UN Secretary-General Candidates Voice Deep Doubts About Global Body's Future
Four candidates for top UN post question organization's effectiveness amid growing international uncertainty
Quick Look
- Four candidates vying to replace UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres faced questioning over two days, with all expressing pessimistic views about the organization's direction.
- Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, UN official Rebeca Grynspan, and former Senegal president Macky Sall all voiced concerns about waning trust in the UN and doubts about its effectiveness.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The UN Secretary-General selection occurs every five years, with the current holder Antonio Guterres serving his term. The selection process involves candidate interviews and endorsement by the Security Council before election by the General Assembly.
The race to become the next leader of the United Nations moved into a higher gear with the four declared candidates facing hours of questions over two days. Top among them: can the UN be made effective again?
Rafael Grossi, an Argentine diplomat who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, struck a downbeat note about the global body's future during his interview replace Secretary General Antonio Guterres. "This election, or selection, process is so consequential, and this is because we are at a time when there are enormous, huge doubts about our institution," Grossi said on Tuesday. "The direction in which the UN is moving is not the one we would all like to see."
Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, had her own gloomy assessment, saying: "our world and the order based on international law that sustains it is under strain as never before".
The other two candidates, senior UN official Rebeca Grynspan and former Senegal president Macky Sall were similarly pessimistic, with Grynspan saying trust in the organisation "is waning and because time is running out to restore it".
Open Questions
- Which candidate is favored to win
- When will the selection be finalized
- What specific reforms candidates propose
