UN report finds United Nations reports are not widely read

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(Corrects paragraph 6 to not all countries pay on full or on time)

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -A United Nations report seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs has revealed: U.N. reports are not widely read.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefed countries on Friday on the report, produced by his UN80 reform taskforce that focused on how U.N. staff implement thousands of mandates given to them by bodies like the General Assembly or Security Council.

He said last year that the U.N. system supported 27,000 meetings involving 240 bodies, and the U.N. secretariat produced 1,100 reports, a 20% increase since 1990. 

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

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

Guterres launched the UN80 taskforce in March as the U.N. – which turns 80 this year – faces a liquidity crisis for at least the seventh year in a row because not all 193 U.N. member states pay their mandatory regular dues in full or on time. 

The report issued by the taskforce late on Thursday covers just one of several reform angles being pursued. 

Among the suggestions Guterres put forward on Friday: “Fewer meetings. Fewer reports, but ones that are able to fully meet the requirements of all mandates.”

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Diane Craft)