Without Liquidity Reserves Fully Replenished by Year’s End, Cash-Saving Measures Will Limit Mandate Delivery in 2025, Secretary-General Tells Fifth Committee
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the General Assembly on the proposed programme budget for 2025, in New York today:
I welcome this opportunity to introduce the proposed programme budget for 2025.
I do so in a context of a multiplicity of challenges and with a strong sense of urgency.
In a context of major global shocks, the United Nations is more needed than ever — with our unmatched convening power.
The Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations represent a commitment towards updating and reforming international cooperation to make it more networked, effective, fair and inclusive.
The 2025 programme budget proposal reflects in many ways the priorities set out in these landmark agreements.
The proposal renews our commitment to deliver on our mandates to advance peace, sustainable development and human rights. At the same time, we will continue to work to cement our reforms, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
In the new digital age, the United Nations has an essential part to play.
We reached a milestone with the Global Digital Compact, which includes the first truly universal agreement on the international governance of artificial intelligence with the UN at its centre.
In December 2022, the General Assembly lifted the trial period and formalized the change to an annual budget period.
The format of the programme budget has stabilized. The programme plans reflect our increased results orientation.
Our 350 results frameworks continue to move further towards demonstrating the impact and positive change of our work on the ground.
The planned targets have become more ambitious.
More than 65 per cent of quantitative planned targets are now aiming to achieve a 10 per cent or more increase in performance. This is an increase from less than 30 per cent in the 2018-19 biennium, 45 per cent for 2023 and 60 per cent for 2024.
We have reduced duplication in the strategies and deliverables, while maintaining the same level of programmatic information.
Every programme manager is expected to scrutinize every dollar spent and planned to be spent. And they must constantly review and adjust programmatic activities to achieve planned results. This will allow us to optimize resources for mandate delivery and focus even more effectively on results.
Let me now turn to the overall resource requirements.
To fully implement our mandates, we will require a total of $3.6 billion in 2025.
Excluding special political missions, this includes a total of 10,494 posts, representing a net increase of 115 posts required to implement new or strengthen existing mandates.
The proposed budget also includes $711 million for the continuation of 36 special political missions for 2025.
This reflects a decrease of $31 million from last year primarily because of the discontinuation of the field mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and our investigative team to promote accountability for the crimes committed in Iraq by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD).
In line with the usual practice, you will consider later in the session additional proposals for construction, revised estimates and programme budget implications resulting from new or revised mandates. These include revised estimates in support of the implementation of the Pact of the Future and for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
We continue to make every effort to find efficiencies while also recognizing that any further cuts to support departments risk jeopardizing policy, operational, or communication support to our programmatic work.
Allow me to highlight five specific elements of our 2025 programme budget proposals:
First, we propose to continue our investment in sustainable development.
We propose an increase of approximately $4.5 million, the sixth consecutive annual increase for the development pillar.
The regular programme of technical cooperation — or RPTC — will be a key recipient.
The increases will further strengthen the direct support provided to Governments to help advance their development efforts.
With the proposed increase of $2 million, resources for the regular programme of technical cooperation will have grown by more than 45 per cent since 2019.
The proposed increase in the regular programme of technical cooperation will be split evenly between all entities.
However, we propose an additional $0.5 million for the Economic Commission for Africa for technical assistance and advice to Member States on the 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
Our proposal also includes an increase of $1 million for the Development Account to enhance and expand targeted, country-level capacity development support and to broaden the dissemination of the projects’ results to more countries.
We also seek increases of $0.6 million for the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and $0.75 million for the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Further, we want to strengthen the UN development system through structural changes to help ensure sufficient and predictable funding — and enhanced accountability.
The resident coordinator system has faced a chronic funding shortfall since day one.
A sustainable and predictable funding mechanism, through partial financing from the regular budget, is essential. My proposal for assessed funding is under review by this Committee. It is important to reach a decision on this topic.
Member States’ expectations of the resident coordinator system are growing.
The effects of the funding gap are felt every day. For example, the recruitment for 78 posts across 52 countries has been suspended.
We also seek to put the small System-Wide Evaluation Office on a firmer footing with regular budget funding.
This will further enhance transparency and ensure effective, independent evaluation of the UN development system at the country level — the raison d’etre of the UN Sustainable Development Goals System-Wide Evaluation Office.
Second, human rights.
The proposal includes an additional $8.3 million to support the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic and ensure its functioning at full capacity in 2025.
We are also seeking an increase of $8 million for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for more effective implementation of mandates, especially at the regional level.
