GENEVA — The United Nations General Assembly approved Resolution A/RES/80/147 on Tuesday, formally placing the Global Recovery Initiative under the administrative and financial authority of the Global Emergency Framework, ending months of internal debate over the future of post-collapse coordination efforts.
The resolution passed with 138 votes in favor, 12 against, and 31 abstentions. Under the new structure, UNGRI's Geneva-based secretariat will continue operations but report directly to UNGEF leadership in New York. All digital infrastructure, including the ungri.org domain, will migrate to UNGEF systems by March 1, according to documents circulated to member states.
UNGEF Director-General Amara Okonkwo called the merger "a necessary step toward unified global stewardship" during a press conference Wednesday morning. She emphasized that the consolidation would eliminate redundant oversight mechanisms and allow for faster disbursement of recovery funds to affected regions.
The restructuring transfers approximately $47 billion in allocated recovery funds to UNGEF's consolidated ledger, along with 2,300 UNGRI staff positions across 14 regional offices. A transition team has been appointed to manage the integration, with full operational handover expected by the second quarter of 2026.
Critics Question Pace and Transparency
Not all delegates welcomed the consolidation. Brazil's Deputy Permanent Representative, Marcos Teixeira, was among those voting against the resolution, citing concerns about diminished regional input in recovery planning. In a statement released Thursday, he described the timeline as "rushed and insufficiently deliberated."
"UNGRI was designed with built-in safeguards for local consultation," Teixeira wrote. "Under UNGEF's centralized model, decisions that affect millions may be made by committees with no direct knowledge of conditions on the ground. We have seen this before."
Several non-governmental organizations tracking UN reform have expressed similar reservations. The Geneva-based Institute for Multilateral Accountability published an open letter on January 15 urging the General Assembly to mandate independent auditing of the merged entity's financial flows.
A UNGEF spokesperson, responding to inquiries about oversight mechanisms, said existing audit protocols would remain in place and that "no substantive changes to transparency standards" were anticipated. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether regional advisory councils would retain their current mandate.
The restructuring follows nearly eighteen months of internal review prompted by what officials termed "operational fragmentation" in global recovery efforts. A confidential assessment circulated in late 2025 reportedly found overlapping mandates between UNGRI and UNGEF were delaying infrastructure funding by an average of 97 days in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
Further details on the merged organization's governance structure are expected to be released at the UNGEF General Council session scheduled for February 22 in New York.
