UN leadership candidates stress credibility in televised debate

Six candidates seeking to become the next United Nations secretary-general used a televised debate on Thursday to stress the need to restore confidence in the organisation before the formal selection process begins.

The debate in the General Assembly Hall lasted nearly two hours and included questions from diplomats, UN employees and civil society representatives. The candidates are Chile's Michelle Bachelet, Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan, Guyana's Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Senegal's Macky Sall. They are seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres, whose term ends on December 31.

Each candidate said they had the experience and approach needed for a difficult period marked by global conflicts and pressure on the UN. Grynspan, who has headed the UN Conference on Trade and Development, said she wanted the UN to be seen as present in conflict situations and able to deliver results. Sall, a former president of Senegal, said he would use his first 100 days to rebuild trust and make the UN more agile, effective and ready to listen.

Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana's ambassador, said she would try to engage with difficult crises, naming Iran, Haiti, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, said a secretary-general should step in when a member state starts a war or uses aggression, and said the UN had to restore its credibility as an interlocutor.

The UN is facing financial and confidence problems. US President Donald Trump's administration has accused the organisation of reckless spending, spreading itself too thin and failing to produce satisfactory results. The United States has called for a return to the UN's core work on peace and security, while other states say human rights and development must remain equally important pillars.

Bachelet, a former Chilean president, said she would not give in to pressure from powerful donor countries and would speak according to what she saw as her moral authority and duty. Espinosa, a former president of the UN General Assembly, said prevention should be an operating principle and that she would act early to prepare the UN system to prevent conflicts.

The candidates have already faced three hours of questioning each from representatives of the UN's 193 member states. Most have stressed the need to continue reforms aimed at making the organisation more efficient, and to increase the secretary-general's involvement in peace efforts.

The 15 members of the Security Council are due to hold their first closed-door anonymous vote on July 30. That straw poll is expected to be followed by further votes until one candidate can win the required nine votes without a veto from any of the five permanent members: the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia. The chosen name will then go to the General Assembly for formal appointment, and the next secretary-general is due to take office on January 1, 2027.

Several diplomats interviewed by AFP were cautious about the outcome and said a number of capitals had not yet chosen a candidate. International Crisis Group analyst Richard Gowan said Grossi was still the most frequently mentioned front-runner, but had not secured the race, and that Grynspan and Rodrigues-Birkett also had significant support.

The source also said other names were circulating in UN corridors and the media, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino. It said the New York Post had reported that Trump would like Infantino to take the UN post.

Under a tradition of geographic rotation that is not always followed, Latin America is making a claim to the role in this selection round. Sall is the only declared candidate not from the region. Many states are also calling for a woman to become secretary-general for the first time.