UN Unveils UN80 Action Plan to Drive System-Wide Reforms

Steel workers hoist a girder in place in the meeting hall area of the UN Headquarters where construction was completed in June 1951.

The United Nations outlined how it intends to advance one of its most comprehensive system-wide reform efforts in decades, as Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder presented the UN80 Initiative Action Plan. The plan consolidates the Secretary-General’s major UN80 reform proposals into a single, coherent structure to streamline efforts and make the UN system more effective.

The plan does not introduce new proposals but details how the UN system intends to advance existing ones: 87 actions grouped into 31 work packages across three workstreams, spanning peace operations, humanitarian response, technology, shared services, and institutional mergers.

“Its purpose is to bring structure, transparency, and coherence, providing an operational framework to move ahead with all aspects of the UN80 Initiative—and to enable you to see how each element will progress: who is responsible, and on what timeline,” Mr Ryder told Member States during an Informal Meeting of the General Assembly.

A plan for UN transformation

The Action Plan sits at the heart of the UN80 Initiative, a bold, system-wide transformation designed to ensure that every dollar, decision, and mandate delivers greater results for people and the planet.

Launched in March 2025 and welcomed by the General Assembly in resolution 79/318, the Initiative focuses not on redefining the UN system’s purpose but on improving its structure, management, and coordination: modernising outdated arrangements, reducing bureaucracy, fragmentation, and duplication, and strengthening impact.

The UN80 Initiative advances through three workstreams, all united in the Action Plan:

Proposals to improve efficiency across the UN system, reflected in the revised estimates for the 2026 Secretariat programme budget.

The Report of the Mandate Implementation Review, under consideration by the Member State–led Informal Ad Hoc Working Group.

Shifting Paradigms: United to Deliver, the Secretary-General’s report outlining potential structural and programmatic realignments.

The Action Plan integrates these workstreams into one framework, clarifying responsibilities, timelines, and the intergovernmental bodies that will consider the proposals.

“If we maintain momentum and approach this initiative in the right spirit, the months ahead can be a moment of real transformation,” Mr Ryder said.

From three reports to 31 work packages

Practically, the Action Plan is a roadmap. It organizes the dense architecture of the UN80 Initiative into work packages, ranging from technical changes to far-reaching system shifts.

Some key packages target “big-ticket” reforms for a more coherent UN system. In peace and security, this includes new models for peace operations and better delegation of tasks and resources. In the humanitarian sphere, it advances the New Humanitarian Compact to simplify emergency responses, integrate supply chains, and expand common services to maximize impact per dollar spent.

Other work packages focus on the UN development system, including a “reset” of regional capacities and reconfiguration of UN Country Teams for greater cost-effectiveness and expertise integration. The plan also addresses potential mergers between UNDP and UNOPS, and UNFPA and UN Women, as well as the path forward for UNAIDS.

The Action Plan emphasizes joining all “operational enablers” underpinning the UN system: common data, shared technology platforms, unified supply chains, back-office functions, and streamlined training and research.

Steering Committee and Task Force at the centre

A new Steering Committee, chaired monthly by the Secretary-General, will ensure strategic direction and coherence among UN leaders. Beneath it, the UN80 Task Force, chaired by Mr Ryder, will meet weekly to coordinate implementation, monitor timelines, and prepare recommendations for the Steering Committee.

“All actions will be undertaken in accordance with applicable rules and procedures, the Charter, and the decisions, resolutions, and established practice of competent intergovernmental organs,” Mr Ryder noted.

The Action Plan includes proposals under three decision-making scenarios:

Proposals under the Secretary-General's authority.

Proposals requiring further work, including potential mergers.

Proposals with financial considerations submitted to the General Assembly for review and approval.

Not a solution to the funding gap—but part of the answer

The plan is being implemented amid serious funding cuts, with UN system resources projected to fall 25% from $66 billion in 2024 to $50 billion in 2026. The Secretary-General has emphasized that the UN80 Initiative is not a solution to the financial crisis but a commitment to protect maximum impact, especially in vulnerable settings.

A public dashboard for complex reforms

To help track this reform, the Secretariat launched an interactive UN80 Initiative Actions dashboard. Users can view each work package, its objectives, leadership, and connections to the foundational reports. The dashboard will be expanded with timelines and milestones and updated regularly.

For an initiative whose success will ultimately be measured by real-world impact rather than documents, the Action Plan marks a turning point: moving from design to a phase where progress, gaps, and results can be monitored in one place.