2 reports of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2025.
2025A/80/112Strengthening the effectiveness and impact of the Development Account report of the Secretary-General
2025A/80/153Strengthening the effectiveness of the regular programme of technical cooperation report of the Secretary-General
iIdentified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.
What does this mandate say?
94 operative paragraphs
1
Reaffirms rule 153 of its rules of procedure;
2
Also reaffirms the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation;
3
Further reaffirms the Financial Regulations and Rules of the United Nations;
4
Reaffirms its resolution 79/247 of 24 December 2024;
5
Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee of Administrative and Budgetary Questions, subject to the provisions of the present resolution;
6
Reaffirms that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibilities for administrative and budgetary matters, and reaffirms the role of the Fifth Committee in carrying out a thorough analysis and approving human and financial resources and policies, with a view to ensuring full, effective and efficient implementation of all mandated programmes and activities and the implementation of policies in this regard;
7
Also reaffirms the established budgetary procedures and methodologies, based on its resolutions 41/213 and 42/211, and reaffirms that no changes to the budget methodology, established budgetary procedures and practices or the financial regulations may be implemented without prior review and approval by the General Assembly in accordance with established budgetary procedures;
8
Notes the Secretary-General’s initiative to present a report on improving the financial situation of the Organization at the first part of the resumed seventy-ninth session;
9
Recognizes that patterns of underexpenditure across various budget lines under the ongoing liquidity challenges of the Organization can be linked to limited released allotments, and stresses that this specific type of underexpenditure should not be used to achieve budgetary savings;
10
Reiterates the need for Member States to participate fully in the budget preparation process, from its early stages and throughout the process;
11
Requeststhe Secretary-General to continue his efforts to achieve transparency and improve the accuracy, comprehensiveness and analysability of the budgetary data, refine the presentation of the proposed programme budget, and to provide complete, clear, comparable and transparent financial data to the General Assembly, including both gross and net requirements, and preliminary cost estimates that are available for the respective year at the time of publication of the proposed programme budget, such as, inter alia, total construction and total recosting estimates, so as to give clarity on the real growth of the budget request to enable Member States to make well-informed decisions;
12
Stresses that results-based budgeting and results-based management are mutually supportive management tools and that improved implementation of results-based budgeting shall enhance both management and accountability in the Secretariat, and encourages the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to improve the presentation of the proposed programme budget and ensure that resources are clearly linked to a results-based budgeting framework and reflect existing mandates and the measures to achieve them;
13
Requeststhe Secretary-General to take measures in the programme budget to promote a culture of effectiveness and cost-efficiency across the Secretariat, similar to the approach taken under special political missions, being cognizant of the importance of optimizing the use of Member State resources;
14
Also requeststhe Secretary-General to ensure that all activities promote cost-efficiency and transparency, are implemented in accordance with the United Nations legislative framework, including the Financial Regulations and Rules, while maintaining full accountability to the General Assembly, and that whenever new proposals lead to requests for additional resources, sufficient efforts are first made to meet the new requirements using existing resources;
15
Further requeststhe Secretary-General to ensure effective and efficient utilization of available resources and programme delivery by senior managers and programme managers, including through clearly defined results-based performance indicators and benchmarks that provide feedback to senior managers and programme managers and drive improvements on the delivery of mandates;
16
Urgesall Member States to fulfil their financial obligations as set out in the Charter of the United Nations on time, in full and without conditions;
17
Requeststhe Secretary-General to make every effort to facilitate Member States’ payments of their contributions, including in cases when there are circumstances beyond their control in making payments;
18
Stresses that full, effective and efficient mandate delivery is the overriding factor in determining the Secretariat’s resource requirements and its overall staffing structure, with due regard to identifying efficiencies and avoiding duplication of efforts, including through improved coordination and cooperation among departments and entities;
19
Requeststhe Secretary-General to continue to strengthen internal controls in programme planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting;
20
