UN80: Secretary-General brief and Co-Chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Mandate Implementation Review progress update
Delivered by H.E Mr James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
3 September 2026
Thank you, President.
We thank the Secretary-General for his briefing and the Co-Chairs for their update on Workstream 2. We also recognise the leadership of the President of the General Assembly, in advancing the UN reform and revitalization agenda throughout the 80th session.
We can claim some significant achievements on UN reform over the past session: unprecedented administrative efficiencies agreed in the UN’s Regular and Peacekeeping budgets, critical reforms across the mandate lifecycle; and major structural changes, including more integrated UN supply chains and today’s decision to merge UNITAR into UNSSC.
But the need for ambitious reform remains urgent. The system remains too fragmented and overstretched, diluting its impact across its three pillars. We must sustain our ambition, turning commitments into action, and advancing further reforms that reduce duplication, improve efficiency and strengthen delivery.
On administrative efficiencies, this means expanding shared services by advancing the UN’s unified services road map, relocating functions where appropriate, streamlining management structures, and ensuring sustainable staff compensation.
On Workstream Three, CANZ encourages further action to advance key reform proposals, in particular to recalibrate UN country teams, strengthen the Resident Coordinator system, optimise regional and subregional arrangements, expand common supply chains and services, and strengthen technology, data and expertise-sharing platforms. We also encourage action to take forward the Secretary-General’s review of peace operations.
On the outstanding merger proposals, we stress that each should be assessed on its own merits, based on solid evidence of impact and cost effectiveness, and be considered only with the support of the relevant governing bodies and Member States. The agreed normative mandates of these agencies must also be preserved.
Finally, as mandate implementation review moves from design to delivery, three elements will be critical.
First, taking an evidence-based approach. A credible review process requires a strong analytical foundation. We call for the Secretariat to implement its commitments under resolution 80/251 ahead of Committee season, including strengthening the Mandate Registry and improving the availability of mandate-related information. Secretariat functions envisaged in the resolution to support Member State decision-making must be established as a matter of urgency, including the designation of dedicated focal points within Secretariat departments. Further progress on robust systemwide management for results is also critical in this regard.
Second, getting serious about implementation. We have already agreed a range of principles and tools that will improve the quality and impact of our work – but only if we actually apply them. We encourage all delegations to make full use of concept notes, review clauses and the other measures agreed in resolution 80/251 and further developed by the Working Group.
Third, commitment to genuine change. This means applying the using the forthcoming review of existing mandates to make difficult but necessary decisions to streamline our work programme. It means implementing measures already agreed to challenge the automatic renewals of mandates, to embed a culture of periodic reviews to assess implementation and ensure mandates remain relevant and effective, and to identify opportunities for consolidation.
CANZ looks forward to working with Member States and the Secretariat to advance impactful reforms in the 81st session.