A sweeping internal review released by the United Nations has concluded that most U.N. publications receive little real engagement, prompting urgent calls for reform as part of the U.N.’s “UN80” efficiency initiative. Secretary‑General António Guterres disclosed that last year the U.N. system supported some 27,000 meetings across 240 governance bodies and produced roughly 1,100 reports, marking a nearly 20% growth since 1990. Yet fewer than 5% of those reports were downloaded more than 5,500 times, while one in five saw under 1,000 downloads, with Guterres cautioning that “downloading doesn’t necessarily mean reading”.
Guterres, addressing the General Assembly on August 1, 2025, emphasized that the sheer volume of meetings and documents is overwhelming the system “to the breaking point.” Launched in March, the reform task force is recommending fewer meetings and dramatically fewer, but more impactful reports to better fulfill mandates from bodies such as the General Assembly and Security Council. The initiative also comes amid at least seven years of liquidity shortages, driven by major members, including the United States and China failing to pay dues fully or on time, mounting pressure on the U.N. secretariat to streamline operations. This report being only one of several reform angles under active consideration.
