Contenders to head United Nations face live grillings
Four candidates vying to become the next United Nations secretary-general will face live hearings on their bids to lead the troubled global organization from next year.
Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are running for a five-year term as president of the 193-member body; This period can be extended for another five years.
While they are the only candidates announced so far, others may join the race in the coming months.
The next UN leader will face the monumental task of reviving an organization in crisis whose reputation has declined significantly in recent years.
Major powers are pressuring the UN to reform, cut costs and prove its validity, even as they increasingly violate long-held norms of the international order.
Bachelet and Grossi will be the first in a three-hour debate at the UN headquarters in New York, attended by member states and civil society representatives, on Tuesday, followed by Grynspan and Sall on Wednesday.
There are now far fewer candidates for the role than in 2016, when incumbent Portuguese Antonio Guterres was selected from a field of 13 candidates, seven of whom were women.
German Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly, described it as one of the most challenging jobs in the world.
“But it is also one of the most important because the next secretary-general will not only shape the future of this institution, but will also be shaped by his role as the strongest defender of the UN charter and the international rules-based order,” he said.
No woman has been elected in the UN’s 80-year history, despite growing calls to end this anomaly and despite tradition dictating that the role rotates across regions, followed by Latin America.
Another unwritten rule is that, to avoid over-concentration of power, a secretary-general should never come from among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States); but their support is crucial in a long and secretive selection process.
“The need for a secretary-general who is prepared to champion a clear and proactive vision of the UN on peacemaking and crisis management could not be more urgent,” Daniel Forti of the International Crisis Group wrote recently.
“If candidates and member states miss this opportunity, the UN may have little left to defend.”
Bachelet, 74, is a two-time president of Chile and a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In March, his home country withdrew support for his candidacy following a conservative change in leadership, but he maintained support from Brazil and Mexico.
Bachelet has faced criticism from US conservatives for her pro-abortion views, and this month the US ambassador to the UN appeared to undermine her bid, saying he shared her concerns about her suitability.
Grossi, a 65-year-old diplomat and father of eight who speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian, headed the UN nuclear watchdog for six years.
In his vision statement, Grossi stated that “even in times of division, multilateral institutions can create real, positive impact.”
Grynspan, 70, a former vice president of Costa Rica who chairs the UN Conference on Trade and Development, describes herself as a reform-minded multilateralist who tackles gender barriers and is a lifelong believer in the UN’s commitments to peace, development and human rights.
“I don’t expect special treatment. I want equal treatment,” he told Reuters.
Sall, 64, who will be Senegal’s president for 12 years until 2024, is the son of a geologist and a peanut seller.
Soft-spoken and more comfortable speaking French than English, he promoted African development and support for debt-burdened countries. “More than ever, rediscovered multilateralism remains the best way to respond to the challenges of a world in full transformation,” he said in X.
