🇺🇳🇨🇷 Rebeca Grynspan has now entered the race for UN Secretary-General, nominated by her country, Costa Rica👇 Grynspan currently serves as the Secretary-General of UNCTAD, from which she is taking special leave without pay while she runs her campaign. I asked her at a meeting last week why she was interested. She mentioned two things: 1. The UN system isn't broken. It is in a weak state but it can be rebuilt. 2. Her parents were refugees from Europe after the war and were able to restart their lives in Costa Rica. She owed a lot to the multilateral system that enabled this. Early on in her term at UNCTAD she helped secure the Black Sea grain deal, which brought down food prices in developing countries. Prior to UNCTAD she headed the Ibero-American General Secretariat, and before that was vice-president of her country. She is running against Rafael Grossi of Argentina, Michelle Bachelet of Chile and Macky Sall of Senegal. More on the other candidates here: https://lnkd.in/dkd9arwt
🇺🇳🇧🇮And now they are three. Former Senegal president Macky Sall enters the UN Secretary-General race, nominated by Burundi👇🏼 The news was confirmed yesterday by General Assembly spokesperson La Neice Collins. His nomination wasn’t submitted by his own country but by the President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye. The Government of Senegal has not yet indicated its position. Ndayishimiye is also Chair of the African Union and there are conflicting reports over whether the nomination may also have AU support. The issue was discussed at February’s AU summit in Addis Ababa but it appears no decision was reached. At the same time another, female candidate may emerge from the Africa region after being present at the same AU summit. Meanwhile, UNCTAD SG, Rebeca Grynspan, announced last week her intention to go on special leave without pay in order to run for UN SG. Her country, Costa Rica, of which she is formerly Vice President, is expected to file nomination papers this week. Member states passed a resolution last year encouraging candidates currently in UN positions to take leave during their campaigns. Two candidates have already filed their papers. The first is IAEA DG Raphael Grossi, supported by his country Argentina. The second is former Chilean President, former Human Rights High Commissioner and former head of UN Women, Michel Bachelet, supported by Mexico, Brazil and the outgoing Chilean government. Chile’s President-elect, Jose Antonio Kast, has not indicated his position. Public hearings will be held by the General Assembly in April. The position has in recent years followed geographical rotation and would be expected to go to Latin America and the Caribbean. Many member states and NGOs have also called for the next SG to be a woman. However, at the end of the day the only rule is that the Security Council recommends a candidate to the General Assembly for appointment. The permanent five remain the key players.
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