The UN General Assembly adopted an important resolution to strengthen the work of the UN system

This step marks an important milestone below UN80 Initiativea system-wide reform effort to make the UN more effective, coherent, and better equipped to deliver results in a changing world.

Speaking in the General Assembly Hall, Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the adoption, calling it a “historic resolution” and a “big step”.

“The resolution adopted today reflects a shared understanding of the full life cycle of the mandate – and a joint commitment to strengthen every stephe said to Member States. “Today’s resolution helps translate the ambitions of the UN80 Initiative into concrete and practical action.”

Why mandates are important

By creating mandates, Member States instruct and guide the entire UN system on how to address global challenges: from supporting peace and security and providing humanitarian assistance, to advancing development and protecting human rights.

But over time, the many mandates given have created practical challenges.

Since 1946, more than 40,000 resolutions, decisions and presidential statements have been adopted in major UN bodies. – a landscape that is increasingly difficult to navigate.

This contributes to duplication and overlap, a proliferation of reports and meetings, and limited visibility and review mechanisms across the system.

This can place a heavy burden for Member States and the UN systemwhile also making it difficult to implement the mandate effectively and efficiently.

‘A more structured approach’

This resolution introduces, for the first time, a more structured approach across the mandate lifecycle – from design to implementation and review.

In practice, this means:

· A clearer and more focused mandatesupported by better information for early decision making;

· More robust and coordinated implementationwith increased use of data, more user-oriented reporting, and more effective use of resources;

· A more systematic review results, helping ensure the mandate remains relevant and impactful, strengthening a culture of continuous improvement, based on evidence, accountability and results.

· Increased transparency through better digital tools, including through the expanded UN Mandate Registry, which provides Member States with more consolidated and comparable information on mandates, resources and results.

Why this is important

This resolution is intended to make it easier for member states to navigate an increasingly complex mandate landscape, while helping the UN reduce duplication, fragmentation and inefficiency.

By strengthening the way mandates are designed, delivered and reviewed, it aims to improve the way the UN system translates decisions into results.

What happened next

This resolution is based on the informal work of the General Assembly Ad Hoc Working Group for Study of Mandate Implementationco-chaired by Jamaica and New Zealand.

The Working Group was established by the General Assembly to consider the proposals contained in the Secretary-General’s Decree of July 2025. Mandate Implementation Study reportprepared under Workstream 2 of the UN80 Initiative.

The report examines how mandates are created, implemented and reviewed across the UN system, and sets out proposals to strengthen each stage of the mandate life cycle.

The resolution was decided to be submitted through a formal Ad Hoc Working Group for the Review of the Implementation of the Mandate, open to all Member States and observers. These tasks include, for example, developing better practical templates, stronger review clauses, and further review of existing mandates.

“This is a big step. But this is just the beginning. We will work as one coherent Organization – guided by the Working Group – to improve how the mandate is supported and implemented”, said Guterres while reiterating that this process remains led by Member States.

Echoing this sentiment, it President of the General AssemblyAnnalena Baerbock, said that this adoption marked an important step in broader reform efforts and invited Member States to continue to engage in the next phase of work.

“Today we take an important step to make the UN more agile, more efficient, more effective and fit for the future, so that it can provide better services to the communities we serve.”, he said.

Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the General Assembly meeting on strengthening the United Nations System.

UN80 Initiative

The resolution is the latest milestone of the UN80 Initiative. Launched by the Secretary-General a year ago, the Initiative is designed to impact the UN from the top to the bottom, so that every mandate, dollar and decision delivers maximum value for people and the planet.

Next Monday, the General Assembly will hold an informal meeting to receive the latest information on the matter UN80 Initiative Action Planincluding the proposal below workflow 3 which outlines possible structural adjustments and programs to better align the UN System. It will be broadcast live UNWebTV.