Bachelet, Espinosa and Grynspan make their case to succeed UN Secretary Guterres.

On Tuesday, three Latin American candidates seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres as United Nations Secretary-General held a debate in Geneva, where they presented their visions for the future of the multilateral organization.

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They are Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s former president for two nonconsecutive terms, former director of UN Women and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs and Defense Minister and president of the UN General Assembly (2018- 2019); and Rebeca Grynspan, former Costa Rican Vice President (1994-1998) and secretary of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

“At this moment, we cannot afford a secretary-general who merely manages decline; we need one who is brave enough to transform the organization. We need a secretary-general who speaks courageously, listens with humility and restores to countries a shared sense of purpose. That is the leadership this moment requires and the leadership I will bring to the United Nations,” Espinosa pointed out.

Bachelet promised that she would be “an independent secretary-general” and would be “always on the ground,” so that when conflicts arise she would offer mediation “while insisting on international law.”

“I will reform the organization to make it more agile, efficient and accountable through dialogue and consensus-building,” the Chilean politician added.

Grynspan said she is seeking to succeed Guterres because peace is in danger and confidence in the U.N. and international institutions is eroding.

“I know what war takes away and what peace makes possible,” she said, describing herself as a “daughter of peace” while recalling that her parents were refugees from World War II whom “a small country without an army welcomed and treated with respect and dignity.”

The three candidates agreed that a Latin American woman should be the next head of an organization that has had only men in its top leadership position since its creation in 1945.

Currently, however, Argentine Rafael Grossi, director the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Macky Sall, the former president of Senegal, are also competing for the post of UN secretary-general.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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