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STORY: UN / GUTERRES UN80 RESOLUTION
TRT: 02:09
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 31 MARCH 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations
31 MARCH 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Med shot, speakers, General Assembly
3. UPSOUND (English) Annalena Baerbock, President, General Assembly, United Nations:
“Those in favour of draft resolution, please signify. Those against. Abstentions.”
4. Various shots, delegates voting
5. UPSOUND (English) Representative, Secretariat on Programme Budget Implications of A/80/676:
“The Assembly is now voting on a draft resolution entitled “Mandate creation, implementation and review for an efficient and effective United Nations.” Will all delegations confirm that their votes are accurately reflected on the screen? The voting has been completed. Please lock the machine.”
6. Various shots, votes display
7. UPSOUND (English) Annalena Baerbock, President, General Assembly, United Nations:
“The result of the vote is as follows: In favour 168; Against 4; Abstentions 0. The draft resolution is adopted.”
8. Various shots, General Assembly
9. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The resolution adopted today reflects a shared understanding of the full mandate lifecycle – and a shared commitment to strengthen each step of it.”
10. Wide shot, General Assembly
11. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“This is a major step. But it is only the beginning. I have taken careful note of the requests addressed to the UN system. We will deliver on them. We will work as a single, coherent Organization – guided by the Working Group – to improve how mandates are supported and implemented.”
12. Wide shot, General Assembly
13. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Today’s resolution helps translate the ambition of the UN80 Initiative into concrete, practical action. Thank you for establishing a critical building block for a 21st century United Nations system that is more effective, more accountable, and better equipped to deliver results in our churning and changing world.”
14. Wide shot, General Assembly
The UN General Assembly today (31 Mar) adopted a landmark resolution to strengthen how mandates for UN organizations are created, implemented and reviewed - marking a major milestone under the UN80 Initiative.
Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the adoption, describing it as a “historic resolution” and “a major step” that establishes a critical building block for a 21st century United Nations system that is more effective, more accountable and better equipped to deliver results in a changing world.
“The resolution adopted today reflects a shared understanding of the full mandate lifecycle – and a shared commitment to strengthen each step of it,” the Secretary-General told Member States.
“Today’s resolution helps translate the ambition of the UN80 Initiative into concrete, practical action.”
Mandates - decisions adopted by Member States that guide the work of the United Nations - sit at the core of the Organization’s ability to deliver on peace and security, development, human rights and humanitarian assistance.
The resolution strengthens the full mandate lifecycle by introducing measures to: Strengthen mandate creation, bringing greater discipline, coherence and transparency, and encouraging mandates that are clearer, sharper and more focused, backed by better information for decision-making from the outset; Strengthen implementation, with more user-oriented and data-driven reporting, better coordination and more effective use of resources; Strengthen review and accountability, including through a culture of continuous improvement grounded in evidence, accountability and results.
Together, these measures aim to reduce duplication and fragmentation, while easing the reporting burden on Member States and strengthening delivery across the system.
The resolution builds on the work of the General Assembly’s Informal Ad Hoc Working Group on the Mandate Implementation Review, co-chaired by Ambassador Brian Wallace of Jamaica and Ambassador Carolyn Schwalger of New Zealand.
The Working Group was established by the General Assembly in September 2025 to consider the proposals contained in the Secretary-General’s report of the Mandate Implementation Review developed under Workstream 2 of the UN80 Initiative. The report examined how mandates are created, implemented and reviewed, and offered concrete proposals to strengthen each function. Workstream 2 of the UN80 Initiative. The report examined how UN mandates are created, implemented and reviewed, and offered concrete proposals to strengthen each function.
The resolution decides to deliver through a formal Ad Hoc Working Group on Mandate Implementation Review, open to all Member States and observers. The tasks include, for example, developing better practical templates, stronger review clauses and further review of existing mandates.
While reaffirming the Member State-led process, the Secretary-General outlined how the UN Secretariat will support the Working Group, including through: A single point of contact for delegations on mandate-related questions and process; enhanced information on the cost of commonly mandated activities and earlier indications of the financial implications of new mandates; strengthened coordination of implementation responsibilities across Secretariat entities and the wider UN system; and strengthened results-based approaches, more tailored and user-friendly reporting, and continued development of the UN Mandate Source Registry and other digital transparency tools.
Calling the resolution “a major step” - but “only the beginning” - the Secretary-General said the UN system would work as a single, coherent Organization guided by the Working Group to improve how mandates are supported and implemented.
The UN80 Initiative, launched by the Secretary-General in March 2025 and welcomed by the General Assembly in resolution 79/318, is a system-wide effort to reshape how the UN system works - so that every mandate, dollar and decision delivers greater impact for people and planet.
