Merve Aydogan
12 March 2025•Update: 12 March 2025
HAMILTON, Canada
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday launched the "UN80 Initiative" to improve the organization’s efficiency and effectiveness as it marks its 80th anniversary.
Guterres, during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York, wanted urgency and ambition in reforming the organization.
"The need is great and the goal is clear: an even stronger and more effective United Nations that delivers for people," he said.
He highlighted the global challenges and stated, "The United Nations has never been more needed."
"These are times of intense uncertainty and unpredictability," he said, emphasizing that the UN remains crucial to promoting peace, development and human rights.
Guterres pointed to financial difficulties, noting that for at least seven years, the UN has faced a liquidity crisis due to inconsistent payments from member states.
"Not all member states pay in full, and many also do not pay on time," he said.
To address it issue, Guterres announced an internal task force led by Under-Secretary-General Guy Ryder. The team will focus on three areas: improving efficiency, reviewing mandates and evaluating deeper structural reforms.
"Budgets at the United Nations are not just numbers on a balance sheet -- they are a matter of life and death for millions around the world," he said, stressing the need for efficiency.
Guterres pledged to work closely with General Assembly President Philemon Yang to consult member states and present proposals for decision-making.
UN chief welcomes Ukraine ceasefire
Asked about a US-proposed 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, Guterres welcomed the deal as "a positive thing."
"We hope that it will materialize, and we hope that it will pave the way for peace, a just peace," he said, reaffirming that the UN Charter and resolutions, as well as international law, are the parameters for a just peace.
Early Tuesday, the US and Ukrainian delegations began talks in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah to discuss prospects for a possible Moscow-Kyiv peace deal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha attended the talks, in the presence of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
In a joint statement, the parties declared Ukraine’s readiness to accept the US proposal to enact an "immediate, interim" 30-day ceasefire, provided that Russia agrees to the proposal.
US President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that he hopes Russia will agree to the ceasefire plan and there will be a US meeting with Russia later Tuesday or Wednesday.
On the global trade war, Guterres said: "We live in a global economy. Everything is interlinked, and obviously one of the great advantages of having a situation of free trade is to create conditions for all countries to benefit."
"When we enter into a trade war, I believe, all will lose," he noted.
