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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

UN GATE, Oct 12 – How corrupt is today's UN under Antonio Guterres? Now with Guterres cravenly heading to Egypt while refusing Press questions about UNRWA, his staff tell Inner City Press things have hit a new low about which his spokespeople Stephane Dujarric and Melissa Fleming refuse all Press questions:

Guterres has now presented the UN80 Budget Proposal for 2026 to Member States — a plan prepared under the leadership of former trade unionist Guy Ryder.  This proposal, which applies to the UN Secretariat (excluding funds, programmes, and specialized agencies), introduces sweeping staffing changes and an estimated $200 million cost for restructuring — covering post abolitions, indemnities, and relocations. 

 Despite earlier commitments to focus reductions on senior management levels and to respond to the General Assembly’s call to reverse top-heaviness, the outcome appears to have gone in the opposite direction.

 Among the 58 Under-Secretary-General (USG) positions — equivalent to cabinet rank — only two are proposed for abolition, even though many now oversee smaller teams and lighter portfolios.  Peacekeeping and Operational Staff Bear the Burden: The largest proportional cuts are aimed at peacekeeping staff, particularly those in the Field Service (FS) category, facing a 29% reduction — despite repeated calls from Member States to strengthen peace and security operations.

 National Professional Officers (NPOs), who form a vital link between missions and local communities, will also be severely affected, with a 25% reduction.  Within the Professional (P) category, the brunt will fall on P-3 officers (-17%), who perform much of the core policy, analytical, and programmatic work. Entry-level P-2 and P-1 posts — the primary entry point for nationals from un- and under-represented developing countries — are also reduced by 13%.  It should be noted that developing countries are disproportionately represented in the groups facing the deepest cuts.

The Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) faces a 19% cut, and UNCTAD an 18% cut — both higher than the overall 15% average reduction.  This raises serious questions about the organization’s priorities - they have been hijacked by Guterres and his cronies.

This was about inequitable cuts at UN ESCAP in Thailand:

Dear Matthew Russell Lee, 

The plan for abolishment from UN-ESCAP  is directed only at GS staff, while senior positions—P-5, D-1, D-2, and USG—remain untouched. The salary of a single one of these officials is equivalent to that of fifty or more local staff members. If justice truly mattered, it would be these high-level posts under review—not the livelihoods of ordinary staff.

Many of these officials are beyond retirement age, largely inactive in their offices, while their administrative assistants act more like personal aides or cooks than contributors to the Organization’s actual work.  This is not about fairness—it is about selfishness and corruption. Guterres and his team have revealed themselves as weak, wicked, and corrupt. They cling to their privileges while sacrificing the most vulnerable staff, simply because they hold the power to decide.  It is therefore no surprise that more and more staff are coming to agree that the UN has become useless, especially under the failed leadership of Guterres.

 Guterres appears increasingly surrounded by what staff describe as “phone-call human resource advisors and legal officers.”

   Martha Helena Lopez, the Secretary-General’s senior advisor on human resources, has become emblematic of this “don’t care” policy. Observers note she looks fatigued, more focused on retirement than on strengthening governance. Rather than engaging with tribunal rulings, she and her team have defaulted to what staff now mockingly call “phone-call directives,” issuing guidance over the phone without regard to established precedent or proper review.  In New York, staff have started referring to her and her legal colleagues as “phone-call officers and advisors” because of their casual approach to matters of grave consequence.

Their advice to the Secretary-General effectively shields misconduct from judicial scrutiny, entrenches his culture of impunity.

 Guterres, they say, should end censorship. Application was made on June 19, 2025. Watch this site.

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