While the United Nations, through its UN80 Task Force, continues a public-facing attempt to slash its budget to manage a decline in external contributions and in recognition of overlapping mandates and duplicated efforts, a U.N. diplomatic source tells Fox News Digital that the effort is an attempt "to keep a mammoth organization untouched" until 2026 midterm elections.
The source explained that the "zero-growth budget" proposed for 2026 has already been prepared, and that "talk about how we're going to get it leaner" is only intended to "take [President] Trump for a sucker." The source said that the U.N. believes that the budget will tide the U.N. over until the House flips to Democratic control and Trump will no longer be able to "inflict damages to the U.N."
The source claimed the effort is the "brain child" of the U.N. Foundation, something the group refuted.
"We have never proposed linking U.N. budgetary deliberations to the U.S. mid-term elections," a spokesperson from the U.N. Foundation told Fox News Digital.
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"The U.N. Foundation is an independent organization, separate from the U.N. itself. We are not involved in the U.N.'s budget process, which is decided by the U.N. General Assembly. We also share a widely held view that there is scope for efficiencies and innovations to strengthen delivery of the U.N.'s lifesaving work," the spokesperson added.
Fox News Digital viewed internal documents which show efforts by various U.N. entities to direct cost-cutting measures. The source says some show the disingenuous nature of the effort.
A UN80 memo from the U.N. Resident Coordinators in Africa from April 2025 discusses how previous reforms have failed. It explains that they "did not fully address incentives for collaboration," which left U.N. entities to "too often prioritize their corporate obligations over system-wide coherence." Coordination, the memo reads, "is too easily viewed as additional work rather than a core responsibility," and "funding competition further compounds these issues."
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While the memo identifies two options for reorganization, it notes that "implementing such ambitious structural reforms, especially Option 1, will require a medium-term phased approach over a 5-10 year horizon," and notes that Option 2 "is not likely to be viable if no structural changes are made to [headquarters] level entities."
The U.N. source says the memo "shows…the inability of the U.N. to reform itself."
Another memo from the office of the Secretary-General sent on April 25 directs Secretariat entities to perform a "functional review for cost reductions and efficiencies." Among the directions provided is that personnel "identify which functions could be relocated," including "at a minimum the functions, organizational units, post numbers, and grade levels proposed for relocation."
Numbers were to be sent to the Office of the Controller by May 16, noting that the "tight deadline" is in line with the "very limited timeframe" the U.N. has "to prepare and submit the revised estimates through [the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ)]" so they might be considered "within the overall context of the proposed programme budget for 2026."
Fox News Digital's source called foul on the earnestness of the endeavor. "This Secretary-General has to deal with bodies that, even though they are called the United Nations, they do not depend on him," they explained. "The document does not represent any value legally, because none of their boards have committed nor listened or reviewed" the order.
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Fox News Digital asked Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric whether Guterres could expect organizations with independent boards to enforce changes like those addressed in his memo. "We do not take such a pessimistic view. The Secretary-General and the heads of the U.N. Funds and Programmes will act in areas under their authority while, of course, keeping the governing bodies informed," Dujarric said.
Before the deadline for responses came due, Guterres delivered a May 12 briefing admitting that the proposal for the 2026 budget "was already given to ACABQ some time ago and it will be impossible to change it at the present moment." While Guterres said he would present revised proposals in September in time for budget approvals, he explained that "changes that require more detailed analysis will be presented in the proposal" for the 2027 budget.
Fox News Digital's source says the admission is proof that "this whole attempt is a lie to appease the Americans so they don't go harsh enough and cut anything right now."
On May 13, Guterres addressed a letter to all U.N. staff about the need for "bold, transformative thinking" and extensive reforms to bring the U.N. out of its liquidity crisis. While expressing gratitude for employees' "extraordinary dedication, expertise and creativity" he warned "that 'leaks' and rumours may create unnecessary anxiety," Guterres said that "it will be inevitable that we cannot leave all posts untouched."
After over three decades of working for the U.N., the source says they have "seen the U.N. attempt to change itself at least five times." Instead, they said that the U.N. only got "a larger footprint." They explained that other insiders "are fed up that the organization is not changing."
"You have…a super state that basically controls itself," the source explained. "And you should also trust them to reorganize themselves?" they asked.
Whether the U.N. could hold out for promised change is unknown. The Economist reported in May that due to nonpayment of fees, the U.N. may run out of funds to pay its suppliers and employees by the General Assembly in September.
