The key facts

  • None of the 7 candidates has received the support of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council (AP).
  • Main contenders: Rebeca Grynspan, Rafael Grossi, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; against each, according to AP, two permanent members spoke out.
  • The US does not rule out supporting one of the candidates; the next round of the straw poll will take place next week.

Lack of consensus in the Security Council

None of the seven candidates for the post of UN secretary-general has received the support of all five permanent members of the Security Council, which hold veto power, the Associated Press reported citing its sources. According to the agency, if the US, Russia, China, the UK and France do not back any of the current candidates, new ones may be put forward. The main contenders are said to be the head of the UN trade body, Costa Rican Rebeca Grynspan, IAEA head Argentine Rafael Grossi, and Guyana's permanent representative to the UN, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. According to AP, two permanent members of the Security Council opposed each of them.

The US position

According to AP, in recent weeks representatives of the US administration have indicated that none of the candidates is 'ideal.' Washington is focused on a deep reform of the organization, as well as on withdrawing from a number of UN bodies or plans for such withdrawal. At the same time, American officials do not rule out that the US may support one of the candidates; according to AP sources, the US position will become clear in the coming days. US Permanent Representative to the UN Mike Waltz emphasized the need for 'strong and active leadership' capable of returning the organization to its original goal of ensuring peace and security. 'This organization has spent 80 years trying to be everything to everyone. We put it, so to speak, on a diet — after the diet we all feel a little better. Now we need to refocus it on issues of peace and security,' Waltz said.

The process ahead

By tradition, the post of UN secretary-general rotates among representatives of different regions, and now, as AP writes, it is Latin America's turn. Next week, the next round of the preliminary straw poll of candidates will take place. At the same time, Mike Waltz and Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, did not rule out that new candidates may emerge. The selection of a new secretary-general is linked to the end of António Guterres's term.