• The UN Charter was signed on June 26, 1945 by representatives of the 50 countries attending the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco.

• It came into force on October 24, 1945.

• This year marked the 80th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter.

• In March this year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced a new initiative aimed at improving efficiencies at the 80-year-old world organisation.

UN80 Initiative

• It seeks not only to improve efficiency, but also to reassert the value of multilateralism at a time when trust is low and needs are high. 

• It aims to reinforce the UN’s capacity to respond to today’s global challenges  — ranging from conflict, displacement, and inequality to climate shocks and rapid technological change — while also responding to external pressures such as shrinking budgets and growing political divisions in the multilateral space.

Three tracks of reform

At the heart of UN80 are three major workstreams: 

i) The first is focused on improving internal efficiency and effectiveness, cutting red tape, and optimising the UN’s global footprint by relocating some functions to lower-cost duty stations. 

ii) The second workstream is a mandate implementation review, which involves examining nearly 4,000 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. These mandates guide what the UN does — from peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid to human rights and environmental action. Over the decades, at least 40,000 mandates have accumulated, sometimes overlapping or becoming outdated, which is why reviewing them is a key part of the UN80 initiative .

iii) The third stream explores whether structural changes and programme realignment are needed across the UN System.

• To tackle reform across such a complex system, the Secretary-General established seven thematic clusters under the UN80 Task Force, each coordinated by senior UN leaders from across the system. These cover peace and security, humanitarian action, development (Secretariat and UN system), human rights, training and research, and specialised agencies.

• Each cluster is expected to produce proposals to improve coordination, reduce fragmentation, and realign functions where needed. Several clusters have already submitted initial ideas. A broader set of proposals will follow in July.

• The UN80 Task Force will present its proposals to the Secretary-General, who has already indicated the first areas where outcomes are expected. 

• A working group on efficiencies in the UN Secretariat is expected to deliver initial proposals by the end of June. A report on the mandate implementation review will follow at the end of July.

• This work under the first two workstreams will help inform broader thinking around structural changes and programme realignment across the UN system. Proposals under the third workstream will be put forward to Member States in the coming months and into next year.

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