UN proposes regular-budget funding for resident coordinator posts

The UN Secretary-General has proposed moving the cost of recurring staff posts in the Resident Coordinator System to the organisation’s regular budget, aiming to give the network more predictable funding and support UN80 reforms at country and regional levels.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the General Assembly’s Fifth Committee on Tuesday that the system was essential to connecting national priorities with UN expertise and resources. She said its proposed recalibration would create more tailored country teams, expertise available on demand and stronger regional support.

The proposal would keep the system within its existing $281.8 million resource envelope, Mohammed said. It would replace a funding arrangement reliant on a limited group of contributors and vulnerable to annual shortfalls. For eight years, she said, the existing arrangements had not provided the predictability needed to sustain the system’s core capacity. A levy and voluntary contributions had helped, but were insufficient.

The UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions recommended that the General Assembly consider the proposal, while calling for different funding streams and alternatives to be studied.

Delegates agreed that funding needed to be adequate and predictable, but differed over how to secure it. Uruguay, speaking for the Group of 77 and China, said new mechanisms should complement rather than replace major donors’ responsibilities. Switzerland, speaking also for Liechtenstein, described the plan as ambitious and said it would have welcomed other options and an assessment of their implications.

The African Group backed assessed contributions under the regular budget, saying a lasting financing model was needed. Its representative noted that a temporary assessed-contributions arrangement expires at the end of 2026, and said Africa has 53 of the system’s 132 resident coordinator offices.

Singapore, speaking for ASEAN, said funding shortfalls reached nearly $46 million in 2025, when only 64 per cent of resident coordinator offices were fully staffed. The group called for a durable solution with transparency, accountability and intergovernmental oversight, considered alongside the proposed changes to the system.

Delegates also cautioned that reforms should reflect national priorities and regional differences. CARICOM said multi-country offices needed sustained engagement with each government and warned that a uniform model could weaken local expertise and slow the UN’s response. Central Asian states and Bangladesh likewise stressed country-specific needs and the importance of continuity and accountability.