Rabat – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched today the UN80 initiative in New York, aiming to enhance the functioning of the UN institutional system to meet current global challenges more effectively.
“Our world is facing challenges on every front,” Guterres said in a press briefing, noting the UN’s vital function as a platform for advancing peace, sustainable development, and human rights.
Stressing the UN’s current critical role, the UN official referred to the pressing challenges facing the world today.The UN80 initiative aims at enhancing the international body’s efficiency and effectiveness, he noted.
“It is essential that the United Nations institutional system—which is both complex and indispensable—undergoes rigorous and regular review to assess whether it is capable of effectively fulfilling its missions,” Guterres added.
He spoke of the changing mechanisms of the world, pointing to the need for the organization to have “regular scrutiny to ensure it remains fit for purpose in a rapidly changing world.”
“We can’t address 21st-century challenges with 20th-century systems,” he further explained.
The UN launched the UN80 initiative to mark the 80th anniversary of the international organization.
The initiative aligns with the UN’s efforts to ensure “effective and optimal, interconnected and inclusive multilateralism, which we need to alleviate human suffering and build a better life and future for all.”
Guterres appointed a task force involving all UN entities, saying its goal is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the UN’s functioning in three key areas.
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These include quickly identifying efficiency gains and improvements in working methods, thoroughly examining the implementation of all mandates received from member states, and making structural changes while redirecting programs within the UN system.
Leadership for this ambitious reform effort will fall to the Under-Secretary-General for Policy, who will coordinate representatives from the Secretariat and various UN entities to develop actionable proposals for member states.
The multilateral organization faces diminishing resources “everywhere, and for a long time,” Guterres admitted, stressing that the multilateral organization has been grappling with a liquidity crisis for at least seven years.
As the organization marks eight decades since its founding, UN leadership appears to believe now is the perfect moment to ensure it remains relevant and effective for generations to come.
