UN declares no one reads UN reports

(MENAFN) The vast majority of the more than 1,000 reports the United Nations produces annually receive little attention, according to a recent UN study aimed at making its work more effective and streamlined. This finding emerges as the UN marks its 80th anniversary amid questions over its relevance and identity.

In March, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched the UN80 Taskforce, a reform initiative focused on assessing how the Secretariat manages thousands of mandates and aims to reduce administrative burdens.

Last year, the Secretariat issued 1,100 reports—a 20% increase since 1990—and facilitated 27,000 meetings involving 240 different entities. Guterres remarked that the volume of reports and meetings is straining the system and its members.

The report reveals that while the top 5% of UN documents are downloaded more than 5,500 times, 20% receive fewer than 1,000 downloads—and even downloads don’t guarantee that the content is read.

The latest report about UN reports itself had an unclear readership, and a related UN tweet featuring a video on efficiency reforms had fewer than 5,000 views at the time of writing.

The UN was founded after World War II by the Soviet Union, US, UK, France, and China to promote peace and cooperation, initially with 51 members. Today, it has 193 member states but faces a growing credibility crisis.

Guterres defends the organization’s importance, asserting that its values remain crucial. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for reforms to better reflect global changes and increase representation for developing countries. India has also pushed for modernization, with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar likening the UN to an outdated company failing to keep up with the times while still occupying space.

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