UN headquarters building in New York. The UN presented an Action Plan that sets the course for reforming the entire Organization UN
Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder unveiled the UN 80 Action Plan, which brings together the Secretary-General’s key UN reform proposals into a single, coherent framework aimed at streamlining the UN system and making it more effective.
The document does not contain new proposals it defines how the UN system will promote already developed ideas regarding peacekeeping operations, humanitarian response, technology development and institutional associations.
“The purpose of the Action Plan is to ensure orderliness, transparency and coherence, and to provide an operational framework for advancing all aspects of UN80,” Ryder stressed at an informal meeting in the General Assembly. “The plan will also track how each element will be implemented: who is responsible for what and in what time frame.”
Reform Route
UN 80 is paving the way to transform the entire system of the Organization – so that it works better and so that every decision, every dollar spent and every mandate brings more benefits to people and the planet overall.
The initiative was launched in March 2025 and received the approval of the General Assembly in resolution 79/318. It does not change the functions of the UN system. The initiative focuses on reforming the structure, management and coordination of the Organization, which involves modernizing outdated mechanisms, reducing bureaucracy, fragmentation and duplication, and enhancing efficiency.
Road Map
An action plan in practice is a road map. It breaks down the complex architecture of the UN 80 initiative into specific areas of work, including both purely technical changes and large-scale system transformations. structures;
Under the umbrella of the Steering Committee, the UN-80 Working Group, headed by Ryder, will operate. It will meet weekly to coordinate, monitor timelines and make recommendations.
Guy Ryder noted that all actions will be carried out in accordance with the UN Charter and the practice of the competent intergovernmental bodies.
Financial context
The action plan is being implemented in the context of severe cuts UN funding: the system’s resources are estimated to decrease by 25 percent – from 66 billion dollars in 2024 to 50 billion in 2026.