The United Nations General Assembly has started in New York with the world grappling with armed violence, massive migration, deepening inequalities, and eroding trust in the effectiveness of the U.N. as indicated by the shrinking budgets of the U.N. and its Specialized Agencies. In order to improve trust, the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has requested a study called UN80 to streamline operations, sharpen impact, and reaffirm the U.N.'s relevance for a rapidly changing world.
UN80 was drawn up under the leadership of Guy Ryder, now the U.N. Under-Secretary General for Policy and chair of the UN80 Task Force. Guy Ryder was the long-time director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and before that, the U.N. representative in Geneva of a major branch of the world trade union movement. I knew Guy Ryder well in his NGO representative days.
UN80 makes proposals to improve coordination, reduce fragmentation, and realign functions when needed. The report stresses the clear urgency of reforms. The UN80 report merits close study both by governments and non-governmental organizations. Unfortunately, the deep divisions among governments is such that any agreed-upon changes are unlikely. Nevertheless, the discussions on UN80 will be important to analyse.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens
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