A leaked, confidential document obtained by Digital reveals that the United Nations is considering various methods to reorganize the institution. The six-page document highlights inefficiencies and areas needing improvement to address “geopolitical shifts and substantial reductions in foreign aid budgets” that are impacting the organization’s legitimacy and effectiveness.

Hugh Dugan, former National Security Council Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Organization Affairs, told Digital that this effort is overdue by “eight and a half years.” He suggested that Secretary-General António Guterres should resign to allow for an early election of a new leader with a “fresh mandate” to overhaul the U.N.

The UN80 Task Force document identifies “overlapping mandates, inefficient use of resources, and inconsistent delivery of services” as problems caused by the proliferation of agencies, funds, and programs. It suggests integrating, consolidating, and coordinating reformed entities to maximize benefits for those relying on the U.N.

To reduce expenses, the task force also recommended decreasing the number of high-level positions, establishing single entities to coordinate Peace and Security, Humanitarian Affairs, and Human Rights, and “reduc[ing] the number of U.N. development system entities.”

Dugan characterized the document as resembling a “whiteboard stream of consciousness approach” from a business retreat’s first day. He criticized its lack of attention to human resource improvements, attracting top talent, or “identifying performance measurements or metrics against the leaders of the organization, branches, [or] offices.”

Dugan also noted the task force’s failure to increase member buy-in and maintain their “impressed and enthusiastic” attitude towards U.N. programs. He stated that the task force members are wrongly assuming they are “the right people at the right time,” calling this a “real shortcoming.”

Dugan expressed his lack of confidence in the current leadership’s ability to navigate the challenges ahead, stating, “I don’t think they have the confidence of the world community or the talents or the resources to hold out another year and a half under this regime of Secretary Guterres.” He urged the U.N. to move beyond a “Noah’s Ark management mentality” and instead “get very creative very quickly with what they have at hand.”

Dugan pointed out the U.N.’s “fall-off in relevance” due to its limited involvement in “.” He called for the organization to identify its strengths and eliminate its weaknesses after eight years, referring to this as identifying “the multilateral collateral.”

In response to Dugan’s concerns, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, stated that the memo reflects an effort to gather ideas from senior officials to achieve the Secretary-General’s vision and is part of “the three work streams that we are working on.”

Dujarric highlighted Guterres’ March speech introducing the UN80 Initiative, in which he advocated for an “ambitious reform agenda to strengthen how we work and deliver.” Guterres emphasized the need for increased transparency and accountability, greater effectiveness, cost reduction, and decentralized decision-making to better serve those who rely on the U.N.

Dujarric also referenced Guterres’ September 2017 speech, where he criticized the U.N.’s complex bureaucracy and announced his intention to pursue “sweeping management reform – to simplify procedures and decentralize decisions, with greater transparency, efficiency and accountability.”

Dugan believes that Guterres’ failure to implement these “sweeping” reforms before 2025 indicates . He reiterated that “the Secretary-General’s ‘Trust me’ window dressing is no longer convincing us to pay full retail.”

U.S. contributions to the U.N. may also be affected. In April, a White House Office of Management and Budget expressed a desire to discontinue funding for international organizations, including the U.N.

Other countries are also failing to meet their contribution obligations. In March, Guterres’ spokesperson Farhan Haq informed Digital that member states’ unpaid dues had led to the temporary closure of a staff entrance at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.

 

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