NEW YORK — As part of the ongoing United Nations reform agenda, Liberia has called for a strategic recalibration of the UN Resident Coordinator System to strengthen its operational capacity and improve service delivery at the country level.
Delivering Liberia’s statement on Wednesday at the Resident Coordinators Global Meeting 2026 in New York, Deputy Permanent Representative Baba Sillah outlined major concerns regarding how current restructuring efforts affect the technical, operational, and analytical capabilities of Resident Coordinator Offices across Africa. The high-level session focused on UN Resident Coordinator System support in Africa through a strategic exchange between African member states and Resident Coordinators.
Sillah warned that persistent funding shortfalls, staffing constraints, and the potential elimination or downgrading of vital professional positions—particularly economists, data analysts, and development policy specialists—threaten to weaken the system’s ability to provide meaningful support to host governments.
He emphasized that Africa’s development landscape is diverse and cannot be effectively served by a generic, one-size-fits-all staffing model.
“The needs of least developed countries, nations emerging from conflict, and those facing severe climate and institutional challenges require tailored technical expertise and sustained in-country engagement,” Sillah noted.
To address these challenges, Liberia’s diplomat presented three key recommendations for the reform process: securing predictable and sustainable long-term financing, protecting core technical and analytical capacities, and engaging in transparent, ongoing consultations with host governments to determine country-specific operational and staffing needs.
The UN Resident Coordinator System serves as a central pillar of the UN Secretariat, designed to align and coordinate the operational activities of the UN development system worldwide. Its core objective is to maximize the coherence, efficiency, and impact of UN support, particularly toward achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by uniting all UN agencies, funds, and programs operating within a country under a single operational framework.
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