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Although the briefers on 25 Nov. were all from the UN Secretariat, many of the interventions on 3 Dec. indicated a desire for a UN system-wide approach on oversight of mandates and inclusion of review clauses. Many smaller delegations also stressed their desire to reduce duplication and redundancy across mandates which would allow them to engage more meaningfully.

Although the SG stressed that the development pillar had been less affected by budget reductions, it was raised as a concern by the G77, the Africa Group and other delegations. The Chair of the ACABQ conceded that the proportions cited in their report were incorrect and a corrigendum was being issued. A separate theme of the discussions was the ACABQ's reflection that departments had engaged with the UN80 reforms with varying intensity, creating incoherence across the overall programme and proposed revisions.

While the mandate review process has avoided getting bogged down in reviewing specific mandates, the EU and other speakers made it clear that this process should eventually lead to a streamlining of mandates. Many speakers welcomed a more systematic inclusion of review clauses, while expressing concerns that these have in other cases like the Human Rights Council still led to an automated renewal. There were also several calls for each mandate, as well as any renewals, to be fully costed to facilitate decision-making.

For WFP to address all needs, it projected operational costs at $13 billion for 2026 while simultaneously forecasting only $6.4 billion in contributions from donors (or 49% of projected needs). To reconcile these differences, the Board agreed to the proposed provisional implementation plan costed at $7.7 billion. Simultaneously, the Board approved a $380 million budget for programme support and administration, which represents 4.9% of the provisional implementation plan.

Although specific information on the briefing is not publicly available, the briefing will likely include discussion of the proposal to merge UNWomen and UNFPA, as outlined in the UN80 report on Workstream 3 "Shifting Paradigms: United to Deliver". Concerns have been raised by some European member states that such a merger could weaken UNWomen's normative mandate on gender equality.

USG Ryder also outlined the decision-making process for proposed mergers: finalized assessments will be submitted to the SG, who will consider whether to go forward and consult member states and Executive Boards, and ultimately submit merger plans to the General Assembly for final decision.

Previously the Board received separate briefings on various organizational reforms, including efforts at making the organization more inclusive, the Headquarters Efficiencies initiative and the Future Focus prorgramme. The JIU governance review, like the WFP governance review, highlighted that many members struggle to keep on top of the disparate issues covered by the Board. Presumably this was a key reason that the Board decided at its last session to receive a comprehensive briefing on all the organizational change processes, including staffing changes, and their financial implications ahead of every session.

Most member state interventions stressed the importance of maintaining the space for engagement with human rights mechanisms. The French delegate explicitly asked about exploring technological innovations that could help maintain meetings rather than cancelling them at the rate outlined by UNOG and OHCHR.

The comprehensive response plan was developed in response to the 2021 S3i scandal. It has involved significant changes to financial, management and ethical practices. More than a technical exercise, it has included extensive efforts at transforming the organizational culture of UNOPS with a stronger focus on continuously enhancing organizational performance.

Although often a pro forma exercise, the elections to these bodies are particularly relevant this year given the financial and liquidity crisis facing the UN. The ACABQ has significant influence over Fifth Committee decision making when it reviews budgets, including the revised budget for 2026 and the next budget for 2027 which will both spell out the key elements of UN80 for the UN Secretariat. As the International Service on Human Rights (ISHR) has pointed out in a recent study, the Committee has become increasingly politicized with some members trying, for instance, to undermine resourcing of agreed human rights mandates. Staff salaries and benefits, determined by the ICSC, are another potential area for cuts - one that has been highlighted by representatives of the United States at the opening of the Fifth Committee session. The Committee on Contributions is also the committee that decides when to invoke Art. 19 and suspend the voting rights of member states who have failed to pay their assessed funding.

The SG's messaging on the financial crisis has become significantly more direct in this address, in which he highlighted for the first time that if member states do not change their behaviors in paying arrears and agreeing on mitigation measures, the UN is racing towards bankruptcy. While many member states reiterated their support for multilateralism and UN reform, there were few concrete indications that member states will make more progress on the liquidity crisis than in the second resumed session in the spring at which no agreement was reached on the SG's request to create a mechanism to suspend the return of credits to member states when liquidity shortfalls threaten full budget implementation.