Copyright AFP/File Simon Wohlfahrt, Cris BOURONCLE, Fabrice COFFRINI, Juan Mabromata
Amélie BOTTOLLIER-PAS
Candidates for the next UN secretary-general made their call this week for a United Nations more invested in peace, but avoided taking positions that could antagonize member states who will elect the world body’s next chief.
Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall all hope to succeed Antonio Guterres on January 1, 2027, when his second five-year term ends.
Each candidate spent three hours this week answering wide-ranging questions from the 193 member states and civil society representatives.
However, “a lot of diplomats are a bit cynical about the sessions,” Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
“There is a widespread suspicion that the US and other vetoes in the Security Council will pick a winner privately and minimize the Assembly’s role in the process.”
Question-and-answer sessions, called “interactive dialogues”, were introduced in 2016.
The General Assembly, where each member state has one seat, can choose the secretary-general only on the recommendation of the Security Council, where the five permanent members – the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France – have veto power.
Much of what the plaintiffs said was “formulaic,” but they sent some “important messages,” according to Gowan.
He said Grossi highlighted “how fragile the UN is today” and appeared more “radical” than Guterres on reform.
All candidates stressed the urgent need to restore confidence in a United Nations teetering on the brink of financial collapse. Its relevance has also been questioned in a world facing a level of armed conflict not seen since World War II.
Chile’s Bachelet, a former UN human rights chief, said the Secretary-General should be “physically present on the ground” wherever problems need solving – a position also taken by Grossi.
Sall, a former president of Senegal, suggested a “reinvented role” so that the UN could “regain its place at the global table”.
Some have criticized Guterres for failing to exert influence over conflicts in Ukraine or the Middle East.
Grynspan said the next UN chief “must take risks” and complained: “We have become a risk-averse organization.”
“The UN only fails when we don’t try, we have to try,” added Grynspan, who as UN Trade and Development chief negotiated a deal that eased Ukrainian wheat exports after the 2022 Russian invasion.
– Waiting in the wings –
The candidates acknowledged the link between the UN’s three pillars of peace, human rights and development, while emphasizing the organization’s key role in upholding the first principle.
US President Donald Trump has called on the UN to return to its “original mission” of peace.
Very few of the questions focused on specific conflicts, and candidates mostly refrained from answering in concrete terms, preferring instead to invoke a commitment to the UN Charter.
When asked about Gaza, however, Grynspan called for “unrestricted” access to humanitarian aid and expressed support for a long-term solution for the two states to live side by side in “peace and security.”
Sall emphasized the “human tragedy” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Candidates’ past attitudes and actions will definitely influence the final selection.
Republican lawmakers have already called on Washington to block Bachelet over her advocacy of abortion rights.
Grossi, the current head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is involved in sensitive issues such as the response to Iran’s nuclear program.
The five permanent members of the Security Council remain tight-lipped about their intentions, and other contenders for the UN chief may yet emerge.
“I think there are still quite a few candidates hanging around and waiting to see how things go” before declaring their candidacy, Gowan said.