Regrets that despite its previous observations, general temporary assistance continues to be used for purposes other than those for which it is intended, stresses that general temporary assistance positions, not temporary posts, are the proper arrangement for additional support during periods of exceptional and/or peak workload and the replacement of staff on parental leave or extended sick leave and should be kept to an absolute minimum to meet short-term requirements, and requests the Secretary-General to provide justifications in the next budget proposals for the continuation of any general temporary assistance positions exceeding 729 days since initial appointment;
21
Reiterates its concern about the high number of vacancies, and requests the Secretary-General to fill vacant positions expeditiously, and to conduct a review on how to effectively utilize existing posts, including those that have been vacant for 24 months or longer, and to report the results of the review by proposing either their retention, with clear justification of need, changing of post or proposing their abolishment, as appropriate, in his future reports;
22
Stresses the importance of using realistic and consistent vacancy rate assumptions when formulating post resources budget requests;
23
Notes the provision of additional information to Member States through the Umoja portal, and requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to provide accurate and precise information in this regard and further enhance this information where possible;
24
Requeststhe Secretary-General to include data on cancelled prior-period obligations in the programme budget and the Umoja portal;
25
Stresses that finance serves as a foundation of and an important element underpinning United Nations governance;
26
Also stresses the importance of early and meaningful engagement with Member States to outline the implementation of the recent General Assembly resolutions on budgetary matters and their impact on the presentation format of the proposed programme budget;
27
Recalls financial regulation 2.10 and rule 153 of the rules of procedure, and reiterates that no resolution involving expenditure shall be recommended by a committee for approval by the General Assembly unless it is accompanied by an estimate of expenditures prepared by the Secretary-General;
28
Also recalls its resolutions 77/262 and 78/252, notes that zero-based budgeting should be applied to end the automaticity in resource proposals, further notes that spending reviews should be based on uniform guidance to carry out this exercise, in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Organization, and therefore requests the Secretary-General to create a common framework for spending reviews by all entities and improve the coherence of the exercise, which includes:
a
Reorganization of existing resources based on zero-based budgeting;
b
Improved workforce planning, with repurposed existing and vacant posts and general temporary assistance positions, as well as abolishment, where necessary;
c
An evaluation of new ways to optimize resource allocation to enable more efficient mandate delivery and the generation of meaningful efficiencies;
d
Conduct of the review in conjunction with a review of the programmatic aspects of the entity, in adherence with the Regulations and Rules Governing Programme Planning, the Programme Aspects of the Budget, the Monitoring of Implementation and the Methods of Evaluation;
e
Presentation of the clear plan, time frame and results in a more comprehensive and consolidated manner, detailing the efficiency gains and the operational improvements, in the proposed programme budget;
29
Decides to recost only the post resources of the proposed programme budget as from 2026, pending the comprehensive review of the annual programme budget cycle at the eighty-third session;
30
Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to undertake pre-posting of job openings irrespective of the liquidity situation of the Organization and to proactively approach pre-posting of vacancies in order to be in a position to expeditiously proceed to the appointment of the selected candidates and complete onboarding actions;
31
Decides to reduce the recosting of non-post resources by 5,500,000 United States dollars;
32
Also decides that the staffing table for 2025 shall be as set out in the annex to the present resolution;
33
Further decides that a vacancy rate of 11.1 per cent for Professional staff and 9.1 per cent for General Service staff shall be used as a basis for the calculation of the budget for 2025;
Part I
Overall policymaking, direction and coordination
Section 1
Overall policymaking, direction and coordination
34
Requeststhe Secretary-General to explore synergies among entities under section 1, Overall policymaking, direction and coordination, to enhance efficiencies in the effective implementation of their specific mandates, and provide an update in the next proposed programme budget;
35
Reaffirms that the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict should be provided with the necessary resources to effectively implement the mandate, including to ensure that the monitoring and reporting mechanism collects and communicates accurate, objective, reliable and verifiable information;
Section 2
General Assembly and Economic and Social Council affairs and conference management
36
Recognizes the budgetary and operational factors influencing the provision of the interpretation and translation services provided by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, and encourages the Secretary-General to strengthen efforts to address these challenges, and engage with Member States and receive feedback on opportunities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of these services, for presentation to the General Assembly at its eightieth session;
Part II
Political affairs
Section 3
Political affairs
37
