United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has presented a proposed $14 billion budget for the 2027 fiscal year to the General Assembly’s budget committee, chaired by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.
Presenting the proposal in New York, Guterres said the budget was designed to strengthen the United Nations’ capacity to deliver on its core mandates of international peace and security, sustainable development and human rights, while advancing reforms to improve efficiency and accountability.
Receiving the proposal, Ibrahim described the proposal as a budget for a sustainable United Nations and assured that the committee would commence deliberations and consultations on the budget.
He assured the secretary-general of the committee’s cooperation and commitment to a constructive budget review process.
Guterres, who is presenting the proposed budget for the final time during his tenure, said the estimates reflect the organisation’s continuing reform agenda under the UN80 Initiative, which seeks to make the Secretariat more efficient, effective and responsive to emerging global challenges.
He said the proposal includes 11,150 posts and provides $423 million for the continued operation of special political missions in 2027.
According to the Secretary-General, the approach will give member states a clearer picture of the organisation’s financial requirements earlier in the budget process.
Guterres also highlighted proposed investments in sustainable development, including an additional one million dollars each for the regular programme of technical cooperation and the Development Account.
The budget further proposes $2.7 million to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Group System-wide Evaluation Office, as well as $3.7 million to advance the implementation of the organisation’s disability-inclusion strategy.
Other allocations include $1.7 million for work on mandate implementation review, $3.2 million for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Afghanistan and $2.1 million for the next-generation upgrade of Umoja, the United Nations’ enterprise resource planning system.
An additional $22 million is proposed to meet rising costs associated with after-service health insurance for retirees.
The Secretary-General said the proposals followed a review of existing resources and opportunities for savings, adding that new and expanded mandates had been considered alongside the need to maintain effective programme delivery.
Credit: channelstv.com
