Secretary-General Office
To help you get up to speed and act effectively as AI Secretary-General, here is an introduction to the history and current state of international organizations.
Hard to tell what the UN is deciding right now? The AI adviser summarizes recent UN activity into five items, based only on facts recorded in resolutions and recent activity data.
The adviser is reading the source documents…
Article 97 of the UN Charter designates the Secretary-General as "the chief administrative officer of the Organization," and Article 99 gives them the power to bring threats to international peace to the attention of the Security Council. Below are five key tasks the AI Secretary-General must carry, and five challenges faced right now, organized strictly as documented facts.
Under Article 99 of the UN Charter, the Secretary-General may bring to the Security Council's attention any matter that threatens international peace and security. Field assessment and early warning, whenever conflict, ceasefire violations or armed clashes occur, are the starting point of this role.
The Secretary-General oversees the payment status of assessed contributions to the regular and peacekeeping budgets, and leads emergency operating measures and priority triage when accumulated arrears (about US$1.57 billion as of 2025) threaten the Organization's functioning.
With major member states announcing withdrawals and suspending participation, the Secretary-General mediates to keep all 193 member states inside the shared UN framework. This is not about reversing any one country's decision, but about showing, in original documents, who is harmed when a shared programme stops.
Climate change, pandemics, food crises and education gaps cannot be solved by any single agency's budget. The Secretary-General coordinates the work of WFP, WHO, UNICEF, UNEP and others so programmes don't overlap, and sets priorities for achieving the SDGs.
The UN80 reform is a restructuring effort, timed to the 80th anniversary, to cut duplication among agencies and lower administrative costs. The Secretary-General identifies where programmes with the same purpose exist across multiple agencies and proposes consolidation to member states.
Accumulated unpaid assessed contributions from member states are near an all-time high. The Secretary-General announced a 7% cut to the 2026 regular budget, and emergency operating measures have forced the suspension of some activities.
Major member states have notified withdrawal from WHO and UNESCO, and suspended participation in the UN Human Rights Council and funding for UNRWA. It is specific programmes, not entire agencies, that stop as a result.
Programmes with the same purpose exist simultaneously across multiple agencies. This is partly why coordination functions are needed, but judging which is more efficient is a matter for citizens and member states.
ODA cuts and delayed assessed contributions are shrinking field operations at WFP, UNHCR and UNICEF. Which programmes stop when budgets shrink can be verified in the original programme documents.
This is why this platform publishes figures alongside original sources, collection time and a data fingerprint. It presents only original figures — no estimates, no processing — and leaves judgement to world citizens.
Names and abbreviations differ from agency to agency, but the work falls into five broad functions. Knowing these five functions first makes each agency's programme list far easier to read.
They turn shared standards that no single state could set alone into treaties, conventions and recommendations. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF), the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO), the International Health Regulations (WHO), and aviation and maritime safety standards (ICAO, IMO) all came from here.
They pool assessed and voluntary contributions from 193 member states to run programmes at a scale no single country could manage alone. Korea's assessment rate is about 2.6%, meaning the taxes we pay become part of this funding.
They send food and vaccines to conflict and disaster zones, run refugee camps, and rebuild water systems and schools. Most of the detailed programmes on this site are this kind of field delivery.
They produce official statistics and early warnings that let countries be compared. Hunger alerts (WFP, FAO), disease situations (WHO), education indicators (UNESCO) and population projections (UN DESA) all fall into this category.
They coordinate multiple agencies, governments and NGOs so they don't overlap in the same region, and mediate negotiations and peacekeeping between parties to a conflict. That said, this coordinating function is also part of why programmes with the same purpose can exist across multiple agencies at once.
What's commonly called "the UN" is actually a system of three distinct kinds of bodies: the principal organs created directly by the Charter, the funds and programmes created by General Assembly resolution, and the specialized agencies established by separate treaty and linked through agreements. Their budget sources and oversight differ accordingly.
Organs established in 1945 by Article 7 of the UN Charter. The Trusteeship Council has been inactive since the independence of the last trust territory (Palau) in 1994.