Recalls paragraph 17 of its resolution 78/257, reiterates its request that the Secretary-General report to the General Assembly, on an annual basis, on the proposed programme budget for the Peacebuilding Account, in a format similar to the budget presentation under section 35, Development Account, of the proposed programme budget, with an annex listing the proposed projects, beneficiary countries, budget per country, and objectives, and also requests the Secretary-General to provide additional supplementary information, such as a summary of available budgetary information, as appropriate, in the course of the sessions of the Fifth Committee;
38
Also recalls paragraph 18 of its resolution 78/257, and reiterates its request that the Secretary-General report annually on the implementation, performance, progress and expenditure of projects funded by assessed contributions, and on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Auditors and the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions;
39
Encouragesthe Secretary-General to consider how to strengthen the coordination role of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process;
40
Decides to designate the current Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Southern African Development Community Liaison Team for Southern Africa as a Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Southern African Development Community Office for Southern Africa, without setting a precedent, and emphasizes the existing framework with regard to the role of the Fifth Committee in approving the budget of the Organization;
41
Encouragesthe Secretary-General to consider, within existing resources, how to strengthen the core capacity of the Office of Counter-Terrorism, to strengthen coordination across the United Nations system in fulfilling counter-terrorism mandates entrusted by the General Assembly under the leadership role of the Office, with a view to avoiding duplication and overlapping with other entities, optimizing the use of resources and delivering coherent and expert capacity-building activities in cooperation with Member States, and to report on issues identified and progress made in addressing them, in the next programme budget submission;
42
Decides to increase resources for the United Nations Office to the African Union by 250,000 dollars for the lease of two vehicles for 60 months;
43
Also decides to convert the following extrabudgetary positions to regular budget posts within the Countering Terrorism Section to support the Global Programme on Countering Terrorist Use of Weapons:
a
Programme Management Officer (P-3) in Madrid, established in 2013;
b
Programme Management Officer and Head of Unit (P-4) in Madrid, established in 2019;
44
Further decides to convert one P-4 post in the Office of the Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre from extrabudgetary to regular budget;
Section 4
Disarmament
45
Emphasizes that the subvention from the regular budget to the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research is a bridging financing mechanism to supplement insufficient voluntary contributions, and therefore encourages the Secretary-General to redouble his efforts to seek voluntary contributions for the Institute, including through broadening the donor base and holding regular consultations with the key stakeholders, as well as to implement innovative fundraising approaches;
46
Recalls paragraph II.75 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and decides to establish two posts of National Professional Officers, with one each in Lima and Kathmandu, under subprogramme 5, Regional disarmament;
Section 5
Peacekeeping operations
47
Takes note of paragraph II.114 of the report of the Advisory Committee;
Section 6
Peaceful uses of outer space
48
Takes note of paragraph II.150 of the report of the Advisory Committee;
Part III
International justice and law
Section 7
International Court of Justice
49
Takes note of paragraphs III.7, III.9, III.11, III.14 and III.16 of the report of the Advisory Committee;
Section 8
Legal Affairs
50
Takes note of paragraphs III.76, III.77, III.78, III.79 and III.81 of the report of the Advisory Committee;
51
Decides that regular budget resources for the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011 under section 8, Legal affairs, for 2025 amount to 19,343,800 dollars before recosting;
Part IV
International cooperation for development
Section 11
United Nations system support for the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want
52
Recalls that the development of Africa is an established priority of the United Nations, and reaffirms its commitment to addressing the unique needs of Africa;
53
Takes note of paragraph IV.58 of the report of the Advisory Committee;
54
Recalls paragraph IV.70 of the report of the Advisory Committee, welcomes the launch of the fellowship programme, and requests the Secretary-General to remain proactive in seeking voluntary contributions from Member States, in full compliance with all relevant rules and regulations of the Organization, and to provide detailed information on the matter in the context of his next progress report;
55
Notes the widening scope of cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union and the increased responsibilities of the United Nations in supporting Agenda 2063, and requests the Secretary-General to present initiatives, in the context of programme 9, United Nations system support for the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want – strategic partnership for progress towards implementation, to further support the implementation of Agenda 2063;
Section 16
International drug control, crime and terrorism prevention and criminal justice
56
