It seems that the far-reaching UN budget cuts will be affecting the international organisation’s Cyprus top hierarchy too, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
Under the new proposed budget, the Under-Secretary roles to be trimmed include the Special Advisor on Cyprus and policy, while in the next layer down, six assistant Secretary General posts will be cut, or 11%.
It is not yet clear at this point whether the proposed cuts will also have an impact on UNFICYP (the peacekeeping force on the island) but as Reuters reports, UN humanitarian agencies with their own budgets are set to shed more than a quarter of jobs.
UNFICYP does have its own budget approved every year by the Security Council, with significant co-funding by Cyprus and Greece to a much lesser extent.
The proposals are not final and require approval by the General Assembly’s “Fifth Committee” in December after consultations with countries.
Reducing senior posts also meant structural changes, which would require member states’ approval.
Doubts about the UN’s future about internally, as a survey of employees in August showed that less than a fifth were confident in the Secretary General and less than 10% thought UN job reforms to date were based on a sound rationale.
On a more general note, UN cost savings plans for 2026 envisage far smaller cuts to senior staff than to lower ranks, a contrast likely to fuel division just as financial support for the institution is slipping.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wants to shrink the regular budget by 15 per cent to improve efficiency and cut costs as the United Nations runs into a cash crisis.
A copy of the revised 2026 budget showed just two of 58 department head posts in the layer of under-secretaries-general beneath Mr Guterres, or 3 per cent, will go.
That compares with around 19 per cent across the board and up to 28 per cent for one lower-ranking category, according to Reuters calculations based on the UN document.
Ian Richards, president of the UN Geneva Staff Union, said Mr Guterres’ proposals “will make the global body more top-heavy and bureaucratic”.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it was “inevitable” that the biggest reductions were where the workforce of more than 14,000 was largest.
The US and China are the two biggest contributors, together making up 40 per cent of the regular budget, and both are in arrears.
US President Donald Trump, who is sceptical of multilateral institutions, slammed the UN this week at its headquarters, though he later told Mr Guterres he backs it “100 per cent”.
The number of senior posts has swollen over the decades – something that a UN internal memo in 2025 sought to address through a major overhaul.
A non-American under-secretary-general in New York with no dependants earns a tax-free net salary of nearly US$270,000 (S$349,000), a UN website showed. Extra grants and allowances are given for relocation costs, a non-working spouse and children.
UN officials say these Cabinet-rank posts are the toughest to eliminate, partly because countries view them as sources of prestige and influence. Unwritten rules reserve some for specific states.
Dr Ronny Patz, an expert in UN financing, said Mr Guterres appeared to have tried to avoid a backlash by sparing posts at the top. “It’s definitely not a bold proposal. He’s left out some of the hardest choices.”