In his speech at the 5th Committee of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Guterres said the Covid-19 pandemic was one of the first tests of these reforms and allowed to adjust commercial operations and respond swiftly to the needs of countries.

We did all this complex and sweeping work while facing up a serious liquidity crisis and at all times, transformations continued, he stressed.

Now, the UN is in its third year of implementing reforms and benefits are visible, unlike past emergencies, the UN did not need to create new structures to manage the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, the new reform structures for development, peace and security and existing management eased a unified and agile response to health crisis, saving time and money, Guterres said.

I´m proud the reforms have not only allowed us to respond swiftly and effectively to challenges of an unprecedented pandemic, but also made it possible to survive one of the worst financial crises, the UN chief stressed.

mh / pll / jha / ifb