs, avoid a growing conflagration that would have enormous global consequences.”

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), then told the Council that IAEA was informed of Israel’s military operation and has been in permanent contact with Iranian authorities to ascertain the status of nuclear facilities. Iran has initially confirmed that only the Natanz fuel-enrichment plant had been attacked. The above-ground part of that plant — where Iran was producing uranium, including uranium-235 enriched to 60 per cent — “has been destroyed”, he reported, along with electrical infrastructure at the facility.

“There is no indication of a physical attack on the underground cascade hall containing part of the pilot fuel-enrichment plant and the main fuel-enrichment plant,” he reported. However, he added that “loss of power to the cascade hall may have damaged the centrifuges there”. While early indications suggest no external radiological impact to the population or environment from the event, he stated that there is “manageable” radiological and chemical contamination inside the facilities at Natanz. Calling these developments “deeply concerning”, he underscored that nuclear facilities must never be attacked.

International Atomic Energy Agency Monitoring Situation 24/7

And calling on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation, he underlined IAEA’s support for a diplomatic solution to the problems posed by Iran’s nuclear programme. For its part, the Agency has established a task force to “monitor the situation 24/7” and may deploy experts in addition to inspectors already in Iran. “It is clear that the only sustainable path forward —for Iran, for Israel, the entire region and the international community — is grounded in dialogue and diplomacy,” he stressed.

As the floor opened, the representative of the Russian Federation observed: “One is left with the impression that the leadership of Israel is convinced that they have a completely free hand in the region.” Condemning this “military adventure”, he underscored that its consequences lie “fully with the Israeli leadership — and those who encourage them”. Stressing that all issues relating to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action “began when the United States unilaterally left the nuclear deal in 2018”, he also pointed to “likely coordination between Israeli and British special services” involving the former’s aircraft sheltering at the latter’s base in Cyprus.

“Russia’s claim that British sovereign bases in Cyprus were in any way involved is nonsense,” underscored that country’s representative, adding that it is “deeply irresponsible at moments like this for Russia to be spreading disinformation”. Expressing support for “any diplomatic efforts to return to stability”, she stressed: “Our first priority must be to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.” On that, Somalia’s representative — also calling for restraint and de-escalation — observed that “the spill-over effects are no longer hypothetical”.

Timing of Israeli Attacks Mark New, Troubling Link in ‘Chain of Tension’ Threatening Regional, Global Stability

Panama’s representative, stating that Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez aptly “qualified a predictable situation” with the title of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, said: “That could be applied to this situation.” Last night’s events were “hardly surprising”, he said, “but they do represent a new and troubling link in a chain of tension that threatens regional and global stability”. The representative of Sierra Leone, similarly, expressed regret over the “reversion to a period when a State can unilaterally resort to the use of force against another State”. China’s representative stressed: “The abrupt heating-up of the region serves no one’s interests.”

Condemning the “logic of unilateral force”, Algeria’s representative underscored: “The only thing that pre-emptive action could prevent is peace.” He also pointed out that Israel operates outside the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and has consistently refused to join the negotiation process on establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. “Let us not overlook the timing,” he added, noting that Israel carried out these attacks when the United States and Iran are engaged in direct negotiations on the latter’s nuclear programme.

That these attacks occurred during such negotiations makes them “all the more morally repugnant”, said the representative of Pakistan. “These actions risk eroding the trust and sanctity of the negotiations process so crucial for the peaceful settlement of these issues,” he stressed. Greece’s representative also expressed concern that this escalation occurred as United States-Iran negotiations were under way. While stating that “Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon”, and that Israel has the right to defend itself, he added: “At the same time, we strongly believe that lasting security can only be achieved through diplomacy and a negotiated deal.”

Iran Must Never Be Allowed to Acquire Nuclear Weapons

Also stressing that Iran must never acquire such a weapon was the representative of Denmark, who added that “it is further disturbing that IAEA is unable to provide assurances” that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful. France’s representative, in that vein, said that such a programme “lacks any credible civilian justification”. While the representative of Slovenia echoed these concerns, she stressed: “However, strikes against civilian nuclear infrastructure — whether they happen in Eastern Europe, the Middle East or anywhere else — are unacceptable.”

“This dangerous regime cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons,” stressed the representative of the United States. While the United States was informed of Israel’s strikes ahead of time, it was not militarily involved. Underscoring that “no Government, proxy or independent actor should target American citizens, American bases or other American infrastructure in the region”, he warned that “the consequences for Iran would be dire”. He added that the United States will continue to seek a diplomatic resolution, emphasizing: “Iran’s leadership would be wise to negotiate at this time.”

“As a country neighbouring another that is seriously violating non-proliferation obligations, the Republic of Korea shares serious concerns over Iran’s continued expansion of its nuclear programme,” said Seoul’s representative. Nevertheless, he stated: “We believe both countries possess the wisdom to avert a broader conflict that the region can hardly afford.” Along those lines, the representative of Guyana, Council President for June, spoke in her national capacity to call on all parties to commit to no further escalation in the region. This was a common refrain today.

Iran’s Representative: Israel Is ‘Most Dangerous and Terrorist Regime in the World’

Meanwhile, Iran’s representative stated that the actions of Israel — “the most dangerous and terrorist regime in the world” — amount to a “declaration of war”. Warning of the potential radiological consequences of the attack on Natanz, he stressed: “Only a regime devoid of humanity and responsibility would endanger millions of lives in pursuit of its destructive ambitions.” Those who support Israel — foremost the United States — “are complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity”, he said. Urging the Council to condemn Israel, he stressed: “Silence is complicity in this crime.”

Israel’s Representative: Tel Aviv Acted in Self-Defence against Iran which Declared ‘Its Intent to Destroy Us’

“When a regime builds ballistic missiles, enriches uranium to near weapons-grade and openly declares its intent to destroy us, we believe them,” said Israel’s representative. Underscoring that his country did not act “recklessly”, he said Israel waited while Iran enriched uranium to a level with no civilian justification; obstructed inspectors and destroyed monitoring equipment; developed trigger mechanisms, detonation systems and warhead plans; actively recruited more nuclear scientists; and made false concessions during extended negotiations. “Last night,” he said, “the wait ended.”

For his part, Iraq’s representative condemned Israel’s “dangerous military aggression” against Iran and its “blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and the inviolability of its airspace”. He stressed: “It pushes us into conflicts we are not party to.” The representative of Kuwait, speaking for the Gulf Cooperation Council, also condemned Israel’s attacks — regardless of their justification. Rejecting violations of sovereignty under any pretext, he warned that an expanded conflict will “only serve the forces of chaos and extremism”.

https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc16087.doc.htm

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