The UN is reformed and ready

Late last month, the United Nations General Assembly did something that, in contrast to the weighty issues of war and peace, human rights, and international development that regularly top its agenda, was on its face unremarkable: It adopted a budget. Advocates for U.N. reform, however, have reason to celebrate: The U.N. operating budget delivered on Christmas Eve was $285 million (5 percent) less than the previous budget.

Some headlines implied that this was a unilateral decision by the U.S. In reality, these cuts had the buy-in of all U.N. member states, as well as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres — who initially proposed significant budget cuts — and had been in the works for months.

This continues a trend that began during the Obama administration. In fact, over the past 5 years, the U.N. not only has significantly reduced its last two operating budgets, it has also eliminated hundreds of posts; reassessed the U.N.’s staff compensation package, saving the organization $500 million over five years; and brought the cost per peacekeeper down by almost 20 percent.

Reform advocates should be encouraged. Their message has been heard. U.N. reforms now span two U.S. administrations and two U.N. chiefs, and Secretary-General Guterres has made clear that more changes are coming.

Going forward, the U.S. will begin budget negotiations of its own, which will include contributions to the U.N. It’s time this year for a new conversation. Now that the budget has been right-sized, we should discuss how the U.S. can strengthen the U.N., so it can better fulfill its critical responsibilities on the world stage.