The sheer number of meetings and paperwork is pushing the system to the breaking point, Antonio Guterres has said

The United Nations produces over 1,000 reports a year, but most are barely read, according to the organization’s own study into how to make its work more “impactful and coherent.” The revelation comes as the UN marks its 80th anniversary amid a deepening identity crisis.

In March, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the UN80 Taskforce – a reform initiative aimed at reviewing how the Secretariat implements thousands of mandates and at reducing administrative overload.

According to a report released Thursday, the Secretariat published 1,100 reports last year – a 20% increase since 1990 – and supported 27,000 meetings involving 240 entities.

“The sheer number of meetings and reports is pushing the system – and all of us – to the breaking point,” Guterres said during a briefing on Friday.

Many of these reports are not widely read. The top 5% of reports are downloaded more than 5,500 times, while one in five reports receives fewer than 1,000 downloads. And downloading doesn’t necessarily mean reading.

It remains unclear how many people downloaded the latest report about reports, but a UN tweet about the efficiency reform effort, despite featuring an engaging video clip, had gathered fewer than 5,000 views at the time of writing.

Secretary-General @antonioguterres' remarks to the Informal Meeting of the General Assembly Plenary on the UN80 Initiative:

Source: RT - Daily news