Bodies established by General Assembly resolution, funded not by the regular budget but by voluntary contributions from member states and the private sector. Most of the detailed programmes on this site come from here.
Independent international organizations with their own founding treaties, membership and budgets, linked to the UN system through agreements. The General Assembly does not approve their budgets.
15 agencies have original programme data on this site, and 9 report activities but no confirmed budget for the target years.
UN money is not held in a single account. The assessed regular budget, the separately accounted peacekeeping budget, and each agency's voluntary contributions each follow different rules. Because they differ in nature, this site does not add them together.
The Secretariat's operating budget, approved annually by the General Assembly by resolution. All 193 member states pay assessed shares under the scale of assessments. Korea's rate is about 2.6%.
View sourceApproved separately from the regular budget on a July-June fiscal year, and allocated to operations established by Security Council resolutions.
View sourceThe combined total of the regular budget, peacekeeping and voluntary contributions across some 40 entities. Most is voluntary contributions, and inter-agency transfers are included, so simple addition produces double-counting.
View sourceOriginal IATI Datastore figures for budget years 2024-2025-2026. These do not match total UN system-wide revenue, because some agencies and programmes do not report to IATI.
Today's map of agencies was not designed all at once — it grew as new agencies were added whenever war, decolonization, environmental or development agendas arose. That is also part of why programmes overlap across agencies.
50 countries signed the UN Charter, which entered into force on 24 October. There were 51 original member states.
GA resolution 217A(III). It became the starting point for the international human rights treaty system.
A ceasefire observation mission was deployed to the Middle East, putting the concept of peacekeeping into practice for the first time.
UN forces were organized under Security Council resolutions 82, 83 and 84. This is where the relationship between the Republic of Korea and the UN began.
Newly independent states in Africa and Asia joined, pushing membership past 100, while development agencies such as UNDP (1965) were established.
The environmental agenda entered the UN system and UNEP was established.
On 17 September, both countries became UN member states simultaneously by General Assembly resolution.
Eight goals were set for 2015, creating a benchmark for allocating development resources.
The 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda were adopted; most UN programmes today are classified under this goal framework.
Financial pressure and duplication among agencies have prompted ongoing discussions on Secretariat restructuring and funding reform.
The UN Charter is the founding treaty of the United Nations, entering into force on 24 October 1945, made up of 19 chapters and 111 articles. Every agency's powers and limits, and the Secretary-General's role, trace back to it. Below is a summary of the chapters most directly relevant to the Secretary-General and this platform.
Sets out the UN's four purposes (maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international cooperation, and realizing human rights and self-determination) and seven principles (sovereign equality, peaceful settlement of disputes, prohibition of the use of force, and fulfilment of Charter obligations). This chapter is the basis for this site presenting only facts without judging duplication among programmes.
Establishes the six principal organs: the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice and Secretariat. Article 8 provides that each organ may establish subsidiary organs as needed for its work.
The one-country-one-vote body in which all member states participate. It has the power to approve the budget and assessments (Article 17), to recommend new member admissions (Article 18), and to bring questions to the Security Council's attention (Articles 10-11). The budget figures on this site originate from General Assembly resolutions.
Composed of five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK and the US) and ten non-permanent members; it is the only organ that can adopt binding resolutions (Article 25). The veto (Article 27) is a structural feature that frequently produces deadlock.
Chapter VI covers the peaceful settlement of disputes (negotiation, mediation, adjudication); Chapter VII covers enforcement action — including economic sanctions and military action — against threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression. Peacekeeping operations are a practice that evolved without being explicitly named in the Charter.
Article 55 sets improving living standards, resolving unemployment and guaranteeing human rights as goals of international cooperation. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) coordinates this work, and agreements with specialized agencies (Article 63) form the UN system.
Article 97 designates the Secretary-General as the chief administrative officer of the Organization. Article 98 covers performing functions for the General Assembly, Security Council and other organs; Article 99 provides that the Secretary-General may bring to the Security Council's attention any matter which threatens international peace and security. Article 100 covers the independence of the Secretary-General and staff from any government, and Article 101 covers staffing principles. The role of the AI Secretary-General on this platform is grounded in this chapter.