Encouragesthe Secretary-General to consider, within existing resources, how to strengthen the core capacity of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to avoid duplication and overlap with other entities, including the Office of Counter-Terrorism, and to reallocate requirements accordingly, and report thereon in the next programme budget submission;
Part V
Regional cooperation for development
Section 18
Economic and social development in Africa
57
Recalls paragraph V.29 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and requests the Secretary-General to explore the related options and present a business case for establishing a harmonized fellowship programme, in line with existing regulations, rules and practices, as appropriate, across all the regional commissions as part of the proposed programme budget for 2026;
Section 23
Regular programme of technical cooperation
58
Recalls paragraphs V.117, V.122 and V.123 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and requests that the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the effectiveness of the regular programme of technical cooperation, to be presented at its eightieth session, reflect the following elements:
a
Options for models to enhance the coordination of the programme, including a uniform tracking system to monitor requests for assistance from Member States, so as to ensure that the most appropriate entity in the Secretariat can respond while maintaining the programme’s overall agility;
b
The principles and underlying criteria to be used for selecting requests for assistance, taking into account balance among the beneficiaries of the interventions funded under the programme;
c
A common evaluation framework, including meaningful, measurable and quantifiable indicators of achievement across all implementing entities, to ensure full transparency regarding the interventions and results provided by the programme;
d
An outreach plan, within existing resources, developed by the Secretary-General, to raise awareness of the existence of the programme among Member States and in programme countries, including in the context of the Economic and Social Council and the Main Committees of the General Assembly and through the regional commissions and their subregional offices;
Part VI
Human rights and humanitarian affairs
Section 24
Human rights
59
Recalls paragraph VI.29 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and decides to redeploy one post of Chief of Service, Human Rights (D-1), to Panama City;
Section 27
Humanitarian assistance
60
Encouragesthe Secretary-General to engage the Southern African Development Community and explore options for further strengthening cooperation with the secretariat of the Southern African Development Community in order to support collective efforts in tackling the recurring humanitarian challenges, including back-to-back cyclones, floods and droughts, as well as development challenges such as the destruction of crops and infrastructure faced by the region and its 16 member countries on an annual basis;
Part VII
Global communications
Section 28
Global communications
61
Recalls its resolution 78/252, and reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to explore a model for meetings coverage and press releases that is based on translation from a single language and to submit the results of this study in the next programme budget submission;
62
Requeststhe Secretary-General to complete the independent and impartial review of the Department of Global Communications by the end of 2025, considering its strategic vision, mandates, workforce and operating models, with the aim of modernizing the Department and ensuring that it can communicate United Nations activities and messages globally, efficiently and effectively, with due regard to its role in multilingualism, reiterates that the review itself should be within existing resources and be aimed at achieving greater efficiency gains, and also requests the Secretary-General to provide the outcome of the review for the consideration of the General Assembly at the main part of its eightieth session in the context of the proposed programme budget for 2026;
Part VIII
Common support services
Section 29A
Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance
63
Recalls paragraph VIII.21 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and decides to transfer the improved service delivery team to the Department of Operational Support;
64
Also recalls paragraph VIII.19 of the report of the Advisory Committee, stresses that the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance and the Department of Operational Support, as the second line of defence in human resources and asset management, are accountable for decisions by the first line of defence under the delegation of authority, and requests the Secretary-General to review the accountability of the first and second lines of defence so as to improve the culture of effective management and accountability;
65
Further recalls paragraph 64 of its resolution 78/252, and requests the Secretary-General to merge data contained in the list of staff into the staff analysis dashboard in a digital and interactive format on the online Secretariat workforce portal, while ensuring that the quality and quantity of information available on the portal are not less than what used to be available on the HR Insight online reporting tool;
66
Recalls paragraph 5 of its resolution 78/275 of 24 April 2024, stresses that one additional step in grade shall be granted for each additional year of work experience beyond the minimum required for appointment at step one of the relevant grade, and requests the Secretary-General to revisit his guidelines for determination of step upon promotion, recruitment or movement to a different category accordingly, effective from the adoption date of resolution 78/275;
