UN chief eyes leadership cuts as part of reform push

GENEVA - The United Nations aims to reduce and abolish senior leadership positions over the next two years as part of its reforms, its Secretary-General said on Thursday, as he seeks to streamline the 80-year-old institution which some consider top-heavy.

Antonio Guterres, whose 10 years as U.N. chief draw to a close at the end of 2026, has called for decisive reform and cost-cutting amid a financial crisis due partly to unpaid fees, including from top contributor the United States.

He has hailed significant progress in the so-called 'UN80' reforms so far, citing a cut in the 2026 budget and the transfer of over 2,000 jobs out of expensive cities like Geneva and New York to lower-cost hubs.

But further measures are needed, he told the General Assembly in New York, adding that member states held the key.

"Genuine reform requires tough choices. This is no time for complacency, self-interest, or foot-dragging," he said.

ELITE JOBS IN FOCUS

Next year's budget will include moves to reduce hierarchical layers and start the process of senior-level post reductions to be continued in 2028, Guterres said, without giving specifics. Transfers to cheaper hubs will continue, he said.

U.N. cost savings plans for 2026 enacted far smaller cuts to senior staff than to the lower ranks, according to budget documents, despite a swelling number of senior posts in recent decades.

Many of these posts are unofficially reserved for major powers who jealously guard them as sources of prestige and influence.

Guterres urged states to drive more ambitious reforms, saying "bureaucratic inertia and defensiveness" were hampering some changes, like the merger or closure of U.N. agencies.

"At this stage, the overall direction and scale of UN80 lie in the hands of Member States to determine," he said.

The United States, which owes the organisation around $4 billion and has announced plans to withdraw from many U.N. bodies, has repeatedly called for a more efficient United Nations focused on peace and security.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi this week voiced support for reform goals. "Overlapping bodies and mandates in the U.N. system should be streamlined, resources be better integrated and a culture of efficiency be promoted," he told reporters in New York.

Some of the five candidates vying to replace Guterres as secretary-general have also expressed the need to reform or reinvent multilateralism.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.