International organizations are under the heaviest pressure since their founding. Withdrawal notices from major member states, unpaid dues, and budget cuts are happening at once. The items below are drawn strictly from official statements and news reports; judgement is left to citizens.
The United States notified its withdrawal in January 2025, and the withdrawal took effect in January 2026 after the one-year notice period set by a 1948 joint resolution of the US Congress. The US had been WHO's largest funder, and unpaid dues reportedly remain outstanding.
Source: WHO · Statement / reporting on the US withdrawal taking effectThe US withdrew in 2017, rejoined in 2023, and notified another withdrawal in July 2025. Under UNESCO's rules, the withdrawal takes effect on 31 December 2026. UNESCO carries out programmes in World Heritage, education, science and press freedom.
Source: UNESCO · Statement on the withdrawal of the United StatesIn February 2025 the US, by executive order, suspended its participation in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and halted funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). A review of contributions to several other UN entities was ordered at the same time.
Source: The White House · Executive Order (2025-02-04)In a January 2026 letter to member states, Secretary-General Guterres said the UN faced a risk of 'imminent financial collapse.' Unpaid assessed contributions reached $1.57 billion by the end of 2025, and he warned that budget rules requiring unspent funds to be returned to member states could leave the Organization without cash by July.
Source: Reuters · Guterres warns of UN's 'imminent financial collapse' (2026-01-30)On 30 December 2025 the General Assembly approved a 2026 regular budget of $3.45 billion. Amid the UN80 restructuring discussions, this is roughly 7% below the 2025 approved budget, and post reductions and Secretariat consolidation are underway alongside it.
Source: United Nations · General Assembly approves $3.45 billion regular budget for 2026Combined with cuts to official development assistance (ODA) by major donors, agencies such as WFP, UNHCR and UNICEF — which rely heavily on voluntary contributions — have announced ration cuts, office consolidations and staff reductions. The original IATI programme budgets on this platform reflect the same trend.
Source: UN News · UN chief warns unpaid dues near $1.6 billion (2025-12-01)Gridlock in the Security Council caused by the veto power of permanent members, heavy financial reliance on a single major donor, and criticism of duplicated programmes across agencies are being raised at the same time. The UN itself has named the structure — 'shaken when one country steps back' — as a reform challenge.
Source: United Nations · UN80 InitiativeThis platform does not judge any country's decision as right or wrong. But which programmes stop when an agency's budget shrinks can be verified through budget flows and original programme documents.
Recent Activity
Beyond adopted resolutions, there are ongoing processes such as straw polls, reform negotiations and financial reporting. Below is a record in reverse chronological order, with each item linking to the original report or document.
#Leadership
The Security Council held its first closed straw poll on candidates for the next Secretary-General. Reports named Costa Rica's former vice-president Rebeca Grynspan as the frontrunner, with Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett close behind. The process runs Security Council recommendation, then General Assembly appointment.
View source →#Reform & Finance
The 80th General Assembly reviewed progress in the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform and decided to continue talks immediately. Council composition, the veto and regional representation remain the key issues.
View source →#Reform & Finance
As part of the UN80 80th-anniversary restructuring effort, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the 'mandate implementation review' work stream, formally establishing a periodic review procedure for existing programmes.
View source →#Peace & Security
S/RES/2812, on the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, was adopted. The safety of maritime routes is directly tied to the cost of transporting humanitarian supplies.
View source →#Reform & Finance
The General Assembly approved the 2026 regular budget. It includes both the cuts stemming from the UN80 restructuring and measures to address the liquidity crisis.
View source →#Reform & Finance
Secretary-General Guterres told the Fifth Committee that unpaid assessed contributions had reached about $1.6 billion, leaving the UN in its most fragile cash position. The timing of contribution payments determines the pace of programme delivery.
View source →#Leadership
The General Assembly adopted A/RES/79/327, setting out a selection process that includes public nomination of candidates, published vision statements and open dialogues.
View source →UN News Live
Pulled directly from the official UN News feed, newest first. Each headline links to the original article.
Loading UN News…