UNITED NATIONS, CMC -Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries are being urged to submit proposals for consideration after the United Nations released a report examining how its mandates are created, delivered, and reviewed.
The report forms part of the UN80 Initiative, which overall seeks to support a more aligned, efficient, and results-oriented UN system.
The review focuses on mandates issued by the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the Human Rights Council, along with their subsidiary bodies. These mandates are the collective will of member states guiding the United Nations in all aspects of its work.
The UN said that over the past eight decades, thousands of such instructions have been adopted, establishing peacekeeping missions, advancing sustainable development goals, responding to humanitarian crises, and promoting human rights.
It said the mandates are implemented by UN personnel in over 190 countries and territories and directly improve the lives of more than 440 million people each year.
“At each stage, the report offers possible actions. Some are for member states’ consideration. Others are directed to the Secretariat, as appropriate. But one principle runs through them all: We must never lose sight of the people we serve. Mandates are not ends in themselves. They are tools – to deliver real results, in real lives, in the real world,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The report does not assess the merits of individual mandates, which remain the responsibility of member states. Instead, the report focuses on systemic challenges and offers practical proposals for improvement across the full lifecycle of mandates.
Among the systemic challenges identified in the report are the duplication of mandates across different UN bodies, inadequate coordination of their implementation by the UN system, fragmentation in mandate delivery, a growing gap between mandates and resources, and uneven mandate review mechanisms.
The report proposes a series of possible solutions, some to be undertaken by the Secretary-General within his authority, and others requiring action by member states.
The report is part of the broader UN80 Initiative launched by the Secretary-General in March 2025, which includes two additional workstreams focused on organizational efficiency and improvement, as well as potential structural changes and programmatic realignment within the UN system.
The General Assembly endorsed the overall direction of this initiative in resolution 79/318, encouraging proposals to strengthen the impact and agility of the UN while reducing duplication and improving mandate delivery.
The Secretary-General is committed to acting immediately in areas within his existing authority. Member states will consider how to respond to the proposals, with one option being launching an intergovernmental process to review and act on the report’s findings. Further analysis will continue under the UN80 Initiative.
The UN said that as the global body steps up its implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the Pact for the Future, this report marks an essential step toward shaping a more agile and accountable organization, better aligned with the scale and urgency of today’s global challenges.
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