Ugandan diplomat joins UN Secretary-General race

Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu has joined the contest to become the next Secretary-General of the UN, the seventh contender to succeed António Guterres when he steps down at the end of this year, reports Business Day. Otunnu, a former UN under-secretary-general who served as special representative for children and armed conflict, was nominated by Uganda in a letter on Friday to the presidents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council. At 75, he is the oldest of the current candidates for the role, which Guterres has held for two five-year terms. Guterres’ successor faces the task of revitalising an organisation in crisis and declining stature that is under increasing pressure to reform a bloated, costly bureaucracy and cut duplication across its many agencies. In his vision statement, Otunnu stressed the need to continue institutional reforms and said he would give immediate priority to efforts to help end major international conflicts. He also pledged to establish a body to oversee UN work on AI and highlighted the need for climate change action that does not undermine economic development. The other candidates are Rafael Grossi of Argentina, director-general of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency; former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet; Rebeca Grynspan, a former Vice-President of Costa Rica; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister of Ecuador; Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, a former Foreign Minister of Guyana; and Macky Sall, a former President of Senegal. The selection process is expected to start in earnest this week with straw polls in the 15-nation Security Council aimed at whittling down the field. Other candidates can still join the race.

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has endorsed Sall's candidacy to become the next UN Secretary-General, the Foreign Ministry has said, giving his predecessor crucial backing from his home country despite deep political divisions. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said that Faye reached his decision after meeting Sall on Friday, reports RFI. Sall governed Senegal from 2012 to 2024. Burundi, which holds the African Union's rotating Presidency, nominated Sall for the UN role. Senegal had, until Monday, stopped short of publicly endorsing his candidacy. Faye instructed his government to ‘fully mobilise’ support for Sall, saying his bid ‘is now Senegal's candidacy in the service of Africa'.. The endorsement marks a significant political U-turn from Faye, whose administration has frequently criticised Sall's record. Sall's attempt to postpone the 2024 presidential election triggered deadly protests and was ultimately struck down by the Constitutional Council. With the support of the Pastef Party and its leader Ousmane Sonko, Faye won the election and succeeded Sall in April 2024, and relations with his predecessor have remained strained. Support for Sall's UN bid has not been universally welcomed in Senegal, however. Civil society and the families of those killed during the crackdown on political protests between 2021 and 2024 had already criticised the reception accorded to Sall on Friday. The collective representing the families of the victims condemned the support as tantamount to ‘endorsing his record’ and allying with the man responsible for the bloody repression of Senegalese citizens.