Part X
Jointly financed administrative activities and special expenses
Section 31
Jointly financed administrative activities
67
Recalls paragraph X.7 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and stresses the importance of an objective consideration of the International Civil Service Commission and the Joint Inspection Unit budget proposals aimed at ensuring that their operational and financial requirements are met and that their status as independent subsidiary organs of the General Assembly and other organizations is preserved;
68
Also recalls that the budgetary procedures outlined in the statutes of the International Civil Service Commission and the Joint Inspection Unit are binding on all participating organizations, and welcomes the recognition by organizations participating in the cost-sharing formulas for the entities under section 31, Jointly financed administrative activities, of the General Assembly decisions on the total budget for each entity so financed;
69
Further recalls paragraph X.39 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and requests the Secretary-General, in his capacity as the Chair of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, to explore options to improve the effectiveness of reporting and analysis with a view to enhancing the content of the report on the budgetary and financial situation of the organizations of the United Nations system, with a focus on its analytical component;
Part XI
Capital expenditures
Section 33
Construction, alteration, improvement and major maintenance
70
Decides to further reduce the resources under section 33, Construction, alteration, improvement and major maintenance, by 8,872,500 dollars for the projects at Headquarters in New York;
71
Takes note of paragraph XI.27 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and decides not to reduce the resources for the Department of Safety and Security for 2025;
Part XII
Safety and security
Section 34
Safety and security
72
Takes note of paragraphs XII.14, XII.15, XII.16 and XII.17 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and approves the proposal of the Secretary-General for non-post resources;
73
Also takes note of paragraphs XII.20 and XII.23 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and approves the Secretariat’s share of jointly financed activities of the United Nations security management system as proposed by the Secretary-General;
Part XIII
Development Account
Section 35
Development Account
74
Recalls paragraph XIII.8 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and requests that the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the effectiveness and impact of the Development Account, to be presented at its eightieth session, reflect the following elements:
a
Transparent selection criteria for Development Account projects that are based on the needs of recipient countries;
b
Options for strengthening the complementarity and interlinkage between the regular programme of technical cooperation and the Development Account, including such that Member States can build upon short-term advisory services in the regular programme of technical cooperation and continue similar work through longer-term projects funded by the Development Account;
c
A common evaluation framework to be used for all projects, including meaningful, measurable and quantifiable indicators of achievement across all implementing entities, to ensure full transparency regarding the interventions provided by the Development Account;
d
An outreach plan, within existing resources, developed by the Secretary-General, to raise awareness of the existence of the Development Account and the guidelines to apply for its different tranches among Member States and in programme countries, including in the context of the Economic and Social Council and the Main Committees of the General Assembly and through the regional commissions and their subregional offices;
e
Options to increase the number of sources of funding for the Development Account beyond the regular budget, including through fundraising activities to raise extrabudgetary resources and the possibility of establishing partnerships with relevant external stakeholders;
Income section 2
General income
75
Recalls paragraph IS2.4 of the report of the Advisory Committee, and encourages efforts by the Secretary-General to present updated information on the working group on global rental practices and its work;
Income section 3
Services to the public
76
Recalls paragraphs IS3.3 and IS3.4 of the report of the Advisory Committee, emphasizes that services to the public should be financially self-supporting, and urges the Secretary-General to develop innovative options, while maintaining garage rates at their current level and not introducing any changes in the garage operations policies, to increase income, avoid deficit and optimize resources, and to report on the measures taken and results achieved in the next programme budget submission;
77
Requeststhe Secretary-General to regularly seek feedback from delegations and staff on the quality of catering services provided at United Nations Headquarters, including through online surveys, and regularly follow-up on the feedback received;
78
Decides to increase the income under income section 3, Services to the public, by 2,723,700 dollars, while maintaining garage rates at their current level and not introducing any changes in the garage operations policies.
55th (resumed) plenary meeting
24 December 2024
Staffing table for 2025
iParagraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.
