UN Development system: Increasingly under-resourced - UN Chief | United Nations

Secretary-General António Guterres said, “the United Nations development system today is more coherent, more accountable and more closely aligned with national priorities than it has ever been before,” however, it is “increasingly under-resourced.” The UN chief spoke at the opening of the ECOSOC Operational Activities for Development Segment in New York. Guterres highlighted four areas where action is essential to ensure the UN can deliver with the scale and urgency needed. First is more effective alignment with country and regional priorities, he said, reiterating “we must ensure that Resident Coordinators can optimally lead Country Teams in fast-evolving contexts and apply the full extent of the UN development system’s support on key issues, including climate change.” Guterres continued, “We are also assessing potential mergers — between UNDP and UNOPS, and UNFPA and UN Women — to strengthen our ability to advance sustainable development and gender equality, while advocating for the rights of women, girls and youth.” “At every step, we will respect mandates, consult with Member States and ensure that reforms do not affect ongoing UN operations,” the Secretary-General said. Second, on continuing the next phase of reform under the UN80 initiative, Guterres said the Initiative contains key proposals to identify efficiencies and ensure a greater share of resources — human and financial — are allocated for development results. He noted joint knowledge hubs to streamline knowledge in priority areas; an expertise-on-demand mechanism for countries to access specialized UN capacity; a unified service roadmap to expand shared services; and a technology accelerator platform and a system-wide data commons so countries can access the tools and information they need. On funding, the Secretary-General emphasized the need for “more stable, predictable and flexible funding.” He urged Member States to “reach the 30 per cent core funding target called for by the Funding Compact, and help equip the system to deliver and succeed.” And fourth, in the final years towards 2030, the Secretary-General urged Member States to continue the push to achieve the SDGs. He said, “in the context of today’s out-of-control military spending, countries need to reprioritize, and spend more on the instruments of peace and development and less on the instruments of destruction and death.” The UN chief renewed his call to Member States to support UN’s efforts to “reform the global financial architecture and deliver meaningful debt relief to countries swamped by debt.” The Operational Activities for Development Segment (OAS) is held from 1 to 3 June 2026. The Segment meets annually to provide overall coordination and guidance to the governing bodies of the United Nations development system. It reinforces the linkages between policy and operational functions while continuing to focus on improving the overall impact of operational activities for development of the United Nations system in support of issues relating to national development priorities.