United Nations: More than 60 United Nations offices, agencies, and operations have been directed to propose a 20% staff reduction by mid-June amid a critical funding shortage. The cuts will impact approximately 2,800 of the 14,000 positions covered by the regular budget, according to UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Affected entities include the UN’s political and humanitarian offices, as well as agencies focused on refugee assistance, gender equality, international trade, environmental issues, and urban development. The UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is also among those facing reductions.
UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan informed affected agencies that the staff cuts align with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' plan to reduce the UN's $3.72 billion budget by 15% to 20%. The reductions are part of the UN80 reform initiative, launched in March ahead of the organisation’s 80th anniversary.
Guterres has denied any link between the cuts and foreign aid reductions under US President Donald Trump, instead attributing them to dwindling UN resources over the past seven years. Many member states fail to pay their dues in full or on time, exacerbating financial strain.
The US, as the world's largest economy, is responsible for 22% of the regular budget, while China’s share recently increased to 20%. In 2024, 152 of the UN’s 193 member states paid their dues in full, including China, while 41—among them the United States—did not.
In an executive order dated Feb. 4, Trump ordered a review within 180 days of US participation in and funding for all international organisations, including the United Nations.
The controller's memo, obtained Thursday night by The Associated Press, gives advice to the heads of agencies on which posts to cut: “Assess functions based on efficiency; Prioritise based on impact; Target redundant, overlapping or non-critical functions or roles for consolidation or abolition.” Guterres and his predecessors in past decades have struggled to reform the United Nations, which was established following World War II, and bring it into a modern era with different powers, new technology and greater global divisions.
One key problem is that while the secretary-general is the UN's chief executive, power rests with the 193 member nations, which have very different ideas about the UN and the world.
The proposed cuts must be submitted to the controller by June 13. Dujarric said they will be incorporated into Guterres' proposed 2026 budget, to be adopted by the General Assembly in December.
The UN’s 11 peacekeeping missions operate under a separate budget, while many agencies rely entirely on voluntary contributions, including the Rome-based World Food Program (WFP).
Several UN bodies had already planned staff reductions and cost-cutting measures, with officials citing funding cuts—primarily from the United States—and warning of severe impacts on essential relief programs. WFP is set to reduce its workforce by up to 30%, while the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) intends to downsize headquarters and regional offices by 30% and cut senior positions by 50%, according to internal memos obtained by the AP.
Other agencies, such as UNICEF and OCHA, have also announced or are preparing similar reductions.
(inputs from PTI)