Workstream I: Efficiencies
Workstream I remains shaped by the ongoing deliberations of the Fifth Committee, against a backdrop of a deepening liquidity crisis. Regular budget collections fell to 76.7% in 2025, with record year-end arrears of $1.57 billion. As of 30 April 2026, collections stood at 51.4%, leaving cash sufficient only through mid-August. The Fifth Committee has not come to an agreement on urgent liquidity measures, including proposed Financial Regulations revisions, and has deferred key items on human resources, supply chains and financial rules. However, broad convergence on the need for discipline, accountability and earlier engagement creates space for procedural reform under UN80.
Workstream II: Mandates
Workstream II is making progress through the Ad-Hoc Working Group under General Assembly resolution 80/251, co-chaired by Jamaica and Norway. The process is designed to produce practical results within a clear timeline. In the first phase, Member States are developing common tools to guide future mandate decisions, including draft concept notes, templates for resolutions and decisions, and standard language for reviewing or retiring mandates. The next phase will set out how existing General Assembly mandates should be assessed, including whether they should be renewed, updated, merged with similar mandates, replaced, or discontinued. Those recommendations are expected by the end of August. In parallel, the Secretariat is upgrading the mandate registry, building tools to compare changes across resolution texts, creating a central website for mandate-related resources, and reviewing more than 600 reports to identify opportunities to reduce duplication or streamline reporting.
Workstream III: Structural Realignment
Workstream III has advanced with the launch of the “Progress and Next Steps” report. This comprehensive guide brings together one-page summaries of all the work packages that together make up the UN80 Initiative Action Plan. It provides comprehensive coverage of all three UN80 Initiative workstreams. Its purpose is to provide Member States with a clear and practical overview of where work packages stand and the pathways to decision-making. Member States broadly welcomed the report, while emphasizing that reforms must be transparent, inclusive, evidence-based, Member State-driven and mandate-grounded. Delegations will continue their deliberations on Workstream III in upcoming meetings of the General Assembly, Executive Boards, and other formal and informal spaces.
Pact for the Future update:
Wednesday 6th May marked an important step in moving the Pact for the Future from global agreement to national action. At an interactive briefing convened by Germany and Namibia, with the support of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, Member States exchanged views on how to translate the Pact into practical results at country level. The core message of the session was that implementation must be nationally owned, rooted in existing priorities, and integrated into national development plans, SDG strategies, UN Cooperation Frameworks and policy cycles. Many delegations described the Pact and its Annexes as an accelerator for the SDGs and a way to reinforce commitments under the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2063, among others.
Florence Syevuo of the SDGs Kenya Forum and Co-Chair of the Coalition for the UN We Need delivered opening reflections. Her remarks highlighted the critical role of civil society in accelerating implementation of the Pact for the Future and promoting accountability. Her examples of leadership from civil society networks in Kenya and partnerships with the government highlighted the strengths of multi-stakeholder approaches.
The discussion also emphasized the central role of the Resident Coordinator system in helping countries turn ambition into action. Delegations called for predictable and sustainable financing for Resident Coordinators, stronger coordination across UN Country Teams, and better links between governments, UN entities, international financial institutions and multilateral development banks. Member States stressed that the UN’s support should reduce duplication, align with national priorities, and help countries access financing, technology transfer and technical expertise.
Member States also brought the Pact to life through concrete national examples, from digital government, AI readiness and climate regulations to youth initiatives, social protection, health, education, gender equality and financing frameworks. On follow-up processes, delegations urged the use of existing mechanisms such as Voluntary National Reviews, the HLPF, regional commissions and UN country teams, rather than creating new reporting burdens.
Overall, the briefing underscored that successful implementation will depend on political leadership, civil society engagement, capacity-building and strong partnerships, with the UN system providing coordinated, practical and demand-driven support tailored to national circumstances.