UNITED NATIONS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday began its two-day interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of the next UN secretary-general, starting with Michelle Bachelet, former Chilean president and former UN high commissioner for human rights.
In remarks to the press before the dialogues, UNGA President Annalena Baerbock said the selection of the secretary-general has widespread consequences "that resonate far beyond this building."
"Our choice will shape the direction of the world's unique multilateral organization and demonstrate whether the United Nations truly represents the more than 8 billion people around the world, who are half women and girls," Baerbock said.
"The need for global cooperation has never been more urgent, especially given the fact that in our interconnected world, what unfolds in one region echoes across all others," she said, citing the many challenges facing the world today, including shifting geopolitical dynamics, a rise in violence and conflicts, an accelerating climate crisis, rapid technological transformation, a global health pandemic, and widening inequalities between nations, as well as the "unprecedented political and financial pressure" on the United Nations.
The next secretary-general will be entrusted not only with navigating the challenges, but also with advancing essential reforms to ensure an organization born around 80 years ago from the ashes of two World Wars is capable of meeting 21st-century challenges, Baerbock said.
During the three-hour dialogues, candidates will have the chance to highlight their vision for the United Nations, and by answering questions from the 193 UN member states, they will also be given the opportunity to demonstrate their proven leadership abilities, experience, and skills to lead a strong and fit-for-the-future organization, as well as their capacity to deliver across all three UN pillars: peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights, she said.
To date, four candidates are in the running for the next UN secretary-general: Bachelet, nominated by Brazil and Mexico; Rafael Grossi, current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, nominated by Argentina; Macky Sall, former president of Senegal, nominated by Burundi; and Rebeca Grynspan, economist and former vice president of Costa Rica, nominated by Costa Rica.
The UNGA will hold its interactive dialogues with Grossi on Tuesday afternoon, Grynspan on Wednesday morning, and Sall on Wednesday afternoon.
Antonio Guterres, the current and ninth secretary-general of the United Nations, took office in January 2017. The next UN secretary-general will take over the role from Jan. 1, 2027. ■