Additionally, based on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions and the guidance from the General Assembly, we have included resource requirements that will arise from anticipated mandate renewals by the Human Rights Council later in the year.
By presenting these resource requirements now rather than separately later in the session, Member States have a more complete picture of the resources being sought for the Office. This will also reduce fragmentation and increase transparency.
Let me emphasize that this consolidation, which amounts to $28.8 million, does not represent an increase in resources — only a change in presentation.
Third, boosting support for the unprecedented humanitarian challenges in Gaza, with approximately $3.5 million in additional resources.
This includes an increase of nearly $2.5 million for UNRWA which complements the additional $30 million approved for 2024. UNRWA is a lifeline for Palestine refugees, and a crucial factor for regional stability.
Fourth, advancing peace and security.
This includes an increase of $2.5 million for disarmament, including the establishment of nine posts to implement activities requested by the General Assembly. We are also seeking an increase of $1 million for the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process to intensify its vital work.
Following the landmark decision of the General Assembly, we will address persistent funding challenges of the Peacebuilding Fund due to its exclusive reliance on voluntary contributions — by approving a $50 million grant for the Peacebuilding and Recovery Facility of the Peacebuilding Fund starting in 2025.
And fifth, strengthening our capacities in investigation and ethics.
We are seeking an approximately $2 million increase for the creation of three temporary positions for the Ethics Office and ten for the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
With the structural aspects of the reforms now well consolidated, it is imperative to keep working together to achieve the cultural change for results.
Our 2025 budget continues to strive towards our shared vision for UN 2.0, through a forward-thinking workforce culture, empowered by cutting-edge skills.
Gender equality and geographical representation remain priorities.
We are working nonstop to ensure that our workforce reflects the membership of the United Nations.
The General Assembly decision to increase the number of geographical posts has enabled us to reduce the total countries that were un- or under-represented and over-represented. 120 countries are now within range compared to 103 in December 2023.
We are revising our strategy for equitable geographical distribution to focus on attracting more staff from countries that are un- or under-represented.
Through our resident coordinator system and UN Information Centres, we have launched targeted outreach strategies in those countries, namely in many of the developing countries that are under-represented.
In the same vein, we strive to expand opportunities for recruitment from as wide a geographical basis as possible for all posts.
All these efforts are yielding results. For example, at the start of the UN development system reform, 41 per cent of resident coordinators were from the Global South. Today, this number has increased to 57 per cent.
We have successfully maintained gender parity at senior levels and, based on current projections, we will be able to reach parity at an organizational level before 2028.
But we must do more to achieve parity at every entity and every level.
We are also working on the next phase of our system-wide disability inclusion strategy and making progress in our efforts to combat racism and racial discrimination at work.
The proposal before you reflects our ambition to respond to new threats and opportunities.
For us to deliver on our promises, Member States must also honour their commitments to this Organization.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of programme delivery and use of financial resources in 2025 will depend on the availability of cash.
I hope that we can end the current trend of declining liquidity.
The Organization started this year with only about $67 million in cash, compared to $700 million last year, making it extremely vulnerable to adverse changes in payment patterns of assessed contributions.
On top of that, the Organization had to return $114 million as credits to Member States as part of the 2024 assessments, which meant that we would collect less than the budget approved for 2024, even if all Member States pay in full in 2024.
The depletion of the regular budget liquidity reserves at the end of 2023 therefore necessitated imposing stringent cash-conservation measures from the very beginning of 2024.
Unless the liquidity reserves are replenished fully at the end of this year, cash conservation measures are again likely to constrain budget implementation in 2025.
This is why I have proposed that the General Assembly temporarily suspend the return of credits for 2023 against the 2025 assessment.
The credits will be held in a reserve and released to Member States as soon as conditions improve.
This is critical to both minimize the risk of negative impact on programme delivery and the ability to fulfil even non-discretionary commitments to personnel and third-party partners in 2025.
I once again urge Member States to meet their financial obligations in full and on time.
I thank Member States that have paid in advance or earlier than before, and have made adjustments to their internal processes to continue to pay earlier.
We will keep monitoring the situation and reach out to Member States to pay in full and inform us of their plans so we can adapt our spending based as needed.
However, when programme delivery is repeatedly constrained by liquidity, past spending patterns become less reliable indicators of the real needs of the Organization.
The outcome of the Summit of the Future has opened pathways to new possibilities and opportunities towards securing a peaceful and liveable future for everyone on our planet.
Against this backdrop, I look forward to your support for my 2025 programme budget proposal.
I welcome this opportunity to engage with you today and assure you that my senior managers will continue to support your deliberations on these proposals.