Ambassador Jeffrey Bartos
U.S. Representative for U.N. Management and Reform
New York, New York

AS DELIVERED

Ambassador Ibrahim, congratulations on taking up your role as Chair.

Colleagues,

One year ago, I sat in this room and declared that the era of business as usual at the United Nations was over. And while, for 80 years, strong statements at the UN too often did not lead to concrete action, this time was different. With U.S. leadership, we came together to achieve historic reforms that no one thought was possible. And, we did it by consensus.

The Secretary-General’s proposed 2027 regular budget reflects a 4.3 percent decrease — over $147 million — building on the momentum of last year’s reforms. And, while we acknowledge this continued progress, we must do even more.

Reform cannot stop at posts and budget lines. Elimination of duplicative functions must become routine practice, not a one-time exercise.

Nor can reform stop at the working level. The proliferation of senior leadership positions across the Secretariat and its missions has not been adequately addressed. The United States will insist on a genuine reduction in senior-level staff — not a paper exercise that preserves top-heavy management structures while junior posts absorb the cuts.

On staff compensation and benefits, the Fifth Committee must bring UN salaries in line with common sense. UN Professional staff in New York currently earn an average of 17 percent more than their U.S. civil service counterparts after a generous cost-of-living adjustment.

However, the most senior staff receive the largest premium, with D-2s receiving 24 percent more than their U.S. counterparts compared to 14 percent for P-2s. This demands both an immediate reduction to the margin and adjustment to the methodology consistent with workforce rejuvenation efforts. We will propose these changes in this session, rather than waiting until 2028.

We will also propose capping child allowance and education grant eligibility at three children, eliminating the tertiary education benefit, and eliminating the mobility incentive and secondary dependent’s allowance outright. No major national civil service directly subsidizes tertiary education costs or provides equivalent cash allowances for secondary dependents.

The United States will call for a ban on business class travel across the Secretariat. This institution must cease tolerating travel practices that would be indefensible in any fiscally responsible public or private institution.

Finally, the United States has concerns regarding funding of the Resident Coordinator system. As a major voluntary donor to the RC System, we have long argued that the system must be right-sized. Surely, RCs in middle- and high-income countries do not need to be funded through the regular budget.

Colleagues, the United States remains, by a wide margin, the largest funder of the United Nations. We expect a return on that investment measured in outcomes, not intentions. Collectively, our work over the past twelve months proved that consequential reform is possible. This Main Session must prove that it is durable.

We look forward to working with all member states who share the vision of getting the UN back to basics by doing less, doing it better, delivering impact on the ground, and respecting the taxpayers who fund this work.

Thank you.

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